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Hot and cloudy: High temperature clouds in super-Earths and sub-Neptunes
Authors:
Leoni J. Janssen,
Yamila Miguel,
Michiel Min,
Helong Huang,
Mantas Zilinskas,
Christiaan P. A. van Buchem
Abstract:
JWST observations provide for the first time evidence for an atmosphere on a rocky exoplanet - 55 Cnc e. The atmosphere of 55 Cnc e is hot with $\text{T}_{\text{eq}}>2000$K and shows strong variability, for which cloud formation above a molten crust could be one possible explanation. The composition of the atmosphere of 55 Cnc e is still unknown but suggests the presence of volatiles. We have run…
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JWST observations provide for the first time evidence for an atmosphere on a rocky exoplanet - 55 Cnc e. The atmosphere of 55 Cnc e is hot with $\text{T}_{\text{eq}}>2000$K and shows strong variability, for which cloud formation above a molten crust could be one possible explanation. The composition of the atmosphere of 55 Cnc e is still unknown but suggests the presence of volatiles. We have run cloud formation models on a grid of N-dominated, O-dominated, C-dominated and H-dominated atmospheres to investigate which type of cloud we could expect on hot super-Earths and hot sub-Neptunes ($1000$K $<$ T $<$ $3000$K). Our models combine radiative transfer with equilibrium chemistry of the gaseous and condensed phases, vertical mixing of condensable species, sedimentation, nucleation and coagulation. We find that the condensability of species is highly dependent on the oxygen abundance of an atmosphere. Oxygen poor atmospheres can be heated by UV and optical absorbers PS, TiO and CN which create temperature inversions. These inhibit condensation. Oxygen rich atmospheres are colder without temperature inversions, and are therefore more favourable environments for cloud formation. The major expected cloud component in O-dominated atmospheres with solar refractory abundance is TiO$_2$(s). Spectral features of clouds in these worlds are stronger in transmission than in emission, in particular at short wavelengths. We find a lack of optical data of solid species in comparison to the variety of stable cloud components which can form on hot, rocky planets.
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Submitted 22 January, 2026;
originally announced January 2026.
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Coupled atmospHere Interior modeL Intercomparison (CHILI) Protocol Version 1.0: A CUISINES Intercomparison Project of Magma Ocean Models
Authors:
Tim Lichtenberg,
Laura Schaefer,
Joshua Krissansen-Totton,
Yamila Miguel,
Denis E. Sergeev,
Philipp Baumeister,
Jessica Cmiel,
Leoni J. Janssen,
T. Giang Nguyen,
Yoshinori Miyazaki,
Harrison Nicholls,
Alexandra Papesh,
Hugo Pelissard,
Bo Peng,
Junellie Perez,
Emma Postolec,
Mariana Sastre,
Arnaud Salvador,
Hanno Spreeuw,
Andrea Zorzi,
Thomas J. Fauchez,
Keiko Hamano,
Jérémy Leconte,
Maxime Maurice,
Lena Noack
, et al. (1 additional authors not shown)
Abstract:
Spectroscopic characterization of rocky exoplanets with the James Webb Space Telescope has brought the origin and evolution of their atmospheres into the focus of exoplanet science. Time-evolved models of the feedback between interior and atmosphere are critical to predict and interpret these observations and link them to the Solar System terrestrial planets. However, models differ in methodologie…
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Spectroscopic characterization of rocky exoplanets with the James Webb Space Telescope has brought the origin and evolution of their atmospheres into the focus of exoplanet science. Time-evolved models of the feedback between interior and atmosphere are critical to predict and interpret these observations and link them to the Solar System terrestrial planets. However, models differ in methodologies and input data, which can lead to significant differences in interpretation. In this paper, we present the experimental protocol of the Coupled atmospHere Interior modeL Intercomparison (CHILI) project. CHILI is an (exo-)planet model intercomparison project within the Climates Using Interactive Suites of Intercomparisons Nested for Exoplanet Studies (CUISINES) framework, which aims to support a diverse set of multi-model intercomparison projects in the exoplanet community. The present protocol includes the initial set of participating magma ocean models, divided into evolutionary and static models, and two types of test categories, one focused on Solar System planets (Earth & Venus) and the other on exoplanets orbiting low-mass M-dwarfs. Both test categories aim to quantify the evolution of key markers of the links between planetary atmospheres and interiors over geological timescales. The proposed tests would allow us to quantify and compare the differences between coupled atmosphere-interior models used by the exoplanet and planetary science communities. Results from the proposed tests will be published in dedicated follow-up papers. To encourage the community to join this comparison effort and as an example, we present initial test results for the early Earth and TRAPPIST-1 b, conducted with models differing in the treatment of energy transport in the planetary interior and atmosphere, surface boundary layer, geochemistry, and the in- and outgassing of volatile compounds.
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Submitted 30 March, 2026; v1 submitted 20 November, 2025;
originally announced November 2025.
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Switching Transients in Constrained Transformer-Line/Cable Configurations
Authors:
Y. Xiang,
L. Wu,
K. Velitsikakis,
A. L. J. Janssen
Abstract:
This paper investigates the transient phenomena that occur in two special cases in the Netherlands: (A) during the energization of a power transformer via a cable feeder and (B) the energization of a power transformer together with an overhead line (OHL). In Case A a 7 km long 150 kV cable and a 150/50 kV transformer are connected and energized at the same time. In Case B a 150/50 kV transformer a…
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This paper investigates the transient phenomena that occur in two special cases in the Netherlands: (A) during the energization of a power transformer via a cable feeder and (B) the energization of a power transformer together with an overhead line (OHL). In Case A a 7 km long 150 kV cable and a 150/50 kV transformer are connected and energized at the same time. In Case B a 150/50 kV transformer and a short 50 kV OHL are connected and energized simultaneously. The reason behind this kind of situations is related to space restrictions and cost efficiency.
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Submitted 30 April, 2025;
originally announced April 2025.
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The sulphur species in hot rocky exoplanet atmospheres
Authors:
L. J. Janssen,
P. Woitke,
O. Herbort,
M. Min,
K. L. Chubb,
Ch. Helling,
L. Carone
Abstract:
The first JWST observations of hot Jupiters showed an unexpected detection of SO2 in their hydrogen-rich atmospheres. We investigate how much sulphur can be expected in the atmospheres of rocky exoplanets and which sulphur molecules can be expected to be most abundant and detectable by transmission spectroscopy. We run thermo-chemical equilibrium models at the crust-atmosphere interface, consideri…
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The first JWST observations of hot Jupiters showed an unexpected detection of SO2 in their hydrogen-rich atmospheres. We investigate how much sulphur can be expected in the atmospheres of rocky exoplanets and which sulphur molecules can be expected to be most abundant and detectable by transmission spectroscopy. We run thermo-chemical equilibrium models at the crust-atmosphere interface, considering surface temperatures 500 to 5000 K, surface pressures 1 to 100 bar, and various sets of element abundances based on common rock compositions. Between 1000 K and 2000 K, we find gaseous sulphur concentrations of up to 25 percent above the rock in our models. SO2, SO, H2S and S2 are by far the most abundant sulphur molecules. SO2 shows potentially detectable features in transmission spectra at about 4 micron, between 7 and 8 micron, and beyond 15 micron. In contrast, the sometimes abundant H2S molecule is difficult to detect in these spectra, which are mostly dominated by H2O and CO2. Although the molecule PS only occurs with concentrations below 300 ppm, it can cause a strong absorption feature between 0.3 and 0.65 micron in some of our models for high surface pressures. The detection of sulphur molecules would enable a better characterisation of the planetary surface.
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Submitted 31 October, 2023; v1 submitted 11 October, 2023;
originally announced October 2023.