Speaker
Description
55 Cnc e is the first rocky exoplanet for which strong evidence of a thick, volatile atmosphere exists (Hu+2024). The atmosphere of this hot super Earth shows sub-weekly variability in emission (Demory+2016, Meier-Valdez+2023, Patel+2024). Among the multiple suggested scenarios is an outgassing – cloud formation cycle driving this variability. We investigate, whether lava worlds could host variable, cloudy atmospheres utilizing a static, 1D approach. We construct a pipeline which combines radiative transfer with equilibrium chemistry, a cloud formation model (ARCiS, Min+2020) and outgassing of the magma (LavAtmos 2.0, vanBuchem+2025). We run this setup for a selection of atmospheric compositions and surface pressures for the purpose of our investigation and estimate the duration of each stage in the cycle from the physical processes involved. In this poster I will present the results of this study, focusing on the physics of the cloud formation cycle and spectral variability of cloudy lava worlds.
