Atmospheric Chemistry in Giant Planets, Brown Dwarfs, and Low‐Mass Dwarf Stars. II. Sulfur and Phosphorus

Abstract

Thermochemical equilibrium and kinetic calculations are used to model sulfur and phosphorus chemistry in giant planets, brown dwarfs, and extrasolar giant planets (EGPs). The chemical behavior of individual S- and P-bearing gases and condensates is determined as a function of pressure, temperature, and metallicity. The results are independent of particular model atmospheres, and in principle, the equilibrium composition along the pressure-temperature profile of any object can be determined. Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is the dominant S-bearing gas throughout substellar atmospheres and approximately represents the atmospheric sulfur inventory. Silicon sulfide (SiS) is a potential tracer of weather in substellar atmospheres. Disequilibrium abundances of phosphine (PH3) approximately representative of the total atmospheric phosphorus inventory are expected to be mixed upward into the observable atmospheres of giant planets and T dwarfs. In hotter objects, several P-bearing gases (e.g., P2, PH3, PH 2, PH, and HCP) become increasingly important at high temperatures.