发表机构
Univ. Grenoble Alpes CNRS IPAG; Université Paris Cité and Univ Paris Est Creteil CNRS LISA; SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research; Leiden Observatory Leiden University; Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy University of Amsterdam; IRAP Université de Toulouse CNRS/UMR 5277 UPS-OMP; Institute（格勒诺布尔阿尔卑斯大学法国国家科学研究中心IPAG实验室; 巴黎西岱大学和巴黎东 Créteil大学法国国家科学研究中心LISA实验室; 荷兰空间研究所; 莱顿大学莱顿天文台; 阿姆斯特丹大学安东·潘内克天文学研究所; 图卢兹大学法国国家科学研究中心IRAP研究所; 研究所）
机构由 AI 辅助整理，请以论文原文为准。AI 中文总结
该白皮书聚焦Ariel任务，提出理解系外行星大气化学多样性的核心科学问题，涵盖非平衡化学、含硫磷物种等主题，并制定观测策略以支持目标选择与种群研究。
AI 中文摘要
在过去的二十年里，越来越精确的观测揭示出系外行星大气在化学上是多样化的，且往往远离平衡态，垂直混合、光化学和大气环流等过程导致其显著偏离热化学预期。随着对广泛行星的大规模巡天开始揭示种群层面的化学趋势，对这些模式的连贯解释仍然难以捉摸，尤其是在气体巨行星和海王星类似行星中，非平衡过程可能占主导地位。欧空局的Ariel任务将为首批近千颗系外行星提供首个同质且具有统计显著性的数据集，为研究行星种群化学多样性的起源提供了前所未有的机会。本白皮书强调了理解大气化学的核心科学问题，并被认定为社区的优先事项。这些问题涵盖驱动非平衡化学的机制、含硫和含磷物种的作用、恒星活动的影响、霾前体的形成，以及不同年龄和类型恒星周围大气化学演化。由于这些主题连接了化学、物理学和行星演化，它们构成了Ariel化学工作组的核心焦点，该工作组综合现有知识并确定最适合由Ariel光谱能力解决的诊断特征。对于每个主题，我们概述了观测策略和已包含在任务候选样本中的代表性目标，展示了Ariel解决这些问题的能力。通过将大规模观测与预测性大气模型联系起来，这项工作支持完善Ariel的目标选择，并使种群层面的研究成为可能，这将转变我们对行星大气的理解。
英文摘要
Over the past two decades, increasingly precise observations have revealed that exoplanet atmospheres are chemically diverse and often far from equilibrium, with processes such as vertical mixing, photochemistry, and atmospheric circulation producing significant departures from thermochemical expectations. As large surveys across a wide range of planets begin to uncover population-level chemical trends, a coherent interpretation of these patterns remains elusive, particularly for gas giants and Neptune-like planets where disequilibrium processes likely dominate. The ESA Ariel mission will provide the first homogeneous, statistically significant atmospheric dataset for nearly a thousand exoplanets, offering an unprecedented opportunity to investigate the origins of chemical diversity across planetary populations. This white paper highlights central scientific questions for understanding atmospheric chemistry and recognized as priorities for the community. These questions span the mechanisms driving disequilibrium chemistry, the role of sulfur- and phosphorus-bearing species, the influence of stellar activity, the formation of haze precursors, and the chemical evolution of atmospheres around stars of different ages and types. Because these topics connect chemistry, physics, and planetary evolution, they form the core focus of the Ariel Chemistry Working Group, which synthesizes current knowledge and identifies the diagnostics best addressed by Ariel's spectral capabilities. For each theme, we outline observational strategies and representative targets already included in the Mission Candidate Sample, illustrating Ariel's ability to address these questions. By linking large-scale observations to predictive atmospheric models, this work supports refinement of Ariel's target selection and enables population-level studies that will transform our understanding of planetary atmospheres.
Comments38 pages, 15 figures, Accepted for publication in RASTI Ariel Special Issue
