The Importance of Optical Wavelength Data on Atmospheric Retrievals of Exoplanet Transmission Spectra

Exoplanet transmission spectra provide rich information about the chemical composition, clouds, and temperature structure of exoplanet atmospheres. Most exoplanet transmission spectra only span infrared wavelengths (≳1 μm), which can preclude crucial atmospheric information from shorter wavelengths. Here, we explore how retrieved atmospheric parameters from exoplanet transmission spectra change with the addition of optical data. From a sample of 14 giant planets with transit spectra from 0.3–4.5 μm, primarily from the Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes, we apply a free chemistry retrieval to planetary spectra for wavelength ranges of 0.3–4.5 μm, 0.6–4.5 μm, and 1.1–4.5 μm. We analyze the posterior distributions of these retrievals and perform an information content analysis, finding wavelengths below 0.6 μm are necessary to constrain cloud scattering slope parameters (log a and γ) and alkali species Na and K. There is limited improvement in the constraints on the remaining atmospheric parameters. Across the population, we find that limb temperatures are retrieved colder than planetary equilibrium temperatures but have an overall good agreement with Global Circulation Models. As the JWST extends to a minimum wavelength of 0.6 μm, we demonstrate that exploration into complementing JWST observations with optical HST data is important to further our understanding of aerosol properties and alkali abundances in exoplanet atmospheres.