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The atmospheric composition of the sub-Neptune K2-18b and insights into its formation — Astronomy & Astrophysics

Revision 71793cc5-a684-4254-b3ca-7e3c473cf6e1 · 11/5/2026, 11:07:05 PM UTC
Key
fernandezrodriguez2026k218b
Authors
Fernández-Rodríguez, G.; et al.
Issued
2026-7-1
Type
article-journal
Container
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Volume
710
Pages
A375
Raw CSL JSON
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  "URL": "https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2026/06/aa57718-25/aa57718-25.html",
  "note": "arXiv:2510.18098",
  "page": "A375",
  "type": "article-journal",
  "title": "The atmospheric composition of the sub-Neptune K2-18b and insights into its formation",
  "author": [
    {
      "given": "G.",
      "family": "Fernández-Rodríguez"
    },
    {
      "literal": "et al."
    }
  ],
  "issued": {
    "date-parts": [
      [
        2026,
        7,
        1
      ]
    ]
  },
  "volume": "710",
  "accessed": {
    "date-parts": [
      [
        2026,
        11,
        6
      ]
    ]
  },
  "container-title": "Astronomy & Astrophysics"
}

Claims

  1. In an independent reanalysis, the tentative DMS detection vanishes in the most comprehensive retrieval models; only CH4 is detected with statistical significance, and CO2 is likely present but not significantly detected. The results argue against a Hycean (ocean world) scenario. The first JWST analysis (Madhusudhan et al. 2023) had reported CH4 at about 5 sigma, CO2 at about 3 sigma, and tentative DMS.
    "vanishes in our most comprehensive retrieval models"
    Quote language: en
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