R. Rianço Silva, P. Machado, C. Sousa-Silva, S. N. Yurchenko, G. Tinetti
Abstract
Exoplanet atmosphere characterization heavily relies on molecular spectroscopic data. Despite efforts to obtain comprehensive spectral libraries for the chemical characterization of exoplanet atmospheres, large gaps remain, particularly for larger molecules and higher frequencies at high spectral resolution. One key example is the methane (CH4) optical spectrum. CH4, the simplest hydrocarbon, is a crucial species for exoplanet atmosphere characterization and a possible biosignature. However, until now, high-resolution line lists at optical wavelengths for CH4 have been very challenging to obtain either experimentally or computationally, leaving the high-resolution spectrum of CH4 uncharacterized across most of the visible spectrum. This restricts exploration of CH4 absorption in the optical regime, as upcoming instruments such as ELT-ANDES and VLT-RISTRETTO will start probing the atmospheres of ever-smaller exoplanets in optical wavelengths. To address this spectroscopic data limitation, we observed Titan's optical spectrum—dominated by CH4 absorption—at the highest spectral resolution to date with VLT-ESPRESSO. From it, we produced an empirical, low-temperature high-resolution (R ∼ 190,000) line list of CH4 in optical wavelengths, which we present here, with thousands of previously unidentified lines. We employ this CH4 line list (RRS-2026) to build a template suitable for high-resolution cross-correlation spectroscopy (HRCCS) studies—a first for CH4 in optical wavelengths. With this new line list, we performed the first HRCCS detection of CH4 in the atmospheres of Titan and Jupiter using optical high-resolution spectra. This work sets the stage for the search for CH4 in exoplanet atmospheres through HRCCS with current and future ground-based high-resolution optical spectrographs, showcasing how solar system observations provide useful products for exoplanet research.
Keywords
Exoplanet atmospheres / Exoplanets / Methane / Optical observatories / Planetary atmospheres / Solar system planets / Very Large Telescope / Spectral line lists / Molecular spectroscopy / High resolution spectroscopy / Titan
The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series
Volume 286, Number 1, Page 14
2026 September
