Study of the non-thermal atmospheric loss for exoplanet π Men c

We have studied the input of the exothermic photochemistry into the formation of the non-thermal escape flux in the transition H ₂ − H region of the extended upper atmosphere of the hot exoplanet - the sub-neptune π Men c. The formation rate and the energy spectrum of hydrogen atoms formed with an excess of kinetic energy due to the exothermic photochemistry forced by the stellar XUV radiation were calculated using a numerical kinetic Monte Carlo model of a hot planetary corona. The escape flux was estimated to be equal to 2.5×10¹² cm⁻²s⁻¹ for the mean level of stellar activity in the XUV radiation flux. This results in the mean estimate of the atmospheric loss rate due to the exothermic photochemistry equal to 6.7×10⁸ g s⁻¹. The calculated estimate is close to the observational estimates of the possible atmospheric loss rate for the exoplanet π Men c in the range less than 1.0×10⁹ gs⁻¹.