A Stellar magnesium to silicon ratio in the atmosphere of an exoplanet

Abstract

Abstract The elemental compositions of exoplanets encode information about their formation environments and internal structures. While volatile ratios such as carbon-to-oxygen (C/O) are used to trace formation location, the rock-forming elements–magnesium (Mg), silicon (Si), and iron (Fe)–govern interior mineralogy and are commonly assumed to reflect the host star’s abundances. Yet this assumption remains largely untested. Ultra-hot Jupiters, gas-giant exoplanets with dayside temperatures above 3000 K, provide rare access to refractory elements that remain gaseous. Here we present high-resolution thermal emission spectroscopy of the exoplanet WASP-189b ( $${T}_{eq}=335{4}_{-34}^{+27}$$ T e q = 335 4 − 34 + 27 K) obtained with the Immersion Grating Infrared Spectrometer (IGRINS) on Gemini South. We detect neutral iron (Fe i ), magnesium (Mg i ), silicon (Si i ), water (H 2 O), carbon monoxide (CO), and hydroxyl (OH) at signal-to-noise ratios exceeding 4, and retrieve their elemental abundances. We show that the Mg/Si, Fe/Mg, and Si/Fe ratios are consistent with stellar values, while the refractory-to-volatile ratio is enhanced by roughly a factor of 2. These findings demonstrate that giant-planet atmospheres can preserve stellar-like rock-forming ratios, providing an empirical validation of the stellar-proxy assumption that underpins planetary composition and formation models across exoplanet systems.