The metal-poor atmosphere of a potential sub-Neptune progenitor

Abstract Young transiting exoplanets offer a unique opportunity to characterize the atmospheres of freshly formed and evolving planets. We present the transmission spectrum of V1298 Tau b, a 23-Myr-old warm Jupiter-sized (0. 91 ± 0. 05 R J, where R J is the radius of Jupiter) planet orbiting a pre-main-sequence star. We detect a mostly clear primordial atmosphere with an exceptionally large atmospheric scale height, and a water vapour absorption at a 5 σ level of significance, from which we estimate a planetary mass upper limit (23 Earth masses, 0. 12 g cm − 3 at a 3 σ level). This is one of the lowest-density planets discovered so far. We retrieve a low atmospheric metallicity (Z=-0. 7-₀. ₇^+0. 8\, solar log Z = − 0. 7 − 0. 7 + 0. 8 solar), consistent with solar/sub-solar values. Our findings challenge the expected mass–metallicity relation from core-accretion theory. Our observations can instead be explained by in situ formation via pebble accretion together with ongoing evolutionary mechanisms. We do not detect methane, which hints at a hotter-than-expected interior from just the formation entropy of this planet. Our observations suggest that V1298 Tau b is likely to evolve into a sub-Neptune.