David K. Sing

Hubble Space Telescope transmission spectroscopy of the exoplanet HD 189733b: high-altitude atmospheric haze in the optical and near-ultraviolet with STIS

We present Hubble Space Telescope (HST) optical and near-ultraviolet transmission spectra of the transiting hot Jupiter HD 189733b, taken with the repaired Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) instrument. The resulting spectra cover the range 2900–5700 A and reach per exposure signal-to-noise ratio levels greater than 11 000 within a 500-A bandwidth. We used time series spectra obtained during two transit events to determine the wavelength dependence of the planetary radius and measure the exoplanet’s atmospheric transmission spectrum for the first time over this wavelength range. Our measurements, in conjunction with existing HST spectra, now provide a broad-band transmission spectrum covering the full optical regime. The STIS data also show unambiguous evidence of a large occulted stellar spot during one of our transit events, which we use to place constraints on the characteristics of the K dwarf’s stellar spots, estimating spot temperatures around T eff ∼ 4250 K. With contemporaneous ground-based photometric monitoring of the stellar variability, we also measure the correlation between the stellar activity level and transit-measured planet-to-star radius contrast, which is in good agreement with predictions. We find a planetary transmission spectrum in good agreement with that of Rayleigh scattering from a high-altitude atmospheric haze as previously found from HST Advanced Camera for Surveys. The high-altitude haze is now found to cover the entire optical regime and is well characterized by Rayleigh scattering. These findings suggest that haze may be a globally dominant atmospheric feature of the planet which would result in a high optical albedo at shorter optical wavelengths.

A continuum from clear to cloudy hot-Jupiter exoplanets without primordial water depletion

Thousands of transiting exoplanets have been discovered, but spectral analysis of their atmospheres has so far been dominated by a small number of exoplanets and data spanning relatively narrow wavelength ranges (such as 1.1–1.7 micrometres). Recent studies show that some hot-Jupiter exoplanets have much weaker water absorption features in their near-infrared spectra than predicted. The low amplitude of water signatures could be explained by very low water abundances, which may be a sign that water was depleted in the protoplanetary disk at the planet’s formation location, but it is unclear whether this level of depletion can actually occur. Alternatively, these weak signals could be the result of obscuration by clouds or hazes, as found in some optical spectra. Here we report results from a comparative study of ten hot Jupiters covering the wavelength range 0.3–5 micrometres, which allows us to resolve both the optical scattering and infrared molecular absorption spectroscopically. Our results reveal a diverse group of hot Jupiters that exhibit a continuum from clear to cloudy atmospheres. We find that the difference between the planetary radius measured at optical and infrared wavelengths is an effective metric for distinguishing different atmosphere types. The difference correlates with the spectral strength of water, so that strong water absorption lines are seen in clear-atmosphere planets and the weakest features are associated with clouds and hazes. This result strongly suggests that primordial water depletion during formation is unlikely and that clouds and hazes are the cause of weaker spectral signatures.

Rayleigh scattering in the transit spectrum of HD 189733b

The transit spectrum of the exoplanet HD 189733b has recently been obtained between 0.55 and 1.05 µm. Here we present an analysis of this spectrum. We develop first-order equations to interpret absorption spectra. In the case of HD 189733b, we show that the observed slope of the absorption as a function of wavelength is characteristic of extinction proportional to the inverse of the fourth power of the wavelength (∝λ −4 ). Assuming an extinction dominated by Rayleigh scattering, we derive an atmospheric temperature of 1340 ± 150 K. If molecular hydrogen is responsible for the Rayleigh scattering, the atmospheric pressure at the planetary characteristic radius of 0.1564 stellar radius must be 410 ± 30 mbar. However the preferred scenario is scattering by condensate particles. Using the Mie approximation, we find that the particles must have a low value for the imaginary part of the refraction index. We identify MgSiO3 as a possible abundant condensate whose particle size must be between ∼10 −2 and ∼10 −1 µm. For this condensate, assuming solar abundance, the pressure at 0.1564 stellar radius is found to be between a few microbars and few millibars, and the temperature is found to be in the range 1340–1540 K, and both depend on the particle size.

The prevalence of dust on the exoplanet HD 189733b from Hubble and Spitzer observations

The hot Jupiter HD 189733b is the most extensively observed exoplanet. Its atmosphere has been detected and characterized in transmission and eclipse spectroscopy, and its phase curve measured at several wavelengths. This paper brings together the results of our campaign to obtain the complete transmission spectrum of the atmosphere of this planet from UV to infrared with the Hubble Space Telescope, using the STIS, ACS and WFC3 instruments. We provide a new tabulation of the transmission spectrum across the entire visible and infrared range. The radius ratio in each wavelength band was re-derived, where necessary, to ensure a consistent treatment of the bulk transit parameters and stellar limb darkening. Special care was taken to correct for, and derive realistic estimates of the uncertainties due to, both occulted and unocculted star spots. The combined spectrum is very different from the predictions of cloud-free models for hot Jupiters: it is dominated by Rayleigh scattering over the whole visible and near-infrared range, the only detected features being narrow sodium and potassium lines. We interpret this as the signature of a haze of condensate grains extending over at least five scaleheights. We show that a dust-dominated atmosphere could also explain several puzzling features of the emission spectrum and phase curves, including the large amplitude of the phase curve at 3.6 μm, the small hotspot longitude shift and the hot mid-infrared emission spectrum. We discuss possible compositions and derive some first-order estimates for the properties of the putative condensate haze/clouds. We finish by speculating that the dichotomy between the two observationally defined classes of hot Jupiter atmospheres, of which HD 189733b and HD 209458b are the prototypes, might not be whether they possess a temperature inversion, but whether they are clear or dusty. We also consider the possibility of a continuum of cloud properties between hot Jupiters, young Jupiters and L-type brown dwarfs.

Stellar Limb-Darkening Coefficients for CoRot and Kepler

Transiting exoplanets provide unparalleled access to the fundamental parameters of both extrasolar planets and their host stars. We present limb-darkening coefficients (LDCs) for the exoplanet hunting CoRot and Kepler missions. The LDCs are calculated with ATLAS stellar atmospheric model grids and span a wide range of Teff, log g, and metallically [M/H]. Both CoRot and Kepler contain wide, nonstandard response functions, and are producing a large inventory of high-quality transiting lightcurves, sensitive to stellar limb darkening. Comparing the stellar model limb darkening to results from the first seven CoRot planets, we find better fits are found when two model intensities at the limb are excluded in the coefficient calculations. This calculation method can help to avoid a major deficiency present at the limbs of the 1D stellar models.

SEARCH FOR CARBON MONOXIDE IN THE ATMOSPHERE OF THE TRANSITING EXOPLANET HD 189733b

Water, methane, and carbon monoxide are expected to be among the most abundant molecules besides molecular hydrogen in the hot atmosphere of close-in extrasolar giant planets. Atmospheric models for these planets predict that the strongest spectrophotometric features of those molecules are located at wavelengths ranging from 1 to 10 ?m? making this region of particular interest. Consequently, transit observations in the mid-infrared (mid-IR) allow the atmospheric content of transiting planets to be determined. We present new primary transit observations of the hot-Jupiter HD?189733b, obtained simultaneously at 4.5 and 8 ?m with the Infrared Array Camera onboard the Spitzer Space Telescope. Together with a new refined analysis of previous observations at 3.6 and 5.8 ?m using the same instrument, we are able to derive the system parameters, including planet-to-star radius ratio, impact parameter, scale of the system, and central time of the transit from fits of the transit light curves at these four wavelengths. We measure the four planet-to-star radius ratios, to be (Rp /R )3.6 ?m = 0.1545 ? 0.0003, (Rp /R )4.5 ?m = 0.1557 ? 0.0003, (Rp /R )5.8 ?m = 0.1547 ? 0.0005, and (Rp /R )8 ?m = 0.1544 ? 0.0004. The high accuracy of the planet radii measurement allows the search for atmospheric molecular absorbers. Contrary to a previous analysis of the same data set, our study is robust against systematics and reveals that water vapor absorption at 5.8 ?m is not detected in this photometric data set. Furthermore, in the band centered around 4.5??m we find a hint of excess absorption with an apparent planetary radius ?Rp /R * = 0.00128 ? 0.00056 larger (2.3?) than the one measured simultaneously at 8??m. This value is 4? above what would be expected for an atmosphere where water vapor is the only absorbing species in the near-IR. This shows that an additional species absorbing around 4.5 ?m could be present in the atmosphere. Carbon monoxide (CO) being a strong absorber at this wavelength is a possible candidate and this may suggest a large CO/H2O ratio between 5 and 60.

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE STIS OPTICAL TRANSIT TRANSMISSION SPECTRA OF THE HOT JUPITER HD 209458b

We present the transmission spectra of the hot Jupiter HD 209458b taken with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph aboard the Hubble Space Telescope. Our analysis combines data at two resolutions and applies a complete pixel-by-pixel limb-darkening correction to fully reveal the spectral line shapes of atmospheric absorption features. Terrestrial-based Na I and H I contamination are identified that mask the strong exoplanetary absorption signature in the Na core, which we find reaches total absorption levels of ~0.11% in a 4.4 A band. The Na spectral line profile is characterized by a wide absorption profile at the lowest absorption depths and a sharp transition to a narrow absorption profile at higher absorption values. The transmission spectra also show the presence of an additional absorber at ~6250 A, observed at both medium and low resolutions. We performed various limb-darkening tests, including using high-precision limb-darkening measurements of the Sun to characterize a general trend of ATLAS models to slightly overestimate the amount of limb darkening at all wavelengths, likely due to the limitations of the models one-dimensional nature. We conclude that, despite these limitations, ATLAS models can still successfully model limb darkening in high signal-to-noise ratio transits of solar-type stars, like HD 209458, to a high level of precision over the entire optical regime (3000-10000 A) at transit phases between second and third contact.

Temporal variations in the evaporating atmosphere of the exoplanet HD 189733b

Atmospheric escape has been detected from the exoplanet HD 209458b through transit observations of the hydrogen Lyman-α line. Here we present spectrally resolved Lyman-α transit observations of the exoplanet HD 189733b at two different epochs. These HST/STIS observations show for the first time that there are significant temporal variations in the physical conditions of an evaporating planetary atmosphere. While atmospheric hydrogen is not detected in the first epoch observations, it is observed at the second epoch, producing a transit absorption depth of 14.4 ± 3.6% between velocities of −230 to −140 km s −1 . Contrary to HD 209458b, these high velocities cannot arise from radiation pressure alone and require an additional acceleration mechanism, such as interactions with stellar wind protons. The observed absorption can be explained by an atmospheric escape rate of neutral hydrogen atoms of about 10 9 gs −1 , a stellar wind with a velocity of 190 km s −1 and a temperature of ∼10 5 K. An X-ray flare from the active star seen with Swift/XRT 8 h before the second-epoch observation supports the idea that the observed changes within the upper atmosphere of the planet can be caused by variations in the stellar wind properties, or by variations in the stellar energy input to the planetary escaping gas (or a mix of the two effects). These observations provide the first indication of interaction between the exoplanet’s atmosphere and stellar variations.

Transit spectrophotometry of the exoplanet HD189733b I. Searching for water but finding haze with HST NICMOS

We present Hubble Space Telescope near-infrared transit photometry of the nearby hot-Jupiter HD 189733b. The observations were taken with the NICMOS instrument during five transits, with three transits executed with a narrowband filter at 1.87 μ ma nd two performed with a narrowband filter at 1.66 μm. Our observing strategy using narrowband filters is insensitive to the usual HST intraorbit and orbit-to-orbit measurement of systematic errors, allowing us to accurately and robustly measure the near-IR wavelength dependance of the planetary radius. Our measurements fail to reproduce the previously claimed detection of an absorption signature of atmospheric H2 Ob elow 2μ ma t a5 σ confidence level. We measure a planet-to-star radius contrast of 0.15498± 0.00035 at 1.66 μm and a contrast of 0.15517 ± 0.00019 at 1.87 μm. Both of our near-IR planetary radii values are in excellent agreement with the levels expected from Rayleigh scattering by sub-micron haze particles, observed at optical wavelengths, indicating that upper-atmospheric haze still dominates the near-IR transmission spectra over the absorption from gaseous molecular species at least below 2 μm.

A giant comet-like cloud of hydrogen escaping the warm Neptune-mass exoplanet GJ 436b

Exoplanets orbiting close to their parent stars may lose some fraction of their atmospheres because of the extreme irradiation. Atmospheric mass loss primarily affects low-mass exoplanets, leading to the suggestion that hot rocky planets might have begun as Neptune-like, but subsequently lost all of their atmospheres; however, no confident measurements have hitherto been available. The signature of this loss could be observed in the ultraviolet spectrum, when the planet and its escaping atmosphere transit the star, giving rise to deeper and longer transit signatures than in the optical spectrum. Here we report that in the ultraviolet the Neptune-mass exoplanet GJ 436b (also known as Gliese 436b) has transit depths of 56.3 ± 3.5% (1σ), far beyond the 0.69% optical transit depth. The ultraviolet transits repeatedly start about two hours before, and end more than three hours after the approximately one hour optical transit, which is substantially different from one previous claim (based on an inaccurate ephemeris). We infer from this that the planet is surrounded and trailed by a large exospheric cloud composed mainly of hydrogen atoms. We estimate a mass-loss rate in the range of about 108–109 grams per second, which is far too small to deplete the atmosphere of a Neptune-like planet in the lifetime of the parent star, but would have been much greater in the past.