Planetary Phase Variations of the 55 Cancri System

Characterization of the composition, surface properties, and atmospheric conditions of exoplanets is a rapidly progressing field as the data to study such aspects become more accessible. Bright targets, such as the multi-planet 55 Cancri system, allow an opportunity to achieve high signal-to-noise for the detection of photometric phase variations to constrain the planetary albedos. The recent discovery that that inner-most planet, 55 Cancri e, transits the host star introduces new prospects for studying this system. Here we calculate photometric phase curves at optical wavelengths for the system with varying assumptions for the surface and atmospheric properties of 55 Cancri e. We show that the large differences in geometric albedo allows one to distinguish between various surface models, that the scattering phase function cannot be constrained with foreseeable data, and that planet b will contribute significantly to the phase variation depending upon the surface of planet e. We discuss detection limits and how these models may be used with future instrumentation to further characterize these planets and distinguish between various assumptions regarding surface conditions.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

HELIOS-Retrieval: An Open-source, Nested Sampling Atmospheric Retrieval Code, Application to the HR 8799 Exoplanets and Inferred Constraints for Planet Formation

We present an open-source retrieval code named HELIOS-Retrieval (hereafter HELIOS-R), designed to obtain chemical abundances and temperature-pressure profiles from inverting the measured spectra of exoplanetary atmospheres. In the current implementation, we use an exact solution of the radiative transfer equation, in the pure absorption limit, in our forward model, which allows us to analytically integrate over all of the outgoing rays (instead of performing Gaussian quadrature). Two chemistry models are considered: unconstrained chemistry (where the mixing ratios are treated as free parameters) and equilibrium chemistry (enforced via analytical formulae, where only the elemental abundances are free parameters). The nested sampling algorithm allows us to formally implement Occam's Razor based on a comparison of the Bayesian evidence between models. We perform a retrieval analysis on the measured spectra of the HR 8799b, c, d and e directly imaged exoplanets. Chemical equilibrium is disfavored by the Bayesian evidence for HR 8799b, c and d. We find supersolar C/O, C/H and O/H values for the outer HR 8799b and c exoplanets, while the inner HR 8799d and e exoplanets have substellar C/O, substellar C/H and superstellar O/H values. If these retrieved properties are representative of the bulk compositions of the exoplanets, then they are inconsistent with formation via gravitational instability (without late-time accretion) and consistent with a core accretion scenario in which late-time accretion of ices occurred differently for the inner and outer exoplanets. For HR 8799e, we find that spectroscopy in the K band is crucial for constraining C/O and C/H. HELIOS-R is publicly available as part of the Exoclimes Simulation Platform (ESP; www.exoclime.org).Comment: 27 pages, 21 figures, 3 tables, published in A

Reconstructing the fluvial history of the Lilas River (Eu-boea Island, Central West Aegean Sea) from the Mycenaean times to the Ottoman period

Funding: Aix-Marseille University.This paper aims to reconstruct the alluvial activity for the Lilas river, the second-largest catchment of Euboea Island (Central Western Aegean Sea), for approximately the last three and a half millennia. The middle reaches (Gides basin) exhibit several historical alluvial terraces that were first recognised in the 1980s but have remained poorly studied, resulting in uncertain chronological control of palaeofluvial activity. In order to reconstruct the past fluvial dynamics of the Lilas river, a ca. 2.5 m thick stratigraphic profile has been investigated for granulometry and magnetic parameters. Absolute dating of the sediments was possible by applying Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL). The results reveal: (i) two coarse-grained aggradational episodes dated from the Mycenaean/Early Iron Age and the Roman periods, respectively, (ii) a phase of rapid fine-grained vertical accretion corresponding to the Late Byzantine to early Venetian periods, (iii) potential evidence for final alluvial deposition from the Little Ice Age/Ottoman period, and (iv) two major incision episodes inferred from Ancient Greek times and most of the Byzantine period. Based on the published core material, the paper also evaluates the direct impacts of the Late Holocene alluviation recorded mid-stream on the fluvial system situated downstream in the deltaic area. Sediment sourcing is attempted based on the magnetic properties of the catchment lithology and of alluvium collected upstream along the main stream bed. Finally, the present paper discusses the possible links between Late Holocene hydroclimatic oscillations and the aggradational/incision phases revealed in the Gides basin. Correlations are attempted with regional palaeoclimate records obtained for the Aegean. In addition to climatic variability, anthropogenic factors are considered: specific land use for agricultural purposes, in particular during the Mycenaean period, the Roman and the Late Byzantine/Early Venetian periods, might have enhanced sediment deposition. Archaeological information and pollen records were also evaluated to reconstruct regional land-use patterns and possible impacts on soil accumulation over the last 3.5 millennia.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

WASP-80b has a dayside within the T-dwarf range

AHMJT is a Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) fellow under grant number P300P2-147773. MG and EJ are Research Associates at the F.R.S-FNRS; LD received the support the support of the F.R.I.A. fund of the FNRS. DE, KH, and SU acknowledge the financial support of the SNSF in the frame of the National Centre for Competence in Research ‘PlanetS’. EH and IR acknowledge support from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) and the ‘Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional’ (FEDER) through grants AYA2012-39612-C03-01 and ESP2013-48391-C4-1-R.WASP-80b is a missing link in the study of exo-atmospheres. It falls between the warm Neptunes and the hot Jupiters and is amenable for characterisation, thanks to its host star's properties. We observed the planet through transit and during occultation with Warm Spitzer. Combining our mid-infrared transits with optical time series, we find that the planet presents a transmission spectrum indistinguishable from a horizontal line. In emission, WASP-80b is the intrinsically faintest planet whose dayside flux has been detected in both the 3.6 and 4.5 $\mu$m Spitzer channels. The depths of the occultations reveal that WASP-80b is as bright and as red as a T4 dwarf, but that its temperature is cooler. If planets go through the equivalent of an L-T transition, our results would imply this happens at cooler temperatures than for brown dwarfs. Placing WASP-80b's dayside into a colour-magnitude diagram, it falls exactly at the junction between a blackbody model and the T-dwarf sequence; we cannot discern which of those two interpretations is the more likely. Flux measurements on other planets with similar equilibrium temperatures are required to establish whether irradiated gas giants, like brown dwarfs, transition between two spectral classes. An eventual detection of methane absorption in transmission would also help lift that degeneracy. We obtained a second series of high-resolution spectra during transit, using HARPS. We reanalyse the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect. The data now favour an aligned orbital solution and a stellar rotation nearly three times slower than stellar line broadening implies. A contribution to stellar line broadening, maybe macroturbulence, is likely to have been underestimated for cool stars, whose rotations have therefore been systematically overestimated. [abridged]Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Detection of visible light from the darkest world

We present the detection of visible light from the planet TrES-2b, the darkest exoplanet currently known. By analysis of the orbital photometry from publicly available Kepler data (0.4-0.9 microns), we determine a day-night contrast amplitude of (6.5 +/- 1.9 ppm), constituting the lowest amplitude orbital phase variation discovered. The signal is detected to 3.7 sigma confidence and persists in six different methods of modelling the data and thus appears robust. In contrast, we are unable to detect ellipsoidal variations or beaming effects, but we do provide confidence intervals for these terms. If the day-night contrast is interpreted as being due to scattering, it corresponds to a geometric albedo of Ag = 0.0253 +/- 0.0072. However, our models indicate that there is a significant emission component to day-side brightness, and the true albedo is even lower (<1%). By combining our measurement with Spitzer and ground-based data, we show that a model with moderate redistribution (Pn ~ 0.3) and moderate extra optical opacity (kappa' ~ 0.3-0.4) provide a compatible explanation to the data.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures. Accepted in MNRAS Letters. Minor typos corrected from last versio

A snapshot full-Stokes spectropolarimeter for detecting life on Earth

We present the design of a point-and-shoot non-imaging full-Stokes spectropolarimeter dedicated to detecting life on Earth from an orbiting platform like the ISS. We specifically aim to map circular polarization in the spectral features of chlorophyll and other biopigments for our planet as a whole. These non-zero circular polarization signatures are caused by homochirality of the molecular and supramolecular configurations of organic matter, and are considered the most unambiguous biomarker. To achieve a fully solid-state snapshot design, we implement a novel spatial modulation that completely separates the circular and linear polarization channels. The polarization modulator consists of a patterned liquid-crystal quarter-wave plate inside the spectrograph slit, which also constitutes the first optical element of the instrument. This configuration eliminates cross-talk between linear and circular polarization, which is crucial because linear polarization signals are generally much stronger than the circular polarization signals. This leads to a quite unorthodox optical concept for the spectrograph, in which the object and the pupil are switched. We discuss the general design requirements and trade-offs of LSDpol (Life Signature Detection polarimeter), a prototype instrument that is currently under development

Two massive rocky planets transiting a K-dwarf 6.5 parsecs away

Support for this work was provided by NASA. M.G. is grateful to NASA and SSC Director for having supported his searches for RV planets with Spitzer. M.G. and V.V.G. are Research Associates at the Belgian Scientific Research Fund (F.R.S.-FNRS). The research leading to these results has received funding from the ARC grant for Concerted Research Actions, financed by the Wallonia–Brussels Federation.HD 219134 is a K-dwarf star at a distance of 6.5 parsecs around which several low-mass planets were recently discovered1,2. The Spitzer Space Telescope detected a transit of the innermost of these planets, HD 219134 b, whose mass and radius (4.5 M⊕ and 1.6 R⊕ respectively) are consistent with a rocky composition1. Here, we report new high-precision time-series photometry of the star acquired with Spitzer revealing that the second innermost planet of the system, HD 219134c, is also transiting. A global analysis of the Spitzer transit light curves and the most up-to-date HARPS-N velocity data set yields mass and radius estimations of 4.74 ± 0.19 M⊕ and 1.602 ± 0.055 R⊕ for HD 219134 b, and of 4.36 ± 0.22 M⊕ and 1.511 ± 0.047 R⊕ for HD 219134 c. These values suggest rocky compositions for both planets. Thanks to the proximity and the small size of their host star (0.778 ± 0.005 R ⊙ )3, these two transiting exoplanets — the nearest to the Earth yet found — are well suited for a detailed characterization (for example, precision of a few per cent on mass and radius, and constraints on the atmospheric properties) that could give important constraints on the nature and formation mechanism of the ubiquitous short-period planets of a few Earth masses.PostprintPeer reviewe

Hubble Space Telescope search for the transit of the Earth-mass exoplanet α Centauri Bb

Results from exoplanet surveys indicate that small planets (super-Earth size and below) are abundant in our Galaxy. However, little is known about their interiors and atmospheres. There is therefore a need to find small planets transiting bright stars, which would enable a detailed characterization of this population of objects. We present the results of a search for the transit of the Earth-mass exoplanet α Centauri Bb with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). We observed α Centauri B twice in 2013 and 2014 for a total of 40h. We achieve a precision of 115ppm per 6-s exposure time in a highly saturated regime, which is found to be consistent across HST orbits. We rule out the transiting nature of α Centauri Bb with the orbital parameters published in the literature at 96.6 per cent confidence. We find in our data a single transit-like event that could be associated with another Earth-sized planet in the system, on a longer period orbit. Our programme demonstrates the ability of HST to obtain consistent, high-precision photometry of saturated stars over 26h of continuous observation

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

Exoplanets orbiting close to their parent stars could lose some fraction of their atmospheres because of the extreme irradiation. Atmospheric mass loss primarily affects low-mass exoplanets, leading to suggest 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% (1 sigma), far beyond the 0.69% optical transit depth. The ultraviolet transits repeatedly start ~2 h before, and end >3 h after the ~1 h 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 ~10^8-10^9 g/s, which today 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.Comment: Published in Nature on 25 June 2015. Preprint is 28 pages, 12 figures, 2 table