140 research outputs found
Strong Water Absorption in the Dayside Emission Spectrum of the Planet HD 189733b
Recent observations of the extrasolar planet HD 189733b did not reveal the
presence of water in the emission spectrum of the planet. Yet models of such
'Hot Jupiter' planets predict an abundance of atmospheric water vapour.
Validating and constraining these models is crucial for understanding the
physics and chemistry of planetary atmospheres in extreme environments.
Indications of the presence of water in the atmosphere of HD 189733b have
recently been found in transmission spectra, where the planet's atmosphere
selectively absorbs the light of the parent star, and in broadband photometry.
Here we report on the detection of strong water absorption in a high
signal-to-noise, mid-infrared emission spectrum of the planet itself. We find
both a strong downturn in the flux ratio below 10 microns and discrete spectral
features that are characteristic of strong absorption by water vapour. The
differences between these and previous observations are significant and admit
the possibility that predicted planetary-scale dynamical weather structures
might alter the emission spectrum over time. Models that match the observed
spectrum and the broadband photometry suggest that heat distribution from the
dayside to the night side is weak. Reconciling this with the high night side
temperature will require a better understanding of atmospheric circulation or
possible additional energy sources.Comment: 11 pages, 1 figure, published in Natur
A Spectrum of an Extrasolar Planet
Of the over 200 known extrasolar planets, 14 exhibit transits in front of their parent stars as seen from Earth. Spectroscopic observations of the transiting planets can probe the physical conditions of their atmospheres. One such technique can be used to derive the planetary spectrum by subtracting the stellar spectrum measured during eclipse (planet hidden behind star) from the combined-light spectrum measured outside eclipse (star + planet). Although several attempts have been made from Earth-based observatories, no spectrum has yet been measured for any of the established extrasolar planets. Here we report a measurement of the infrared spectrum (7.5--13.2 micron) of the transiting extrasolar planet HD209458b. Our observations reveal a hot thermal continuum for the planetary spectrum, with approximately constant ratio to the stellar flux over this wavelength range. Superposed on this continuum is a broad emission peak centered near 9.65 micron that we attribute to emission by silicate clouds. We also find a narrow, unidentified emission feature at 7.78 micron. Models of these ``hot Jupiter'' planets predict a flux peak near 10 micron, where thermal emission from the deep atmosphere emerges relatively unimpeded by water absorption, but models dominated by water fit the observed spectrum poorly
Transit Photometry as an Exoplanet Discovery Method
Photometry with the transit method has arguably been the most successful
exoplanet discovery method to date. A short overview about the rise of that
method to its present status is given. The method's strength is the rich set of
parameters that can be obtained from transiting planets, in particular in
combination with radial velocity observations; the basic principles of these
parameters are given. The method has however also drawbacks, which are the low
probability that transits appear in randomly oriented planet systems, and the
presence of astrophysical phenomena that may mimic transits and give rise to
false detection positives. In the second part we outline the main factors that
determine the design of transit surveys, such as the size of the survey sample,
the temporal coverage, the detection precision, the sample brightness and the
methods to extract transit events from observed light curves. Lastly, an
overview over past, current and future transit surveys is given. For these
surveys we indicate their basic instrument configuration and their planet
catch, including the ranges of planet sizes and stellar magnitudes that were
encountered. Current and future transit detection experiments concentrate
primarily on bright or special targets, and we expect that the transit method
remains a principal driver of exoplanet science, through new discoveries to be
made and through the development of new generations of instruments.Comment: Review chapte
Exoplanet Atmosphere Measurements from Transmission Spectroscopy and other Planet-Star Combined Light Observations
It is possible to learn a great deal about exoplanet atmospheres even when we
cannot spatially resolve the planets from their host stars. In this chapter, we
overview the basic techniques used to characterize transiting exoplanets -
transmission spectroscopy, emission and reflection spectroscopy, and full-orbit
phase curve observations. We discuss practical considerations, including
current and future observing facilities and best practices for measuring
precise spectra. We also highlight major observational results on the
chemistry, climate, and cloud properties of exoplanets.Comment: Accepted review chapter; Handbook of Exoplanets, eds. Hans J. Deeg
and Juan Antonio Belmonte (Springer-Verlag). 22 pages, 6 figure
Two Earth-sized planets orbiting Kepler-20
Since the discovery of the first extrasolar giant planets around Sun-like
stars, evolving observational capabilities have brought us closer to the
detection of true Earth analogues. The size of an exoplanet can be determined
when it periodically passes in front of (transits) its parent star, causing a
decrease in starlight proportional to its radius. The smallest exoplanet
hitherto discovered has a radius 1.42 times that of the Earth's radius (R
Earth), and hence has 2.9 times its volume. Here we report the discovery of two
planets, one Earth-sized (1.03R Earth) and the other smaller than the Earth
(0.87R Earth), orbiting the star Kepler-20, which is already known to host
three other, larger, transiting planets. The gravitational pull of the new
planets on the parent star is too small to measure with current
instrumentation. We apply a statistical method to show that the likelihood of
the planetary interpretation of the transit signals is more than three orders
of magnitude larger than that of the alternative hypothesis that the signals
result from an eclipsing binary star. Theoretical considerations imply that
these planets are rocky, with a composition of iron and silicate. The outer
planet could have developed a thick water vapour atmosphere.Comment: Letter to Nature; Received 8 November; accepted 13 December 2011;
Published online 20 December 201
Prognostic value of SS18âSSX fusion type in synovial sarcoma; systematic review and meta-analysis
Radio Emission from Ultra-Cool Dwarfs
The 2001 discovery of radio emission from ultra-cool dwarfs (UCDs), the very
low-mass stars and brown dwarfs with spectral types of ~M7 and later, revealed
that these objects can generate and dissipate powerful magnetic fields. Radio
observations provide unparalleled insight into UCD magnetism: detections extend
to brown dwarfs with temperatures <1000 K, where no other observational probes
are effective. The data reveal that UCDs can generate strong (kG) fields,
sometimes with a stable dipolar structure; that they can produce and retain
nonthermal plasmas with electron acceleration extending to MeV energies; and
that they can drive auroral current systems resulting in significant
atmospheric energy deposition and powerful, coherent radio bursts. Still to be
understood are the underlying dynamo processes, the precise means by which
particles are accelerated around these objects, the observed diversity of
magnetic phenomenologies, and how all of these factors change as the mass of
the central object approaches that of Jupiter. The answers to these questions
are doubly important because UCDs are both potential exoplanet hosts, as in the
TRAPPIST-1 system, and analogues of extrasolar giant planets themselves.Comment: 19 pages; submitted chapter to the Handbook of Exoplanets, eds. Hans
J. Deeg and Juan Antonio Belmonte (Springer-Verlag
The signature of orbital motion from the dayside of the planet tau Bootis b
The giant planet orbiting tau Bootis was among the first extrasolar planets
to be discovered through the reflex motion of its host star. It is one of the
brightest known and most nearby planets with an orbital period of just a few
days. Over the course of more than a decade, measurements of its orbital
inclination have been announced and refuted, and have subsequently remained
elusive until now. Here we report on the detection of carbon monoxide
absorption in the thermal day-side spectrum of tau Bootis b. At a spectral
resolution of R~100,000, we trace the change in the radial velocity of the
planet over a large range in phase, determining an orbital inclination of
i=44.5+-1.5 degrees and a true planet mass of 5.95+-0.28 MJup. This result
extends atmospheric characterisation to non-transiting planets. The strong
absorption signal points to an atmosphere with a temperature that is decreasing
towards higher altitudes. This is a stark contrast to the temperature inversion
invoked for other highly irradiated planets, and supports models in which the
absorbing compounds believed to cause such atmospheric inversions are destroyed
by the ultraviolet emission from the active host star.Comment: To appear in the June 28 issue of Nature: main article +
supplementary informatio
Planet Populations as a Function of Stellar Properties
Exoplanets around different types of stars provide a window into the diverse
environments in which planets form. This chapter describes the observed
relations between exoplanet populations and stellar properties and how they
connect to planet formation in protoplanetary disks. Giant planets occur more
frequently around more metal-rich and more massive stars. These findings
support the core accretion theory of planet formation, in which the cores of
giant planets form more rapidly in more metal-rich and more massive
protoplanetary disks. Smaller planets, those with sizes roughly between Earth
and Neptune, exhibit different scaling relations with stellar properties. These
planets are found around stars with a wide range of metallicities and occur
more frequently around lower mass stars. This indicates that planet formation
takes place in a wide range of environments, yet it is not clear why planets
form more efficiently around low mass stars. Going forward, exoplanet surveys
targeting M dwarfs will characterize the exoplanet population around the lowest
mass stars. In combination with ongoing stellar characterization, this will
help us understand the formation of planets in a large range of environments.Comment: Accepted for Publication in the Handbook of Exoplanet
A chemical survey of exoplanets with ARIEL
Thousands of exoplanets have now been discovered with a huge range of masses, sizes and orbits: from rocky Earth-like planets to large gas giants grazing the surface of their host star. However, the essential nature of these exoplanets remains largely mysterious: there is no known, discernible pattern linking the presence, size, or orbital parameters of a planet to the nature of its parent star. We have little idea whether the chemistry of a planet is linked to its formation environment, or whether the type of host star drives the physics and chemistry of the planetâs birth, and evolution. ARIEL was conceived to observe a large number (~1000) of transiting planets for statistical understanding, including gas giants, Neptunes, super-Earths and Earth-size planets around a range of host star types using transit spectroscopy in the 1.25â7.8 ÎŒm spectral range and multiple narrow-band photometry in the optical. ARIEL will focus on warm and hot planets to take advantage of their well-mixed atmospheres which should show minimal condensation and sequestration of high-Z materials compared to their colder Solar System siblings. Said warm and hot atmospheres are expected to be more representative of the planetary bulk composition. Observations of these warm/hot exoplanets, and in particular of their elemental composition (especially C, O, N, S, Si), will allow the understanding of the early stages of planetary and atmospheric formation during the nebular phase and the following few million years. ARIEL will thus provide a representative picture of the chemical nature of the exoplanets and relate this directly to the type and chemical environment of the host star. ARIEL is designed as a dedicated survey mission for combined-light spectroscopy, capable of observing a large and well-defined planet sample within its 4-year mission lifetime. Transit, eclipse and phase-curve spectroscopy methods, whereby the signal from the star and planet are differentiated using knowledge of the planetary ephemerides, allow us to measure atmospheric signals from the planet at levels of 10â100 part per million (ppm) relative to the star and, given the bright nature of targets, also allows more sophisticated techniques, such as eclipse mapping, to give a deeper insight into the nature of the atmosphere. These types of observations require a stable payload and satellite platform with broad, instantaneous wavelength coverage to detect many molecular species, probe the thermal structure, identify clouds and monitor the stellar activity. The wavelength range proposed covers all the expected major atmospheric gases from e.g. H2O, CO2, CH4 NH3, HCN, H2S through to the more exotic metallic compounds, such as TiO, VO, and condensed species. Simulations of ARIEL performance in conducting exoplanet surveys have been performed â using conservative estimates of mission performance and a full model of all significant noise sources in the measurement â using a list of potential ARIEL targets that incorporates the latest available exoplanet statistics. The conclusion at the end of the Phase A study, is that ARIEL â in line with the stated mission objectives â will be able to observe about 1000 exoplanets depending on the details of the adopted survey strategy, thus confirming the feasibility of the main science objectives.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio
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