1,134 research outputs found
A framework to combine low- and high-resolution spectroscopy for the atmospheres of transiting exoplanets
Current observations of the atmospheres of close-in exoplanets are
predominantly obtained with two techniques: low-resolution spectroscopy with
space telescopes and high-resolution spectroscopy from the ground. Although the
observables delivered by the two methods are in principle highly complementary,
no attempt has ever been made to combine them, perhaps due to the different
modeling approaches that are typically used in their interpretation. Here we
present the first combined analysis of previously-published dayside spectra of
the exoplanet HD 209458b obtained at low resolution with HST/WFC3 and
Spitzer/IRAC, and at high resolution with VLT/CRIRES. By utilizing a novel
retrieval algorithm capable of computing the joint probability distribution of
low- and high-resolution spectra, we obtain tight constraints on the chemical
composition of the planet's atmosphere. In contrast to the WFC3 data, we do not
confidently detect H2O at high spectral resolution. The retrieved water
abundance from the combined analysis deviates by 1.9 sigma from the
expectations for a solar-composition atmosphere in chemical equilibrium.
Measured relative molecular abundances of CO and H2O strongly favor an
oxygen-rich atmosphere (C/O<1 at 3.5 sigma) for the planet when compared to
equilibrium calculations including O rainout. From the abundances of the seven
molecular species included in this study we constrain the planet metallicity to
0.1-1.0x the stellar value (1 sigma). This study opens the way to coordinated
exoplanet surveys between the flagship ground- and space-based facilities,
which ultimately will be crucial for characterizing potentially-habitable
planets.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in ApJL. Section 4
largely updated from previous version, Figure 2 updated to contain
information on the T-p profil
A Sunyaev-Zel'dovich map of the massive core in the luminous X-ray cluster RXJ1347-1145
We have mapped the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich decrement (hereafter SZ) in the
direction of the most luminous X-ray cluster known to date, RXJ1347-1145, at
z=0.451. This has been achieved with an angular resolution of about 23'' using
the Diabolo photometer running on the IRAM 30 meter radio telescope. We present
here a map of the cluster central region at 2.1mm. The Comptonization parameter
towards the cluster center, \yc=(12.7^{+2.9}_{-3.1})\times 10^{-4},
corresponds to the deepest SZ decrement ever observed. Using the gas density
distribution derived from X-ray data, this measurement implies a gas
temperature \te=16.2 \pm 3.8 keV. The resulting total mass of the cluster is,
under hydrostatic equilibrium, for a corresponding gas fraction .Comment: 16 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter
Search for grain growth towards the center of L1544
In dense and cold molecular clouds dust grains are surrounded by thick icy
mantles. It is however not clear if dust growth and coagulation take place
before the switch-on of a protostar. This is an important issue, as the
presence of large grains may affect the chemical structure of dense cloud
cores, including the dynamically important ionization fraction, and the future
evolution of solids in protoplanetary disks. To study this further, we focus on
L1544, one of the most centrally concentrated pre-stellar cores on the verge of
star formation, and with a well-known physical structure. We observed L1544 at
1.2 and 2 mm using NIKA, a new receiver at the IRAM 30 m telescope, and we used
data from the Herschel Space Observatory archive. We find no evidence of grain
growth towards the center of L1544 at the available angular resolution.
Therefore, we conclude that single dish observations do not allow us to
investigate grain growth toward the pre-stellar core L1544 and high sensitivity
interferometer observations are needed. We predict that dust grains can grow to
200 m in size toward the central ~300 au of L1544. This will imply a dust
opacity change by a factor of ~2.5 at 1.2 mm, which can be detected using the
Atacama Large Millimeter and submillimeter Array (ALMA) at different
wavelengths and with an angular resolution of 2".Comment: 12 pages, 14 figures. Accepted for publication in A&
Gran Telescopio Canarias OSIRIS Transiting Exoplanet Atmospheric Survey: Detection of potassium in XO-2b from narrowband spectrophotometry
We present Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) optical transit narrow-band
photometry of the hot-Jupiter exoplanet XO-2b using the OSIRIS instrument. This
unique instrument has the capabilities to deliver high cadence narrow-band
photometric lightcurves, allowing us to probe the atmospheric composition of
hot Jupiters from the ground. The observations were taken during three transit
events which cover four wavelengths at spectral resolutions near 500, necessary
for observing atmospheric features, and have near-photon limited sub-mmag
precisions. Precision narrow-band photometry on a large aperture telescope
allows for atmospheric transmission spectral features to be observed for
exoplanets around much fainter stars than those of the well studied targets
HD209458b and HD189733b, providing access to the majority of known transiting
planets. For XO-2b, we measure planet-to-star radius contrasts of
R_pl/R_star=0.10508+/-0.00052 at 6792 Ang, 0.10640+/-0.00058 at 7582 Ang, and
0.10686+/-0.00060 at 7664.9 Ang, and 0.10362+/-0.00051 at 8839 Ang. These
measurements reveal significant spectral features at two wavelengths, with an
absorption level of 0.067+/-0.016% at 7664.9 Ang due to atmospheric potassium
in the line core (a 4.1-sigma significance level), and an absorption level of
0.058+/-0.016% at 7582 Ang, (a 3.6-sigma significance level). When comparing
our measurements to hot-Jupiter atmospheric models, we find good agreement with
models which are dominated in the optical by alkali metals. This is the first
evidence for potassium in an extrasolar planet, an element that has long been
theorized along with sodium to be a dominant source of opacity at optical
wavelengths for hot Jupiters.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, accepted in A&A, minor changes to wording,
primarily section 4.2, and the title has also been slightly modifie
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