46 research outputs found
The infrared colors of 51 Eridani b: micrometereoid dust or chemical disequilibrium?
We reanalyze near-infrared spectra of the young extrasolar giant planet 51
Eridani b which was originally presented in (Macintosh et al. 2015) and (Rajan
et al. 2017) using modern atmospheric models which include a self-consistent
treatment of disequilibrium chemistry due to turbulent vertical mixing. In
addition, we investigate the possibility that significant opacity from
micrometeors or other impactors in the planet's atmosphere may be responsible
for shaping the observed spectral energy distribution (SED). We find that
disequilibrium chemistry is useful for describing the mid-infrared colors of
the planet's spectra, especially in regards to photometric data at M band
around 4.5 m which is the result of super-equilibrium abundances of carbon
monoxide, while the micrometeors are unlikely to play a pivotal role in shaping
the SED. The best-fitting, micrometeroid-dust-free, disequilibrium chemistry,
patchy cloud model has the following parameters: effective temperature
K with clouds (or without clouds, i.e. the grid
temperature = 900 K), surface gravity = 1000 m/s,
sedimentation efficiency = 10, vertical eddy diffusion
coefficient = 10 cm/s, cloud hole fraction
= 0.2, and planet radius = 1.0
R.Comment: 22 pages, 14 figures, Accepted to A
The Sonora Substellar Atmosphere Models. II. Cholla: A Grid of Cloud-free, Solar Metallicity Models in Chemical Disequilibrium for the JWST Era
Exoplanet and brown dwarf atmospheres commonly show signs of disequilibrium chemistry. In the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) era, high-resolution spectra of directly imaged exoplanets will allow the characterization of their atmospheres in more detail, and allow systematic tests for the presence of chemical species that deviate from thermochemical equilibrium in these atmospheres. Constraining the presence of disequilibrium chemistry in these atmospheres as a function of parameters such as their effective temperature and surface gravity will allow us to place better constraints on the physics governing these atmospheres. This paper is part of a series of works presenting the Sonora grid of atmosphere models. In this paper, we present a grid of cloud-free, solar metallicity atmospheres for brown dwarfs and wide-separation giant planets with key molecular species such as CH4, H2O, CO, and NH3 in disequilibrium. Our grid covers atmospheres with Teff ä [500 K, 1300 K], log g ä [3.0, 5.5] (cgs) and an eddy diffusion parameter of log 2, 4 Kzz = and 7 (cgs). We study the effect of different parameters within the grid on the temperature and composition profiles of our atmospheres. We discuss their effect on the near-infrared colors of our model atmospheres and the detectability of CH4, H2O, CO, and NH3 using the JWST. We compare our models against existing MKO and Spitzer observations of brown dwarfs and verify the importance of disequilibrium chemistry for T dwarf atmospheres. Finally, we discuss how our models can help constrain the vertical structure and chemical composition of these atmospheres
Polarized Signatures of a Habitable World: Comparing Models of an Exoplanet Earth with Visible and Near-infrared Earthshine Spectra
In the JWST, Extremely Large Telescopes, and LUVOIR era, we expect to
characterize a number of potentially habitable Earth-like exoplanets. However,
the characterization of these worlds depends crucially on the accuracy of
theoretical models. Validating these models against observations of planets
with known properties will be key for the future characterization of
terrestrial exoplanets. Due to its sensitivity to the micro- and macro-physical
properties of an atmosphere, polarimetry will be an important tool that, in
tandem with traditional flux-only observations, will enhance the capabilities
of characterizing Earth-like planets. In this paper we benchmark two different
polarization-enabled radiative-transfer codes against each other and against
unique linear spectropolarimetric observations of the earthshine that cover
wavelengths from 0.4 to 2.3 m. We find that while the results
from the two codes generally agree with each other, there is a phase dependency
between the compared models. Additionally, with our current assumptions, the
models from both codes underestimate the level of polarization of the
earthshine. We also report an interesting discrepancy between our models and
the observed 1.27 m feature in the earthshine, and provide an
analysis of potential methods for matching this feature. Our results suggest
that only having access to the 1.27 m feature coupled with a lack of
observations of the A and B bands could result in a mischaracterization
of an Earth-like atmosphere. Providing these assessments is vital to aid the
community in the search for life beyond the solar system.Comment: 24 pages, 18 figure
: Pressure-dependent Changes In Light Curve Phase In Brown Dwarfs From Simultaneous and Observations
We present /IRAC Ch1 and Ch2 monitoring of six brown dwarfs during 8
different epochs over the course of 20 months. For four brown dwarfs, we also
obtained simulataneous /WFC3 G141 Grism spectra during two epochs and
derived light curves in five narrow-band filters. Probing different pressure
levels in the atmospheres, the multi-wavelength light curves of our six targets
all exhibit variations, and the shape of the light curves evolves over the
timescale of a rotation period, ranging from 1.4 h to 13 h. We compare the
shapes of the light curves and estimate the phase shifts between the light
curves observed at different wavelengths by comparing the phase of the primary
Fourier components. We use state-of-the-art atmosphere models to determine the
flux contribution of different pressure layers to the observed flux in each
filter. We find that the light curves that probe higher pressures are similar
and in phase, but are offset and often different from the light curves that
probe lower pressures. The phase differences between the two groups of light
curves suggest that the modulations seen at lower and higher pressures may be
introduced by different cloud layers.Comment: 34 pages, 22 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
Cloud Atlas: Weak Color Modulations Due to Rotation in the Planetary-mass Companion GU Psc b and 11 Other Brown Dwarfs
Among the greatest challenges in understanding ultracool brown dwarf and exoplanet atmospheres is the evolution of cloud structure as a function of temperature and gravity. In this study, we present the rotational modulations of GU Psc b—a rare mid-T spectral type planetary-mass companion at the end of the L/T spectral type transition. Based on the Hubble Space Telescope/WFC3 1.1–1.67 μm time-series spectra, we observe a quasi-sinusoidal light curve with a peak-to-trough flux variation of 2.7% and a minimum period of 8 h. The rotation-modulated spectral variations are weakly wavelength-dependent, or largely gray between 1.1 and 1.67 μm. The gray modulations indicate that heterogeneous clouds are present in the photosphere of this low-gravity mid-T dwarf. We place the color and brightness variations of GU Psc b in the context of rotational modulations reported for mid-L to late-T dwarfs. Based on these observations, we report a tentative trend: mid-to-late T dwarfs become slightly redder in J − H color with increasing J-band brightness, while L dwarfs become slightly bluer with increasing brightness. If this trend is verified with more T-dwarf samples, it suggests that in addition to the mostly gray modulations, there is a second-order spectral-type dependence on the nature of rotational modulations
Cloud Atlas: High-precision HST/WFC3/IR Time-resolved Observations of Directly Imaged Exoplanet HD 106906b
HD 106906b is an ~11M_(Jup), ~15 Myr old directly imaged exoplanet orbiting at an extremely large distance from its host star. The wide separation (7 11) between HD 106906b and its host star greatly reduces the difficulty in direct-imaging observations, making it one of the most favorable directly imaged exoplanets for detailed characterization. In this paper, we present HST/WFC3/IR time-resolved observations of HD 106906b in the F127M, F139M, and F153M bands. We have achieved ~1% precision in the lightcurves in all three bands. The F127M lightcurve demonstrates marginally detectable (2.7σ significance) variability with a best-fitting period of 4 hr, while the lightcurves in the other two bands are consistent with flat lines. We construct primary-subtracted deep images and use these images to exclude additional companions to HD 106906 that are more massive than 4 M_(Jup) and locate at projected distances of more than ~500 au. We measure the astrometry of HD 106906b in two HST/WFC3 epochs and achieve precisions better than 2.5 mas. The position angle and separation measurements do not deviate from those in the 2004 HST/ACS/HRC images for more than 1σ uncertainty. We provide the HST/WFC3 astrometric results for 25 background stars that can be used as reference sources in future precision astrometry studies. Our observations also provide the first 1.4 μm water band photometric measurement for HD 106906b. HD 106906b's spectral energy distribution and the best-fitting BT-Settl model have an inconsistency in the 1.4 μm water absorption band, which highlights the challenges in modeling atmospheres of young planetary-mass objects
Cloud Atlas: Rotational Spectral Modulations and potential Sulfide Clouds in the Planetary-mass, Late T-type Companion Ross 458C
Measurements of photometric variability at different wavelengths provide
insights into the vertical cloud structure of brown dwarfs and planetary-mass
objects. In seven Hubble Space Telescope consecutive orbits, spanning 10
h of observing time}, we obtained time-resolved spectroscopy of the
planetary-mass T8-dwarf Ross 458C using the near-infrared Wide Field Camera 3.
We found spectrophotometric variability with a peak-to-peak signal of
2.620.02 % (in the 1.10-1.60~m white light curve). Using three
different methods, we estimated a rotational period of 6.751.58~h for the
white light curve, and similar periods for narrow - and - band light
curves. Sine wave fits to the narrow - and -band light curves suggest a
tentative phase shift between the light curves with wavelength when we allow
different periods between both light curves. If confirmed, this phase shift may
be similar to the phase shift detected earlier for the T6.5 spectral type 2MASS
J22282889-310262. We find that, in contrast with 2M2228, the variability of
Ross~458C shows evidence for a {color trend} within the narrow -band, but
gray variations in the narrow -band. The spectral time-resolved variability
of Ross 458C might be potentially due to heterogeneous sulfide clouds in the
atmosphere of the object. Our discovery extends the study of spectral
modulations of condensate clouds to the coolest T dwarfs, planetary-mass
companions.Comment: Accepted in ApJ
Cloud Atlas: Discovery of Rotational Spectral Modulations in a Low-mass, L-type Brown Dwarf Companion to a Star
Observations of rotational modulations of brown dwarfs and giant exoplanets
allow the characterization of condensate cloud properties. As of now rotational
spectral modulations have only been seen in three L-type brown dwarfs. We
report here the discovery of rotational spectral modulations in LP261-75B, an
L6-type intermediate surface gravity companion to an M4.5 star. As a part of
the Cloud Atlas Treasury program we acquired time-resolved Wide Field Camera 3
grism spectroscopy (1.1--1.69~m) of LP261-75B. We find gray spectral
variations with the relative amplitude displaying only a weak wavelength
dependence and no evidence for lower-amplitude modulations in the 1.4~m
water band than in the adjacent continuum. The likely rotational modulation
period is 4.780.95 h, although the rotational phase is not well sampled.
The minimum relative amplitude in the white light curve measured over the whole
wavelength range is 2.410.14\%. We report an unusual light curve with
seemingly three peaks approximately evenly distributed in rotational phase. The
spectral modulations suggests that the upper atmosphere cloud properties in
{LP261-75B} are similar to two other mid-L dwarfs of typical infrared colors,
but differ from that of the extremely red L-dwarf WISE0047