1. Characterizing a World Within the Hot-Neptune Desert: Transit Observations of LTT 9779 b with the Hubble Space Telescope/WFC3
- Author
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Billy Edwards, Quentin Changeat, Angelos Tsiaras, Andrew Allan, Patrick Behr, Simone R. Hagey, Michael D. Himes, Sushuang Ma, Keivan G. Stassun, Luis Thomas, Alexandra Thompson, Aaron Boley, Luke Booth, Jeroen Bouwman, Kevin France, Nataliea Lowson, Annabella Meech, Caprice L. Phillips, Aline A. Vidotto, Kai Hou Yip, Michelle Bieger, Amélie Gressier, Estelle Janin, Ing-Guey Jiang, Pietro Leonardi, Subhajit Sarkar, Nour Skaf, Jake Taylor, Ming Yang, and Derek Ward-Thompson
- Subjects
Exoplanets ,Hot Neptunes ,Infrared spectroscopy ,Hubble Space Telescope ,Astronomy ,QB1-991 - Abstract
We present an atmospheric analysis of LTT 9779 b, a rare planet situated in the hot-Neptune desert, that has been observed with Hubble Space Telescope (HST)/WFC3 with G102 and G141. The combined transmission spectrum, which covers 0.8–1.6 μ m, shows a gradual increase in transit depth with wavelength. Our preferred atmospheric model shows evidence for H _2 O, CO _2 , and FeH with a significance of 3.1 σ , 2.4 σ , and 2.1 σ , respectively. In an attempt to constrain the rate of atmospheric escape for this planet, we search for the 1.083 μ m helium line in the G102 data but find no evidence of excess absorption that would indicate an escaping atmosphere using this tracer. We refine the orbital ephemerides of LTT 9779 b using our HST data and observations from TESS, searching for evidence of orbital decay or apsidal precession, which are not found. The phase-curve observation of LTT 9779 b with JWST NIRISS should provide deeper insights into the atmosphere of this planet and the expected atmospheric escape might be detected with further observations concentrated on other tracers such as Ly α .
- Published
- 2023
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