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1. Transmission Spectroscopy of the Habitable Zone Exoplanet LHS 1140 b with JWST/NIRISS

Author: Charles Cadieux, René Doyon, Ryan J. MacDonald, Martin Turbet, Étienne Artigau, Olivia Lim, Michael Radica, Thomas J. Fauchez, Salma Salhi, Lisa Dang, Loïc Albert, Louis-Philippe Coulombe, Nicolas B. Cowan, David Lafrenière, Alexandrine L’Heureux, Caroline Piaulet-Ghorayeb, Björn Benneke, Ryan Cloutier, Benjamin Charnay, Neil J. Cook, Marylou Fournier-Tondreau, Mykhaylo Plotnykov, and Diana Valencia
Subjects: Exoplanets, Habitable planets, Planetary atmospheres, Super Earths, Ocean planets, Mini Neptunes, Astrophysics, QB460-466
Abstract: LHS 1140 b is the second-closest temperate transiting planet to Earth with an equilibrium temperature low enough to support surface liquid water. At 1.730 ± 0.025 R _⊕ , LHS 1140 b falls within the radius valley separating H _2 -rich mini-Neptunes from rocky super-Earths. Recent mass and radius revisions indicate a bulk density significantly lower than expected for an Earth-like rocky interior, suggesting that LHS 1140 b could be either a mini-Neptune with a small envelope of hydrogen (∼0.1% by mass) or a water world (9%–19% water by mass). Atmospheric characterization through transmission spectroscopy can readily discern between these two scenarios. Here we present two JWST/NIRISS transit observations of LHS 1140 b, one of which captures a serendipitous transit of LHS 1140 c. The combined transmission spectrum of LHS 1140 b shows a telltale spectral signature of unocculted faculae (5.8 σ ), covering ∼20% of the visible stellar surface. Besides faculae, our spectral retrieval analysis reveals tentative evidence of residual spectral features, best fit by Rayleigh scattering from a N _2 -dominated atmosphere (2.3 σ ), irrespective of the consideration of atmospheric hazes. We also show through Global Climate Models (GCMs) that H _2 -rich atmospheres of various compositions (100×, 300×, 1000× solar metallicity) are ruled out to >10 σ . The GCM calculations predict that water clouds form below the transit photosphere, limiting their impact on transmission data. Our observations suggest that LHS 1140 b is either airless or, more likely, surrounded by an atmosphere with a high mean molecular weight. Our tentative evidence of a N _2 -rich atmosphere provides strong motivation for future transmission spectroscopy observations of LHS 1140 b.
Published: 2024
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2. Muted Features in the JWST NIRISS Transmission Spectrum of Hot Neptune LTT 9779b

Author: Michael Radica, Louis-Philippe Coulombe, Jake Taylor, Loic Albert, Romain Allart, Björn Benneke, Nicolas B. Cowan, Lisa Dang, David Lafrenière, Daniel Thorngren, Étienne Artigau, René Doyon, Laura Flagg, Doug Johnstone, Stefan Pelletier, and Pierre-Alexis Roy
Subjects: Exoplanets, Hot Neptunes, Exoplanet atmospheres, Planetary atmospheres, Astrophysics, QB460-466
Abstract: The hot Neptune desert is one of the most sparsely populated regions of the exoplanet parameter space, and atmosphere observations of its few residents can provide insights into how such planets have managed to survive in such an inhospitable environment. Here, we present transmission observations of LTT 9779 b, the only known hot Neptune to have retained a significant H/He-dominated atmosphere, taken with JWST NIRISS/SOSS. The 0.6–2.85 μ m transmission spectrum shows evidence for muted spectral features, rejecting a perfectly flat line at >5 σ . We explore water- and methane-dominated atmosphere scenarios for LTT 9779 b’s terminator, and retrieval analyses reveal a continuum of potential combinations of metallicity and cloudiness. Through comparisons to previous population synthesis works and our own interior structure modeling, we are able to constrain LTT 9779 b’s atmosphere metallicity to 20–850× solar. Within this range of metallicity, our retrieval analyses prefer solutions with clouds at millibar pressures, regardless of whether the atmosphere is water or methane dominated—though cloud-free atmospheres with metallicities >500× solar cannot be entirely ruled out. By comparing self-consistent atmosphere temperature profiles with cloud condensation curves, we find that silicate clouds can readily condense in the terminator region of LTT 9779 b. Advection of these clouds onto the dayside could explain the high dayside albedo previously inferred for this planet and be part of a feedback loop aiding the survival of LTT 9779 b’s atmosphere in the hot Neptune desert.
Published: 2024
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3. Clouds and Clarity: Revisiting Atmospheric Feature Trends in Neptune-size Exoplanets

Author: Jonathan Brande, Ian J. M. Crossfield, Laura Kreidberg, Caroline V. Morley, Travis Barman, Björn Benneke, Jessie L. Christiansen, Diana Dragomir, Jonathan J. Fortney, Thomas P. Greene, Kevin K. Hardegree-Ullman, Andrew W. Howard, Heather A. Knutson, Joshua D. Lothringer, and Thomas Mikal-Evans
Subjects: Exoplanet atmospheres, Exoplanet atmospheric composition, Exoplanet atmospheric dynamics, Transmission spectroscopy, Hubble Space Telescope, James Webb Space Telescope, Astrophysics, QB460-466
Abstract: Over the last decade, precise exoplanet transmission spectroscopy has revealed the atmospheres of dozens of exoplanets, driven largely by observatories like the Hubble Space Telescope. One major discovery has been the ubiquity of atmospheric aerosols, often blocking access to exoplanet chemical inventories. Tentative trends have been identified, showing that the clarity of planetary atmospheres may depend on equilibrium temperature. Previous work has often grouped dissimilar planets together in order to increase the statistical power of any trends, but it remains unclear from observed transmission spectra whether these planets exhibit the same atmospheric physics and chemistry. We present a reanalysis of a smaller, more physically similar sample of 15 exo-Neptune transmission spectra across a wide range of temperatures (200–1000 K). Using condensation cloud and hydrocarbon haze models, we find that the exo-Neptune population is best described by low cloud sedimentation efficiency ( f _sed ∼ 0.1) and high metallicity (100 × solar). There is an intrinsic scatter of ∼0.5 scale height, perhaps evidence of stochasticity in these planets’ formation processes. Observers should expect significant attenuation in transmission spectra of Neptune-size exoplanets, up to 6 scale heights for equilibrium temperatures between 500 and 800 K. With JWST's greater wavelength sensitivity, colder (
Published: 2024
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4. New Mass and Radius Constraints on the LHS 1140 Planets: LHS 1140 b Is either a Temperate Mini-Neptune or a Water World

Author: Charles Cadieux, Mykhaylo Plotnykov, René Doyon, Diana Valencia, Farbod Jahandar, Lisa Dang, Martin Turbet, Thomas J. Fauchez, Ryan Cloutier, Collin Cherubim, Étienne Artigau, Neil J. Cook, Billy Edwards, Tim Hallatt, Benjamin Charnay, François Bouchy, Romain Allart, Lucile Mignon, Frédérique Baron, Susana C. C. Barros, Björn Benneke, B. L. Canto Martins, Nicolas B. Cowan, J. R. De Medeiros, Xavier Delfosse, Elisa Delgado-Mena, Xavier Dumusque, David Ehrenreich, Yolanda G. C. Frensch, J. I. González Hernández, Nathan C. Hara, David Lafrenière, Gaspare Lo Curto, Lison Malo, Claudio Melo, Dany Mounzer, Vera Maria Passeger, Francesco Pepe, Anne-Sophie Poulin-Girard, Nuno C. Santos, Danuta Sosnowska, Alejandro Suárez Mascareño, Simon Thibault, Valentina Vaulato, Gregg A. Wade, and François Wildi
Subjects: Exoplanets, Habitable planets, Super Earths, M dwarf stars, Planetary interior, Astrophysics, QB460-466
Abstract: The two-planet transiting system LHS 1140 has been extensively observed since its discovery in 2017, notably with Spitzer, HST, TESS, and ESPRESSO, placing strong constraints on the parameters of the M4.5 host star and its small temperate exoplanets, LHS 1140 b and c. Here, we reanalyze the ESPRESSO observations of LHS 1140 with the novel line-by-line framework designed to fully exploit the radial velocity content of a stellar spectrum while being resilient to outlier measurements. The improved radial velocities, combined with updated stellar parameters, consolidate our knowledge of the mass of LHS 1140 b (5.60 ± 0.19 M _⊕ ) and LHS 1140 c (1.91 ± 0.06 M _⊕ ) with an unprecedented precision of 3%. Transits from Spitzer, HST, and TESS are jointly analyzed for the first time, allowing us to refine the planetary radii of b (1.730 ± 0.025 R _⊕ ) and c (1.272 ± 0.026 R _⊕ ). Stellar abundance measurements of refractory elements (Fe, Mg, and Si) obtained with NIRPS are used to constrain the internal structure of LHS 1140 b. This planet is unlikely to be a rocky super-Earth, as previously reported, but rather a mini-Neptune with a ∼0.1% H/He envelope by mass or a water world with a water-mass fraction between 9% and 19%, depending on the atmospheric composition and relative abundance of Fe and Mg. While the mini-Neptune case would not be habitable, a water-abundant LHS 1140 b potentially has habitable surface conditions according to 3D global climate models, suggesting liquid water at the substellar point for atmospheres with relatively low CO _2 concentration, from Earth-like to a few bars.
Published: 2024
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5. Revisiting Physical Parameters of the Benchmark Brown Dwarf LHS 6343 C through a Hubble Space Telescope/WFC3 Secondary-eclipse Observation

Author: William Frost, Loïc Albert, René Doyon, Jonathan Gagné, Benjamin T. Montet, Clémence Fontanive, Étienne Artigau, John Asher Johnson, Billy Edwards, and Björn Benneke
Subjects: Brown dwarfs, T dwarfs, Time series analysis, Infrared spectroscopy, Fundamental parameters of stars, Hubble Space Telescope, Astrophysics, QB460-466
Abstract: The LHS 6343 system consists of a resolved M-dwarf binary with an evolved, negligibly irradiated brown dwarf (BD), LHS 6343 C, orbiting the primary star. Such BD eclipsing binaries present rare and unique opportunities to calibrate substellar evolutionary and atmosphere models since mass, radius, temperature, and luminosity can be directly measured. We update this BD’s mass (62.6 ± 2.2 M _Jup ) and radius (0.788 ± 0.043 R _Jup ) using empirical stellar relations and a Gaia Data Release 3 distance. We use Hubble Space Telescope/Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) observations of an LHS 6343 C secondary eclipse to obtain a near-IR emission spectrum, which matches to a spectral type of T1.5 ± 1. We combine this spectrum with existing Kepler and Spitzer/IRAC secondary-eclipse photometry to perform atmospheric characterization using the ATMO-2020, Sonora-Bobcat, and BT-Settl model grids. ATMO-2020 models with strong nonequilibrium chemistry yield the best fit to observations across all modeled bandpasses while predicting physical parameters consistent with Gaia-dependent analogs. BT-Settl predicts values slightly more consistent with such analogs but offers a significantly poorer fit to the WFC3 spectrum. Finally, we obtain a semi-empirical measurement of LHS 6343 C’s apparent luminosity by integrating its observed and modeled spectral energy distribution. Applying knowledge of the system’s distance yields a bolometric luminosity of log( L _bol / L _☉ ) = −4.77 ± 0.03 and, applying the Stefan–Boltzmann law for the known radius, an effective temperature of 1303 ± 29 K. We also use the ATMO-2020 and Sonora-Bobcat evolutionary model grids to infer an age for LHS 6343 C of $2.86\hspace{0.08cm}{}_{-0.33}^{+0.40}\,\mathrm{Gyr}$ and $3.11\hspace{0.08cm}{}_{-0.38}^{+0.50}\,\mathrm{Gyr}$ respectively.
Published: 2024
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6. Atmospheric Retrievals of the Young Giant Planet ROXs 42B b from Low- and High-resolution Spectroscopy

Author: Julie Inglis, Nicole L. Wallack, Jerry W. Xuan, Heather A. Knutson, Yayaati Chachan, Marta L. Bryan, Brendan P. Bowler, Aishwarya Iyer, Tiffany Kataria, and Björn Benneke
Subjects: Exoplanet atmospheres, High resolution spectroscopy, Atmospheric clouds, Exoplanet atmospheric composition, Exoplanet formation, Astronomy, QB1-991
Abstract: Previous attempts have been made to characterize the atmospheres of directly imaged planets at low resolution ( R ∼ 10–100 s), but the presence of clouds has often led to degeneracies in the retrieved atmospheric abundances with cloud opacity and temperature structure that bias retrieved compositions. In this study, we perform retrievals on the ultrayoung (≲5 Myr) directly imaged planet ROXs 42B b with both a downsampled low-resolution JHK -band spectrum from Gemini/NIFS and Keck/OSIRIS, and a high-resolution K -band spectrum from pre-upgrade Keck/NIRSPAO. Using the atmospheric retrieval framework of petitRADTRANS , we analyze both data sets individually and combined. We additionally fit for the stellar abundances and other physical properties of the host stars, a young M spectral type binary, using the SPHINX model grid. We find that the measured C/O, 0.50 ± 0.05, and metallicity, [Fe/H] = −0.67 ± 0.35, for ROXs 42B b from our high-resolution spectrum agree with those of its host stars within 1 σ . The retrieved parameters from the high-resolution spectrum are also independent of our choice of cloud model. In contrast, the retrieved parameters from the low-resolution spectrum show strong degeneracies between the clouds and the retrieved metallicity and temperature structure. When we retrieve both data sets together, we find that these degeneracies are reduced but not eliminated, and the final results remain highly sensitive to cloud modeling choices. We conclude that high-resolution spectroscopy offers the most promising path for reliably determining atmospheric compositions of directly imaged companions independent of their cloud properties.
Published: 2024
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7. A Subsolar Metallicity on the Ultra-short-period Planet HIP 65Ab

Author: Luc Bazinet, Stefan Pelletier, Björn Benneke, Ricardo Salinas, and Gregory N. Mace
Subjects: Exoplanet atmospheres, Exoplanet atmospheric composition, High resolution spectroscopy, Exoplanets, Hot Jupiters, Exoplanet astronomy, Astronomy, QB1-991
Abstract: Studying and understanding the physical and chemical processes that govern hot Jupiters gives us insights on the formation of these giant planets. Having a constraint on the molecular composition of their atmosphere can help us pinpoint their evolution timeline. Namely, the metal enrichment and carbon-to-oxygen ratio can give us information about where in the protoplanetary disk a giant planet may have accreted its envelope, and, subsequently, indicate if it went through migration. Here we present the first analysis of the atmosphere of the hot Jupiter HIP 65Ab. Using near-infrared high-resolution observations from the IGRINS spectrograph, we detect H _2 O and CO absorption in the dayside atmosphere of HIP 65Ab. Using a high-resolution retrieval framework, we find a CO abundance of log(CO) = $-{3.85}_{-0.36}^{+0.33}$ , which is slightly underabundant with expectation from solar composition models. We also recover a low-water abundance of log(H _2 O) = −4.42 ± 0.18, depleted by 1 order of magnitude relative to a solar-like composition. Upper limits on the abundance of all other relevant major carbon- and oxygen-bearing molecules are also obtained. Overall, our results are consistent with a sub-stellar metallicity but slightly elevated C/O. Such a composition may indicate that HIP 65Ab accreted its envelope from beyond the water snowline and underwent a disk-free migration to its current location. Alternatively, some of the oxygen on HIP 65Ab could be condensed out of the atmosphere, in which case the observed gas-phase abundances would not reflect the true bulk envelope composition.
Published: 2024
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8. Detection of Carbon Monoxide in the Atmosphere of WASP-39b Applying Standard Cross-correlation Techniques to JWST NIRSpec G395H Data

Author: Emma Esparza-Borges, Mercedes López-Morales, Jéa I. Adams Redai, Enric Pallé, James Kirk, Núria Casasayas-Barris, Natasha E. Batalha, Benjamin V. Rackham, Jacob L. Bean, S. L. Casewell, Leen Decin, Leonardo A. Dos Santos, Antonio García Muñoz, Joseph Harrington, Kevin Heng, Renyu Hu, Luigi Mancini, Karan Molaverdikhani, Giuseppe Morello, Nikolay K. Nikolov, Matthew C. Nixon, Seth Redfield, Kevin B. Stevenson, Hannah R. Wakeford, Munazza K. Alam, Björn Benneke, Jasmina Blecic, Nicolas Crouzet, Tansu Daylan, Julie Inglis, Laura Kreidberg, Dominique J. M. Petit dit de la Roche, and Jake D. Turner
Subjects: Exoplanet atmospheres, Exoplanet atmospheric composition, Hot Jupiters, Astronomical methods, Astrophysics, QB460-466
Abstract: Carbon monoxide was recently reported in the atmosphere of the hot Jupiter WASP-39b using the NIRSpec PRISM transit observation of this planet, collected as part of the JWST Transiting Exoplanet Community Early Release Science Program. This detection, however, could not be confidently confirmed in the initial analysis of the higher-resolution observations with NIRSpec G395H disperser. Here we confirm the detection of CO in the atmosphere of WASP-39b using the NIRSpec G395H data and cross-correlation techniques. We do this by searching for the CO signal in the unbinned transmission spectrum of the planet between 4.6 and 5.0 μ m, where the contribution of CO is expected to be higher than that of other anticipated molecules in the planet’s atmosphere. Our search results in a detection of CO with a cross-correlation function (CCF) significance of 6.6 σ when using a template with only ^12 C ^16 O lines. The CCF significance of the CO signal increases to 7.5 σ when including in the template lines from additional CO isotopologues, with the largest contribution being from ^13 C ^16 O. Our results highlight how cross-correlation techniques can be a powerful tool for unveiling the chemical composition of exoplanetary atmospheres from medium-resolution transmission spectra, including the detection of isotopologues.
Published: 2023
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9. Atmospheric Reconnaissance of TRAPPIST-1 b with JWST/NIRISS: Evidence for Strong Stellar Contamination in the Transmission Spectra

Author: Olivia Lim, Björn Benneke, René Doyon, Ryan J. MacDonald, Caroline Piaulet, Étienne Artigau, Louis-Philippe Coulombe, Michael Radica, Alexandrine L’Heureux, Loïc Albert, Benjamin V. Rackham, Julien de Wit, Salma Salhi, Pierre-Alexis Roy, Laura Flagg, Marylou Fournier-Tondreau, Jake Taylor, Neil J. Cook, David Lafrenière, Nicolas B. Cowan, Lisa Kaltenegger, Jason F. Rowe, Néstor Espinoza, Lisa Dang, and Antoine Darveau-Bernier
Subjects: Extrasolar rocky planets, Exoplanets, M dwarf stars, Stellar activity, Starspots, Stellar faculae, Astrophysics, QB460-466
Abstract: TRAPPIST-1 is a nearby system of seven Earth-sized, temperate, rocky exoplanets transiting a Jupiter-sized M8.5V star, ideally suited for in-depth atmospheric studies. Each TRAPPIST-1 planet has been observed in transmission both from space and from the ground, confidently rejecting cloud-free, hydrogen-rich atmospheres. Secondary eclipse observations of TRAPPIST-1 b with JWST/MIRI are consistent with little to no atmosphere given the lack of heat redistribution. Here we present the first transmission spectra of TRAPPIST-1 b obtained with JWST/NIRISS over two visits. The two transmission spectra show moderate to strong evidence of contamination from unocculted stellar heterogeneities, which dominates the signal in both visits. The transmission spectrum of the first visit is consistent with unocculted starspots and the second visit exhibits signatures of unocculted faculae. Fitting the stellar contamination and planetary atmosphere either sequentially or simultaneously, we confirm the absence of cloud-free, hydrogen-rich atmospheres, but cannot assess the presence of secondary atmospheres. We find that the uncertainties associated with the lack of stellar model fidelity are one order of magnitude above the observation precision of 89 ppm (combining the two visits). Without affecting the conclusion regarding the atmosphere of TRAPPIST-1 b, this highlights an important caveat for future explorations, which calls for additional observations to characterize stellar heterogeneities empirically and/or theoretical works to improve model fidelity for such cool stars. This need is all the more justified as stellar contamination can affect the search for atmospheres around the outer, cooler TRAPPIST-1 planets for which transmission spectroscopy is currently the most efficient technique.
Published: 2023
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10. Water Absorption in the Transmission Spectrum of the Water World Candidate GJ 9827 d

Author: Pierre-Alexis Roy, Björn Benneke, Caroline Piaulet, Michael A. Gully-Santiago, Ian J. M. Crossfield, Caroline V. Morley, Laura Kreidberg, Thomas Mikal-Evans, Jonathan Brande, Simon Delisle, Thomas P. Greene, Kevin K. Hardegree-Ullman, Travis Barman, Jessie L. Christiansen, Diana Dragomir, Jonathan J. Fortney, Andrew W. Howard, Molly R. Kosiarek, and Joshua D. Lothringer
Subjects: Exoplanet atmospheres, Mini Neptunes, Water vapor, Exoplanet atmospheric composition, Astrophysics, QB460-466
Abstract: Recent work on the characterization of small exoplanets has allowed us to accumulate growing evidence that sub-Neptunes with radii greater than ∼2.5 R _⊕ often host H _2 /He-dominated atmospheres both from measurements of their low bulk densities and from direct detections of their low mean molecular mass atmospheres. However, the smaller sub-Neptunes in the 1.5–2.2 R _⊕ size regime are much less understood and often have bulk densities that can be explained either by the H _2 /He-rich scenario or by a volatile-dominated composition known as the “water world” scenario. Here we report the detection of water vapor in the transmission spectrum of the 1.96 ± 0.08 R _⊕ sub-Neptune GJ 9827 d obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). We observe 11 HST Wide Field Camera 3 transits of GJ 9827 d and find an absorption feature at 1.4 μ m in its transit spectrum, which is best explained (at 3.39 σ ) by the presence of water in GJ 9827 d’s atmosphere. We further show that this feature cannot be caused by unocculted starspots during the transits by combining an analysis of the K2 photometry and transit light source effect retrievals. We reveal that the water absorption feature can be similarly well explained by a small amount of water vapor in a cloudy H _2 /He atmosphere or a water vapor envelope on GJ 9827 d. Given that recent studies have inferred an important mass-loss rate (>0.5 M _⊕ Gyr ^−1 ) for GJ 9827 d, making it unlikely to retain a H-dominated envelope, our findings highlight GJ 9827 d as a promising water world candidate that could host a volatile-dominated atmosphere. This water detection also makes GJ 9827 d the smallest exoplanet with an atmospheric molecular detection to date.
Published: 2023
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11. Detection of Carbon Monoxide’s 4.6 Micron Fundamental Band Structure in WASP-39b’s Atmosphere with JWST NIRSpec G395H

Author: David Grant, Joshua D. Lothringer, Hannah R. Wakeford, Munazza K. Alam, Lili Alderson, Jacob L. Bean, Björn Benneke, Jean-Michel Désert, Tansu Daylan, Laura Flagg, Renyu Hu, Julie Inglis, James Kirk, Laura Kreidberg, Mercedes López-Morales, Luigi Mancini, Thomas Mikal-Evans, Karan Molaverdikhani, Enric Palle, Benjamin V. Rackham, Seth Redfield, Kevin B. Stevenson, Jeff A. Valenti, Nicole L. Wallack, Keshav Aggarwal, Eva-Maria Ahrer, Ian J. M. Crossfield, Nicolas Crouzet, Nicolas Iro, Nikolay K. Nikolov, Peter J. Wheatley, and JWST Transiting Exoplanet Community ERS team
Subjects: Exoplanet atmospheres, Transmission spectroscopy, Near infrared astronomy, Astrophysics, QB460-466
Abstract: Carbon monoxide (CO) is predicted to be the dominant carbon-bearing molecule in giant planet atmospheres and, along with water, is important for discerning the oxygen and therefore carbon-to-oxygen ratio of these planets. The fundamental absorption mode of CO has a broad, double-branched structure composed of many individual absorption lines from 4.3 to 5.1 μ m, which can now be spectroscopically measured with JWST. Here we present a technique for detecting the rotational sub-band structure of CO at medium resolution with the NIRSpec G395H instrument. We use a single transit observation of the hot Jupiter WASP-39b from the JWST Transiting Exoplanet Community Early Release Science (JTEC ERS) program at the native resolution of the instrument ( R ∼ 2700) to resolve the CO absorption structure. We robustly detect absorption by CO, with an increase in transit depth of 264 ± 68 ppm, in agreement with the predicted CO contribution from the best-fit model at low resolution. This detection confirms our theoretical expectations that CO is the dominant carbon-bearing molecule in WASP-39b’s atmosphere and further supports the conclusions of low C/O and supersolar metallicities presented in the JTEC ERS papers for WASP-39b.
Published: 2023
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12. Characterizing the Near-infrared Spectra of Flares from TRAPPIST-1 during JWST Transit Spectroscopy Observations

Author: Ward S. Howard, Adam F. Kowalski, Laura Flagg, Meredith A. MacGregor, Olivia Lim, Michael Radica, Caroline Piaulet, Pierre-Alexis Roy, David Lafrenière, Björn Benneke, Alexander Brown, Néstor Espinoza, René Doyon, Louis-Philippe Coulombe, Doug Johnstone, Nicolas B. Cowan, Ray Jayawardhana, Jake D. Turner, and Lisa Dang
Subjects: Flare stars, Exoplanet atmospheres, Near infrared astronomy, Stellar activity, Astrophysics, QB460-466
Abstract: We present the first analysis of JWST near-infrared spectroscopy of stellar flares from TRAPPIST-1 during transits of rocky exoplanets. Four flares were observed from 0.6–2.8 μ m with the Near Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph and 0.6–3.5 μ m with the Near Infrared Spectrograph during transits of TRAPPIST-1b, f, and g. We discover P α and Br β line emission and characterize flare continuum at wavelengths from 1–3.5 μ m for the first time. Observed lines include H α , P α –P ϵ , Br β , He i λ 0.7062 μ m, two Ca ii infrared triplet (IRT) lines, and the He i IRT. We observe a reversed Paschen decrement from P α –P γ alongside changes in the light-curve shapes of these lines. The continuum of all four flares is well described by blackbody emission with an effective temperature below 5300 K, lower than the temperatures typically observed at optical wavelengths. The 0.6–1 μ m spectra were convolved with the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) response, enabling us to measure the flare rate of TRAPPIST-1 in the TESS bandpass. We find flares of 10 ^30 erg, large enough to impact transit spectra occur at a rate of ${3.6}_{-1.3}^{+2.1}$ flare day ^−1 , ∼10× higher than previous predictions from K2. We measure the amount of flare contamination at 2 μ m for the TRAPPIST-1b and f transits to be 500 ± 450 and 2100 ± 400 ppm, respectively. We find up to 80% of flare contamination can be removed, with mitigation most effective from 1.0–2.4 μ m. These results suggest transits affected by flares may still be useful for atmospheric characterization efforts.
Published: 2023
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13. Measuring the Obliquities of the TRAPPIST-1 Planets with MAROON-X

Author: Madison Brady, Jacob L. Bean, Andreas Seifahrt, David Kasper, Rafael Luque, Ansgar Reiners, Björn Benneke, Gudmundur Stefánsson, and Julian Stürmer
Subjects: Extrasolar rocky planets, M dwarf stars, Astronomy, QB1-991
Abstract: A star’s obliquity with respect to its planetary system can provide us with insight into the system’s formation and evolution, as well as hinting at the presence of additional objects in the system. However, M dwarfs, which are the most promising targets for atmospheric follow-up, are underrepresented in terms of obliquity characterization surveys due to the challenges associated with making precise measurements. In this paper, we use the extreme-precision radial velocity (RV) spectrograph MAROON-X to measure the obliquity of the late M dwarf TRAPPIST-1. With the Rossiter–McLaughlin effect, we measure a system obliquity of $-2{^\circ }_{-{19}^{\circ }}^{+{17}^{\circ }}$ and a stellar rotational velocity of 2.1 ± 0.3 km s ^−1 . We were unable to detect stellar surface differential rotation, and we found that a model in which all planets share the same obliquity was favored by our data. We were also unable to make a detection of the signatures of the planets using Doppler tomography, which is likely a result of the both the slow rotation of the star and the low signal-to-noise ratio of the data. Overall, TRAPPIST-1 appears to have a low obliquity, which could imply that the system has a low primordial obliquity. It also appears to be a slow rotator, which is consistent with past characterizations of the system and estimates of the star’s rotation period. The MAROON-X data allow for a precise measurement of the stellar obliquity through the Rossiter–McLaughlin effect, highlighting the capabilities of MAROON-X and its ability to make high-precision RV measurements around late, dim stars.
Published: 2023
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14. TOI 560: Two Transiting Planets Orbiting a K Dwarf Validated with iSHELL, PFS, and HIRES RVs

Author: Mohammed El Mufti, Peter P. Plavchan, Howard Isaacson, Bryson L. Cale, Dax L. Feliz, Michael A. Reefe, Coel Hellier, Keivan Stassun, Jason Eastman, Alex Polanski, Ian J. M. Crossfield, Eric Gaidos, Veselin Kostov, Justin M. Wittrock, Joel Villaseñor, Joshua E. Schlieder, Luke G. Bouma, Kevin I. Collins, Farzaneh Zohrabi, Rena A. Lee, Ahmad Sohani, John Berberian, David Vermilion, Patrick Newman, Claire Geneser, Angelle Tanner, Natalie M. Batalha, Courtney Dressing, Benjamin Fulton, Andrew W. Howard, Daniel Huber, Stephen R. Kane, Erik A. Petigura, Paul Robertson, Arpita Roy, Lauren M. Weiss, Aida Behmard, Corey Beard, Ashley Chontos, Fei Dai, Paul A. Dalba, Tara Fetherolf, Steven Giacalone, Michelle L. Hill, Lea A. Hirsch, Rae Holcomb, Jack Lubin, Andrew Mayo, Teo Močnik, Joseph M. Akana Murphy, Lee J. Rosenthal, Ryan A. Rubenzahl, Nicholas Scarsdale, Christopher Stockdale, Karen Collins, Ryan Cloutier, Howard Relles, Thiam-Guan Tan, Nicholas J Scott, Zach Hartman, Elisabeth Matthews, David R. Ciardi, Erica Gonzales, Rachel A. Matson, Charles Beichman, Allyson Bieryla, E. Furlan, Crystal L. Gnilka, Steve B. Howell, Carl Ziegler, César Briceño, Nicholas Law, Andrew W. Mann, Markus Rabus, Marshall C. Johnson, Jessie Christiansen, Laura Kreidberg, David Anthony Berardo, Drake Deming, Varoujan Gorjian, Farisa Y. Morales, Björn Benneke, Diana Dragomir, Robert A. Wittenmyer, Sarah Ballard, Brendan P. Bowler, Jonathan Horner, John Kielkopf, Huigen Liu, Avi Shporer, C. G. Tinney, Hui Zhang, Duncan J. Wright, Brett C. Addison, Matthew W. Mengel, and Jack Okumura
Subjects: Radial velocity, Astronomy, QB1-991
Abstract: We validate the presence of a two-planet system orbiting the 0.15–1.4 Gyr K4 dwarf TOI 560 (HD 73583). The system consists of an inner moderately eccentric transiting mini-Neptune (TOI 560 b, $P={6.3980661}_{-0.0000097}^{+0.0000095}$ days, $e={0.294}_{-0.062}^{+0.13}$ , $M={0.94}_{-0.23}^{+0.31}{M}_{\mathrm{Nep}}$ ) initially discovered in the Sector 8 Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission observations, and a transiting mini-Neptune (TOI 560 c, $P={18.8805}_{-0.0011}^{+0.0024}$ days, $M={1.32}_{-0.32}^{+0.29}{M}_{\mathrm{Nep}}$ ) discovered in the Sector 34 observations, in a rare near-1:3 orbital resonance. We utilize photometric data from TESS Spitzer, and ground-based follow-up observations to confirm the ephemerides and period of the transiting planets, vet false-positive scenarios, and detect the photoeccentric effect for TOI 560 b. We obtain follow-up spectroscopy and corresponding precise radial velocities (RVs) with the iSHELL spectrograph at the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility and the HIRES Spectrograph at Keck Observatory to validate the planetary nature of these signals, which we combine with published Planet Finder Spectrograph RVs from the Magellan Observatory. We detect the masses of both planets at >3 σ significance. We apply a Gaussian process (GP) model to the TESS light curves to place priors on a chromatic RV GP model to constrain the stellar activity of the TOI 560 host star, and confirm a strong wavelength dependence for the stellar activity demonstrating the ability of near-IR RVs to mitigate stellar activity for young K dwarfs. TOI 560 is a nearby moderately young multiplanet system with two planets suitable for atmospheric characterization with the James Webb Space Telescope and other upcoming missions. In particular, it will undergo six transit pairs separated by
Published: 2022
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15. Unifying High- and Low-resolution Observations to Constrain the Dayside Atmosphere of KELT-20b/MASCARA-2b

Author: David Kasper, Jacob L. Bean, Michael R. Line, Andreas Seifahrt, Madison T. Brady, Joshua Lothringer, Lorenzo Pino, Guangwei Fu, Stefan Pelletier, Julian Stürmer, Björn Benneke, Matteo Brogi, and Jean-Michel Désert
Subjects: Hot Jupiters, Exoplanet atmospheres, Astronomy, QB1-991
Abstract: We present high-resolution dayside thermal emission observations of the exoplanet KELT-20b/MASCARA-2b using the MAROON-X spectrograph. Applying the cross-correlation method with both empirical and theoretical masks and a retrieval analysis, we confirm previous detections of Fe i emission lines and we detect Ni i for the first time in the planet (at 4.7 σ confidence). We do not see evidence for additional species in the MAROON-X data, including notably predicted thermal inversion agents TiO and VO, their atomic constituents Ti i and V i , and previously claimed species Fe ii and Cr i . We also perform a joint retrieval with existing Hubble Space Telescope/WFC3 spectroscopy and Spitzer/IRAC photometry. This allows us to place bounded constraints on the abundances of Fe i , H _2 O, and CO, and to place a stringent upper limit on the TiO abundance. The results are consistent with KELT-20b having a solar to slightly supersolar composition atmosphere in terms of the bulk metal enrichment, and the carbon-to-oxygen and iron-to-oxygen ratios. However, the TiO volume mixing ratio upper limit (10 ^−7.6 at 99% confidence) is inconsistent with this picture, which, along with the nondetection of Ti i , points to sequestration of Ti species, possibly due to nightside condensation. The lack of TiO but the presence of a large H _2 O emission feature in the WFC3 data is challenging to reconcile within the context of 1D self-consistent, radiative-convective models.
Published: 2022
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16. TOI-431/HIP 26013: a super-Earth and a sub-Neptune transiting a bright, early K dwarf, with a third RV planet

Author: Ares Osborn, David J Armstrong, Bryson Cale, Rafael Brahm, Robert A Wittenmyer, Fei Dai, Ian J M Crossfield, Edward M Bryant, Vardan Adibekyan, Ryan Cloutier, Karen A Collins, E Delgado Mena, Malcolm Fridlund, Coel Hellier, Steve B Howell, George W King, Jorge Lillo-Box, Jon Otegi, S Sousa, Keivan G Stassun, Elisabeth C Matthews, Carl Ziegler, George Ricker, Roland Vanderspek, David W Latham, S Seager, Joshua N Winn, Jon M Jenkins, Jack S Acton, Brett C Addison, David R Anderson, Sarah Ballard, David Barrado, Susana C C Barros, Natalie Batalha, Daniel Bayliss, Thomas Barclay, Björn Benneke, John Berberian, Francois Bouchy, Brendan P Bowler, César Briceño, Christopher J Burke, Matthew R Burleigh, Sarah L Casewell, David Ciardi, Kevin I Collins, Benjamin F Cooke, Olivier D S Demangeon, Rodrigo F Díaz, C Dorn, Diana Dragomir, Courtney Dressing, Xavier Dumusque, Néstor Espinoza, P Figueira, Benjamin Fulton, E Furlan, E Gaidos, C Geneser, Samuel Gill, Michael R Goad, Erica J Gonzales, Varoujan Gorjian, Maximilian N Günther, Ravit Helled, Beth A Henderson, Thomas Henning, Aleisha Hogan, Saeed Hojjatpanah, Jonathan Horner, Andrew W Howard, Sergio Hoyer, Dan Huber, Howard Isaacson, James S Jenkins, Eric L N Jensen, Andrés Jordán, Stephen R Kane, Richard C Kidwell, John Kielkopf, Nicholas Law, Monika Lendl, M Lund, Rachel A Matson, Andrew W Mann, James McCormac, Matthew W Mengel, Farisa Y Morales, Louise D Nielsen, Jack Okumura, Hugh P Osborn, Erik A Petigura, Peter Plavchan, Don Pollacco, Elisa V Quintana, Liam Raynard, Paul Robertson, Mark E Rose, Arpita Roy, Michael Reefe, Alexandre Santerne, Nuno C Santos, Paula Sarkis, J Schlieder, Richard P Schwarz, Nicholas J Scott, Avi Shporer, A M S Smith, C Stibbard, Chris Stockdale, Paul A Strøm, Joseph D Twicken, Thiam-Guan Tan, A Tanner, J Teske, Rosanna H Tilbrook, C G Tinney, Stephane Udry, Jesus Noel Villaseñor, Jose I Vines, Sharon X Wang, Lauren M Weiss, Richard G West, Peter J Wheatley, Duncan J Wright, Hui Zhang, and F Zohrabi
Published: 2021
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17. Tentative Evidence for Water Vapor in the Atmosphere of the Neptune-sized Exoplanet HD106315c

Author: Laura Kreidberg, Paul Mollière, Ian J M Crossfield, Daniel P Thorngren, Yui Kawashima, Caroline V Morley, Björn Benneke, Thomas Mikal-Evans, David Berardo, Molly R Kosiarek, Varoujan Gorjian, David R Ciardi, Jessie L Christiansen, Diana Dragomir, Courtney D Dressing, Jonathan J Fortney, Benjamin J Fulton, Thomas P Greene, Kevin K Hardegree-Ullman, Andrew W Howard, Steve B Howell, Howard Isaacson, Jessica E Krick, John H Livingston, Joshua D Lothringer, Farisa Y Morales, Erik A Petigura, Joseph E Rodriguez, Joshua E Schlieder, and Lauren M Weiss
Subjects: Astronomy
Abstract: We present a transmission spectrum for the Neptune-sized exoplanet HD 106315c from optical to infrared wavelengths based on transit observations from the Hubble Space Telescope/Wide Field Camera 3, K2, and Spitzer. The spectrum shows tentative evidence for a water absorption feature in the 1.1–1.7 μm wavelength range with a small amplitude of 30 ppm (corresponding to just 0.8 ± 0.04 atmospheric scale heights). Based on an atmospheric retrieval analysis, the presence of water vapor is tentatively favored with a Bayes factor of 1.7–2.6 (depending on prior assumptions). The spectrum is most consistent with either an enhanced metallicity or high-altitude condensates, or both. Cloud-free solar composition atmospheres are ruled out at >5σ confidence. We compare the spectrum to grids of cloudy and hazy forward models and find that the spectrum is fit well by models with moderate cloud lofting or haze formation efficiency over a wide range of metallicities (1–100× solar). We combine the constraints on the envelope composition with an interior structure model and estimate that the core mass fraction is ≳0.3. With a bulk composition reminiscent of that of Neptune and an orbital distance of 0.15 au, HD 106315c hints that planets may form out of broadly similar material and arrive at vastly different orbits later in their evolution.
Published: 2022
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18. A temperate Earth-sized planet with tidal heating transiting an M6 star

Author: Merrin S. Peterson, Björn Benneke, Karen Collins, Caroline Piaulet, Ian J. M. Crossfield, Mohamad Ali-Dib, Jessie L. Christiansen, Jonathan Gagné, Jackie Faherty, Edwin Kite, Courtney Dressing, David Charbonneau, Felipe Murgas, Marion Cointepas, Jose Manuel Almenara, Xavier Bonfils, Stephen Kane, Michael W. Werner, Varoujan Gorjian, Pierre-Alexis Roy, Avi Shporer, Francisco J. Pozuelos, Quentin Jay Socia, Ryan Cloutier, Jeremy Dietrich, Jonathan Irwin, Lauren Weiss, William Waalkes, Zach Berta-Thomson, Thomas Evans, Daniel Apai, Hannu Parviainen, Enric Pallé, Norio Narita, Andrew W. Howard, Diana Dragomir, Khalid Barkaoui, Michaël Gillon, Emmanuel Jehin, Elsa Ducrot, Zouhair Benkhaldoun, Akihiko Fukui, Mayuko Mori, Taku Nishiumi, Kiyoe Kawauchi, George Ricker, David W. Latham, Joshua N. Winn, Sara Seager, Howard Isaacson, Alex Bixel, Aidan Gibbs, Jon M. Jenkins, Jeffrey C. Smith, Jose Perez Chavez, Benjamin V. Rackham, Thomas Henning, Paul Gabor, Wen-Ping Chen, Nestor Espinoza, Eric L. N. Jensen, Kevin I. Collins, Richard P. Schwarz, Dennis M. Conti, Gavin Wang, John F. Kielkopf, Shude Mao, Keith Horne, Ramotholo Sefako, Samuel N. Quinn, Dan Moldovan, Michael Fausnaugh, Gábor Fűűrész, and Thomas Barclay
Subjects: Multidisciplinary
Published: 2023

19. TOI-2109: An Ultrahot Gas Giant on a 16 hr Orbit

Author: Ian Wong, Avi Shporer, George Zhou, Daniel Kitzmann, Thaddeus D. Komacek, Xianyu Tan, René Tronsgaard, Lars A. Buchhave, Shreyas Vissapragada, Michael Greklek-McKeon, Joseph E. Rodriguez, John P. Ahlers, Samuel N. Quinn, Elise Furlan, Steve B. Howell, Allyson Bieryla, Kevin Heng, Heather A. Knutson, Karen A. Collins, Kim K. McLeod, Perry Berlind, Peyton Brown, Michael L. Calkins, Jerome P. de Leon, Emma Esparza-Borges, Gilbert A. Esquerdo, Akihiko Fukui, Tianjun Gan, Eric Girardin, Crystal L. Gnilka, Masahiro Ikoma, Eric L. N. Jensen, John Kielkopf, Takanori Kodama, Seiya Kurita, Kathryn V. Lester, Pablo Lewin, Giuseppe Marino, Felipe Murgas, Norio Narita, Enric Pallé, Richard P. Schwarz, Keivan G. Stassun, Motohide Tamura, Noriharu Watanabe, Björn Benneke, George R. Ricker, David W. Latham, Roland Vanderspek, Sara Seager, Joshua N. Winn, Jon M. Jenkins, Douglas A. Caldwell, William Fong, Chelsea X. Huang, Ismael Mireles, Joshua E. Schlieder, Bernie Shiao, and Jesus Noel Villaseñor
Subjects: Astronomy
Abstract: We report the discovery of an ultrahot Jupiter with an extremely short orbital period of 0.67247414 ± 0.00000028 days (∼16 hr). The 1.347 ± 0.047 RJup planet, initially identified by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission, orbits TOI-2109 (TIC 392476080)—a T(eff) ∼ 6500 K F-type star with a mass of 1.447 ± 0.077 Mꙩ, a radius of 1.698 ± 0.060 Rꙩ, and a rotational velocity of v sin i =81.9 ± 1.7 km/s. The planetary nature of TOI-2109b was confirmed through radial-velocity measurements, which yielded a planet mass of 5.02 ± 0.75 M(Jup). Analysis of the Doppler shadow in spectroscopic transit observations indicates a well-aligned system, with a sky-projected obliquity of λ = 1.°7± 1.°7. From the TESS full-orbit light curve, we measured a secondary eclipse depth of 731 ± 46 ppm, as well as phase-curve variations from the planet's longitudinal brightness modulation and ellipsoidal distortion of the host star. Combining the TESS-band occultation measurement with a K(s)-band secondary eclipse depth (2012 ± 80 ppm) derived from ground-based observations, we find that the dayside emission of TOI-2109b is consistent with a brightness temperature of 3631 ± 69 K, making it the second hottest exoplanet hitherto discovered. By virtue of its extreme irradiation and strong planet–star gravitational interaction, TOI-2109b is an exceptionally promising target for intensive follow-up studies using current and near-future telescope facilities to probe for orbital decay, detect tidally driven atmospheric escape, and assess the impacts of H2 dissociation and recombination on the global heat transport.
Published: 2021
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20. TOI-1518b: A Misaligned Ultra-hot Jupiter with Iron in Its Atmosphere

Author: Samuel H. C. Cabot, Aaron Bello-Arufe, João M. Mendonça, René Tronsgaard, Ian Wong, George Zhou, Lars Buchhave, Debra A. Fischer, Keivan G. Stassun, Victoria Antoci, David Baker, Alexander A. Belinski, Björn Benneke, Luke G. Bouma, Jessie L. Christiansen, Karen A. Collins, Maria V. Goliguzova, Simone Hagey, Jon M. Jenkins, Eric L. N. Jensen, Richard C. Kidwell Jr, Didier Laloum, Bob Massey, Kim K. McLeod, David W. Latham, Edward H. Morgan, George Ricker, Boris S. Safonov, Joshua E. Schlieder, Sara Seager, Avi Shporer, Jeffrey C. Smith, Gregor Srdoc, Ivan A. Strakhov, Guillermo Torres, Joseph D. Twicken, Roland Vanderspek, Michael Vezie, and Joshua N. Winn
Subjects: Astronomy
Abstract: We present the discovery of TOI-1518b—an ultra-hot Jupiter orbiting a bright star (V = 8.95). The transiting planet is confirmed using high-resolution optical transmission spectra from EXPRES. It is inflated, with Rp = 1.875 ± 0.053 RJ, and exhibits several interesting properties, including a misaligned orbit (240.34 (+0.93, -0.98) degrees) and nearly grazing transit (b=0.9036 (+0.0061, -0.0053)). The planet orbits a fast-rotating F0 host star (Teff ≃ 7300 K) in 1.9 days and experiences intense irradiation. Notably, the TESS data show a clear secondary eclipse with a depth of 364 ± 28 ppm and a significant phase-curve signal, from which we obtain a relative day–night planetary flux difference of roughly 320 ppm and a 5.2σ detection of ellipsoidal distortion on the host star. Prompted by recent detections of atomic and ionized species in ultra-hot Jupiter atmospheres, we conduct an atmospheric cross-correlation analysis. We detect neutral iron (5.2σ), at K(p) = 157 (+68, -44) km/s and V(sys) = -16 (+2, -4), adding another object to the small sample of highly irradiated gas-giant planets with Fe detections in transmission. Detections so far favor particularly inflated gas giants with radii ≳1.78 R(J), which may be due to observational bias. With an equilibrium temperature of T(eq) = 2492 ± 38 K and a measured dayside brightness temperature of 3237 ± 59 K (assuming zero geometric albedo), TOI-1518b is a promising candidate for future emission spectroscopy to probe for a thermal inversion.
Published: 2021
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21. Eureka!: An End-to-End Pipeline for JWST Time-Series Observations.

Author: Taylor J. Bell, Eva-Maria Ahrer, Jonathan Brande, Aarynn L. Carter, Adina D. Feinstein, Giannina Guzman Caloca, Megan Mansfield, Sebastian Zieba, Caroline Piaulet, Björn Benneke, Joseph Filippazzo, Erin M. May, Pierre-Alexis Roy, Laura Kreidberg, and Kevin B. Stevenson
Published: 2022
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22. GJ 1252b: A Hot Terrestrial Super-Earth with No Atmosphere

Author: Ian J. M. Crossfield, Matej Malik, Michelle L. Hill, Stephen R. Kane, Bradford Foley, Alex S. Polanski, David Coria, Jonathan Brande, Yanzhe Zhang, Katherine Wienke, Laura Kreidberg, Nicolas B. Cowan, Diana Dragomir, Varoujan Gorjian, Thomas Mikal-Evans, Björn Benneke, Jessie L. Christiansen, Drake Deming, and Farisa Y. Morales
Published: 2022
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23. K2-138 g: Spitzer Spots a Sixth Planet for the Citizen Science System

Author: Kevin K. Hardegree-Ullman, Jessie L. Christiansen, David R. Ciardi, Ian J. M. Crossfield, Courtney D. Dressing, John H. Livingston, Kathryn Volk, Eric Agol, Thomas Barclay, Geert Barentsen, Björn Benneke, Varoujan Gorjian, and Martti H. Kristiansen
Subjects: Astronomy
Abstract: K2 greatly extended Kepler's ability to find new planets, but it was typically limited to identifying transiting planets with orbital periods below 40 days. While analyzing K2 data through the Exoplanet Explorers project, citizen scientists helped discover one super-Earth and four sub-Neptune sized planets in the relatively bright (V = 12.21, K = 10.3) K2-138 system, all which orbit near 3:2 mean-motion resonances. The K2 light curve showed two additional transit events consistent with a sixth planet. Using Spitzer photometry, we validate the sixth planet's orbital period of 41.966 ± 0.006 days and measure a radius of 3.44 (+0.32,-.031)Rꚛ, solidifying K2-138 as the K2 system with the most currently known planets. There is a sizeable gap between the outer two planets, since the fifth planet in the system, K2-138 f, orbits at 12.76 days. We explore the possibility of additional nontransiting planets in the gap between f and g. Due to the relative brightness of the K2-138 host star, and the near resonance of the inner planets, K2-138 could be a key benchmark system for both radial velocity and transit-timing variation mass measurements, and indeed radial velocity masses for the inner four planets have already been obtained. With its five sub-Neptunes and one super-Earth, the K2-138 system provides a unique test bed for comparative atmospheric studies of warm to temperate planets of similar size, dynamical studies of near-resonant planets, and models of planet formation and migration.
Published: 2021
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24. Systematic Phase Curve Study of Known Transiting Systems from Year One of the TESS Mission

Author: Ian Wong, Avi Shporer, Tansu Daylan, Björn Benneke, Tara Fetherolf, Stephen R. Kane, George R Ricker, Roland Vanderspek, David W. Latham, Joshua N. Winn, Jon M Jenkins, Patricia T Boyd, Ana Glidden, Robert F. Goeke, Lizhou Sha, Eric B Ting, and Daniel Yahalomi
Subjects: Astronomy
Abstract: We present a systematic phase curve analysis of known transiting systems observed by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) during year one of the primary mission. Using theoretical predictions for the amplitude of the planetary longitudinal atmospheric brightness modulation, stellar ellipsoidal distortion and Doppler boosting, as well as brightness considerations to select targets with likely detectable signals, we applied a uniform data processing and light-curve modeling framework to fit the full-orbit phase curves of 22 transiting systems with planet-mass or brown dwarf companions, including previously published systems. Statistically significant secondary eclipse depths and/or atmospheric brightness modulation amplitudes were measured for HIP 65A, WASP-18, WASP-19, WASP-72, WASP-100, WASP-111, WASP-121, and WASP-122/KELT-14. For WASP-100b, we found marginal evidence that the brightest region of the atmosphere is shifted eastward away from the substellar point. We detected significant ellipsoidal distortion signals in the light curves of HIP 65A, TOI-503, WASP-18, and WASP-30, with HIP 65A, TOI-503 and WASP-18 also exhibiting Doppler boosting. The measured amplitudes of these signals agree with the predictions of theoretical models. Combining the optical secondary eclipse depths with previously published Spitzer 3.6 and 4.5 μm measurements, we derived dayside brightness temperatures and visible-light geometric albedos for a subset of the analyzed systems. We also calculated updated transit ephemerides combining the transit timings from the TESS light curves with previous literature values.
Published: 2020
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25. Statistical Characterization of Hot Jupiter Atmospheres Using Spitzer's Secondary Eclipses

Author: Emily Garhart, Drake Deming, Avi Mandell, Heather Knutson, Nicole Wallack, Adam Burrows, Jonathan J. Fortney, Callie Hood, Christopher Seay, David K. Sing, Björn Benneke, Jonathan D Fraine, Tiffany Kataria, Nikole Lewis, Nikku Madhusudhan, Peter McCullough, Kevin B. Stevenson, and Hannah Wakeford
Subjects: Astronomy
Abstract: We report 78 secondary eclipse depths for a sample of 36 transiting hot Jupiters observed at 3.6 and 4.5 μm using the Spitzer Space Telescope. Our eclipse results for 27 of these planets are new, and include highly irradiated worlds such as KELT-7b, WASP-87b, WASP-76b, and WASP-64b, and important targets for James Webb Space Telescope such as WASP-62b. We find that WASP-62b has a slightly eccentric orbit (e cos w = 0.00614 ± 0.00064), and we confirm the eccentricity of HAT-P-13b and WASP-14b. The remainder are individually consistent with circular orbits, but we find statistical evidence for eccentricity increasing with orbital period in our range from 1 to 5 days. Our day-side brightness temperatures for the planets yield information on albedo and heat redistribution, following Cowan & Agol (2011). Planets having maximum day-side temperatures exceeding ∼2200 K are consistent with having zero albedo and a distribution of stellar irradiance uniformly over the day-side hemisphere. Our most intriguing result is that we detect a systematic difference between the emergent spectra of these hot Jupiters as compared to blackbodies. The ratio of observed brightness temperatures, Tb(4.5)/Tb(3.6), increases with equilibrium temperature by 100 ± 24 parts-per-million per Kelvin, over the entire temperature range in our sample (800–2500 K). No existing model predicts this trend over such a large range of temperature. We suggest that this may be due to a structural difference in the atmospheric temperature profiles of real planetary atmospheres as compared to models.
Published: 2020
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26. CO or no CO? Narrowing the CO abundance constraint and recovering the H2O detection in the atmosphere of WASP-127 b using SPIRou

Author: Anne Boucher, David Lafreniére, Stefan Pelletier, Antoine Darveau-Bernier, Michael Radica, Romain Allart, Étienne Artigau, Neil J Cook, Florian Debras, René Doyon, Eric Gaidos, Björn Benneke, Charles Cadieux, Andres Carmona, Ryan Cloutier, Pía Cortés-Zuleta, Nicolas B Cowan, Xavier Delfosse, Jean-François Donati, Pascal Fouqué, Thierry Forveille, Konstantin Grankin, Guillaume Hébrard, Jorge H C Martins, Eder Martioli, Adrien Masson, and Sandrine Vinatier
Subjects: Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP), Space and Planetary Science, FOS: Physical sciences, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Abstract: Precise measurements of chemical abundances in planetary atmospheres are necessary to constrain the formation histories of exoplanets. A recent study of WASP-127b, a close-in puffy sub-Saturn orbiting its solar-type host star in 4.2 d, using HST and Spitzer revealed a feature-rich transmission spectrum with strong excess absorption at 4.5 um. However, the limited spectral resolution and coverage of these instruments could not distinguish between CO and/or CO2 absorption causing this signal, with both low and high C/O ratio scenarios being possible. Here we present near-infrared (0.9--2.5 um) transit observations of WASP-127 b using the high-resolution SPIRou spectrograph, with the goal to disentangle CO from CO2 through the 2.3 um CO band. With SPIRou, we detect H2O at a t-test significance of 5.3 sigma and observe a tentative (3 sigma) signal consistent with OH absorption. From a joint SPIRou + HST + Spitzer retrieval analysis, we rule out a CO-rich scenario by placing an upper limit on the CO abundance of log10[CO], 23 pages, 13 figures, Submitted for publication in the Monthly Notice of the Royal Astronomical Society
Published: 2023

27. Early Release Science of the exoplanet WASP-39b with JWST NIRCam

Author: Eva-Maria Ahrer, Kevin B. Stevenson, Megan Mansfield, Sarah E. Moran, Jonathan Brande, Giuseppe Morello, Catriona A. Murray, Nikolay K. Nikolov, Dominique J. M. Petit dit de la Roche, Everett Schlawin, Peter J. Wheatley, Sebastian Zieba, Natasha E. Batalha, Mario Damiano, Jayesh M. Goyal, Monika Lendl, Joshua D. Lothringer, Sagnick Mukherjee, Kazumasa Ohno, Natalie M. Batalha, Matthew P. Battley, Jacob L. Bean, Thomas G. Beatty, Björn Benneke, Zachory K. Berta-Thompson, Aarynn L. Carter, Patricio E. Cubillos, Tansu Daylan, Néstor Espinoza, Peter Gao, Neale P. Gibson, Samuel Gill, Joseph Harrington, Renyu Hu, Laura Kreidberg, Nikole K. Lewis, Michael R. Line, Mercedes López-Morales, Vivien Parmentier, Diana K. Powell, David K. Sing, Shang-Min Tsai, Hannah R. Wakeford, Luis Welbanks, Munazza K. Alam, Lili Alderson, Natalie H. Allen, David R. Anderson, Joanna K. Barstow, Daniel Bayliss, Taylor J. Bell, Jasmina Blecic, Edward M. Bryant, Matthew R. Burleigh, Ludmila Carone, S. L. Casewell, Quentin Changeat, Katy L. Chubb, Ian J. M. Crossfield, Nicolas Crouzet, Leen Decin, Jean-Michel Désert, Adina D. Feinstein, Laura Flagg, Jonathan J. Fortney, John E. Gizis, Kevin Heng, Nicolas Iro, Eliza M.-R. Kempton, Sarah Kendrew, James Kirk, Heather A. Knutson, Thaddeus D. Komacek, Pierre-Olivier Lagage, Jérémy Leconte, Jacob Lustig-Yaeger, Ryan J. MacDonald, Luigi Mancini, E. M. May, N. J. Mayne, Yamila Miguel, Thomas Mikal-Evans, Karan Molaverdikhani, Enric Palle, Caroline Piaulet, Benjamin V. Rackham, Seth Redfield, Laura K. Rogers, Pierre-Alexis Roy, Zafar Rustamkulov, Evgenya L. Shkolnik, Kristin S. Sotzen, Jake Taylor, P. Tremblin, Gregory S. Tucker, Jake D. Turner, Miguel de Val-Borro, Olivia Venot, Xi Zhang, Ahrer, Eva-Maria [0000-0003-0973-8426], Stevenson, Kevin B. [0000-0002-7352-7941], Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository, University of St Andrews. School of Physics and Astronomy, and Stevenson, Kevin B [0000-0002-7352-7941]
Subjects: 141, Extraterrestrial Environment, 639/33/445/862, FOS: Physical sciences, Planets, 5109 Space Sciences, 140, Exobiology, QB Astronomy, Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM), Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR), QB, Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP), MCC, Multidisciplinary, Atmosphere, Settore FIS/05, article, Water, DAS, 639/33/34/862, Oxygen, Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics, 5101 Astronomical Sciences, Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, 51 Physical Sciences, Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Abstract: Measuring the metallicity and carbon-to-oxygen (C/O) ratio in exoplanet atmospheres is a fundamental step towards constraining the dominant chemical processes at work and, if in equilibrium, revealing planet formation histories. Transmission spectroscopy provides the necessary means by constraining the abundances of oxygen- and carbon-bearing species; however, this requires broad wavelength coverage, moderate spectral resolution, and high precision that, together, are not achievable with previous observatories. Now that JWST has commenced science operations, we are able to observe exoplanets at previously uncharted wavelengths and spectral resolutions. Here we report time-series observations of the transiting exoplanet WASP-39b using JWST's Near InfraRed Camera (NIRCam). The long-wavelength spectroscopic and short-wavelength photometric light curves span 2.0 - 4.0 $\mu$m, exhibit minimal systematics, and reveal well-defined molecular absorption features in the planet's spectrum. Specifically, we detect gaseous H$_2$O in the atmosphere and place an upper limit on the abundance of CH$_4$. The otherwise prominent CO$_2$ feature at 2.8 $\mu$m is largely masked by H$_2$O. The best-fit chemical equilibrium models favour an atmospheric metallicity of 1-100$\times$ solar (i.e., an enrichment of elements heavier than helium relative to the Sun) and a sub-stellar carbon-to-oxygen (C/O) ratio. The inferred high metallicity and low C/O ratio may indicate significant accretion of solid materials during planet formation or disequilibrium processes in the upper atmosphere., Comment: 35 pages, 13 figures, 3 tables, Nature, accepted
Published: 2023
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28. Early Release Science of the exoplanet WASP-39b with JWST NIRISS

Author: Adina D. Feinstein, Michael Radica, Luis Welbanks, Catriona Anne Murray, Kazumasa Ohno, Louis-Philippe Coulombe, Néstor Espinoza, Jacob L. Bean, Johanna K. Teske, Björn Benneke, Michael R. Line, Zafar Rustamkulov, Arianna Saba, Angelos Tsiaras, Joanna K. Barstow, Jonathan J. Fortney, Peter Gao, Heather A. Knutson, Ryan J. MacDonald, Thomas Mikal-Evans, Benjamin V. Rackham, Jake Taylor, Vivien Parmentier, Natalie M. Batalha, Zachory K. Berta-Thompson, Aarynn L. Carter, Quentin Changeat, Leonardo A. dos Santos, Neale P. Gibson, Jayesh M. Goyal, Laura Kreidberg, Mercedes López-Morales, Joshua D. Lothringer, Yamila Miguel, Karan Molaverdikhani, Sarah E. Moran, Giuseppe Morello, Sagnick Mukherjee, David K. Sing, Kevin B. Stevenson, Hannah R. Wakeford, Eva-Maria Ahrer, Munazza K. Alam, Lili Alderson, Natalie H. Allen, Natasha E. Batalha, Taylor J. Bell, Jasmina Blecic, Jonathan Brande, Claudio Caceres, S. L. Casewell, Katy L. Chubb, Ian J. M. Crossfield, Nicolas Crouzet, Patricio E. Cubillos, Leen Decin, Jean-Michel Désert, Joseph Harrington, Kevin Heng, Thomas Henning, Nicolas Iro, Eliza M.-R. Kempton, Sarah Kendrew, James Kirk, Jessica Krick, Pierre-Olivier Lagage, Monika Lendl, Luigi Mancini, Megan Mansfield, E. M. May, N. J. Mayne, Nikolay K. Nikolov, Enric Palle, Dominique J. M. Petit dit de la Roche, Caroline Piaulet, Diana Powell, Seth Redfield, Laura K. Rogers, Michael T. Roman, Pierre-Alexis Roy, Matthew C. Nixon, Everett Schlawin, Xianyu Tan, P. Tremblin, Jake D. Turner, Olivia Venot, William C. Waalkes, Peter J. Wheatley, Xi Zhang, University of St Andrews. School of Physics and Astronomy, Feinstein, Adina D [0000-0002-9464-8101], Line, Michael R [0000-0001-6247-8323], Rustamkulov, Zafar [0000-0003-4408-0463], Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository, Feinstein, Adina D. [0000-0002-9464-8101], and Line, Michael R. [0000-0001-6247-8323]
Subjects: Extraterrestrial Environment, 639/33/445/862, FOS: Physical sciences, 610 Medicine & health, 5109 Space Sciences, 140, QB Astronomy, Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM), Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR), QC, QB, Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP), Multidisciplinary, Settore FIS/05, Spectrum Analysis, article, Water, 639/33/34/862, 3rd-DAS, Oxygen, QC Physics, Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics, MCP, Potassium, 570 Life sciences, biology, Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, 51 Physical Sciences, Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Abstract: Transmission spectroscopy provides insight into the atmospheric properties and consequently the formation history, physics, and chemistry of transiting exoplanets. However, obtaining precise inferences of atmospheric properties from transmission spectra requires simultaneously measuring the strength and shape of multiple spectral absorption features from a wide range of chemical species. This has been challenging given the precision and wavelength coverage of previous observatories. Here, we present the transmission spectrum of the Saturn-mass exoplanet WASP-39b obtained using the SOSS mode of the NIRISS instrument on the JWST. This spectrum spans $0.6 - 2.8 \mu$m in wavelength and reveals multiple water absorption bands, the potassium resonance doublet, as well as signatures of clouds. The precision and broad wavelength coverage of NIRISS-SOSS allows us to break model degeneracies between cloud properties and the atmospheric composition of WASP-39b, favoring a heavy element enhancement ("metallicity") of $\sim 10 - 30 \times$ the solar value, a sub-solar carbon-to-oxygen (C/O) ratio, and a solar-to-super-solar potassium-to-oxygen (K/O) ratio. The observations are best explained by wavelength-dependent, non-gray clouds with inhomogeneous coverage of the planet's terminator., Comment: 48 pages, 12 figures, 2 tables. Under review at Nature
Published: 2023

29. A Super-Earth and Sub-Neptune Transiting the Late-type M Dwarf LP 791-18

Author: Ian J. M. Crossfield, William Waalkes, Elisabeth R. Newton, Norio Narita, Philip Muirhead, Kristo Ment, Elisabeth Matthews, Adam Kraus, Veselin Kostov, Molly R. Kosiarek, Stephen R. Kane, Howard Isaacson, Sam Halverson, Erica Gonzales, Mark Everett, Diana Dragomir, Karen A. Collins, Ashley Chontos, David Berardo, Jennifer G. Winters, Joshua N. Winn, Nicholas J. Scott, Barbara Rojas-Ayala, Aaron C. Rizzuto, Erik A. Petigura, Merrin Peterson, Teo Mocnik, Thomas Mikal-Evans, Nicholas Mehrle, Rachel Matson, Masayuki Kuzuhara, Jonathan Irwin, Daniel Huber, Chelsea Huang, Steve Howell, Andrew W. Howard, Teruyuki Hirano, Benjamin J. Fulton, Trent Dupuy, Courtney Dressing, Paul A. Dalba, David Charbonneau, Jennifer Burt, Zachory Berta-Thompson, Björn Benneke, Noriharu Watanabe, Joseph D. Twicken, Motohide Tamura, Joshua Schlieder, S. Seager, Mark E. Rose, George Ricker, Elisa Quintana, Sébastien Lépine, David W. Latham, Takayuki Kotani, Jon M. Jenkins, Yasunori Hori, Knicole Colon, and Douglas A. Caldwell
Subjects: Astronomy, Astrophysics
Abstract: Planets occur most frequently around cool dwarfs, but only a handful of specific examples are known to orbit the latest-type M stars. Using TESS photometry, we report the discovery of two planets transiting the low-mass star called LP 791-18 (identified by TESS as TOI 736). This star has spectral type M6V, effective temperature 2960 K, and radius 0.17 Rꙩ, making it the third-coolest star known to host planets. The two planets straddle the radius gap seen for smaller exoplanets; they include a 1.1Rꚛ planet on a 0.95 day orbit and a 2.3Rꚛ planet on a 5 day orbit. Because the host star is small the decrease in light during these planets' transits is fairly large (0.4% and 1.7%). This has allowed us to detect both planets' transits from ground-based photometry, refining their radii and orbital ephemerides. In the future, radial velocity observations and transmission spectroscopy can both probe these planets' bulk interior and atmospheric compositions, and additional photometric monitoring would be sensitive to even smaller transiting planets.
Published: 2019
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30. Bright Opportunities for Atmospheric Characterization of Small Planets: Masses and Radii of K2-3 b, c, and d and GJ3470 b from Radial Velocity Measurements and Spitzer Transits

Author: Molly R. Kosiarek, Ian J. M. Crossfield, Kevin K. Hardegree-Ullman, John H. Livingston, Björn Benneke, Gregory W. Henry, Ward S. Howard, David Berardo, Sarah Blunt, Benjamin J. Fulton, Lea A. Hirsch, Andrew W. Howard, Howard Isaacson, Erik A. Petigura, Evan Sinukoff, Lauren Weiss, X. Bonfils, Courtney D. Dressing, Heather A. Knutson, Joshua E. Schlieder, Michael Werner, Varoujan Gorjian, Jessica Krick, Farisa Y. Morales, Nicola Astudillo-Defru, J.-M. Almenara, X. Delfosse, T. Forveille, C. Lovis, M. Mayor, F. Murgas, F. Pepe, N. C. Santos, S. Udry, H. T. Corbett, Octavi Fors, Nicholas M. Law, Jeffrey K. Ratzloff, and Daniel del Ser
Subjects: Astronomy, Astrophysics
Abstract: We report improved masses, radii, and densities for four planets in two bright M-dwarf systems, K2-3 and GJ3470, derived from a combination of new radial velocity and transit observations. Supplementing K2 photometry with follow-up Spitzer transit observations refined the transit ephemerides of K2-3 b, c, and d by over a factor of 10. We analyze ground-based photometry from the Evryscope and Fairborn Observatory to determine the characteristic stellar activity timescales for our Gaussian Process fit, including the stellar rotation period and activity region decay timescale. The stellar rotation signals for both stars are evident in the radial velocity data and is included in our fit using a Gaussian process trained on the photometry. We find the masses of K2-3 b, K2-3 c, and GJ3470 b to be 6.48(+0.99,-0.93), 2.14(+1.08,-1.28), and 12.58(+1.31,-1.28)Mꚛ, respectively. K2-3 d was not significantly detected and has a 3σ upper limit of 2.80 Mꚛ. These two systems are training cases for future TESS systems; due to the low planet densities (ρ < 3.7 g/cu.cm) and bright host stars (K < 9 mag), they are among the best candidates for transmission spectroscopy in order to characterize the atmospheric compositions of small planets.
Published: 2019
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31. Evidence for the volatile-rich composition of a 1.5-Earth-radius planet

Author: Caroline Piaulet, Björn Benneke, Jose M. Almenara, Diana Dragomir, Heather A. Knutson, Daniel Thorngren, Merrin S. Peterson, Ian J. M. Crossfield, Eliza M.-R. Kempton, Daria Kubyshkina, Andrew W. Howard, Ruth Angus, Howard Isaacson, Lauren M. Weiss, Charles A. Beichman, Jonathan J. Fortney, Luca Fossati, Helmut Lammer, P. R. McCullough, Caroline V. Morley, and Ian Wong
Subjects: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Published: 2022

32. Is the hot, dense sub-Neptune TOI-824b an exposed Neptune mantle? Spitzer detection of the hot day side and reanalysis of the interior composition

Author: Pierre-Alexis Roy, Björn Benneke, Caroline Piaulet, Ian J. M. Crossfield, Laura Kreidberg, Diana Dragomir, Drake Deming, Michael W. Werner, Vivien Parmentier, Jessie L. Christiansen, Courtney D. Dressing, Stephen R. Kane, and Farisa Y. Morales
Subjects: Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP), Space and Planetary Science, FOS: Physical sciences, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Abstract: The Kepler and TESS missions revealed a remarkable abundance of sub-Neptune exoplanets. Despite this abundance, our understanding of the nature and compositional diversity of sub-Neptunes remains limited, to a large part because atmospheric studies via transmission spectroscopy almost exclusively aimed for low-density sub-Neptunes and even those were often affected by high-altitude clouds. The recent TESS discovery of the hot, dense TOI-824b ($2.93\,R_\oplus$ and $18.47\,M_\oplus$) opens a new window into sub-Neptune science by enabling the study of a dense sub-Neptune via secondary eclipses. Here, we present the detection of TOI-824b's hot day side via Spitzer secondary eclipse observations in the $3.6$ and $4.5\,\mathrm{μm}$ channels, combined with a reanalysis of its interior composition. The measured eclipse depths (142$^{+57}_{-52}$ and 245$^{+75}_{-77}$ ppm) and brightness temperatures (1463$^{+183}_{-196}$ and 1484$^{+180}_{-202}$ K) indicate a poor heat redistribution ($f>$ 0.49) and a low Bond albedo (A$_{B}, Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal, 14 pages, 5 figures
Published: 2022

33. TESS Hunt for Young and Maturing Exoplanets (THYME). IV. Three Small Planets Orbiting a 120 Myr Old Star in the Pisces–Eridanus Stream*

Author: Elisabeth R. Newton, Andrew W. Mann, Adam L. Kraus, John H. Livingston, Andrew Vanderburg, Jason L. Curtis, Pa Chia Thao, Keith Hawkins, Mackenna L. Wood, Aaron C. Rizzuto, Abderahmane Soubkiou, Benjamin M. Tofflemire, George Zhou, Ian J. M. Crossfield, Logan A. Pearce, Karen A. Collins, Dennis M. Conti, Thiam-Guan Tan, Steven Villeneuva, Alton Spencer, Diana Dragomir, Samuel N. Quinn, Eric L. N. Jensen, Kevin I. Collins, Chris Stockdale, Ryan Cloutier, Coel Hellier, Zouhair Benkhaldoun, Carl Ziegler, César Briceño, Nicholas Law, Björn Benneke, Jessie L. Christiansen, Varoujan Gorjian, Stephen R. Kane, Laura Kreidberg, Farisa Y. Morales, Michael W Werner, Joseph D. Twicken, Alan M. Levine, David R. Ciardi, Natalia M. Guerrero, Katharine Hesse, Elisa V. Quintana, Bernie Shiao, Jeffrey C. Smith, Guillermo Torres, George R. Ricker, Roland Vanderspek, Sara Seager, Joshua N. Winn, Jon M. Jenkins, and David W. Latham
Published: 2021
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34. Phase Curves of Hot Neptune LTT 9779b Suggest a High-metallicity Atmosphere

Author: Ian J. M. Crossfield, Diana Dragomir, Nicolas B. Cowan, Tansu Daylan, Ian Wong, Tiffany Kataria, Drake Deming, Laura Kreidberg, Thomas Mikal-Evans, Varoujan Gorjian, James S. Jenkins, Björn Benneke, Karen A. Collins, Christopher J. Burke, Christopher E. Henze, Scott McDermott, Ismael Mireles, David Watanabe, Bill Wohler, George Ricker, Roland Vanderspek, Sara Seager, and Jon M. Jenkins
Published: 2020
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35. The Broadband Transmission Spectrum of WASP-39b from JWST NIRSpec PRISM Observations

Author: Zafar Rustamkulov, David Sing, Michael Line, E. May, Everett Schlawin, Kevin Stevenson, Jayesh Goyal, Sagnick Mukherjee, Sarah Moran, Hannah Wakeford, Joshua Lothringer, Aarynn Carter, Ryan MacDonald, Nestor Espinoza, Mercedes López-Morales, Jacob Bean, Caroline Piaulet, Quentin Changeat, Natalie Batalha, L. Kreidberg, Pierre-Alexis Roy, Nikolay Nikolov, Natasha Batalha, Peter Wheatley, Karan Molaverdikhani, Viven Parmentier, Björn Benneke, Jeremy Leconte, Jake Taylor, Neale Gibson, William Waalkes, Yamila Miguel, Jean-Michel Désert, Patricio Cubillos, Nicolas Iro, Tansu Daylan, Eva-Maria Ahrer, Amy Louca, Jacob Lustig-Yaeger, RENYU HU, Luis Welbanks, Jasmina Blecic, Benjamin Rackham, Michael Radica, Peter Gao, Giuseppe Morello, Enric Palle, Olivia Venot, Xi Zhang, Natalie Allen, Eliza Kempton, Katy Chubb, Jonathan Fortney, Pascal Tremblin, Taylor Bell, Thomas Mikal-Evans, Megan Mansfield, Ian Crossfield, Keshav Aggarwal, Joseph Harrington, Sarah Casewell, Monika Lendl, Agnibha Banerjee, Seth Redfield, Joanna Barstow, Adina Feinstein, Sebastian Zieba, Jake Turner, Kevin Heng, Munazza Alam, Lili Alderson, Evgenya Shkolnik, Diana Powell, Lakeisha Ramos-Rosado, Dominique Petit dit de la Roche, John Southworth, Saugata Barat, Luigi Mancini, Tiffany Kataria, Kazumasa Ohno, Nathan Mayne, Yucian Hong, Laura Rogers, Jorge Lillo-box, Johanna Teske, David Barrado, Gregory Tucker, and Eric Agol
Abstract: Transmission spectroscopy of exoplanets has revealed signatures of water vapor, aerosols, and alkali metals in a few dozen exoplanet atmospheres. However, these previous inferences with the Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes were hindered by the observations’ relatively narrow wavelength range and spectral resolving power, which precluded the unambiguous identification of other chemical species—in particular the primary carbon-bearing molecules. Here we report a broad-wavelength 0.5–5.5 μm atmospheric transmission spectrum of WASP-39 b, a 1200 K, roughly Saturn-mass, Jupiter-radius exoplanet, measured with JWST NIRSpec’s PRISM mode as part of the JWST Transiting Exoplanet Community Early Release Science Team program. We robustly detect multiple chemical species at high significance, including Na (19σ), H2O (33σ), CO2 (28σ), and CO (7σ). The non-detection of CH4, combined with a strong CO2 feature, favours atmospheric models with a super-Solar atmospheric metallicity. An unanticipated absorption feature at 4μm is best explained by SO2 (2.7σ), which could be a tracer of atmospheric photochemistry. These observations demonstrate JWST’s sensitivity to a rich diversity of exoplanet compositions and chemical processes.
Published: 2022

36. Echelle simulation for the High-resolution Infrared Spectrograph for Exoplanet Characterization (HISPEC) at Keck

Author: Aidan Gibbs, Michael P. Fitzgerald, Dimitri Mawet, Quinn Konopacky, Ashley Baker, Björn Benneke, Daniel Echeverri, Sofia Hillman, Maxwell Millar-Blanchaer, Stefan Pelletier, Saavidra Perera, Ben Sappey, and Jason Wang
Published: 2022

37. Water Vapor and Clouds on the Habitable-zone Sub-Neptune Exoplanet K2-18b

Author: Björn Benneke, Ian Wong, Caroline Piaulet, Heather A. Knutson, Joshua Lothringer, Caroline V. Morley, Ian J. M. Crossfield, Peter Gao, Thomas P. Greene, Courtney Dressing, Diana Dragomir, Andrew W. Howard, Peter R. McCullough, Eliza M.-R. Kempton, Jonathan J. Fortney, and Jonathan Fraine
Published: 2019
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38. TESS Revisits WASP-12: Updated Orbital Decay Rate and Constraints on Atmospheric Variability

Author: Ian Wong, Avi Shporer, Shreyas Vissapragada, Michael Greklek-McKeon, Heather A. Knutson, Joshua N. Winn, and Björn Benneke
Subjects: Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP), Space and Planetary Science, FOS: Physical sciences, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Abstract: After observing WASP-12 in the second year of the primary mission, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) revisited the system in late 2021 during its extended mission. In this paper, we incorporate the new TESS photometry into a reanalysis of the transits, secondary eclipses, and phase curve. We also present a new $K_s$-band occultation observation of WASP-12b obtained with the Palomar/Wide-field Infrared Camera instrument. The latest TESS photometry spans three consecutive months, quadrupling the total length of the TESS WASP-12 light curve and extending the overall time baseline by almost two years. Based on the full set of available transit and occultation timings, we find that the orbital period is shrinking at a rate of $-29.81 \pm 0.94$ ms yr$^{-1}$. The additional data also increase the measurement precision of the transit depth, orbital parameters, and phase-curve amplitudes. We obtain a secondary eclipse depth of $466 \pm 35$ ppm, a $2\sigma$ upper limit on the nightside brightness of 70 ppm, and a marginal $6\overset{\circ}{.}2 \pm 2\overset{\circ}{.}8$ eastward offset between the dayside hotspot and the substellar point. The voluminous TESS dataset allows us to assess the level of atmospheric variability on timescales of days, months, and years. We do not detect any statistically significant modulations in the secondary eclipse depth or day-night brightness contrast. Likewise, our measured $K_s$-band occultation depth of $2810 \pm 390$ ppm is consistent with most $\sim$2.2 $\mu$m observations in the literature., Comment: 16 pages, 9 figures, 3 tables. Published in AJ
Published: 2022

39. A Mirage or an Oasis? Water Vapor in the Atmosphere of the Warm Neptune TOI-674 b

Author: Jonathan Brande, Ian J. M. Crossfield, Laura Kreidberg, Antonija Oklopčić, Alex S. Polanski, Travis Barman, Björn Benneke, Jessie L. Christiansen, Diana Dragomir, Daniel Foreman-Mackey, Jonathan J. Fortney, Thomas P. Greene, Andrew W. Howard, Heather A. Knutson, Joshua D. Lothringer, Thomas Mikal-Evans, Caroline V. Morley, and Low Energy Astrophysics (API, FNWI)
Subjects: Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP), Space and Planetary Science, FOS: Physical sciences, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, Astrophysics::Earth and Planetary Astrophysics, Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics, Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Abstract: We report observations of the recently discovered warm Neptune TOI-674 b (5.25 \rearth{}, 23.6 \mearth{}) with the Hubble Space Telescope's Wide Field Camera 3 instrument. TOI-674 b is in the Neptune desert, an observed paucity of Neptune-size exoplanets at short orbital periods. Planets in the desert are thought to have complex evolutionary histories due to photoevaporative mass loss or orbital migration, making identifying the constituents of their atmospheres critical to understanding their origins. We obtained near-infrared transmission spectroscopy of the planet's atmosphere with the G141 grism. After extracting, detrending, and fitting the spectral lightcurves to measure the planet's transmission spectrum, we used the petitRADTRANS atmospheric spectral synthesis code to perform retrievals on the planet's atmosphere to identify which absorbers are present. These results show moderate evidence for increased absorption at 1.4 $\mu$m due to water vapor at 2.9$\sigma$ (Bayes factor = 15.8), as well as weak evidence for the presence of clouds at 2.2$\sigma$ (Bayes factor = 4.0). TOI-674 b is a strong candidate for further study to refine the water abundance, which is poorly constrained by our data. We also incorporated new TESS short-cadence optical photometry, as well as Spitzer/IRAC data, and re-fit the transit parameters for the planet. We find the planet to have the following transit parameters: $R_p/R_* = 0.1135\pm0.0006$, $T_0 = 2458544.523792\pm0.000452$ BJD, and $P = 1.977198\pm0.00007$ d. These measurements refine the planet radius estimate and improve the orbital ephemerides for future transit spectroscopy observations of this highly intriguing warm Neptune., Comment: Accepted to the Astronomical Journal. 20 pages, 17 figures
Published: 2022

40. TOI-1452 b: SPIRou and TESS Reveal a Super-Earth in a Temperate Orbit Transiting an M4 Dwarf

Author: Charles Cadieux, René Doyon, Mykhaylo Plotnykov, Guillaume Hébrard, Farbod Jahandar, Étienne Artigau, Diana Valencia, Neil J. Cook, Eder Martioli, Thomas Vandal, Jean-François Donati, Ryan Cloutier, Norio Narita, Akihiko Fukui, Teruyuki Hirano, François Bouchy, Nicolas B. Cowan, Erica J. Gonzales, David R. Ciardi, Keivan G. Stassun, Luc Arnold, Björn Benneke, Isabelle Boisse, Xavier Bonfils, Andrés Carmona, Pía Cortés-Zuleta, Xavier Delfosse, Thierry Forveille, Pascal Fouqué, João Gomes da Silva, Jon M. Jenkins, Flavien Kiefer, Ágnes Kóspál, David Lafrenière, Jorge H. C. Martins, Claire Moutou, J.-D. do Nascimento, Merwan Ould-Elhkim, Stefan Pelletier, Joseph D. Twicken, Luke G. Bouma, Scott Cartwright, Antoine Darveau-Bernier, Konstantin Grankin, Masahiro Ikoma, Taiki Kagetani, Kiyoe Kawauchi, Takanori Kodama, Takayuki Kotani, David W. Latham, Kristen Menou, George Ricker, Sara Seager, Motohide Tamura, Roland Vanderspek, Noriharu Watanabe, Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris (IAP), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut de recherche en astrophysique et planétologie (IRAP), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France -Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France -Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Corporation (CFHT), National Research Council of Canada (NRC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-University of Hawai'i [Honolulu] (UH), Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille (LAM), Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut de Planétologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble (IPAG), Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG ), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA)-Météo-France -Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA)-Météo-France, and ANR-18-CE31-0019,SPlaSH,Recherche de planètes habitables avec SPIRou(2018)
Subjects: Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP), [SDU.ASTR]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph], Exoplanets, FOS: Physical sciences, Astronomy and Astrophysics, M dwarf stars, Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics, Space and Planetary Science, [SDU]Sciences of the Universe [physics], Super Earths, Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR), Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Abstract: Exploring the properties of exoplanets near or inside the radius valley provides insights on the transition from the rocky super-Earths to the larger, hydrogen-rich atmosphere mini-Neptunes. Here, we report the discovery of TOI-1452 b, a transiting super-Earth ($R_{\rm p} = 1.67 \pm 0.07$ R$_{\oplus}$) in an 11.1--day temperate orbit ($T_{\rm eq} = 326 \pm 7$ K) around the primary member ($H = 10.0$, $T_{\rm eff} = 3185 \pm 50$ K) of a nearby visual binary M dwarf. The transits were first detected by TESS, then successfully isolated between the two $3.2^{\prime\prime}$ companions with ground-based photometry from OMM and MuSCAT3. The planetary nature of TOI-1452 b was established through high-precision velocimetry with the near-infrared SPIRou spectropolarimeter as part of the ongoing SPIRou Legacy Survey. The measured planetary mass ($4.8 \pm 1.3$ M$_{\oplus}$) and inferred bulk density ($5.6^{+1.8}_{-1.6}$ g/cm$^3$) is suggestive of a rocky core surrounded by a volatile-rich envelope. More quantitatively, the mass and radius of TOI-1452 b, combined with the stellar abundance of refractory elements (Fe, Mg and Si) measured by SPIRou, is consistent with a core mass fraction of $18\pm6$ % and a water mass fraction of $22^{+21}_{-13}$%. The water world candidate TOI-1452 b is a prime target for future atmospheric characterization with JWST, featuring a Transmission Spectroscopy Metric similar to other well-known temperate small planets such as LHS 1140 b and K2-18 b. The system is located near Webb's northern Continuous Viewing Zone, implying that is can be followed at almost any moment of the year., Published in The Astronomical Journal
Published: 2022
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41. Roaring Storms in the Planetary-Mass Companion VHS 1256-1257 b: Hubble Space Telescope Multi-epoch Monitoring Reveals Vigorous Evolution in an Ultra-cool Atmosphere

Author: Yifan Zhou, Brendan P. Bowler, Dániel Apai, Tiffany Kataria, Caroline V. Morley, Marta L. Bryan, Andrew J. Skemer, and Björn Benneke
Subjects: Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP), Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics, Space and Planetary Science, FOS: Physical sciences, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR), Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Abstract: Photometric and spectral variability of brown dwarfs probes heterogeneous temperature and cloud distribution and traces the atmospheric circulation patterns. We present a new 42-hr Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Wide Field Camera 3 G141 spectral time series of VHS 1256$-$1257 b, a late L-type planetary-mass companion that has been shown to have one of the highest variability amplitudes among substellar objects. The light curve is rapidly evolving and best-fit by a combination of three sine waves with different periods and a linear trend. The amplitudes of the sine waves and the linear slope vary with wavelength, and the corresponding spectral variability patterns match the predictions by models invoking either heterogeneous clouds or thermal profile anomalies. Combining these observations with previous HST monitoring data, we find that the peak-to-valley flux difference is $33\pm2$% with an even higher amplitude reaching 38% in the $J$ band, the highest amplitude ever observed in a substellar object. The observed light curve can be explained by maps that are composed of zonal waves, spots, or a mixture of the two. Distinguishing the origin of rapid light curve evolution requires additional long-term monitoring. Our findings underscore the essential role of atmospheric dynamics in shaping brown dwarf atmospheres and highlight VHS 1256$-$1257 b as one of the most favorable targets for studying atmospheres, clouds, and atmospheric circulation of planets and brown dwarfs., Comment: Accepted for publicaton in AJ. 18 pages main text, 13 figures
Published: 2022
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42. Transit timings variations in the three-planet system : TOI-270

Author: Laurel Kaye, Shreyas Vissapragada, Maximilian N Günther, Suzanne Aigrain, Thomas Mikal-Evans, Eric L N Jensen, Hannu Parviainen, Francisco J Pozuelos, Lyu Abe, Jack S Acton, Abdelkrim Agabi, Douglas R Alves, David R Anderson, David J Armstrong, Khalid Barkaoui, Oscar Barragán, Björn Benneke, Patricia T Boyd, Rafael Brahm, Ivan Bruni, Edward M Bryant, Matthew R Burleigh, Sarah L Casewell, David Ciardi, Ryan Cloutier, Karen A Collins, Kevin I Collins, Dennis M Conti, Ian J M Crossfield, Nicolas Crouzet, Tansu Daylan, Diana Dragomir, Georgina Dransfield, Daniel Fabrycky, Michael Fausnaugh, Gábor Fuűrész, Tianjun Gan, Samuel Gill, Michaël Gillon, Michael R Goad, Varoujan Gorjian, Michael Greklek-McKeon, Natalia Guerrero, Tristan Guillot, Emmanuël Jehin, J S Jenkins, Monika Lendl, Jacob Kamler, Stephen R Kane, John F Kielkopf, Michelle Kunimoto, Wenceslas Marie-Sainte, James McCormac, Djamel Mékarnia, Farisa Y Morales, Maximiliano Moyano, Enric Palle, Vivien Parmentier, Howard M Relles, François-Xavier Schmider, Richard P Schwarz, S Seager, Alexis M S Smith, Thiam-Guan Tan, Jake Taylor, Amaury H M J Triaud, Joseph D Twicken, Stephane Udry, J I Vines, Gavin Wang, Peter J Wheatley, and Joshua N Winn
Subjects: Space and Planetary Science, planets and satellites: composition, planets and satellites: formation, Astronomy and Astrophysics, planets and satellites: fundamental parameters, QB
Abstract: We present ground- and space-based photometric observations of TOI-270 (L231-32), a system of three transiting planets consisting of one super-Earth and two sub-Neptunes discovered by TESS around a bright (K-mag = 8.25) M3V dwarf. The planets orbit near low-order mean-motion resonances (5:3 and 2:1) and are thus expected to exhibit large transit timing variations (TTVs). Following an extensive observing campaign using eight different observatories between 2018 and 2020, we now report a clear detection of TTVs for planets c and d, with amplitudes of ∼10 min and a super-period of ∼3 yr, as well as significantly refined estimates of the radii and mean orbital periods of all three planets. Dynamical modelling of the TTVs alone puts strong constraints on the mass ratio of planets c and d and on their eccentricities. When incorporating recently published constraints from radial velocity observations, we obtain masses of $M_{\mathrm{b}}=1.48\pm 0.18\, M_\oplus$, $M_{\mathrm{c}}=6.20\pm 0.31\, M_\oplus$, and $M_{\mathrm{d}}=4.20\pm 0.16\, M_\oplus$ for planets b, c, and d, respectively. We also detect small but significant eccentricities for all three planets : eb = 0.0167 ± 0.0084, ec = 0.0044 ± 0.0006, and ed = 0.0066 ± 0.0020. Our findings imply an Earth-like rocky composition for the inner planet, and Earth-like cores with an additional He/H2O atmosphere for the outer two. TOI-270 is now one of the best constrained systems of small transiting planets, and it remains an excellent target for atmospheric characterization.
Published: 2021

43. Reinvestigation of the Multiepoch Direct Detections of HD 88133 b and Upsilon Andromedae b

Author: Björn Benneke, Danielle Piskorz, Chad F. Bender, John S. Carr, Travis S. Barman, Geoffrey A. Blake, Alexandra C. Lockwood, and Cam Buzard
Subjects: Physics, Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP), Epoch (astronomy), FOS: Physical sciences, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Radius, Astrophysics, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, Space and Planetary Science, Planet, Primary (astronomy), Astrophysics::Solar and Stellar Astrophysics, Astrophysics::Earth and Planetary Astrophysics, Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics, Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Abstract: We reanalyze the multi-epoch direct detections of HD 88133 b and ups And b that were published in Piskorz et al. 2016 and Piskorz et al. 2017, respectively. Using simulations to attempt to reproduce the detections, we find that with the 6 and 7 $L$ band Keck/NIRSPEC epochs analyzed in the original works, the planets would not have been detectable unless they had unreasonably large radii. HD88133 and ups And both have fairly large stellar radii, which contributed to the difficulty in detecting the planets. We take this opportunity to consider how these planets may have been detectable with the small number of epochs originally presented by running simulations both with the upgraded NIRSPEC instrument and with near-zero primary velocities, as recommended by Buzard et al. 2021. While 7 $L$ band NIRSPEC2.0 epochs with near-zero primary velocities would have allowed a strong ($10.8\sigma$) detection of ups And b, many more than 6 $L$ band epochs would have been required for a strong detection of HD88133b, which could be due in part to both this system's large stellar radius and low stellar temperature. This work stresses the importance of careful analytic procedures and the usefulness of simulations in understanding the expected sensitivity of high-resolution spectroscopic data., Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures, Accepted for publication in AJ
Published: 2021

44. Characterizing Exoplanetary Atmospheres at High Resolution with SPIRou: Detection of Water on HD 189733 b

Author: Ray Jayawardhana, Pascal Fouqué, Romain Allart, Claire Moutou, Antoine Darveau-Bernier, Michael Radica, David Lafrenière, Baptiste Klein, J. H. C. Martins, Nuno C. Santos, Ryan Cloutier, João Gomes da Silva, Emily Deibert, Vincent Bourrier, Christophe Lovis, Étienne Artigau, Pedro Figueira, Jean-François Donati, Anne Boucher, Xavier Bonfils, Björn Benneke, Eder Martioli, René Doyon, Xavier Delfosse, Thierry Forveille, Jonathan Gagné, Stefan Pelletier, Guillaume Hébrard, Luc Arnold, Eric Gaidos, David Ehrenreich, Neil Cook, Institut de recherche en astrophysique et planétologie (IRAP), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France -Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France -Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), ANR-18-CE31-0019,SPlaSH,Recherche de planètes habitables avec SPIRou(2018), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), and Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Subjects: FOS: Physical sciences, Astrophysics, 01 natural sciences, law.invention, Atmosphere, Telescope, Planet, law, 0103 physical sciences, Hot Jupiter, Mixing ratio, Astrophysics::Solar and Stellar Astrophysics, Transit (astronomy), 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP), Physics, 010308 nuclear & particles physics, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Exoplanet, 13. Climate action, Space and Planetary Science, [SDU]Sciences of the Universe [physics], Astrophysics::Earth and Planetary Astrophysics, Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics, Bar (unit)
Abstract: We present the first exoplanet atmosphere detection made as part of the SPIRou Legacy Survey, a Large Observing Program of 300 nights exploiting the capabilities of SPIRou, the new near-infrared high-resolution (R ~ 70 000) spectro-polarimeter installed on the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT; 3.6-m). We observed two transits of HD 189733, an extensively studied hot Jupiter that is known to show prominent water vapor absorption in its transmission spectrum. When combining the two transits, we successfully detect the planet's water vapor absorption at 5.9 sigma using a cross-correlation t-test, or with a Delta BIC >10 using a log-likelihood calculation. Using a Bayesian retrieval framework assuming a parametrized T-P profile atmosphere models, we constrain the planet atmosphere parameters, in the region probed by our transmission spectrum, to the following values: VMR[H2O] = -4.4^{+0.4}_{-0.4}, and P_cloud >~ 0.2 bar (grey clouds), both of which are consistent with previous studies of this planet. Our retrieved water volume mixing ratio is slightly sub-solar although, combining it with the previously retrieved super-solar CO abundances from other studies would imply super-solar C/O ratio. We furthermore measure a net blue shift of the planet signal of -4.62^{+0.46}_{-0.44} km s-1, which is somewhat larger than many previous measurements and unlikely to result solely from winds in the planet's atmosphere, although it could possibly be explained by a transit signal dominated by the trailing limb of the planet. This large blue shift is observed in all the different detection/retrieval methods that were performed and in each of the two transits independently., 24 pages, 12 figures; accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal
Published: 2021

45. TOI-431/HIP 26013: a super-Earth and a sub-Neptune transiting a bright, early K dwarf, with a third RV planet

Author: Andrés Jordán, Sara Seager, Brett C. Addison, Maximilian N. Günther, Monika Lendl, Jack Okumura, Jorge Lillo-Box, Jon M. Jenkins, Roland Vanderspek, C. G. Tinney, Benjamin J. Fulton, Peter J. Wheatley, Erik A. Petigura, Beth A. Henderson, C. Stibbard, P. Figueira, Rafael Brahm, Eric L. N. Jensen, Michael Reefe, Cesar Briceno, Chris Stockdale, S. Hojjatpanah, Farisa Y. Morales, Alexis M. S. Smith, Caroline Dorn, Thomas Henning, Vardan Adibekyan, George W. King, Lauren M. Weiss, David R. Ciardi, Howard Isaacson, Richard P. Schwarz, Thomas Barclay, Stephen R. Kane, Keivan G. Stassun, David W. Latham, Malcolm Fridlund, Jack S. Acton, Ravit Helled, Sharon X. Wang, John Berberian, Joseph D. Twicken, J. F. Otegi, David R. Anderson, Sarah L. Casewell, Elise Furlan, Elisabeth Matthews, Johanna Teske, Rodrigo F. Díaz, Samuel Gill, Daniel Bayliss, Ian Crossfield, Peter Plavchan, Matthew W. Mengel, Joshua E. Schlieder, John F. Kielkopf, Stéphane Udry, E. Delgado Mena, H. P. Osborn, Avi Shporer, R. Cloutier, J. Villasenor, Duncan J. Wright, E. Gaidos, A. Osborn, K. I. Collins, Angelle Tanner, Nicholas M. Law, Björn Benneke, Joshua N. Winn, Fei Dai, Nicholas J. Scott, Erica J. Gonzales, Courtney D. Dressing, Sarah Ballard, Don Pollacco, Coel Hellier, Michael R. Goad, David J. Armstrong, Varoujan Gorjian, Paula Sarkis, Richard C. Kidwell, F. Zohrabi, Nuno C. Santos, David Barrado, Matthew R. Burleigh, Sergio Hoyer, Claire Geneser, Christopher J. Burke, Richard G. West, James McCormac, P. A. Strøm, Daniel Huber, Aleisha Hogan, Paul Robertson, Natalie M. Batalha, Edward M. Bryant, Liam Raynard, Karen A. Collins, Robert A. Wittenmyer, Mark E. Rose, Rachel A. Matson, Steve B. Howell, James S. Jenkins, Jose I. Vines, S. C. C. Barros, Néstor Espinoza, B. Cale, Andrew W. Howard, Diana Dragomir, Alexandre Santerne, M. Lund, Olivier Demangeon, Brendan P. Bowler, Benjamin F. Cooke, Xavier Dumusque, Andrew W. Mann, Hui Zhang, Carl Ziegler, Arpita Roy, Rosanna H. Tilbrook, Sérgio F. Sousa, George R. Ricker, Jonathan Horner, Elisa V. Quintana, Thiam-Guan Tan, Louise D. Nielsen, François Bouchy, University of New South Wales [Sydney] (UNSW), McDonald Observatory, University of Texas at Austin [Austin], Leiden Observatory [Leiden], Universiteit Leiden, Chalmers University of Technology [Gothenburg, Sweden], NASA Ames Research Center Cooperative for Research in Earth Science in Technology (ARC-CREST), NASA Ames Research Center (ARC), European Southern Observatory [Santiago] (ESO), European Southern Observatory (ESO), Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço (IASTRO), Center for Space Research [Cambridge] (CSR), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA), Harvard University-Smithsonian Institution, European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC), Agence Spatiale Européenne = European Space Agency (ESA), Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille (LAM), Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Département de Physique [Montréal], Université de Montréal (UdeM), Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris (IAP), Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Department of Physics and Astronomy [Leicester], University of Leicester, Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC), California Institute of Technology (CALTECH), Optimisation - Système - Energie (GEPEA-OSE), Laboratoire de génie des procédés - environnement - agroalimentaire (GEPEA), Institut Universitaire de Technologie - Nantes (IUT Nantes), Université de Nantes (UN)-Université de Nantes (UN)-Université de Nantes - UFR des Sciences et des Techniques (UN UFR ST), Université de Nantes (UN)-Université de Nantes (UN)-Institut Universitaire de Technologie Saint-Nazaire (IUT Saint-Nazaire), Université de Nantes (UN)-Ecole Polytechnique de l'Université de Nantes (EPUN), Université de Nantes (UN)-École nationale vétérinaire, agroalimentaire et de l'alimentation Nantes-Atlantique (ONIRIS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Bretagne Loire (UBL)-IMT Atlantique (IMT Atlantique), Institut Mines-Télécom [Paris] (IMT)-Institut Mines-Télécom [Paris] (IMT)-Institut Universitaire de Technologie - La Roche-sur-Yon (IUT La Roche-sur-Yon), Université de Nantes (UN)-Institut Universitaire de Technologie - Nantes (IUT Nantes), Université de Nantes (UN), Institut für Virologie, Philipps University, MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie (MPIA), Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Department of Geology and Geophysics [Mānoa], University of Hawai‘i [Mānoa] (UHM), Universität Zürich [Zürich] = University of Zurich (UZH), Department of Earth and Planetary Science [UC Berkeley] (EPS), University of California [Berkeley] (UC Berkeley), University of California (UC)-University of California (UC), Universidad de Chile = University of Chile [Santiago] (UCHILE), Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (UC), University of Louisville, Austrian Academy of Sciences (OeAW), Lund University [Lund], University of Warwick [Coventry], Observatoire Astronomique de l'Université de Genève (ObsGE), Université de Genève = University of Geneva (UNIGE), Physikalisches Institut [Bern], Universität Bern [Bern] (UNIBE), German Aerospace Center (DLR), Swiss Bee Research Centre, Centre for Medical Image Computing (CMIC), and University College of London [London] (UCL)
Subjects: (TOI-431, planets and satellites: detection, Fundamental Parameters, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, [PHYS.ASTR.EP]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Earth and Planetary Astrophysics [astro-ph.EP], (TOI-431, TIC 31374837), FOS: Physical sciences, Individual, Astrophysics, Q1, 01 natural sciences, Neptune, Planet, QB460, 0103 physical sciences, planets and satellites: fundamental parameters, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, QB600, QC, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, QB, Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP), Physics, Super-Earth, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Planets and Satellites, Radius, Light curve, Exoplanet, Radial velocity, Photometry (astronomy), Detection, 13. Climate action, Space and Planetary Science, planets and satellites: individual: (TOI-431, TIC 31374837), Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Abstract: We present the bright (V$_{mag} = 9.12$), multi-planet system TOI-431, characterised with photometry and radial velocities. We estimate the stellar rotation period to be $30.5 \pm 0.7$ days using archival photometry and radial velocities. TOI-431b is a super-Earth with a period of 0.49 days, a radius of 1.28 $\pm$ 0.04 R$_{\oplus}$, a mass of $3.07 \pm 0.35$ M$_{\oplus}$, and a density of $8.0 \pm 1.0$ g cm$^{-3}$; TOI-431d is a sub-Neptune with a period of 12.46 days, a radius of $3.29 \pm 0.09$ R$_{\oplus}$, a mass of $9.90^{+1.53}_{-1.49}$ M$_{\oplus}$, and a density of $1.36 \pm 0.25$ g cm$^{-3}$. We find a third planet, TOI-431c, in the HARPS radial velocity data, but it is not seen to transit in the TESS light curves. It has an $M \sin i$ of $2.83^{+0.41}_{-0.34}$ M$_{\oplus}$, and a period of 4.85 days. TOI-431d likely has an extended atmosphere and is one of the most well-suited TESS discoveries for atmospheric characterisation, while the super-Earth TOI-431b may be a stripped core. These planets straddle the radius gap, presenting an interesting case-study for atmospheric evolution, and TOI-431b is a prime TESS discovery for the study of rocky planet phase curves., Comment: 21 pages, 11 figures, 3 appendices, accepted for publication in MNRAS
Published: 2021

46. TOI-674b: An oasis in the desert of exo-Neptunes transiting a nearby M dwarf

Author: Xavier Bonfils, Michael W. Werner, Nicola Astudillo-Defru, Jon M. Jenkins, George R. Ricker, Ian J. M. Crossfield, Eric L. N. Jensen, David R. Ciardi, Emmanuel Jehin, Judith Korth, David W. Latham, Farisa Y. Morales, Ismael Mireles, Keivan G. Stassun, Étienne Artigau, Rodrigo F. Díaz, J. Orell-Miquel, Pedro Figueira, Stéphane Udry, René Doyon, X. Delfosse, Jack J. Lissauer, Francesco Pepe, Damien Ségransan, Nuno C. Santos, Christophe Lovis, Peter Tenenbaum, Elisa V. Quintana, Björn Benneke, Rachel A. Matson, Jose-Manuel Almenara, Felipe Murgas, Douglas A. Caldwell, Kevin I. Collins, Phil Evans, C. E. Brasseur, Stephen R. Kane, François Bouchy, David Charbonneau, G. Morello, Roland Vanderspek, Charles Beichman, Elisabeth Matthews, T. Forveille, Khalid Barkaoui, Sara Seager, Diana Dragomir, Erica J. Gonzales, Robert F. Goeke, G. Gaisne, Joshua E. Schlieder, John H. Livingston, Natalia Guerrero, Claudio Melo, Alan M. Levine, Joshua N. Winn, Steve B. Howell, Michaël Gillon, Francisco J. Pozuelos, Jason D. Eastman, Varoujan Gorjian, Karen A. Collins, Institut de Planétologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble (IPAG), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG ), Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes [2016-2019] (UGA [2016-2019])-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes [2016-2019] (UGA [2016-2019]), Departamento de Matemática y Fı́sica Aplicadas [Concepcion] (DMFA), Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción (UCSC), Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG ), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA), and Children's Hospital of Leeds
Subjects: 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, GASEOUS PLANETS [PLANETS AND SATELLITES], FOS: Physical sciences, RADIAL VELOCITIES [TECHNIQUES], Astrophysics, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, 01 natural sciences, purl.org/becyt/ford/1 [https], Planet, 0103 physical sciences, GENERAL [PLANETS AND SATELLITES], PLANETARY SYSTEMS, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, INDIVIDUAL: TOI-674 [STARS], Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR), Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP), Physics, Orbital elements, [SDU.ASTR]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph], Astronomy and Astrophysics, Radius, purl.org/becyt/ford/1.3 [https], PHOTOMETRIC [TECHNIQUES], Light curve, Orbital period, Exoplanet, Radial velocity, Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics, 13. Climate action, Space and Planetary Science, Astrophysics::Earth and Planetary Astrophysics, [PHYS.ASTR]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph], Planetary mass, Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Abstract: We use TESS, Spitzer, ground-based light curves and HARPS spectrograph radial velocity measurements to establish the physical properties of the transiting exoplanet candidate TOI-674b. We perform a joint fit of the light curves and radial velocity time series to measure the mass, radius, and orbital parameters of the candidate. We confirm and characterize TOI-674b, a low-density super-Neptune transiting a nearby M dwarf. The host star (TIC 158588995, $V = 14.2$ mag, $J = 10.3$ mag) is characterized by its M2V spectral type with $\mathrm{M}_\star=0.420\pm 0.010$ M$_\odot$, $\mathrm{R}_\star = 0.420\pm 0.013$ R$_\odot$, and $\mathrm{T}_{\mathrm{eff}} = 3514\pm 57$ K, and is located at a distance $d=46.16 \pm 0.03$ pc. Combining the available transit light curves plus radial velocity measurements and jointly fitting a circular orbit model, we find an orbital period of $1.977143 \pm 3\times 10^{-6}$ days, a planetary radius of $5.25 \pm 0.17$ $\mathrm{R}_\oplus$, and a mass of $23.6 \pm 3.3$ $\mathrm{M}_\oplus$ implying a mean density of $\rho_\mathrm{p} = 0.91 \pm 0.15$ [g cm$^{-3}$]. A non-circular orbit model fit delivers similar planetary mass and radius values within the uncertainties. Given the measured planetary radius and mass, TOI-674b is one of the largest and most massive super-Neptune class planets discovered around an M type star to date. It is also a resident of the so-called Neptunian desert and a promising candidate for atmospheric characterisation using the James Webb Space Telescope., Comment: 22 pages, 16 figures. Accepted for publication in A&A
Published: 2021

47. Where Is the Water? Jupiter-like C/H Ratio but Strong H 2 O Depletion Found on τ Boötis b Using SPIRou

Author: Neil Cook, Charles Cadieux, Claire Moutou, David Lafrenière, J. H. C. Martins, Antoine Darveau-Bernier, Guillaume Hébrard, Stefan Pelletier, Simon Delisle, Romain Allart, Pascal Fouqué, Jean-François Donati, Björn Benneke, Caroline Piaulet, Anne Boucher, Louis-Philippe Coulombe, Étienne Artigau, René Doyon, Thomas Vandal, Eder Martioli, Xavier Delfosse, Institut de recherche en astrophysique et planétologie (IRAP), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France -Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France -Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), ANR-18-CE31-0019,SPlaSH,Recherche de planètes habitables avec SPIRou(2018), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), and Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Subjects: Physics, 010308 nuclear & particles physics, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Astrophysics, Molecular spectroscopy, 01 natural sciences, Astronomical instrumentation, Jupiter, 13. Climate action, Space and Planetary Science, [SDU]Sciences of the Universe [physics], 0103 physical sciences, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Abstract: The present-day envelope of gaseous planets is a relic of how these giant planets originated and evolved. Measuring their elemental composition therefore presents a powerful opportunity to answer long-standing questions regarding planet formation. Obtaining precise observational constraints on the elemental inventory of giant exoplanets has, however, remained challenging due to the limited simultaneous wavelength coverage of current space-based instruments. Here, we present thermal emission observations of the non-transiting hot Jupiter $\tau$ Boo b using the new wide wavelength coverage (0.95$-$2.50$\,\mu$m) and high spectral resolution ($R=70\,000$) SPIRou spectrograph. By combining a total of 20 hours of SPIRou data obtained over five nights in a full atmospheric retrieval framework designed for high-resolution data, we constrain the abundances of all the major oxygen- and carbon-bearing molecules and recover a non-inverted temperature structure using a new free-shape, nonparametric TP profile retrieval approach. We find a volume mixing ratio of log(CO)$\,\,=-2.46_{-0.29}^{+0.25}$ and a highly depleted water abundance of less than $0.0072$ times the value expected for a solar composition envelope. Combined with upper limits on the abundances of CH$_4$, CO$_2$, HCN, TiO, and C$_2$H$_2$, this results in a gas-phase C/H ratio of 5.85$_{-2.82}^{+4.44}\times\,$solar, consistent with the value of Jupiter, and an envelope C/O ratio robustly greater than 0.60, even when taking into account the oxygen that may be sequestered out of the gas-phase. Combined, the inferred super-solar C/H, O/H, and C/O ratios on $\tau$ Boo b support a formation scenario beyond the water snowline in a disk enriched in CO due to pebble drift., Comment: 27 pages, 14 figures, 3 tables, Accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal
Published: 2021

48. ATOCA: an Algorithm to Treat Order Contamination. Application to the NIRISS SOSS Mode

Author: Antoine Darveau-Bernier, Loïc Albert, Geert Jan Talens, David Lafrenière, Michael Radica, René Doyon, Neil J. Cook, Jason F. Rowe, Romain Allart, Étienne Artigau, Björn Benneke, Nicolas Cowan, Lisa Dang, Néstor Espinoza, Doug Johnstone, Lisa Kaltenegger, Olivia Lim, Tyler Pauly, Stefan Pelletier, Caroline Piaulet, Arpita Roy, Pierre-Alexis Roy, Jared Splinter, Jake Taylor, and Jake D. Turner
Subjects: Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP), Space and Planetary Science, FOS: Physical sciences, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, Astrophysics::Earth and Planetary Astrophysics, Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM), Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Abstract: After a successful launch, the James Webb Space Telescope is preparing to undertake one of its principal missions, the characterization of the atmospheres of exoplanets. The Single Object Slitless Spectroscopy (SOSS) mode of the Near Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS) is the only observing mode that has been specifically designed for this objective. It features a wide simultaneous spectral range (0.6--2.8\,\micron) through two spectral diffraction orders. However, due to mechanical constraints, these two orders overlap slightly over a short range, potentially introducing a ``contamination'' signal in the extracted spectrum. We show that for a typical box extraction, this contaminating signal amounts to 1\% or less over the 1.6--2.8\,\micron\ range (order 1), and up to 1\% over the 0.85--0.95\,\micron\ range (order 2). For observations of exoplanet atmospheres (transits, eclipses or phase curves) where only temporal variations in flux matter, the contamination signal typically biases the results by order of 1\% of the planetary atmosphere spectral features strength. To address this problem, we developed the Algorithm to Treat Order ContAmination (ATOCA). By constructing a linear model of each pixel on the detector, treating the underlying incident spectrum as a free variable, ATOCA is able to perform a simultaneous extraction of both orders. We show that, given appropriate estimates of the spatial trace profiles, the throughputs, the wavelength solutions, as well as the spectral resolution kernels for each order, it is possible to obtain an extracted spectrum accurate to within 10\,ppm over the full spectral range., Comment: Submitted to PASP. 22 pages, 12 figures
Published: 2022

49. A sub-Neptune exoplanet with a low-metallicity methane-depleted atmosphere and Mie-scattering clouds

Author: Joshua D. Lothringer, Heather A. Knutson, Jonathan J. Fortney, Diana Dragomir, Eliza M.-R. Kempton, Caroline V. Morley, Ian Wong, Björn Benneke, Benjamin J. Fulton, Joshua A. Kammer, Peter R. McCullough, Ronald L. Gilliland, Drake Deming, Laura Kreidberg, Julianne I. Moses, Jean-Michel Desert, Andrew W. Howard, and Ian J. M. Crossfield
Subjects: Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP), Physics, Solar System, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Opacity, Gas giant, Metallicity, FOS: Physical sciences, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Astrophysics, 7. Clean energy, 01 natural sciences, Exoplanet, Spitzer Space Telescope, 13. Climate action, Planet, Neptune, 0103 physical sciences, Astrophysics::Earth and Planetary Astrophysics, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics, Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences
Abstract: With no analogues in the Solar System, the discovery of thousands of exoplanets with masses and radii intermediate between Earth and Neptune was one of the big surprises of exoplanet science. These super-Earths and sub-Neptunes likely represent the most common outcome of planet formation. Mass and radius measurements indicate a diversity in bulk composition much wider than for gas giants; however, direct spectroscopic detections of molecular absorption and constraints on the gas mixing ratios have largely remained limited to planets more massive than Neptune. Here, we analyze a combined Hubble/Spitzer Space Telescope dataset of 12 transits and 20 eclipses of the sub-Neptune GJ 3470 b, whose mass of 12.6 $M_\oplus$ places it near the half-way point between previously studied exo-Neptunes (22-23 $M_\oplus$) and exoplanets known to have rocky densities (7 $M_\oplus$). Obtained over many years, our data set provides a robust detection of water absorption (>5$\sigma$) and a thermal emission detection from the lowest irradiated planet to date. We reveal a low-metallicity, hydrogen-dominated atmosphere similar to a gas giant, but strongly depleted in methane gas. The low, near-solar metallicity (O/H=0.2-18) sets important constraints on the potential planet formation processes at low masses as well as the subsequent accretion of solids. The low methane abundance indicates that methane is destroyed much more efficiently than previously predicted, suggesting that the CH$_4$/CO transition curve has to be revisited for close-in planets. Finally, we also find a sharp drop in the cloud opacity at 2-3 $\mu$m characteristic of Mie scattering, which enables narrow constraints on the cloud particle size and makes GJ 3470b a keystone target for mid-IR characterization with JWST., Comment: Published in Nature Astronomy (July 1, 2019)
Published: 2019

50. TESS Hunt for Young and Maturing Exoplanets (THYME) IV: Three small planets orbiting a 120 Myr-old star in the Pisces--Eridanus stream

Author: Stephen R. Kane, Cesar Briceno, Keith Hawkins, Jessie L. Christiansen, Katharine Hesse, Jon M. Jenkins, Aaron C. Rizzuto, David R. Ciardi, Thiam-Guan Tan, Abderahmane Soubkiou, Logan A. Pearce, Jason L. Curtis, David W. Latham, Zouhair Benkhaldoun, John H. Livingston, Steven Villeneuva, Sara Seager, Nicholas M. Law, Elisabeth R. Newton, Natalia Guerrero, Diana Dragomir, Carl Ziegler, Roland Vanderspek, Joshua N. Winn, Alton Spencer, Ian J. M. Crossfield, Mackenna L. Wood, Coel Hellier, Guillermo Torres, Benjamin M. Tofflemire, Andrew W. Mann, Ryan Cloutier, Andrew Vanderburg, Björn Benneke, Chris Stockdale, George Zhou, Samuel N. Quinn, Dennis M. Conti, Alan M. Levine, Adam L. Kraus, Eric L. N. Jensen, Farisa Y. Morales, Pa Chia Thao, George R. Ricker, Varoujan Gorjian, Kevin I. Collins, Joseph D. Twicken, Jeffrey C. Smith, Michael W. Werner, Karen A. Collins, Laura Kreidberg, Elisa V. Quintana, and Bernie Shiao
Subjects: 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, FOS: Physical sciences, Q1, 01 natural sciences, Earth radius, Planet, 0103 physical sciences, Eridanus, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, QC, Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR), QB, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, Physics, Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP), Debris disk, Infrared excess, Astronomy, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Planetary system, Exoplanet, Photometry (astronomy), Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics, Space and Planetary Science, QB799, Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Abstract: Young exoplanets can offer insight into the evolution of planetary atmospheres, compositions, and architectures. We present the discovery of the young planetary system TOI 451 (TIC 257605131, Gaia DR2 4844691297067063424). TOI 451 is a member of the 120-Myr-old Pisces--Eridanus stream (Psc--Eri). We confirm membership in the stream with its kinematics, its lithium abundance, and the rotation and UV excesses of both TOI 451 and its wide binary companion, TOI 451 B (itself likely an M dwarf binary). We identified three candidate planets transiting in the TESS data and followed up the signals with photometry from Spitzer and ground-based telescopes. The system comprises three validated planets at periods of 1.9, 9.2 and 16 days, with radii of 1.9, 3.1, and 4.1 Earth radii, respectively. The host star is near-solar mass with V=11.0 and H=9.3 and displays an infrared excess indicative of a debris disk. The planets offer excellent prospects for transmission spectroscopy with HST and JWST, providing the opportunity to study planetary atmospheres that may still be in the process of evolving., 20 pages, appendix on UV excess
Published: 2021

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