scholarly journals Combining low- to high-resolution transit spectroscopy of HD 189733b

2018 ◽  
Vol 612 ◽  
pp. A53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorenzo Pino ◽  
David Ehrenreich ◽  
Aurélien Wyttenbach ◽  
Vincent Bourrier ◽  
Valerio Nascimbeni ◽  
...  

Space-borne low- to medium-resolution (ℛ ~ 102–103) and ground-based high-resolution spectrographs (ℛ ~ 105) are commonly used to obtain optical and near infrared transmission spectra of exoplanetary atmospheres. In this wavelength range, space-borne observations detect the broadest spectral features (alkali doublets, molecular bands, scattering, etc.), while high-resolution, ground-based observations probe the sharpest features (cores of the alkali lines, molecular lines). The two techniques differ by several aspects. (1) The line spread function of ground-based observations is ~103 times narrower than for space-borne observations; (2) Space-borne transmission spectra probe up to the base of thermosphere (P ≳ 10−6 bar), while ground-based observations can reach lower pressures (down to ~10−11 bar) thanks to their high resolution; (3) Space-borne observations directly yield the transit depth of the planet, while ground-based observations can only measure differences in the apparent size of the planet at different wavelengths. These differences make it challenging to combine both techniques. Here, we develop a robust method to compare theoretical models with observations at different resolutions. We introduce πη, a line-by-line 1D radiative transfer code to compute theoretical transmission spectra over a broad wavelength range at very high resolution (ℛ ~ 106, or Δλ ~ 0.01 Å). An hybrid forward modeling/retrieval optimization scheme is devised to deal with the large computational resources required by modeling a broad wavelength range ~0.3–2 μm at high resolution. We apply our technique to HD 189733b. In this planet, HST observations reveal a flattened spectrum due to scattering by aerosols, while high-resolution ground-based HARPS observations reveal sharp features corresponding to the cores of sodium lines. We reconcile these apparent contrasting results by building models that reproduce simultaneously both data sets, from the troposphere to the thermosphere. We confirm: (1) the presence of scattering by tropospheric aerosols; (2) that the sodium core feature is of thermospheric origin. When we take into account the presence of aerosols, the large contrast of the core of the sodium lines measured by HARPS indicates a temperature of up to ~10 000K in the thermosphere, higher than what reported in the literature. We also show that the precise value of the thermospheric temperature is degenerate with the relative optical depth of sodium, controlled by its abundance, and of the aerosol deck.

1982 ◽  
Vol 98 ◽  
pp. 77-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
George V. Coyne ◽  
Ian S. McLean

A review of the most recent developments in polarization studies of Be stars is presented. New polarization techniques for high-resolution spectropolarimetry and for near infrared polarimetry are described and a wide range of new observations are discussed. These include broadband, intermediate-band and multichannel observations of the continuum polarization of Be stars in the wavelenght interval 0.3–2.2 microns, high resolution (0.5 Å) line profile polarimetry of a few stars and surveys of many stars for the purposes of statistical analyses. The physical significance of the observational material is discussed in the light of recent theoretical models. Emphasis is placed on the physical and geometrical parameters of Be star envelopes which polarimetry helps to determine.


2018 ◽  
Vol 619 ◽  
pp. A3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorenzo Pino ◽  
David Ehrenreich ◽  
Romain Allart ◽  
Christophe Lovis ◽  
Matteo Brogi ◽  
...  

Transmission spectroscopy with ground-based, high-resolution instruments provides key insight into the composition of exoplanetary atmospheres. Molecules such as water and carbon monoxide have been unambiguously identified in hot gas giants through cross-correlation techniques. A maximum in the cross-correlation function (CCF) is found when the molecular absorption lines in a binary mask or model template match those contained in the planet. Here, we demonstrate how the CCF method can be used to diagnose broadband spectroscopic features such as scattering by aerosols in high-resolution transit spectra. The idea consists in exploiting the presence of multiple water bands from the optical to the near-infrared. We have produced a set of models of a typical hot Jupiter spanning various conditions of temperature and aerosol coverage. We demonstrate that comparing the CCFs of individual water bands for the models constrains the presence and the properties of the aerosol layers. The contrast difference between the CCFs of two bands can reach ~100 ppm, which could be readily detectable with current or upcoming high-resolution stabilized spectrographs spanning a wide spectral range, such as ESPRESSO, CARMENES, HARPS-N+GIANO, HARPS+NIRPS, SPIRou, or CRIRES+.


2015 ◽  
Vol 54 (11) ◽  
pp. 117101
Author(s):  
Daniel C. Aiken ◽  
Scott A. Ramsey ◽  
Troy B. Mayo ◽  
Samuel G. Lambrakos ◽  
Joseph Edward Peak

2018 ◽  
Vol 617 ◽  
pp. A134 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Borsa ◽  
A. Zannoni

Context. In-depth studies of exoplanetary atmospheres are starting to become reality. In order to unveil their properties in detail, we need spectra with a higher signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) and also more sophisticated analysis methods. Aims. With high-resolution spectrographs, we can not only detect the sodium feature in the atmosphere of exoplanets, but also characterize it by studying its line profile. After finding a clearly w-shaped sodium line profile in the transmission spectrum of HD 189733b, we investigated the possible sources of contamination given by the star and tried to correct for these spurious deformations. Methods. By analyzing the single transmission spectra of HD 189733b in the wavelength space, we show that the main sodium signal that causes the absorption in the transmission spectrum is centered on the stellar rest frame. We concentrate on two main stellar effects that contaminate the exoplanetary transmission spectrum: center-to-limb variations (CLVs) and stellar rotation. We show the effects on the line profile: while we correct for the CLV using simulated theoretical stellar spectra, we provide a new method, based directly on observational data, to correct for the Rossiter–McLaughlin contribution to the line profile of the retrieved transmission spectrum. Results. We apply the corrections to the spectra of HD 189733b. Our analysis shows line profiles of the Na D lines in the transmission spectrum that are narrower than reported previously. The correction of the sodium D2 line, which is deeper than the D1 line, is probably still incomplete since the planetary radius is larger at this wavelength. A careful detrending from spurious stellar effects followed by an inspection in the velocity space is mandatory when studying the line profile of atmospheric features in the high-resolution transmission spectrum of exoplanets. Since the line profile is used to retrieve atmospheric properties, the resulting atmospheric parameters could be incorrectly estimated when the stellar contamination is not corrected for. Data with higher S/N coupled with improved atmospheric models will allow us to adapt the magnitude of the corrections of stellar effects in an iterative way.


2019 ◽  
Vol 628 ◽  
pp. A9 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Casasayas-Barris ◽  
E. Pallé ◽  
F. Yan ◽  
G. Chen ◽  
S. Kohl ◽  
...  

Ultra-hot Jupiters orbit very close to their host star and consequently receive strong irradiation, causing their atmospheric chemistry to be different from the common gas giants. Here, we have studied the atmosphere of one of these particular hot planets, MASCARA-2b/KELT-20b, using four transit observations with high resolution spectroscopy facilities. Three of these observations were performed with HARPS-N and one with CARMENES. Additionally, we simultaneously observed one of the transits with MuSCAT2 to monitor possible spots in the stellar surface. At high resolution, the transmission residuals show the effects of Rossiter-McLaughlin and centre-to-limb variations from the stellar lines profiles, which we have corrected to finally extract the transmission spectra of the planet. We clearly observe the absorption features of CaII, FeII, NaI, Hα, and Hβ in the atmosphere of MASCARA-2b, and indications of Hγ and MgI at low signal-to-noise ratio. In the case of NaI, the true absorption is difficult to disentangle from the strong telluric and interstellar contamination. The results obtained with CARMENES and HARPS-N are consistent, measuring an Hα absorption depth of 0.68 ± 0.05 and 0.59 ± 0.07%, and NaI absorption of 0.11 ± 0.04 and 0.09 ± 0.05% for a 0.75 Å passband, in the two instruments respectively. The Hα absorption corresponds to ~1.2 Rp, which implies an expanded atmosphere, as a result of the gas heating caused by the irradiation received from the host star. For Hβ and Hγ only HARPS-N covers this wavelength range, measuring an absorption depth of 0.28 ± 0.06 and 0.21 ± 0.07%, respectively. For CaII, only CARMENES covers this wavelength range measuring an absorption depth of 0.28 ± 0.05, 0.41 ± 0.05 and 0.27 ± 0.06% for CaII λ8498Å, λ8542Å and λ8662Å lines, respectively. Three additional absorption lines of FeII are observed in the transmission spectrum by HARPS-N (partially covered by CARMENES), measuring an average absorption depth of 0.08 ± 0.04% (0.75 Å passband). The results presented here are consistent with theoretical models of ultra-hot Jupiters atmospheres, suggesting the emergence of an ionised gas on the day-side of such planets. Calcium and iron, together with other elements, are expected to be singly ionised at these temperatures and be more numerous than its neutral state. The Calcium triplet lines are detected here for the first time in transmission in an exoplanet atmosphere.


2018 ◽  
Vol 612 ◽  
pp. A49 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Reiners ◽  
M. Zechmeister ◽  
J. A. Caballero ◽  
I. Ribas ◽  
J. C. Morales ◽  
...  

The CARMENES radial velocity (RV) survey is observing 324 M dwarfs to search for any orbiting planets. In this paper, we present the survey sample by publishing one CARMENES spectrum for each M dwarf. These spectra cover the wavelength range 520–1710 nm at a resolution of at least R >80 000, and we measure its RV, Hα emission, and projected rotation velocity. We present an atlas of high-resolution M-dwarf spectra and compare the spectra to atmospheric models. To quantify the RV precision that can be achieved in low-mass stars over the CARMENES wavelength range, we analyze our empirical information on the RV precision from more than 6500 observations. We compare our high-resolution M-dwarf spectra to atmospheric models where we determine the spectroscopic RV information content, Q, and signal-to-noise ratio. We find that for all M-type dwarfs, the highest RV precision can be reached in the wavelength range 700–900 nm. Observations at longer wavelengths are equally precise only at the very latest spectral types (M8 and M9). We demonstrate that in this spectroscopic range, the large amount of absorption features compensates for the intrinsic faintness of an M7 star. To reach an RV precision of 1 m s−1 in very low mass M dwarfs at longer wavelengths likely requires the use of a 10 m class telescope. For spectral types M6 and earlier, the combination of a red visual and a near-infrared spectrograph is ideal to search for low-mass planets and to distinguish between planets and stellar variability. At a 4 m class telescope, an instrument like CARMENES has the potential to push the RV precision well below the typical jitter level of 3–4 m s−1.


2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (S276) ◽  
pp. 545-546 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Quirrenbach ◽  
Pedro J. Amado ◽  
José A. Caballero ◽  
Holger Mandel ◽  
Reinhard Mundt ◽  
...  

AbstractCARMENES (Calar Alto high-Resolution search for M dwarfs with Exo-earths with Near-infrared and optical Echelle Spectrographs) is a next-generation instrument for the 3.5 m telescope at the Calar Alto Observatory. CARMENES will conduct a five-year exoplanet survey targeting ~300 M stars. The CARMENES instrument consists of two separate fiber-fed spectrographs covering the wavelength range from 0.52 to 1.7 μm at a spectral resolution of R = 85,000. The spectrographs are housed in a temperature-stabilized environment in vacuum tanks, to enable a 1 m/s radial velocity precision employing a simultaneous emission-line calibration.


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