KELT-9 as an Eclipsing Double-lined Spectroscopic Binary: A Unique and Self-consistent Solution to the System

Transiting hot Jupiters present a unique opportunity to measure absolute planetary masses due to the magnitude of their radial velocity signals and known orbital inclination. Measuring planet mass is critical to understanding atmospheric dynamics and escape under extreme stellar irradiation. Here we present the ultrahot Jupiter system KELT-9 as a double-lined spectroscopic binary. This allows us to directly and empirically constrain the mass of the star and its planetary companion without reference to any theoretical stellar evolutionary models or empirical stellar scaling relations. Using data from the PEPSI, HARPS-N, and TRES spectrographs across multiple epochs, we apply least-squares deconvolution to measure out-of-transit stellar radial velocities. With the PEPSI and HARPS-N data sets, we measure in-transit planet radial velocities using transmission spectroscopy. By fitting the circular orbital solution that captures these Keplerian motions, we recover a planetary dynamical mass of 2.17 ± 0.56 M J and stellar dynamical mass of 2.11 ± 0.78 M ⊙, both of which agree with the discovery paper. Furthermore, we argue that this system, as well as systems like it, are highly overconstrained, providing multiple independent avenues for empirically cross-validating model-independent solutions to the system parameters. We also discuss the implications of this revised mass for studies of atmospheric escape.

Two Massive Jupiters in Eccentric Orbits from the TESS Full-frame Images

We report the discovery of two short-period massive giant planets from NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). Both systems, TOI-558 (TIC 207110080) and TOI-559 (TIC 209459275), were identified from the 30 minute cadence full-frame images and confirmed using ground-based photometric and spectroscopic follow-up observations from TESS’s follow-up observing program working group. We find that TOI-558 b, which transits an F-dwarf (M * = 1.349 − 0.065 + 0.064 M ⊙, R * = 1.496 − 0.040 + 0.042 R ⊙, T eff = 6466 − 93 + 95 K, age 1.79 − 0.73 + 0.91 Gyr) with an orbital period of 14.574 days, has a mass of 3.61 ± 0.15 M J, a radius of 1.086 − 0.038 + 0.041 R J, and an eccentric (e = 0.300 − 0.020 + 0.022 ) orbit. TOI-559 b transits a G dwarf (M * = 1.026 ± 0.057 M ⊙, R * = 1.233 − 0.026 + 0.028 R ⊙, T eff = 5925 − 76 + 85 K, age 6.8 − 2.0 + 2.5 Gyr) in an eccentric (e = 0.151 ± 0.011) 6.984 days orbit with a mass of 6.01 − 0.23 + 0.24 M J and a radius of 1.091 − 0.025 + 0.028 R J. Our spectroscopic follow up also reveals a long-term radial velocity trend for TOI-559, indicating a long-period companion. The statistically significant orbital eccentricity measured for each system suggests that these planets migrated to their current location through dynamical interactions. Interestingly, both planets are also massive (>3 M J), adding to the population of massive giant planets identified by TESS. Prompted by these new detections of high-mass planets, we analyzed the known mass distribution of hot and warm Jupiters but find no significant evidence for multiple populations. TESS should provide a near magnitude-limited sample of transiting hot Jupiters, allowing for future detailed population studies.

Mapping the Pressure-dependent Day–Night Temperature Contrast of a Strongly Irradiated Atmosphere with HST Spectroscopic Phase Curve

Many brown dwarfs are on ultrashort-period and tidally locked orbits around white dwarf hosts. Because of these small orbital separations, the brown dwarfs are irradiated at levels similar to hot Jupiters. Yet, they are easier to observe than hot Jupiters because white dwarfs are fainter than main-sequence stars at near-infrared wavelengths. Irradiated brown dwarfs are, therefore, ideal hot Jupiter analogs for studying the atmospheric response under strong irradiation and fast rotation. We present the 1.1–1.67 μm spectroscopic phase curve of the irradiated brown dwarf (SDSS1411-B) in the SDSS J141126.20 + 200911.1 brown dwarf–white dwarf binary with the near-infrared G141 grism of the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3. SDSS1411-B is a 50M Jup brown dwarf with an irradiation temperature of 1300 K and has an orbital period of 2.02864 hr. Our best-fit model suggests a phase-curve amplitude of 1.4% and places an upper limit of 11° for the phase offset from the secondary eclipse. After fitting the white dwarf spectrum, we extract the phase-resolved brown dwarf emission spectra. We report a highly wavelength-dependent day–night spectral variation, with a water-band flux variation of about 360% ± 70% and a comparatively small J-band flux variation of 37% ± 2%. By combining the atmospheric modeling results and the day–night brightness temperature variations, we derive a pressure-dependent temperature contrast. We discuss the difference in the spectral features of SDSS1411-B and hot Jupiter WASP-43b, as well as the lower-than-predicted day–night temperature contrast of J4111-BD. Our study provides the high-precision observational constraints on the atmospheric structures of an irradiated brown dwarf at different orbital phases.

Modeling the High-resolution Emission Spectra of Clear and Cloudy Nontransiting Hot Jupiters

The advent of high-resolution spectroscopy (R ≳ 25,000) as a method for characterization of exoplanet atmospheres has expanded our capability to study nontransiting planets, vastly increasing the number of planets accessible for observation. Many of the most favorable targets for atmospheric characterization are hot Jupiters, where we expect large spatial variation in physical conditions such as temperature, wind speed, and cloud coverage, making viewing geometry important. Three-dimensional models have generally simulated observational properties of hot Jupiters assuming edge-on viewing, which can be compared to observations of transiting planets, but neglected the large fraction of planets without nearly edge-on orbits. As the first investigation of how orbital inclination manifests in high-resolution emission spectra from three-dimensional models, we use a general circulation model to simulate the atmospheric structure of Upsilon Andromedae b, a typical nontransiting hot Jupiter with high observational interest, due the brightness of its host star. We compare models with and without clouds, and find that cloud coverage intensifies spatial variations by making colder regions dimmer and relatedly enhancing emission from the clear, hotter regions. This increases both the net Doppler shifts and the variation of the continuum flux amplitude over the course of the planet’s orbit. In order to accurately capture scattering from clouds, we implement a generalized two-stream radiative transfer routine for inhomogeneous multiple scattering atmospheres. As orbital inclination decreases, four key features of the high-resolution emission spectra also decrease in both the clear and cloudy models: (1) the average continuum flux level, (2) the amplitude of the variation in continuum with orbital phase, (3) net Doppler shifts of spectral lines, and (4) Doppler broadening in the spectra. Models capable of treating inhomogeneous cloud coverage and different viewing geometries are critical in understanding results from high-resolution emission spectra, enabling an additional avenue to investigate these extreme atmospheres.

Five New Hot Jupiter Transits Investigated with Swift-UVOT

Short-wavelength exoplanet transit measurements have been used to probe mass loss in exoplanet atmospheres. We present the Swift-UVOT transit light curves for five hot Jupiters orbiting UV-bright F-type stars: XO-3, KELT-3, WASP-3, WASP-62, and HAT-P-6. We report one positive transit detection of XO-3b and one marginal detection of KELT-3b. We place upper limits on the remaining three transit depths. The planetary radii derived from the NUV transit depths of both potential detections are 50%–100% larger than their optical radius measurements. We examine the ratio R NUV/R opt for trends as a function of estimated mass-loss rate, which we derive from X-ray luminosity obtained from the Swift-XRT or, in the case of WASP-62, XMM-Newton. We find no correlation between the energy-limited photoevaporative mass-loss rate and the R NUV/R opt ratio. We also search for trends based on the equilibrium temperature of the hot Jupiters. We find a possible indication of a transition in the R NUV/R opt ratio around T eq = 1700 K, analogous to the trends found for NIR water features in transmission spectra. This might be explained by the formation of extended cloud decks with silicate particles ≤1 μm. We demonstrate that the Swift-UVOT filters could be sensitive to absorption from aerosols in exoplanet atmospheres.

Why is it So Hot in Here? Exploring Population Trends in Spitzer Thermal Emission Observations of Hot Jupiters Using Planet-specific, Self-consistent Atmospheric Models

Thermal emission has now been observed from dozens of exoplanet atmospheres, opening the gateway to population-level characterization. Here, we provide theoretical explanations for observed trends in Spitzer IRAC channel 1 (3.6 μm) and channel 2 (4.5 μm) photometric eclipse depths (EDs) across a population of 34 hot Jupiters. We apply planet-specific, self-consistent atmospheric models, spanning a range of recirculation factors, metallicities, and C/O ratios, to probe the information content of Spitzer secondary eclipse observations across the hot-Jupiter population. We show that most hot Jupiters are inconsistent with blackbodies from Spitzer observations alone. We demonstrate that the majority of hot Jupiters are consistent with low-energy redistribution between the dayside and nightside (hotter dayside than expected with efficient recirculation). We also see that high-equilibrium temperature planets (T eq ≥ 1800 K) favor inefficient recirculation in comparison to the low temperature planets. Our planet-specific models do not reveal any definitive population trends in metallicity and C/O ratio with current data precision, but more than 59% of our sample size is consistent with the C/O ratio ≤ 1 and 35% are consistent with whole range (0.35 ≤ C/O ≤ 1.5). We also find that for most of the planets in our sample, 3.6 and 4.5 μm model EDs lie within ±1σ of the observed EDs. Intriguingly, few hot Jupiters exhibit greater thermal emission than predicted by the hottest atmospheric models (lowest recirculation) in our grid. Future spectroscopic observations of thermal emission from hot Jupiters with the James Webb Space Telescope will be necessary to robustly identify population trends in chemical compositions with its increased spectral resolution, range, and data precision.