Direct Measure of Radiative and Dynamical Properties of an Exoplanet Atmosphere
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
Predicting Exoplanet Observability in Time, Contrast, Separation, and Polarization, in Scattered Light
A&A 578, A59 (2015) Astronomy DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201424202 & c ESO 2015 Astrophysics Predicting exoplanet observability in time, contrast, separation, and polarization, in scattered light Guillaume Schworer1;2 and Peter G. Tuthill2 1 LESIA, Observatoire de Paris, CNRS/UMR 8109, UPMC, Université Paris Diderot, 5 place J. Janssen, 92195 Meudon, France e-mail: [email protected] 2 Sydney Institute for Astronomy (SIfA), School of Physics, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia Received 14 May 2014 / Accepted 14 March 2015 ABSTRACT Context. Polarimetry is one of the keys to enhanced direct imaging of exoplanets. Not only does it deliver a differential observable pro- viding extra contrast, but when coupled with spectroscopy, it also reveals valuable information on the exoplanetary atmospheric com- position. Nevertheless, angular separation and contrast ratio to the host-star make for extremely challenging observation. Producing detailed predictions for exactly how the expected signals should appear is of critical importance for the designs and observational strategies of tomorrow’s telescopes. Aims. We aim at accurately determining the magnitudes and evolution of the main observational signatures for imaging an exoplanet: separation, contrast ratio to the host-star and polarization as a function of the orbital geometry and the reflectance parameters of the exoplanet. Methods. These parameters were used to construct a polarized-reflectance model based on the input of orbital parameters and two albedo values. The model is able to calculate a variety of observational predictions for exoplanets at any orbital time. Results. The inter-dependency of the three main observational criteria – angular separation, contrast ratio, polarization – result in a complex time-evolution of the system. -
University of California Santa Cruz
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SANTA CRUZ BENEATH THE SURFACE OF GIANT PLANETS: EVOLUTION, STRUCTURE, AND COMPOSITION A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS by Neil L Kelly Miller March 2013 The Dissertation of Neil L Kelly Miller is approved: Jonathan Fortney, Chair Professor D. Lin Professor P. Garaud Professor P. Bodenheimer Tyrus Miller Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies Copyright c by Neil L Kelly Miller 2013 Table of Contents List of Figures v List of Tables xii Abstract xiii Dedication xv Acknowledgments xvi 1 Introduction 1 1.1 TheSolarSystemGiantPlanets . 3 1.2 FromIndividualSystemstoSamples . 4 1.3 Physical Processes in the Evolution of Giant Planets . ........ 8 2 Coupled Thermal and Tidal Evolution of Giant Expolanets 14 2.1 Abstract.................................... 14 2.2 Introduction.................................. 15 2.3 Model:Introduction ............................. 21 2.4 Model:Implementation ........................... 23 2.5 GeneralExamples .............................. 29 2.6 Results..................................... 37 2.6.1 SpecificSystems ........................... 37 2.6.2 SummaryforSuite .......................... 47 ′ 2.6.3 High Qs cases............................. 56 2.7 Discussion&Conclusions . 59 3 Applications of Giant Planet Thermal Evolution Model 74 3.1 Introduction.................................. 74 3.2 CoRoT-2b: Young Planet With Potentially Tidally Inflated Radius . 75 3.3 CoRoT-7b: Potential Evaporative Mass Loss Scenario . ....... 78 3.3.1 EvaporativeMassLossModel. 80 iii 3.3.2 PlanetEvolution ........................... 82 3.4 Kepler11 ................................... 82 3.4.1 Formation and Compositions of Kepler 11 Planets . 82 4 Measuring the Heavy Element Composition of Giant Exoplanets with Lower Irradiation 86 4.1 Abstract.................................... 86 4.2 Introduction.................................. 87 4.3 ModelandMethod............................. -
Transit Timing Analysis of the Hot Jupiters WASP-43B and WASP-46B and the Super Earth Gj1214b
Transit timing analysis of the hot Jupiters WASP-43b and WASP-46b and the super Earth GJ1214b Mathias Polfliet Promotors: Michaël Gillon, Maarten Baes 1 Abstract Transit timing analysis is proving to be a promising method to detect new planetary partners in systems which already have known transiting planets, particularly in the orbital resonances of the system. In these resonances we might be able to detect Earth-mass objects well below the current detection and even theoretical (due to stellar variability) thresholds of the radial velocity method. We present four new transits for WASP-46b, four new transits for WASP-43b and eight new transits for GJ1214b observed with the robotic telescope TRAPPIST located at ESO La Silla Observatory, Chile. Modelling the data was done using several Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) simulations of the new transits with old data and a collection of transit timings for GJ1214b from published papers. For the hot Jupiters this lead to a general increase in accuracy for the physical parameters of the system (for the mass and period we found: 2.034±0.052 MJup and 0.81347460±0.00000048 days and 2.03±0.13 MJup and 1.4303723±0.0000011 days for WASP-43b and WASP-46b respectively). For GJ1214b this was not the case given the limited photometric precision of TRAPPIST. The additional timings however allowed us to constrain the period to 1.580404695±0.000000084 days and the RMS of the TTVs to 16 seconds. We investigated given systems for Transit Timing Variations (TTVs) and variations in the other transit parameters and found no significant (3sv) deviations. -
PDF (Volume 84:1, Spring 2021)
Contents Spring 2021 Features Departments Online 2 Letters Frances Arnold (p. 6) Video: Acceptance Speech for 4 SoCaltech President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology 15 In the Community: Millikan and Other Eugenicists’ Names to be Removed from Campus Buildings, Assets, and Honors 39 In Memoriam 40 Endnotes: We have been living with the impact and challenges of the coronavirus pandemic for a The Earthquake Experts (back cover) year now. How have you changed Website: Caltech Science Exchange and what have you learned? Left: This illustration by Kristen Uroda depicts the serotonin molecule, whose role in sleep is explored in Neural Networking (p. 36) the most recent issue of The Caltech Website: The Caltech Effect Effect. See article on page 36. 16 22 26 32 36 Worlds Together Story of a Lonely Planet Crossing Paths A Global Treasure Hunt Neural Networking The Caltech Center for Przemyslaw Mroz, a postdoc- The two most recent Nobel How a term paper on With the opening of the Comparative Planetary toral scholar at Caltech, and Prize-winning Caltech alumni, Newton’s Principia led to Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Evolution unites astronomers, his colleagues have discovered Charles Rice (PhD ’81) and a decade-long search for Neuroscience Research geologists, and planetary the smallest known “rogue Andrea Ghez (PhD ’92), talk first-edition copies around Building, Caltech scientists scientists on a shared planet,” a free-floating world with a fellow alum about the world. have a vital new hub for mission to understand what without a star. their work, their campus interdisciplinary brain different planets can tell us experiences, and life after research. -
Dr. Konstantin Batygin Curriculum Vitae Division of Geological & Planetary Sciences [email protected] California Institute of Technology (626) 395-2920 1200 E
Dr. Konstantin Batygin Curriculum Vitae Division of Geological & Planetary Sciences [email protected] California Institute of Technology (626) 395-2920 1200 E. California Blvd. Pasadena, CA 91125 Education Ph.D., Planetary Science (2012) California Institute of Technology doctoral advisors: David J. Stevenson & Michael E. Brown M.S., Planetary Science (2010) California Institute of Technology B.S., Astrophysics (2008) (with honors) University of California, Santa Cruz undergraduate advisor: Gregory Laughlin Academic Employment Professor of Planetary Science, Caltech May 2019 - present Van Nuys Page Scholar, Caltech May 2017 - May 2019 Assistant Professor of Planetary Science, Caltech Jun. 2014 - May 2019 Harvard ITC Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard Center for Astrophysics Nov. 2012 - Jun. 2014 Postdoctoral Fellow, Observatoire de la Cote d’Azur, Nice, France Jul. 2012 - Nov. 2012 Visiting Scientist, Observatoire de la Cote d’Azur, Nice, France Feb. 2011 - Mar. 2011 Graduate Research Assistant/Teaching Assistant, Caltech Sep. 2008 - Jun. 2012 Research Assistant, UCO/Lick Observatory Mar. 2006 - Sep. 2008 Supplemental Instructor, University of California, Santa Cruz Mar. 2006 - Jun. 2006 Research Assistant, NASA Ames Research Center Jul. 2005 - Jan. 2006 Awards Sloan Fellowship in Physics - 2018 Packard Fellowship for Science & Engineering - 2017 Genius100 Visionary Award, Albert Einstein Legacy Foundation - 2017 Garfinkel Lectureship in Celestial Mechanics (Yale) - 2017 AAS WWT Prize in Research - 2016 Popular Science Brilliant 10 - 2016 -
Australian Sky & Telescope
TRANSIT MYSTERY Strange sights BINOCULAR TOUR Dive deep into SHOOT THE MOON Take amazing as Mercury crosses the Sun p28 Virgo’s endless pool of galaxies p56 lunar images with your smartphone p38 TEST REPORT Meade’s 25-cm LX600-ACF P62 THE ESSENTIAL MAGAZINE OF ASTRONOMY Lasers and advanced optics are transforming astronomy p20 HOW TO BUY THE RIGHT ASTRO CAMERA p32 p14 ISSUE 93 MAPPING THE BIG BANG’S COSMIC ECHOES $9.50 NZ$9.50 INC GST LPI-GLPI-G LUNAR,LUNAR, PLANETARYPLANETARY IMAGERIMAGER ANDAND GUIDERGUIDER ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY MADE EASY. Let the LPI-G unleash the inner astrophotographer in you. With our solar, lunar and planetary guide camera, experience the universe on a whole new level. 0Image Sensor:'+(* C O LOR 0 Pixel Size / &#*('+ 0Frames per second/Resolution• / • / 0 Image Format: #,+$)!&))'!,# .# 0 Shutter%,*('#(%%#'!"-,,* 0Interface: 0Driver: ASCOM compatible 0GuiderPort: 0Color or Monochrome Models (&#'!-,-&' FEATURED DEALERS: MeadeTelescopes Adelaide Optical Centre | www.adelaideoptical.com.au MeadeInstrument The Binocular and Telescope Shop | www.bintel.com.au MeadeInstruments www.meade.com Sirius Optics | www.sirius-optics.com.au The device to free you from your handbox. With the Stella adapter, you can wirelessly control your GoTo Meade telescope at a distance without being limited by cord length. Paired with our new planetarium app, *StellaAccess, astronomers now have a graphical interface for navigating the night sky. STELLA WI-FI ADAPTER / $#)'$!!+#!+ #$#)'#)$##)$#'&*' / (!-')-$*')!($%)$$+' "!!$#$)(,#%',).( StellaAccess app. Available for use on both phones and tablets. /'$+((()$!'%!#)'*")($'!$)##!'##"$'$*) stars, planets, celestial bodies and more /$,'-),',### -' ($),' /,,,$"$')*!!!()$$"%)!)!($%( STELLA is controlled with Meade’s planetarium app, StellaAccess. Available for purchase for both iOS S and Android systems. -
ON the INCLINATION DEPENDENCE of EXOPLANET PHASE SIGNATURES Stephen R
The Astrophysical Journal, 729:74 (6pp), 2011 March 1 doi:10.1088/0004-637X/729/1/74 C 2011. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A. ON THE INCLINATION DEPENDENCE OF EXOPLANET PHASE SIGNATURES Stephen R. Kane and Dawn M. Gelino NASA Exoplanet Science Institute, Caltech, MS 100-22, 770 South Wilson Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA; [email protected] Received 2011 December 2; accepted 2011 January 5; published 2011 February 10 ABSTRACT Improved photometric sensitivity from space-based telescopes has enabled the detection of phase variations for a small sample of hot Jupiters. However, exoplanets in highly eccentric orbits present unique opportunities to study the effects of drastically changing incident flux on the upper atmospheres of giant planets. Here we expand upon previous studies of phase functions for these planets at optical wavelengths by investigating the effects of orbital inclination on the flux ratio as it interacts with the other effects induced by orbital eccentricity. We determine optimal orbital inclinations for maximum flux ratios and combine these calculations with those of projected separation for application to coronagraphic observations. These are applied to several of the known exoplanets which may serve as potential targets in current and future coronagraph experiments. Key words: planetary systems – techniques: photometric 1. INTRODUCTION and inclination for a given eccentricity. We further calculate projected separations at apastron as a function of inclination The changing phases of an exoplanet as it orbits the host star and determine their correspondence with maximum flux ratio have long been considered as a means for their detection and locations. -
Detailed Chemical Compositions of the Wide Binary HD 80606/80607: Revised Stellar Properties and Constraints on Planet Formation?,?? F
A&A 614, A138 (2018) Astronomy https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201832701 & c ESO 2018 Astrophysics Detailed chemical compositions of the wide binary HD 80606/80607: revised stellar properties and constraints on planet formation?;?? F. Liu1, D. Yong2, M. Asplund2, S. Feltzing1, A. J. Mustill1, J. Meléndez3, I. Ramírez4, and J. Lin2 1 Lund Observatory, Department of Astronomy and Theoretical physics, Lund University, Box 43, 22100 Lund, Sweden e-mail: [email protected] 2 Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2611, Australia 3 Departamento de Astronomia do IAG/USP, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão 1226, São Paulo 05508-900, SP, Brazil 4 Tacoma Community College, 6501 S. 19th Street, Tacoma, WA 98466, USA Received 25 January 2018 / Accepted 25 February 2018 ABSTRACT Differences in the elemental abundances of planet-hosting stars in binary systems can give important clues and constraints about planet formation and evolution. In this study we performed a high-precision, differential elemental abundance analysis of a wide binary system, HD 80606/80607, based on high-resolution spectra with high signal-to-noise ratio obtained with Keck/HIRES. HD 80606 is known to host a giant planet with the mass of four Jupiters, but no planet has been detected around HD 80607 so far. We determined stellar parameters as well as abundances for 23 elements for these two stars with extremely high precision. Our main results are that (i) we confirmed that the two components share very similar chemical compositions, but HD 80606 is marginally more metal-rich than HD 80607, with an average difference of +0.013 ± 0.002 dex (σ = 0.009 dex); and (ii) there is no obvious trend between abundance differences and condensation temperature. -
Support for Planet Nine 27 February 2019
More support for Planet Nine 27 February 2019 nature and location of the planet, which has been the subject of an intense international search ever since Batygin and Brown's 2016 announcement. The first, titled "Orbital Clustering in the Distant Solar System," was published in The Astronomical Journal on January 22. The Planet Nine hypothesis is founded on evidence suggesting that the clustering of objects in the Kuiper Belt, a field of icy bodies that lies beyond Neptune, is influenced by the gravitational tugs of an unseen planet. It has been an open question as to whether that clustering is indeed occurring, or whether it is an artifact resulting from bias in how and where Kuiper Belt objects are observed. To assess whether observational bias is behind the apparent clustering, Brown and Batygin developed a method to quantify the amount of bias in each individual observation, then calculated the probability that the clustering is spurious. That probability, they found, is around one in 500. "Though this analysis does not say anything directly about whether Planet Nine is there, it does indicate that the hypothesis rests upon a solid foundation," This illustration depicts orbits of distant Kuiper Belt says Brown, the Richard and Barbara Rosenberg objects and Planet Nine. Orbits rendered in purple are Professor of Planetary Astronomy. primarily controlled by Planet Nine's gravity and exhibit tight orbital clustering. Green orbits, on the other hand, are strongly coupled to Neptune, and exhibit a broader The second paper is titled "The Planet Nine orbital dispersion. Updated orbital calculations suggest Hypothesis," and is an invited review that will be that Planet Nine is an approximately 5 Earth mass planet published in the next issue of Physics Reports. -
Arxiv:2009.07296V1 [Astro-Ph.EP] 15 Sep 2020 Challenged This Perception by Approximating the Mutual Integration Methods
Draft version September 17, 2020 Typeset using LATEX twocolumn style in AASTeX62 The Great Inequality and the Dynamical Disintegration of the Outer Solar System Jon K. Zink,1 Konstantin Batygin,2 and Fred C. Adams3, 4 1Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA 2Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA 3Physics Department, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA 4Astronomy Department, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (Received September 17, 2020; Revised September 17, 2020; Accepted September 17, 2020) Submitted to AJ ABSTRACT Using an ensemble of N-body simulations, this paper considers the fate of the outer gas giants (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune) after the Sun leaves the main sequence and completes its stellar evolution. Due to solar mass-loss – which is expected to remove roughly half of the star’s mass – the orbits of the giant planets expand. This adiabatic process maintains the orbital period ratios, but the mutual interactions between planets and the width of mean-motion resonances (MMR) increase, leading to the capture of Jupiter and Saturn into a stable 5:2 resonant configuration. The expanded orbits, coupled with the large-amplitude librations of the critical MMR angle, make the system more susceptible to perturbations from stellar flyby interactions. Accordingly, within about 30 Gyr, stellar encounters perturb the planets onto the chaotic sub-domain of the 5:2 resonance, triggering a large-scale instability, which culminates in the ejections of all but one planet over the subsequent ∼ 10 Gyr. After an additional ∼ 50 Gyr, a close stellar encounter (with a perihelion distance less than ∼ 200 AU) liberates the final planet. -
Planets Galore
physicsworld.com Feature: Exoplanets Detlev van Ravenswaay/Science Photo Library Planets galore With almost 1700 planets beyond our solar system having been discovered, climatologists are beginning to sketch out what these alien worlds might look like, as David Appell reports And so you must confess Jupiters, black Jupiters or puffy Jupiters; there are David Appell is a That sky and earth and sun and all that comes to be hot Neptunes and mini-Neptunes; exo-Earths, science writer living Are not unique but rather countless examples of a super-Earths and eyeball Earths. There are planets in Salem, Oregon, class. that orbit pulsars, or dim red dwarf stars, or binary US, www. Lucretius, Roman poet and philosopher, from star systems. davidappell.com De Rerum Natura, Book II Astronomers are in heaven and planetary scien- tists have an entirely new zoo to explore. “This is the The only thing more astonishing than their diver- best time to be an exoplanetary astronomer,” says sity is their number. We’re talking exoplanets exoplanetary astronomer Jason Wright of Pennsyl- – planets around stars other than our Sun. And vania State University. “Things have really exploded they’re being discovered in Star Trek quantities: recently.” Proving the point is that a third of all 1692 as this article goes to press, and another 3845 abstracts at a recent meeting of the American Astro- unconfirmed candidates. nomical Society were related to exoplanets. The menagerie includes planets that are pink, This explosion is largely thanks to the Kepler space blue, brown or black. Some have been labelled hot observatory. -
Formation of Giant Planet Satellites
The Astrophysical Journal, 894:143 (23pp), 2020 May 10 https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ab8937 © 2020. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. Formation of Giant Planet Satellites Konstantin Batygin1 and Alessandro Morbidelli2 1 Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA 2 Laboratoire Lagrange, Université Côte d’Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, CNRS, CS 34229, F-06304 Nice, France Received 2020 January 29; revised 2020 April 9; accepted 2020 April 13; published 2020 May 18 Abstract Recent analyses have shown that the concluding stages of giant planet formation are accompanied by the development of a large-scale meridional flow of gas inside the planetary Hill sphere. This circulation feeds a circumplanetary disk that viscously expels gaseous material back into the parent nebula, maintaining the system in a quasi-steady state. Here, we investigate the formation of natural satellites of Jupiter and Saturn within the framework of this newly outlined picture. We begin by considering the long-term evolution of solid material, and demonstrate that the circumplanetary disk can act as a global dust trap, where s•∼0.1–10 mm grains achieve a hydrodynamical equilibrium, facilitated by a balance between radial updraft and aerodynamic drag. This process leads to a gradual increase in the system’s metallicity, and eventually culminates in the gravitational fragmentation of the outer regions of the solid subdisk into ~ 100 km satellitesimals. Subsequently, satellite conglomeration ensues via pair-wise collisions but is terminated when disk-driven orbital migration removes the growing objects from the satellitesimal feeding zone.