Related papers: A Ground-Based Albedo Upper Limit for HD 189733b f…
Many known exoplanets harbor clouds, which lead to degeneracies in spectroscopic models between particle composition and size. Polarimetry, however, provides independent assessment. Here we report the $7.2 \sigma$ discovery of linearly…
The peak amplitude of linear polarization detected recently from an extrasolar hot giant planet HD 189733b, is a few times of $10^{-4}$, more than an order of magnitude higher than all theoretical predictions. Rayleigh scattering off $H_2$…
We report first multicolor polarimetric measurements (UBV bands) for the hot Jupiters HD189733b and confirm our previously reported detection of polarization in the B band (Berdyugina et al. 2008). The wavelength dependence of polarization…
We report the first direct detection of an exoplanet in the visible polarized light. The transiting planet HD189733b is one of the very hot Jupiters with shortest periods and, thus, smallest orbits, which makes them ideal candidates for…
We present linear polarization observations of the exoplanet system HD 189733 made with the HIgh Precision Polarimetric Instrument (HIPPI) on the Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT). The observations have higher precision than any previously…
Polarimetry is a novel tool to detect and characterize exoplanets and their atmospheres. Polarized scattered light from the non-transiting hot Jupiter $\upsilon$~And~b is measured to further constrain its orbit, mass, density, and…
Using the POLISH instrument, I am unable to reproduce the large-amplitude polarimetric observations of Berdyugina et al. (2008) to the >99.99% confidence level. I observe no significant polarimetric variability in the HD 189733 system, and…
The transit spectrum of the exoplanet HD 189733b has recently been obtained between 0.55 and 1.05 microns. Here we present an analysis of this spectrum. We develop first-order equations to interpret absorption spectra. In the case of HD…
From a single, 3.8-hour observation of asteroid (4) Vesta at $13.7^\circ$ phase angle with the POLISH2 polarimeter at the Lick Observatory Shane 3-m telescope, we confirm rotational modulation of linear polarization in $B$ and $V$ bands. We…
The POLISH2 optical polarimeter has been in operation at the Lick Observatory 3-m Shane telescope since 2011, and it was commissioned at the Gemini North 8-m in 2016. This instrument primarily targets exoplanets, asteroids, and the Crab…
We investigate the intensity and polarization of reflected light from planetary atmospheres. We present a large grid of Monte Carlo simulations for planets with Rayleigh scattering atmospheres. We discuss the disk-integrated polarization…
We present an optical eclipse observation of the hot Jupiter WASP-12b using the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph on board the Hubble Space Telescope. These spectra allow us to place an upper limit of $A_g < 0.064$ (97.5% confidence…
We present new multi-broadband transit photometry of HD 189733b obtained at the Wyoming Infrared Observatory. Using an ensemble of five-band Sloan filter observations across multiple transits we have created an "ultra-low" resolution…
New observational facilities are becoming increasingly capable of observing reflected light from transiting and directly imaged extrasolar planets. In this study, we provide an analytic framework to interpret observed phase curves,…
We present commissioning data for the POLISH instrument obtained on the Hale 5-m telescope. The goal of this high precision polarimeter is to constrain orbital inclination of high mass X-ray binaries and to therefore obtain independent mass…
We have made high precision polarimetric observations of the polluted white dwarf G29-38 with the HIgh Precision Polarimetric Instrument 2. The observations were made at two different observatories -- using the 8.1-m Gemini North Telescope…
We present a multiple scattering vector radiative transfer model which produces disk integrated, full phase polarized light curves for reflected light from an exoplanetary atmosphere. We validate our model against results from published…
Transmission spectroscopy is a powerful technique for probing exoplanetary atmospheres. A successful ground-based observational method uses a differential technique based on high-dispersion spectroscopy, but that only preserves narrow…
Measuring the albedo of an extrasolar planet provides insights into its atmospheric composition and its global thermal properties, including heat dissipation and weather patterns. Such a measurement requires very precise photometry of a…
We present the detection and characterization of fluctuations in linearly polarized emission from the atmosphere above the South Pole. These measurements make use of data from the SPT-3G receiver on the South Pole Telescope in three…