Related papers: Analytic Lightcurves for Planetary Transit Searche…
We present a direct method for isolating the component of the starlight blocked by a planet as it transits its host star, and apply it to spectra of the bright transiting planet HD 189733b. We model the global shape of the stellar…
The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and the Kepler space mission observed a large number of planetary transits showing anomalies due to starspot eclipses, with more such observations expected in the near future by the K2 mission and the…
In a line caustic crossing microlensing event, the caustic line moving across the surface of the source star provides a direct method to measure the integrated luminosity profile of the star. Combined with the enormous brightening at the…
Context. Limb darkening is an important tool for understanding stellar atmospheres, but most observations measuring limb darkening assume various parameterizations that yield no significant information about the structure of stellar…
We present the most precise light curve ever obtained of a detached eclipsing binary star and use it investigate the inclusion of non-linear limb darkening laws in eclipsing binary light curve models. This light curve, of the bright system…
Research into light curves from stars (temporal variation of brightness) has completely changed how exoplanets are discovered or characterised. This study including star light curves from the Kepler dataset as a way to discover exoplanets…
We compare limb darkening laws derived from 3D hydrodynamical model atmospheres and 1D hydrostatic MARCS models for the host stars of the two transiting exoplanet systems HD 209458 and HD 189733. The surface brightness distribution of the…
The high-precision measurements of exoplanet transit light curves that are now available contain information about the planet properties, their orbital parameters, and stellar limb darkening (LD). Recent 3D magneto-hydrodynamical (MHD)…
We compute the emergent stellar spectra from the UV to far infrared for different viewing angles using realistic 3D model atmospheres for a large range in stellar parameters to predict the stellar limb darkening. We have computed full 3D…
A new method for determining the stellar rotation period is proposed here, based on the detection of starspots during transits of an extra-solar planet orbiting its host star. As the planet eclipses the star, it may pass in front of a…
Characterization of the atmospheres of transiting exoplanets relies on accurate measurements of the extent of the optically thick area of the planet at multiple wavelengths with a precision $\lesssim$100 parts per million (ppm).…
A planetary transit produces both a photometric signal and a spectroscopic signal. Precise observations of the transit light curve reveal the planetary radius and allow a search for timing anomalies caused by satellites or additional…
We present photometry of HD 189733 during eight transits of its close-in giant planet, and out-of-transit photometry spanning two years. Using the transit photometry, we determine the stellar and planetary radii and the photometric…
One of the main endeavors of the field of exoplanetary sciences is the characterization of exoplanet atmospheres on a population level. The current method of choice to accomplish this task is transmission spectroscopy, where the apparent…
We present Spitzer 8 micron transit observations of the extrasolar planet HD 149026b. At this wavelength, transit light curves are weakly affected by stellar limb-darkening, allowing for a simpler and more accurate determination of…
We have developed a code to compute multi-colour microlensing lightcurves for extended sources, including the effects of limb darkening and photospheric star spots as a function of spot temperature, position, size and lens trajectory. Our…
We derive efficient, closed form, differentiable, and numerically stable solutions for the flux measured from a spherical planet or moon seen in reflected light, either in or out of occultation. Our expressions apply to the computation of…
We have developed a new model for analysing light curves of planetary transits when there are starspots on the stellar disc. Because the parameter space contains a profusion of local minima we developed a new optimisation algorithm which…
Accurate limb-darkening models are needed for accurate characterisation of eclipsing binary stars and transiting exoplanets from the analysis of their light curves. The limb-darkening observed in solar-type stars from the analysis of light…
We present a method that employs the secondary eclipse light curves of transiting extrasolar planets to probe the spatial variation of their thermal emission. This technique permits an observer to resolve the surface of the planet without…