Related papers: A new upper limit on the reflected starlight from …
(abridged) There is considerable interest in the possible interaction between parent stars and giant planetary companions in 51 Peg-type systems. We demonstrate from MOST satellite photometry and Ca II K line emission that there has been a…
To date, a handful of exoplanets have been photometrically mapped using phase-modulated reflection or emission from their surfaces, but the small amplitudes of such signals have limited previous maps almost exclusively to coarse dipolar…
The extreme contrast ratios between stars and their planets at optical wavelengths make it challenging to isolate the light reflected by exoplanet atmospheres. Yet, these reflective properties reveal key processes occurring in the…
The characterization of exoplanet atmospheres is one of the key topics in modern astrophysics. To date, transmission spectroscopy has been the primary method used, but upcoming instruments will lay the foundation for advancing…
At optical wavelengths, an exoplanet's signature is essentially reflected light from the host star - several orders of magnitude fainter. Since it is superimposed on the star spectrum its detection has been a difficult observational…
We have obtained high resolution spectropolarimetric data for the planet-hosting star $\tau$ Bootis, using the ESPaDOnS spectropolarimeter at CFHT. A weak but clear Stokes $V$ signature is detected on three of the four nights of June 2006…
Close-in extrasolar giant planets may be directly detectable by their reflected light, due to the proximity of the planet to the illuminating star. The spectrum of the system will contain a reflected light component that varies in amplitude…
Context. During the last 30 years the surface of Pluto has been characterized, and its variability has been monitored, through continuous near-infrared spectroscopic observations. But in the visible range only few data are available. Aims.…
We have carried out a search for the 2.14 micron spectroscopic signature of the close orbiting extrasolar giant planet, HD 179949b. High cadence time series spectra were obtained with the CRIRES spectrograph at VLT1 on two closely separated…
The analysis of exoplanetary atmospheres by means of high-resolution spectroscopy is an expanding research field which provides information on chemical composition, thermal structure, atmospheric dynamics and orbital velocity of exoplanets.…
The depth of a secondary eclipse contains information of both the thermally emitted light component of a hot Jupiter and the reflected light component. If the dayside atmosphere of the planet is assumed to be isothermal, it is possible to…
The reflected spectra of extrasolar giant planets are primarily influenced by Rayleigh scattering, molecular absorption, and atmospheric condensates. We present model geometric albedo and phase integral spectra and Bond albedos for planets…
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 have investigated the information content in reflected-starlight spectra of exoplanets. We specify our analysis to Barnard's Star b candidate super-Earth, for which we assume a radius 0.6 times that of Neptune, an atmosphere dominated by…
We present a brief summary of observations of the transiting extrasolar planet, HD 209458 b, designed to detect the secondary eclipse. We employ the method of `occultation spectroscopy', which searches in combined light (star and planet)…
Planets in highly eccentric orbits form a class of objects not seen within our Solar System. The most extreme case known amongst these objects is the planet orbiting HD~20782, with an orbital period of 597~days and an eccentricity of 0.96.…
Because of our relatively low spectral resolution, we compare our observations with Gray's line bisector data by fitting observed line profiles to an expansion in terms of orthogonal (Hermite) functions. To obtain an accurate comparison, we…
Hot Jupiters are expected to be dark from both observations (albedo upper limits) and theory (alkali metals and/or TiO and VO absorption). However, only a handful of hot Jupiters have been observed with high enough photometric precision at…
We present a study of the light curve of the transiting exoplanet CoRoT-2b, aimed at detecting the secondary eclipse and measuring its depth. The data were obtained with the CoRoT satellite during its first run of more than 140 days. After…
Secondary eclipse observations of exoplanets at near-infrared wavelengths enable the detection of thermal emission and reflected stellar light, providing insights into the thermal structure and aerosol composition of their atmospheres.…