2013/03/31 by Jacob L. Bean, Jean-Michel Désert, Andreas Seifahrt +4 · 2 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Eclipse #Emission spectrum #Exoplanet #Planet #Spectroscopy #Spitzer Space Telescope #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #Thermal emission #Transit (satellite) #Transmission (telecommunications) #astro-ph.EP
paper · pdf · doi:10.1088/0004-637x/771/2/108
ApJ in press
arxiv created 2013/05/31 · openalex publication_date 2013/06/24 · arxiv updated 2015/06/15 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We present ground-based measurements of the transmission and emission spectra of the hot-Jupiter WASP-19b in nine spectroscopic channels from 1.25 to 2.35 μm. The measurements are based on the combined analysis of time-series spectroscopy obtained during two complete transits and two complete secondary eclipses of the planet. The observations were performed with the MMIRS instrument on the Magellan II telescope using the technique of multi-object spectroscopy with wide slits. We compare the transmission and emission data to theoretical models to constrain the composition and thermal structure of the planet's atmosphere. Our measured transmission spectrum exhibits a scatter that corresponds to 1.3 scale heights of the planet's atmosphere, which is consistent with the size of spectral features predicted by theoretical models for a clear atmosphere. We detect the secondary eclipses of the planet at significances ranging from 2.2σ to 14.4σ. The secondary eclipse depths, and the significances of the detections increase toward longer wavelengths. Our measured emission spectrum is consistent with a 2250 K effectively isothermal one-dimensional model for the planet's dayside atmosphere. This model also matches previously published photometric measurements from the Spitzer Space Telescope and ground-based telescopes. These results demonstrate the important role that ground-based observations using multi-object spectroscopy can play in constraining the properties of exoplanet atmospheres, and they also emphasize the need for high-precision measurements based on observations of multiple transits and eclipses.