2015/11/24 by Tom Louden, Peter J. Wheatley · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #Absorption (acoustics) #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Atmosphere (unit) #Atmosphere of Jupiter #Atmospheric tide #Blueshift #Hot Jupiter #Planet #Rotation (mathematics) #Scientific Research and Discoveries #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #Thermal #astro-ph.EP
paper · pdf · doi:10.1088/2041-8205/814/2/l24
published as Astrophys.J.814:L24,2015 · 5 pages, 4 figures, Accepted for publication in ApJL
openalex publication_date 2015/11/24 · arxiv created 2015/11/25 · arxiv updated 2015/11/26 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We measure wind velocities on opposite sides of the hot Jupiter HD 189733b by modeling sodium absorption in high-resolution transmission spectra from the High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher. Our model implicitly accounts for the Rossiter–McLaughlin effect, which we show can explain the high wind velocities suggested by previous studies. Our results reveal a strong eastward motion of the atmosphere of HD 189733b, with a redshift of km s −1 on the leading limb of the planet and a blueshift of km s −1 on the trailing limb. These velocities can be understood as a combination of tidally locked planetary rotation and an eastward equatorial jet, closely matching the predictions of atmospheric circulation models. Our results show that the sodium absorption of HD 189733b is intrinsically velocity broadened, so previous studies of the average transmission spectrum are likely to have overestimated the role of pressure and thermal broadening.