Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Sep 2008
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008dps....40.1108b&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #40, #11.08; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 40, p.402
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
We are using ground-based infrared spectroscopy to directly characterize the atmospheric properties of the close-in exoplanet population. These planets, discovered through indirect means such as precision radial velocity surveys, are strongly irradiated by their parent stars, resulting in exotic atmospheric conditions. Recent direct measurements of transiting exoplanets using space-based facilities have provided information about a variety of atmospheric processes, including energy transfer from the day-side to the night-side, atmospheric structure and temperature at depth, and cloud cover. However, the sample of transiting planets that can be measured with these techniques is very small; to understand the close-in planets as a population, measurements of non-transiting planets are necessary.
The temperature of a close-in exoplanet atmosphere determines whether CH4 or CO is the dominant carbon bearing species, so the measurement of either species probes the equilibrium temperature of the atmosphere. We are observing close-in exoplanet systems with the NIRSPEC spectrometer on the Keck II telescope, obtaining blended star-planet spectra at the 3.3 micron CH4 fundamental and at the 4.6 micron CO fundamental. Our observations achieve a signal-to-noise of several thousand with a spectral resolution of R 25000. We use a correlation analysis to search for the contribution from the planet, with a predicted planet-star flux of one part in 104 - 105. Here, we will present preliminary results from our search for CH4 absorption from the exoplanet 55Cnc b, using spectra obtained in December 2007 and March 2008. We will also describe the techniques that are yielding high signal-to-noise spectra in the thermal infrared, and our detailed terrestrial absorption correction using line-by-line atmospheric synthesis of the transmission function.
CB is supported by an NRC Research Associateship at NRL; basic research in infrared astronomy at NRL is supported by 6.1 base funding.
Bender Chad F.
Carr John S.
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