Direct Spectroscopic Characterization of Non-Transiting Exoplanet Atmospheres

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy

Scientific paper

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Scientific paper

We are using ground-based high-resolution spectroscopy in the thermal infrared to characterize molecular signatures in the atmospheres of non-transiting close-in exoplanets. Our observations target the strong methane and carbon monoxide absorption features, at 3.3 microns and 4.6 microns respectively, that result from the high temperatures in these planets' atmospheres. Using the NIRSPEC spectrometer on the Keck II telescope, we obtain very-high signal-to-noise spectroscopy with a spectral resolution of 25,000, that contains the blended light of a parent star and its known close-in planet companion. We precisely model both components and recover the planet contribution through a cross-correlation analysis. We will discuss early results from observations targeting methane absorption from the nearby exoplanet 55 Cancri b. 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 a synthetic transmission function. This program expands the direct characterization of exoplanets beyond recent space-based transit measurements, in order to begin understanding the entire close-in population. CB is supported by an NRC Research Associateship Award at NRL; basic research in infrared astronomy at NRL is supported by 6.1 base funding.

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