The Hubble PanCET program: The near-ultraviolet transmission spectrum of WASP-79b

Autor: A. Gressier, A. Lecavelier des Etangs, D. K. Sing, M. López-Morales, M. K. Alam, J. K. Barstow, V. Bourrier, L. A. Dos Santos, A. García Muñoz, J. D. Lothringer, N. K. Nikolov, K. S. Sotzen, G. W. Henry, T. Mikal-Evans
Přispěvatelé: PLANETO - LATMOS, Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales (LATMOS), Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut d'astrophysique spatiale (IAS), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National d’Études Spatiales [Paris] (CNES), Pôle Planétologie du LESIA, Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique = Laboratory of Space Studies and Instrumentation in Astrophysics (LESIA), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité), Space Telescope Science Institute (STSci), Morton K. Blaustein Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences [Baltimore], Johns Hopkins University (JHU), Department of Physics and Astronomy [Baltimore], Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA), Harvard University-Smithsonian Institution, Carnegie Institution for Science, School of Physical Sciences [Milton Keynes], Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics [Milton Keynes], The Open University [Milton Keynes] (OU)-The Open University [Milton Keynes] (OU), Geneva Observatory, Université de Genève = University of Geneva (UNIGE), Astrophysique Interprétation Modélisation (AIM (UMR_7158 / UMR_E_9005 / UM_112)), Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité), Utah Valley University (UVU), Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory [Laurel, MD] (APL), Tennessee State University, Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie (MPIA), Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2023
Předmět:
Zdroj: Astronomy and Astrophysics-A&A
Astronomy and Astrophysics-A&A, 2023, 672, pp.A34. ⟨10.1051/0004-6361/202244429⟩
ISSN: 0004-6361
Popis: We present Hubble Space Telescope (HST) transit observations of the Hot-Jupiter WASP-79b acquired with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) in the near ultraviolet (NUV). Two transit observations, part of the PanCET program, are used to obtain the transmission spectra of the planet between 2280 and 3070{\AA}. We correct for systematic effects in the raw data using the jitter engineering parameters and polynomial modelling to fit the white light curves of the two transits. We observe an increase in the planet-to-star radius ratio at short wavelengths, but no spectrally resolved absorption lines. The difference between the radius ratios at 2400 and 3000{\AA} reaches $0.0191\pm0.0042$ ($\sim$4.5$-\sigma$). Although the NUV transmission spectrum does not show evidence of hydrodynamical escape, the strong atmospheric features are likely due to species at very high altitudes. We performed a 1D simulation of the temperature and composition of WASP-79b using Exo-REM. The temperature pressure profile crosses condensation curves of radiatively active clouds, particularly MnS, Mg$_2$SiO$_4$, Fe, and Al$_2$O$_3$. Still, none of these species produces the level of observed absorption at short wavelengths and can explain the observed increase in the planet's radius. WASP-79b's transit depth reaches 23 scale height, making it one of the largest spectral features observed in an exoplanet at this temperature ($\sim$1700 K). The comparison of WASP-79b's transmission spectrum with three warmer hot Jupiters shows a similar level of absorption to WASP-178b and WASP-121b between 0.2 and 0.3$\mu$m, while HAT-P-41b's spectrum is flat. The features could be explained by SiO absorption.
Comment: Accepted for publication January 31, 2023 in the Journal Astronomy & Astrophysics
Databáze: OpenAIRE