HST Hot-Jupiter Transmission Spectral Survey: Clear Skies for Cool Saturn WASP-39b - Archive ouverte HAL
Article Dans Une Revue The Astrophysical Journal Année : 2016

HST Hot-Jupiter Transmission Spectral Survey: Clear Skies for Cool Saturn WASP-39b

Patrick D. Fischer
  • Fonction : Auteur
Heather A. Knutson
  • Fonction : Auteur
David K. Sing
  • Fonction : Auteur
Gregory W. Henry
  • Fonction : Auteur
Michael W. Williamson
  • Fonction : Auteur
Jonathan J. Fortney
  • Fonction : Auteur
Adam S. Burrows
  • Fonction : Auteur
Tiffany Kataria
  • Fonction : Auteur
Nikolay Nikolov
Adam P. Showman
  • Fonction : Auteur
Gilda E. Ballester
  • Fonction : Auteur
Jean-Michel Désert
  • Fonction : Auteur
Suzanne Aigrain
Drake Deming

Résumé

We present the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) optical transmission spectroscopy of the cool Saturn-mass exoplanet WASP-39b from 0.29-1.025 μm, along with complementary transit observations from Spitzer IRAC at 3.6 and 4.5 μm. The low density and large atmospheric pressure scale height of WASP-39b make it particularly amenable to atmospheric characterization using this technique. We detect a Rayleigh scattering slope as well as sodium and potassium absorption features; this is the first exoplanet in which both alkali features are clearly detected with the extended wings predicted by cloud-free atmosphere models. The full transmission spectrum is well matched by a clear H2-dominated atmosphere, or one containing a weak contribution from haze, in good agreement with the preliminary reduction of these data presented in Sing et al. WASP-39b is predicted to have a pressure-temperature profile comparable to that of HD 189733b and WASP-6b, making it one of the coolest transiting gas giants observed in our HST STIS survey. Despite this similarity, WASP-39b appears to be largely cloud-free, while the transmission spectra of HD 189733b and WASP-6b both indicate the presence of high altitude clouds or hazes. These observations further emphasize the surprising diversity of cloudy and cloud-free gas giant planets in short-period orbits and the corresponding challenges associated with developing predictive cloud models for these atmospheres.

Dates et versions

hal-03645105 , version 1 (19-04-2022)

Identifiants

Citer

Patrick D. Fischer, Heather A. Knutson, David K. Sing, Gregory W. Henry, Michael W. Williamson, et al.. HST Hot-Jupiter Transmission Spectral Survey: Clear Skies for Cool Saturn WASP-39b. The Astrophysical Journal, 2016, 827, ⟨10.3847/0004-637X/827/1/19⟩. ⟨hal-03645105⟩
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