Molecules on the night-side of a non-transiting Hot Jupiter
Abstract
Detecting molecules in the atmospheres of Hot Jupiters is possible using high dispersion spectroscopy (R~100,000). At this resolution, the many absorption lines of a molecule can be individually resolved, and their Doppler shifts can be determined by cross-correlating high dispersion observations with a model template of the planet spectrum. Since the Doppler shift of Hot Jupiters are large and rapidly varying, the planet lines can be disentangled from the stellar and telluric lines, which are static. This technique has been used successfully to detect water and CO in the day-sides of Hot Jupiter atmospheres, even in those that do not transit their host star (e.g. Brogi et al., Nature 486, 502, 2012).Detections of molecules on Hot Jupiters using high dispersion spectroscopy are not only limited to the day-side, unlike secondary eclipse measurements. As long as there are notable absorption lines in the planet’s night-side spectrum it should be as easy to detect molecules on the day-side as it is on the night-side (de Kok et al., A&A 561, A150, 2014). Here we will present the first attempt to detect molecules on the night-side of a non-transiting planet. For this planet (HD 179949b) we have previously detected water vapour and carbon monoxide absorption on the day-side (Brogi et al., A&A 565, A124, 2014), and we will compare the results from both datasets to gain information about the heat distribution from the day-side to the night-side, and the potential presence of clouds. Preliminary analysis shows tentative detections of molecules on the night-side of HD 179949b.
- Publication:
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AAS/Division for Extreme Solar Systems Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2015
- Bibcode:
- 2015ESS.....311116D