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1. Validation of Elemental and Isotopic Abundances in Late-M Spectral Types with the Benchmark HIP 55507 AB System

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad1243  

   Xuan, Jerry W.; Wang, Jason; Finnerty, Luke; Horstman, Katelyn; Grimm, Simon; Peck, Anne E.; Nielsen, Eric; Knutson, Heather A.; Mawet, Dimitri; Isaacson, Howard; et al (February 2024, The Astrophysical Journal)

   Abstract M dwarfs are common host stars to exoplanets but often lack atmospheric abundance measurements. Late-M dwarfs are also good analogs to the youngest substellar companions, which share similarT_eff∼ 2300–2800 K. We present atmospheric analyses for the M7.5 companion HIP 55507 B and its K6V primary star with Keck/KPIC high-resolution (R∼ 35,000)K-band spectroscopy. First, by including KPIC relative radial velocities between the primary and secondary in the orbit fit, we improve the dynamical mass precision by 60% and find $M_B={88.0}_{-3.2}^{+3.4}{M}_{\mathrm{Jup}}$, putting HIP 55507 B above the stellar–substellar boundary. We also find that HIP 55507 B orbits its K6V primary star with $a={38}_{-3}^{+4}$au ande= 0.40 ± 0.04. From atmospheric retrievals of HIP 55507 B, we measure [C/H] = 0.24 ± 0.13, [O/H] = 0.15 ± 0.13, and C/O = 0.67 ± 0.04. Moreover, we strongly detect¹³CO (7.8σsignificance) and tentatively detect ${\mathrm{H}}_2^{18}\mathrm{O}$(3.7σsignificance) in the companion’s atmosphere and measure ${}^{12}\mathrm{CO}{/}^{13}\mathrm{CO}={98}_{-22}^{+28}$and ${\mathrm{H}}_2^{16}\mathrm{O}/{\mathrm{H}}_2^{18}\mathrm{O}={240}_{-80}^{+145}$after accounting for systematic errors. From a simplified retrieval analysis of HIP 55507 A, we measure ${}^{12}\mathrm{CO}{/}^{13}\mathrm{CO}={79}_{-16}^{+21}$and ${\mathrm{C}}^{16}\mathrm{O}/{\mathrm{C}}^{18}\mathrm{O}={288}_{-70}^{+125}$for the primary star. These results demonstrate that HIP 55507 A and B have consistent¹²C/¹³C and¹⁶O/¹⁸O to the <1σlevel, as expected for a chemically homogeneous binary system. Given the similar flux ratios and separations between HIP 55507 AB and systems with young substellar companions, our results open the door to systematically measuring¹³CO and ${\mathrm{H}}_2^{18}\mathrm{O}$abundances in the atmospheres of substellar or even planetary-mass companions with similar spectral types. 

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2. Atmospheric Characterization of the Super-Jupiter HIP 99770 b with KPIC

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ad6609  

   Zhang, Yapeng; Xuan, Jerry W; Mawet, Dimitri; Wang, Jason J; Hsu, Chih-Chun; Ruffio, Jean-Bapiste; Knutson, Heather A; Inglis, Julie; Blake, Geoffrey A; Chachan, Yayaati; et al (August 2024, The Astronomical Journal)

   Abstract Young, self-luminous super-Jovian companions discovered by direct imaging provide a challenging test for planet formation and evolution theories. By spectroscopically characterizing the atmospheric compositions of these super-Jupiters, we can constrain their formation histories. Here we present studies of the recently discovered HIP 99770 b, a 16M_Juphigh-contrast companion on a 17 au orbit, using the fiber-fed high-resolution spectrograph KPIC ( $\mathcal{R}$∼ 35,000) on the Keck II telescope. OurK-band observations led to detections of H₂O and CO in the atmosphere of HIP 99770 b. We carried out free retrieval analyses usingpetitRADTRANSto measure its chemical abundances, including the metallicity and C/O ratio, projected rotation velocity ( $v\sin i$), and radial velocity (RV). We found that the companion’s atmosphere has C/O $={0.55}_{-0.04}^{+0.06}$and [M/H] $={0.26}_{-0.23}^{+0.24}$(1σconfidence intervals), values consistent with those of the Sun and with a companion formation via gravitational instability or core accretion. The projected rotation velocity $v\sin \left(i\right)<7.8$km s⁻¹is small relative to other directly imaged companions with similar masses and ages. This may imply a nearly pole-on orientation or effective magnetic braking by a circumplanetary disk. In addition, we added the companion-to-primary relative RV measurement to the orbital fitting and obtained updated constraints on orbital parameters. Detailed characterization of super-Jovian companions within 20 au like HIP 99770 b is critical for understanding the formation histories of this population. 

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3. IGRINS Observations of WASP-127 b: H ₂ O, CO, and Super-solar Atmospheric Metallicity in the Inflated Sub-Saturn

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ad72f3  

   Kanumalla, Krishna; Line, Michael R; Weiner_Mansfield, Megan; Welbanks, Luis; Smith, Peter_C B; Bean, Jacob L; Pino, Lorenzo; Brogi, Matteo; Panwar, Vatsal (October 2024, The Astronomical Journal)

   Abstract High-resolution spectroscopy of exoplanet atmospheres provides insights into their composition and dynamics from the resolved line shape and depth of thousands of spectral lines. WASP-127 b is an extremely inflated sub-Saturn (R_p= 1.311R_Jup,M_p= 0.16M_Jup) with previously reported detections of H₂O and CO₂. However, the seeming absence of the primary carbon reservoir expected at WASP-127 b temperatures (T_eq∼1400 K) from chemical equilibrium, CO, posed a mystery. In this manuscript, we present the analysis of high-resolution observations of WASP-127 b with the Immersion Grating Infrared Spectrometer on Gemini South. We confirm the presence of H₂O (8.67σ) and report the detection of CO (4.34σ). Additionally, we conduct a suite of Bayesian retrieval analyses covering a hierarchy of model complexity and self-consistency. When freely fitting for the molecular gas volume mixing ratios, we obtain super-solar metal enrichment for H₂O abundance of log₁₀X ${}_{{\mathrm{H}}_2\mathrm{O}}$= −1.23 ${}_{-0.49}^{+0.29}$and a lower limit on the CO abundance of log₁₀X_CO≥–2.20 at 2σconfidence. We also report tentative evidence of photochemistry in WASP-127 b based upon the indicative depletion of H₂S. This is also supported by the data preferring models with photochemistry over free-chemistry and thermochemistry. The overall analysis implies a super-solar (∼39× Solar; [M/H] = ${1.59}_{-0.30}^{+0.30}$) metallicity for the atmosphere of WASP-127 b and an upper limit on its atmospheric C/O ratio as < 0.68. 

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4. An Atmospheric Retrieval of the Brown Dwarf Gliese 229B

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ac9cc9  

   Calamari, Emily; Faherty, Jacqueline K.; Burningham, Ben; Gonzales, Eileen; Bardalez-Gagliuffi, Daniella; Vos, Johanna M.; Gemma, Marina; Whiteford, Niall; Gaarn, Josefine (December 2022, The Astrophysical Journal)

   Abstract We present results from an atmospheric retrieval analysis of Gl 229B using the Brewster retrieval code. We find the best fit model to be cloud-free, consistent with the T dwarf retrieval work of Line et al.; Zalesky et al. and Gonzales et al. Fundamental parameters (mass, radius, log(L_Bol/L_Sun), log(g)) determined from our model agree within 1σto SED-derived values, except forT_effwhere our retrievedT_effis approximately 100 K cooler than the evolutionary model-based SED value. We find a retrieved mass of ${50}_{-9}^{+12}$M_Jup, however, we also find that the observables of Gl 229B can be explained by a cloud-free model with a prior on mass at the dynamical value, 70M_Jup. We are able to constrain abundances for H₂O, CO, CH₄, NH₃, Na and K and find a supersolar C/O ratio as compared to its primary, Gl 229A. We report an overall subsolar metallicity due to atmospheric oxygen depletion, but find a solar [C/H], which matches that of the primary. We find that this work contributes to a growing trend in retrieval-based studies, particularly for brown dwarfs, toward supersolar C/O ratios and discuss the implications of this result on formation mechanisms and internal physical processes, as well as model biases. 

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5. VLTI/GRAVITY Observations of AF Lep b: Preference for Circular Orbits, Cloudy Atmospheres, and a Moderately Enhanced Metallicity

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ad9265  

   Balmer, William O; Franson, Kyle; Chomez, Antoine; Pueyo, Laurent; Stolker, Tomas; Lacour, Sylvestre; Nowak, Mathias; Nasedkin, Evert; Bonse, Markus J; Thorngren, Daniel; et al (December 2024, The Astronomical Journal)

   Abstract Direct imaging observations are biased toward wide-separation, massive companions that have degenerate formation histories. Although the majority of exoplanets are expected to form via core accretion, most directly imaged exoplanets have not been convincingly demonstrated to follow this formation pathway. We obtained new interferometric observations of the directly imaged giant planet AF Lep b with the VLTI/GRAVITY instrument. We present three epochs of ∼50μas relative astrometry and theK-band spectrum of the planet for the first time at a resolution ofR= 500. Using only these measurements, spanning less than 2 months, and the Hipparcos-Gaia Catalogue of Accelerations, we are able to significantly constrain the planet’s orbit; this bodes well for interferometric observations of planets discovered by Gaia DR4. Including all available measurements of the planet, we infer an effectively circular orbit (e< 0.02, 0.07, and 0.13 at 1σ, 2σ, and 3σ, respectively) in spin–orbit alignment with the host and measure a dynamical mass ofM_p= 3.75M_Jup± 0.5M_Jup. Models of the spectrum of the planet show that it is metal-rich ([M/H] = 0.75 ± 0.25), with a C/O abundance encompassing the solar value. This ensemble of results shows that the planet is consistent with core accretion formation. 

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