An official website of the United States government
Ultra-hot Jupiters are tidally locked with their host stars, dividing their atmospheres into a hot dayside and a colder nightside. As the planet moves through transit, different regions of the atmosphere rotate into view, revealing different chemical regimes. Highresolution spectrographs can observe asymmetries and velocity shifts and offer the possibility for time-resolved spectroscopy. The ultra-hot Jupiter WASP-189 b has recently been found to possess a rich transmission spectrum with evidence for atmospheric dynamics and chemical inhomogeneity. In this study, we search for other atoms and molecules in the planet’s transmission spectrum and investigate asymmetric signals. We analysed and combined eight transits of the ultra-hot Jupiter WASP-189 b collected with the HARPS, HARPS-N, ESPRESSO, and MAROON-X high-resolution spectrographs. Using the cross-correlation technique, we searched for neutral and ionised atoms as well as oxides, and we compared the obtained signals to model predictions. We report significant detections for H, Na, Mg, Ca, Ca+, Ti, Ti+, TiO, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Fe+, Ni, Sr, Sr+, and Ba+. Of these, Sr, Sr+, and Ba+are detected for the first time in the transmission spectrum of WASP-189 b. In addition, we robustly confirm the detection of titanium oxide based on observations with HARPS and HARPS-N using the follow-up observations performed with MAROON-X and ESPRESSO. By fitting the orbital traces of the detected species by means of time-resolved spectroscopy using a Bayesian framework, we inferred posterior distributions for orbital parameters as well as line shapes. Our results indicate that different species must originate from different regions of the atmosphere to be able to explain the observed time dependence of the signals. Throughout the course of the transit, most signal strengths are expected to increase due to the larger atmospheric scale height at the hotter trailing terminator. For some species, however, we instead observed that the signals weaken, either due to the ionisation of atoms and their ions or the dissociation of molecules on the dayside.
more »
« less
This content will become publicly available on June 1, 2026
Time-resolved absorption of six chemical species with MAROON-X points to a strong drag in the ultra-hot Jupiter TOI-1518 b
Context. Wind dynamics play a pivotal role in governing transport processes within planetary atmospheres, influencing atmospheric chemistry, cloud formation, and the overall energy budget. Understanding the strength and patterns of winds is crucial for comprehensive insights into the physics of ultra-hot-Jupiter atmospheres. Current research has proposed different mechanisms that limit wind speeds in these atmospheres. Aims. This study focuses on unraveling the wind dynamics and the chemical composition in the atmosphere of the ultra-hot Jupiter TOI-1518 b. Methods. Two transit observations using the high-resolution (Rλ∼ 85 000) optical (spectral coverage between 490 and 920 nm) spectrograph MAROON-X were obtained and analyzed to explore the chemical composition and wind dynamics using the cross-correlation techniques, global circulation models (GCMs), and atmospheric retrieval. Results. We report the detection of 14 species in the atmosphere of TOI-1518 b through cross-correlation analysis. VO was detected only with the new HyVO line list, whereas TiO was not detected. Additionally, we measured the time-varying cross-correlation trails for six different species, compared them with predictions from GCMs, and conclude that a strong drag is slowing the winds in TOI-1518 b’s atmosphere (τdrag≈ 103−104s). We find that the trails are species dependent. Fe+ favors stronger drag than Fe, which we interpret as a sign of magnetic effects being responsible for the observed strong drag. Furthermore, we show that Ca+ probes layers above the Roche lobe, leading to a qualitatively different trail than the other species. Finally, We used a retrieval analysis to further characterize the abundances of the different species detected. Our analysis is refined thanks to the updated planetary mass of 1.83 ± 0.47 MJupwe derived from new Sophie radial-velocity observations. We measure an abundance of Fe of log10Fe = −4.88−0.76+0.63corresponding to 0.07 to 1.62 solar enrichment. For the other elements, the retrievals appear to be biased, probably due to the different Kp/Vsysshifts between Fe and the other elements, which we demonstrate for the case of VO.
more »
« less
- Award ID(s):
- 2307177
- PAR ID:
- 10614282
- Author(s) / Creator(s):
- ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; more »
- Publisher / Repository:
- ESO
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Astronomy & Astrophysics
- Volume:
- 698
- ISSN:
- 0004-6361
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- A314
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
Abstract Photochemistry is a fundamental process of planetary atmospheres that regulates the atmospheric composition and stability1. However, no unambiguous photochemical products have been detected in exoplanet atmospheres so far. Recent observations from the JWST Transiting Exoplanet Community Early Release Science Program2,3found a spectral absorption feature at 4.05 μm arising from sulfur dioxide (SO2) in the atmosphere of WASP-39b. WASP-39b is a 1.27-Jupiter-radii, Saturn-mass (0.28 MJ) gas giant exoplanet orbiting a Sun-like star with an equilibrium temperature of around 1,100 K (ref. 4). The most plausible way of generating SO2in such an atmosphere is through photochemical processes5,6. Here we show that the SO2distribution computed by a suite of photochemical models robustly explains the 4.05-μm spectral feature identified by JWST transmission observations7with NIRSpec PRISM (2.7σ)8and G395H (4.5σ)9. SO2is produced by successive oxidation of sulfur radicals freed when hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is destroyed. The sensitivity of the SO2feature to the enrichment of the atmosphere by heavy elements (metallicity) suggests that it can be used as a tracer of atmospheric properties, with WASP-39b exhibiting an inferred metallicity of about 10× solar. We further point out that SO2also shows observable features at ultraviolet and thermal infrared wavelengths not available from the existing observations.more » « less
-
Abstract Stellar magnetic fields have a major impact on space weather around exoplanets orbiting low-mass stars. From an analysis of Zeeman-broadened Feilines measured in near-infrared SDSS/APOGEE spectra, mean magnetic fields are determined for a sample of 29 M dwarf stars that host closely orbiting small exoplanets. The calculations employed the radiative transfer code Synmast and MARCS stellar model atmospheres. The sample M dwarfs are found to have measurable mean magnetic fields ranging between ∼0.2 and ∼1.5 kG, falling in the unsaturated regime on the 〈B〉 versusProtplane. The sample systems contain 43 exoplanets, which include 23 from Kepler, nine from K2, and nine from Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite. We evaluated their equilibrium temperatures, insolation, and stellar habitable zones and found that only Kepler-186f and TOI-700d are inside the habitable zones of their stars. Using the derived values of 〈B〉 for the stars Kepler-186 and TOI-700 we evaluated the minimum planetary magnetic field that would be necessary to shield the exoplanets Kepler-186f and TOI-700d from their host star’s winds, considering reference magnetospheres with sizes equal to those of the present-day and young Earth, respectively. Assuming a ratio of 5% between large- to small-scaleB-fields, and a young-Earth magnetosphere, Kepler-186f and TOI-700d would need minimum planetary magnetic fields of, respectively, 0.05 and 0.24 G. These values are considerably smaller than Earth’s magnetic field of 0.25 G ≲B≲ 0.65 G, which suggests that these two exoplanets might have magnetic fields sufficiently strong to protect their atmospheres and surfaces from stellar magnetic fields.more » « less
-
Abstract Air‐sea drag governs the momentum transfer between the atmosphere and the ocean and remains largely unknown in hurricane winds. We revisit the momentum budget and eddy covariance methods to estimate the surface drag coefficient in the laboratory. Our drag estimates agree with field measurements in low‐to‐moderate winds and previous laboratory measurements in hurricane‐force winds. The drag coefficient saturates at 2.6×10−3andU10≈25 m s−1, in agreement with previous laboratory results by Takagaki et al. (2012,). During our analysis, we discovered an error in the original source code used by Donelan et al. (2004,). We present the corrected data and describe the correction procedure. Although the correction to the data does not change the key finding of drag saturation in strong winds, its magnitude and wind speed threshold are significantly changed. Our findings emphasize the need for an updated and unified drag parameterization based on field and laboratory data.more » « less
-
null (Ed.)We present the discovery of TOI-1518b -- an ultra-hot Jupiter orbiting a bright star $V = 8.95$. The transiting planet is confirmed using high-resolution optical transmission spectra from EXPRES. It is inflated, with $$R_p = 1.875\pm0.053\,R_{\rm J}$$, and exhibits several interesting properties, including a misaligned orbit ($${240.34^{+0.93}_{-0.98}}$$ degrees) and nearly grazing transit ($$b =0.9036^{+0.0061}_{-0.0053}$$). The planet orbits a fast-rotating F0 host star ($$T_{\mathrm{eff}} \simeq 7300$$ K) in 1.9 days and experiences intense irradiation. Notably, the TESS data show a clear secondary eclipse with a depth of $$364\pm28$$ ppm and a significant phase curve signal, from which we obtain a relative day-night planetary flux difference of roughly 320 ppm and a 5.2$$\sigma$$ detection of ellipsoidal distortion on the host star. Prompted by recent detections of atomic and ionized species in ultra-hot Jupiter atmospheres, we conduct an atmospheric cross-correlation analysis. We detect neutral iron ($${5.2\sigma}$$), at $$K_p = 157^{+68}_{-44}$$ km s$$^{-1}$$ and $$V_{\rm sys} = -16^{+2}_{-4}$$ km s$$^{-1}$$, adding another object to the small sample of highly irradiated gas-giant planets with Fe detections in transmission. Detections so far favor particularly inflated gas giants with radii $$rsim 1.78\,R_{\rm J}$$; although this may be due to observational bias. With an equilibrium temperature of $$T_{\rm eq}=2492\pm38$$ K and a measured dayside brightness temperature of $$3237\pm59$$ K (assuming zero geometric albedo), TOI-1518b is a promising candidate for future emission spectroscopy to probe for a thermal inversion.more » « less
