Detection of the Atmosphere of the 1.6 M⊕ Exoplanet GJ 1132 b
cam.issuedOnline | 2017-03-31 | |
cam.orpheus.success | Tue Mar 31 10:43:16 BST 2020 - The item has an open VoR version. | |
dc.contributor.author | Southworth, J | |
dc.contributor.author | Mancini, L | |
dc.contributor.author | Madhusudhan, N | |
dc.contributor.author | Mollière, P | |
dc.contributor.author | Ciceri, S | |
dc.contributor.author | Henning, T | |
dc.contributor.orcid | Nikku, Madhusudhan [0000-0002-4869-000X] | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2018-09-05T12:48:21Z | |
dc.date.available | 2018-09-05T12:48:21Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2017-04-01 | |
dc.description.abstract | © 2017. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. Detecting the atmospheres of low-mass, low-temperature exoplanets is a high-priority goal on the path to ultimately detecting biosignatures in the atmospheres of habitable exoplanets. High-precision HST observations of several super-Earths with equilibrium temperatures below 1000 K have to date all resulted in featureless transmission spectra, which have been suggested to be due to high-altitude clouds. We report the detection of an atmospheric feature in the atmosphere of a 1.6 M⊕ transiting exoplanet, GJ 1132 b, with an equilibrium temperature of ∼600 K and orbiting a nearby M dwarf. We present observations of nine transits of the planet obtained simultaneously in the griz and JHK passbands. We find an average radius of 1.43 ±0.16 R⊕ for the planet, averaged over all the passbands, and a radius of 0.255 ±0.023 R⊙for the star, both of which are significantly greater than previously found. The planet radius can be decomposed into a "surface radius" at ∼1.375 R⊕ overlaid by atmospheric features that increase the observed radius in the z and K bands. The z-band radius is 4σ higher than the continuum, suggesting a strong detection of an atmosphere. We deploy a suite of tests to verify the reliability of the transmission spectrum, which are greatly helped by the existence of repeat observations. The large z-band transit depth indicates strong opacity from H2O and/or CH4 or a hitherto-unconsidered opacity. A surface radius of 1.375 ±0.16 R⊕ allows for a wide range of interior compositions ranging from a nearly Earth-like rocky interior, with ∼70% silicate and ∼30% Fe, to a substantially H2O-rich water world. | |
dc.identifier.doi | 10.17863/CAM.26936 | |
dc.identifier.eissn | 1538-3881 | |
dc.identifier.issn | 0004-6256 | |
dc.identifier.uri | https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/279564 | |
dc.language.iso | eng | |
dc.publisher | American Astronomical Society | |
dc.publisher.url | http://dx.doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/aa6477 | |
dc.subject | planetary systems | |
dc.subject | stars: fundamental parameters | |
dc.subject | stars: individual | |
dc.title | Detection of the Atmosphere of the 1.6 M<inf>⊕</inf> Exoplanet GJ 1132 b | |
dc.type | Article | |
dcterms.dateAccepted | 2017-02-28 | |
prism.issueIdentifier | 4 | |
prism.publicationDate | 2017 | |
prism.publicationName | Astronomical Journal | |
prism.volume | 153 | |
pubs.funder-project-id | Science and Technology Facilities Council (ST/N000927/1) | |
rioxxterms.licenseref.startdate | 2017-04-01 | |
rioxxterms.licenseref.uri | http://www.rioxx.net/licenses/all-rights-reserved | |
rioxxterms.type | Journal Article/Review | |
rioxxterms.versionofrecord | 10.3847/1538-3881/aa6477 |
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