The ultracool dwarf star TRAPPIST-1 hosts seven Earth-size transiting planets, some of which could harbor liquid water on their surfaces. Ultraviolet observations are essential to measuring their ...high-energy irradiation and searching for photodissociated water escaping from their putative atmospheres. Our new observations of the TRAPPIST-1 Ly line during the transit of TRAPPIST-1c show an evolution of the star emission over three months, preventing us from assessing the presence of an extended hydrogen exosphere. Based on the current knowledge of the stellar irradiation, we investigated the likely history of water loss in the system. Planets b to d might still be in a runaway phase, and planets within the orbit of TRAPPIST-1g could have lost more than 20 Earth oceans after 8 Gyr of hydrodynamic escape. However, TRAPPIST-1e to h might have lost less than three Earth oceans if hydrodynamic escape stopped once they entered the habitable zone (HZ). We caution that these estimates remain limited by the large uncertainty on the planet masses. They likely represent upper limits on the actual water loss because our assumptions maximize the X-rays to ultraviolet-driven escape, while photodissociation in the upper atmospheres should be the limiting process. Late-stage outgassing could also have contributed significant amounts of water for the outer, more massive planets after they entered the HZ. While our results suggest that the outer planets are the best candidates to search for water with the JWST, they also highlight the need for theoretical studies and complementary observations in all wavelength domains to determine the nature of the TRAPPIST-1 planets and their potential habitability.
Brown dwarfs are massive analogs of extrasolar giant planets and may host types of atmospheric circulation not seen in the solar system. We analyzed a long-term Spitzer Space Telescope infrared ...monitoring campaign of brown dwarfs to constrain cloud cover variations over a total of 192 rotations. The infrared brightness evolution is dominated by beat patterns caused by planetary-scale wave pairs and by a small number of bright spots. The beating waves have similar amplitudes but slightly different apparent periods because of differing velocities or directions. The power spectrum of intermediate-temperature brown dwarfs resembles that of Neptune, indicating the presence of zonal temperature and wind speed variations. Our findings explain three previously puzzling behaviors seen in brown dwarf brightness variations.
Atmospheric modeling of low-gravity (VL-G) young brown dwarfs remains challenging. The presence of very thick clouds is a possible source of this challenge, because of their extremely red ...near-infrared (NIR) spectra, but no cloud models provide a good fit to the data with a radius compatible with the evolutionary models for these objects. We show that cloudless atmospheres assuming a temperature gradient reduction caused by fingering convection provide a very good model to match the observed VL-G NIR spectra. The sequence of extremely red colors in the NIR for atmospheres with effective temperatures from ∼2000 K down to ∼1200 K is very well reproduced with predicted radii typical of young low-gravity objects. Future observations with NIRSPEC and MIRI on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will provide more constraints in the mid-infrared, helping to confirm or refute whether or not the NIR reddening is caused by fingering convection. We suggest that the presence or absence of clouds will be directly determined by the silicate absorption features that can be observed with MIRI. JWST will therefore be able to better characterize the atmosphere of these hot young brown dwarfs and their low-gravity exoplanet analogs.
Early 2017 observations of TRAPPIST-1 with Spitzer Delrez, L; Gillon, M; Triaud, A H M J ...
Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society,
04/2018, Letnik:
475, Številka:
3
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Abstract
The recently detected TRAPPIST-1 planetary system, with its seven planets transiting a nearby ultracool dwarf star, offers the first opportunity to perform comparative exoplanetology of ...temperate Earth-sized worlds. To further advance our understanding of these planets’ compositions, energy budgets, and dynamics, we are carrying out an intensive photometric monitoring campaign of their transits with the Spitzer Space Telescope. In this context, we present 60 new transits of the TRAPPIST-1 planets observed with Spitzer/Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) in 2017 February and March. We combine these observations with previously published Spitzer transit photometry and perform a global analysis of the resulting extensive data set. This analysis refines the transit parameters and provides revised values for the planets’ physical parameters, notably their radii, using updated properties for the star. As part of our study, we also measure precise transit timings that will be used in a companion paper to refine the planets’ masses and compositions using the transit timing variations method. TRAPPIST-1 shows a very low level of low-frequency variability in the IRAC 4.5-μm band, with a photometric RMS of only 0.11 per cent at a 123-s cadence. We do not detect any evidence of a (quasi-)periodic signal related to stellar rotation. We also analyse the transit light curves individually, to search for possible variations in the transit parameters of each planet due to stellar variability, and find that the Spitzer transits of the planets are mostly immune to the effects of stellar variations. These results are encouraging for forthcoming transmission spectroscopy observations of the TRAPPIST-1 planets with the James Webb Space Telescope.
The nature of the TRAPPIST-1 exoplanets Grimm, Simon L.; Demory, Brice-Olivier; Gillon, Michaël ...
Astronomy and astrophysics (Berlin),
05/2018, Letnik:
613
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Context. The TRAPPIST-1 system hosts seven Earth-sized, temperate exoplanets orbiting an ultra-cool dwarf star. As such, it represents a remarkable setting to study the formation and evolution of ...terrestrial planets that formed in the same protoplanetary disk. While the sizes of the TRAPPIST-1 planets are all known to better than 5% precision, their densities have significant uncertainties (between 28% and 95%) because of poor constraints on the planet’s masses. Aims. The goal of this paper is to improve our knowledge of the TRAPPIST-1 planetary masses and densities using transit-timing variations (TTVs). The complexity of the TTV inversion problem is known to be particularly acute in multi-planetary systems (convergence issues, degeneracies and size of the parameter space), especially for resonant chain systems such as TRAPPIST-1. Methods. To overcome these challenges, we have used a novel method that employs a genetic algorithm coupled to a full N-body integrator that we applied to a set of 284 individual transit timings. This approach enables us to efficiently explore the parameter space and to derive reliable masses and densities from TTVs for all seven planets. Results. Our new masses result in a five- to eight-fold improvement on the planetary density uncertainties, with precisions ranging from 5% to 12%. These updated values provide new insights into the bulk structure of the TRAPPIST-1 planets. We find that TRAPPIST-1 c and e likely have largely rocky interiors, while planets b, d, f, g, and h require envelopes of volatiles in the form of thick atmospheres, oceans, or ice, in most cases with water mass fractions less than 5%.
We present a method for measuring the physical parameters of the coldest T-type brown dwarfs using low-resolution near-infrared spectra. By comparing H sub(2)O and H sub(2)-sensitive spectral ratios ...between empirical data and theoretical atmosphere models, and calibrating these ratios to measurements for the well-characterized 2-5 Gyr companion brown dwarf Gliese 570D, we derive estimates of the effective temperatures and surface gravities for 13 mid- and late-type field T dwarfs. We also deduce the first quantitative estimate of subsolar metallicity for the peculiar T dwarf 2MASS 0937+2931. Derived temperatures are consistent with prior estimates based on parallax and bolometric luminosity measurements, and examination of possible systematic effects indicate that the results are robust. Two recently discovered late-type T dwarfs, 2MASS 0939-2448 and 2MASS 1114-2618, both appear to be 50 K cooler than the latest type T dwarf, 2MASS 0415-0935, and are potentially the coldest and least luminous brown dwarfs currently known. We find that, in general, higher surface gravity T dwarfs have lower effective temperatures and luminosities for a given spectral type, explaining previously observed scatter in the T sub(eff)/spectral type relation for these objects. Masses, radii, and ages are estimated for the T dwarfs in our sample using the evolutionary models of Burrows et al.; we also determine masses and radii independently for eight T dwarfs with measured luminosities. These two determinations are largely consistent, lending support to the validity of evolutionary models at late ages. Our method is well suited to large samples of faint brown dwarfs and can ultimately be used to directly measure the substellar mass function and formation history in the Galaxy.
A revised near-infrared classification scheme for T dwarfs is presented, based on and superseding prior schemes developed by Burgasser and coworkers and Geballe and coworkers, and defined following ...the precepts of the MK process. Drawing from two large spectroscopic libraries of T dwarfs identified largely in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and the Two Micron All Sky Survey, nine primary spectral standards and five alternate standards spanning spectral types T0-T8 are identified that match criteria of spectral character, brightness, absence of a resolved companion, and accessibility from both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The classification of T dwarfs is formally made by the direct comparison of near-infrared spectral data of equivalent resolution to the spectra of these standards. Alternately, we have redefined five key spectral indices measuring the strengths of the major H sub(2)O and CH sub(4) bands in the 1-2.5 km region that may be used as a proxy to direct spectral comparison. Two methods of determining T spectral type using these indices are outlined and yield equivalent results. These classifications are also equivalent to those from prior schemes, implying that no revision of existing spectral type trends is required. The one-dimensional scheme presented here provides a first step toward the observational characterization of the lowest luminosity brown dwarfs currently known. Future extensions to incorporate spectral variations arising from differences in photospheric dust content, gravity, and metallicity are briefly discussed. A compendium of all currently known T dwarfs with updated classifications is presented.
Broad absorption signatures from alkali metals, such as the sodium (Na I) and potassium (K I) resonance doublets, have long been predicted in the optical atmospheric spectra of cloud-free irradiated ...gas giant exoplanets
. However, observations have revealed only the narrow cores of these features rather than the full pressure-broadened profiles
. Cloud and haze opacity at the day-night planetary terminator are considered to be responsible for obscuring the absorption-line wings, which hinders constraints on absolute atmospheric abundances
. Here we report an optical transmission spectrum for the 'hot Saturn' exoplanet WASP-96b obtained with the Very Large Telescope, which exhibits the complete pressure-broadened profile of the sodium absorption feature. The spectrum is in excellent agreement with cloud-free, solar-abundance models assuming chemical equilibrium. We are able to measure a precise, absolute sodium abundance of logε
= Formula: see text, and use it as a proxy for the planet's atmospheric metallicity relative to the solar value (Z
/Z
= Formula: see text). This result is consistent with the mass-metallicity trend observed for Solar System planets and exoplanets
.
The TRAPPIST-1 system offers the opportunity to characterize terrestrial, potentially habitable planets orbiting a nearby ultracool dwarf star. We performed a four-orbit reconnaissance with the Space ...Telescope Imaging Spectrograph onboard the Hubble Space Telescope to study the stellar emission at Lyman-α, to assess the presence of hydrogen exospheres around the two inner planets, and to determine their UV irradiation. We detect the Lyman-α line of TRAPPIST-1, making it the coldest exoplanet host star for which this line has been measured. We reconstruct the intrinsic line profile, showing that it lacks broad wings and is much fainter than expected from the stellar X-ray emission. TRAPPIST-1 has a similar X-ray emission as Proxima Cen but a much lower Ly-α emission. This suggests that TRAPPIST-1 chromosphere is only moderately active compared to its transition region and corona. We estimated the atmospheric mass loss rates for all planets, and found that despite a moderate extreme UV emission the total XUV irradiation could be strong enough to strip the atmospheres of the inner planets in a few billions years. We detect marginal flux decreases at the times of TRAPPIST-1b and c transits, which might originate from stellar activity, but could also hint at the presence of extended hydrogen exospheres. Understanding the origin of these Lyman-α variations will be crucial in assessing the atmospheric stability and potential habitability of the TRAPPIST-1 planets.
We present a volume-limited, spectroscopically verified sample of M7−L5 ultracool dwarfs (UCDs) within 25 pc. The sample contains 410 sources, of which 93% have trigonometric distance measurements ...(80% from Gaia DR2) and 81% have low-resolution (R ∼ 120), near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy. We also present an additional list of 60 sources that may be M7−L5 dwarfs within 25 pc when distance or spectral-type uncertainties are taken into account. The spectra provide NIR spectral and gravity classifications, and we use these to identify young sources, red and blue J − KS color outliers, and spectral binaries. We measure very low gravity and intermediate-gravity fractions of and , respectively; fractions of red and blue color outliers of and , respectively; and a spectral binary fraction of . We present an updated luminosity function for M7−L5 dwarfs continuous across the hydrogen-burning limit that agrees with previous studies. We estimate our completeness to range between 69% and 80% when compared to an isotropic model. However, we find that the literature late-M sample is severely incomplete compared to L dwarfs, with completeness of and , respectively. This incompleteness can be addressed with astrometric-based searches of UCDs with Gaia to identify objects previously missed by color- and magnitude-limited surveys.
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