| Issue |
A&A
Volume 579, July 2015
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Article Number | A113 | |
| Number of page(s) | 11 | |
| Section | Planets and planetary systems | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201425350 | |
| Published online | 10 July 2015 | |
Large Binocular Telescope view of the atmosphere of GJ1214b⋆,⋆⋆
1 INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova, vicolo dell’Osservatorio 5, 35122 Padova, Italy
2 Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università degli Studi di Padova, Vicolo dell’Osservatorio 3, 35122 Padova, Italy
e-mail: valerio.nascimbeni@unipd.it
3 Leibniz-Institut for Astrophysics, An der Sternwarte 16, 14482 Potsdam, Germany
4 INAF – Osservatorio Astrofisico di Catania, via S. Sofia 78, 95123 Catania, Italy
5 INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Palermo, Piazza del Parlamento, 90134 Palermo, Italy
6 INAF – Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, largo E. Fermi 5, 50125 Firenze, Italy
7 INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, via Frascati 33, 00040 Monte Porzio Catone (RM), Italy
Received: 17 November 2014
Accepted: 6 May 2015
The atmospheric composition and vertical structure of the super-Earth GJ1214b has been a subject of debate since its discovery in 2009. Recent studies have indicated that high-altitude clouds might mask the lower layers. However, some data points that were gathered at different times and facilities do not fit this picture, probably because of a combination of stellar activity and systematic errors. We observed two transits of GJ1214b with the Large Binocular Camera, the dual-channel camera at the Large Binocular Telescope. For the first time, we simultaneously measured the relative planetary radius k = Rp/R⋆ at blue and red optical wavelengths (B + R), thus constraining the Rayleigh scattering on GJ1214b after correcting for stellar activity effects. To the same purpose, a long-term photometric follow-up of the host star was carried out with WiFSIP at STELLA, revealing a rotational period that is significantly longer than previously reported. Our new unbiased estimates of k yield a flat transmission spectrum extending to shorter wavelengths, thus confirming the cloudy atmosphere scenario for GJ1214b.
Key words: techniques: photometric / planetary systems / stars: individual: GJ1214
Based on data acquired using the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT). The LBT is an international collaboration among institutions in the United States, Italy, and Germany. LBT Corporation partners are the University of Arizona on behalf of the Arizona university system; Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, Italy; LBT Beteiligungsgesellschaft, Germany, representing the Max-Planck Society, the Astrophysical Institute Potsdam, and Heidelberg University; the Ohio State University; and the Research Corporation, on behalf of the University of Notre Dame, University of Minnesota and University of Virginia. Partly based on STELLA WiFSIP data (Strassmeier et al. 2004).
The data of the light curves are only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/579/A113
© ESO, 2015
Current usage metrics show cumulative count of Article Views (full-text article views including HTML views, PDF and ePub downloads, according to the available data) and Abstracts Views on Vision4Press platform.
Data correspond to usage on the plateform after 2015. The current usage metrics is available 48-96 hours after online publication and is updated daily on week days.
Initial download of the metrics may take a while.