Strength of the cross-correlation signature as a function of radial velocity and orbital phase. Each row of panels shows the cross-correlation with model atmospheres with different VMR’s of TiO (left panels, ranging from 10^-7 (top) to 10^-11 (bottom) by factors of 10). The models are also injected into the data prior to cross-correlation (middle panels) to probe the sensitivity of the procedure. Co-addition of all exposures (right panels) is achieved by shifting each exposure (i.e. each row in the middle and left panels) to the rest-frame of the planet and averaging them in time. The dashed lines are the co-added correlation strength of the residuals, after having injected them with the model template with which the cross-correlation is performed. The solid lines are the co-added correlation strengths of the residuals without prior injection of the template. The S/N of the correlation peak is calculated by taking the peak correlation, and dividing it through the standard deviation of the cross-correlation response, excluding a range of ± 20 kms^-1 in which the correlation peak itself resides. Clearly, the presence of TiO would be convincingly retrieved at the ppb level, provided that the line database is accurate.