Transit light curves of close-in planets (A. C. M. Correia)

Vol. 568
In section 1. Letters to the Editor

Transit light curve and inner structure of close-in planets

Obtaining observational constraints on the internal structure of exoplanets is extremely challenging because it requires a measurement of the planet's shape or relies on rare dynamical configurations in multiple planet systems. This article shows that for exoplanets very close to their parent star, that they are tidally deformed by the star affects the lightcurves not just at ingress and egress but during the entire transit events. The signal may thus be within reach of future or even present space-based photometric. Such a determination would yield a measurement of the Love number k2 and could potentially help determine whether giant exoplanets have dense cores.