Variability in the super-Earth 55 Cnc e

被引:85
作者
Demory, Brice-Olivier [1 ]
Gillon, Michael [2 ]
Madhusudhan, Nikku [3 ]
Queloz, Didier [1 ]
机构
[1] Univ Cambridge, Cavendish Lab, Astrophys Grp, Cambridge CB3 0HE, England
[2] Univ Liege, Inst Astrophys & Geophys, B-4000 Liege, Belgium
[3] Univ Cambridge, Inst Astron, Cambridge CB3 0HA, England
关键词
techniques: photometric; stars: individual: 55 Cnc; infrared: planetary systems; HD; 189733B; TRANSMISSION SPECTROSCOPY; SECONDARY ECLIPSE; THERMAL EMISSION; ATMOSPHERIC HAZE; GJ; 436; EXOPLANET; PLANETS; SPITZER; CANCRI;
D O I
10.1093/mnras/stv2239
中图分类号
P1 [天文学];
学科分类号
0704 ;
摘要
Considerable progress has been made in recent years in observations of atmospheric signatures of giant exoplanets, but processes in rocky exoplanets remain largely unknown due to major challenges in observing small planets. Numerous efforts to observe spectra of super-Earths, exoplanets with masses of 1-10 Earth masses, have thus far revealed only featureless spectra. In this paper, we report a 4 sigma detection of variability in the dayside thermal emission from the transiting super-Earth 55 Cancri e. Dedicated space-based monitoring of the planet in the mid-infrared over eight eclipses revealed the thermal emission from its dayside atmosphere varying by a factor of 3.7 between 2012 and 2013. The amplitude and trend of the variability are not explained by potential influence of star spots or by local thermal or compositional changes in the atmosphere over the short span of the observations. The possibility of large-scale surface activity due to strong tidal interactions possibly similar to Io, or the presence of circumstellar/circumplanetary material appear plausible and motivate future long-term monitoring of the planet.
引用
收藏
页码:2018 / 2027
页数:10
相关论文
共 68 条
[1]   THE CLIMATE OF HD 189733b FROM FOURTEEN TRANSITS AND ECLIPSES MEASURED BY SPITZER [J].
Agol, Eric ;
Cowan, Nicolas B. ;
Knutson, Heather A. ;
Deming, Drake ;
Steffen, Jason H. ;
Henry, Gregory W. ;
Charbonneau, David .
ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL, 2010, 721 (02) :1861-1877
[2]   A Search for a Sub-Earth-Sized Companion to GJ 436 and a Novel Method to Calibrate Warm Spitzer IRAC Observations [J].
Ballard, Sarah ;
Charbonneau, David ;
Deming, Drake ;
Knutson, Heather A. ;
Christiansen, Jessie L. ;
Holman, Matthew J. ;
Fabrycky, Daniel ;
Seager, Sara ;
A'Hearn, Michael F. .
PUBLICATIONS OF THE ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF THE PACIFIC, 2010, 122 (897) :1341-1352
[3]   CoRoT-7b: SUPER-EARTH OR SUPER-Io? [J].
Barnes, Rory ;
Raymond, Sean N. ;
Greenberg, Richard ;
Jackson, Brian ;
Kaib, Nathan A. .
ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL LETTERS, 2010, 709 (02) :L95-L98
[4]   SECONDARY ECLIPSE PHOTOMETRY OF WASP-4b WITH WARM SPITZER [J].
Beerer, Ingrid M. ;
Knutson, Heather A. ;
Burrows, Adam ;
Fortney, Jonathan J. ;
Agol, Eric ;
Charbonneau, David ;
Cowan, Nicolas B. ;
Deming, Drake ;
Desert, Jean-Michel ;
Langton, Jonathan ;
Laughlin, Gregory ;
Lewis, Nikole K. ;
Showman, Adam P. .
ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL, 2011, 727 (01)
[5]   THE JUPITER-IO CONNECTION - AN ALFVEN ENGINE IN SPACE [J].
BELCHER, JW .
SCIENCE, 1987, 238 (4824) :170-176
[6]   DIRECT EVIDENCE FOR AN EVOLVING DUST CLOUD FROM THE EXOPLANET KIC 12557548 B [J].
Bochinski, Jakub J. ;
Haswell, Carole A. ;
Marsh, Tom R. ;
Dhillon, Vikram S. ;
Littlefair, Stuart P. .
ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL LETTERS, 2015, 800 (02)
[7]   Tidal dissipation and eccentricity pumping: Implications for the depth of the secondary eclipse of 55 Cancri e [J].
Bolmont, Emeline ;
Selsis, Franck ;
Raymond, Sean N. ;
Leconte, Jeremy ;
Hersant, Franck ;
Maurin, Anne-Sophie ;
Pericaud, Jessica .
ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICS, 2013, 556
[8]   Evidence for the disintegration of KIC 12557548 b [J].
Brogi, M. ;
Keller, C. U. ;
Ovelar, M. de Juan ;
Kenworthy, M. A. ;
de Kok, R. J. ;
Min, M. ;
Snellen, I. A. G. .
ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICS, 2012, 545
[9]   Connecting the dots: a versatile model for the atmospheres of tidally locked Super-Earths [J].
Carone, L. ;
Keppens, R. ;
Decin, L. .
MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, 2014, 445 (01) :930-945
[10]   ATMOSPHERES OF HOT SUPER-EARTHS [J].
Castan, Thibaut ;
Menou, Kristen .
ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL LETTERS, 2011, 743 (02)