A Spitzer Five-Band Analysis of the Jupiter-Sized Planet TrES-1

With an equilibrium temperature of 1200 K, TrES-1 is one of the coolest hot Jupiters observed by {Spitzer}. It was also the first planet discovered by any transit survey and one of the first exoplanets from which thermal emission was directly observed. We analyzed all {Spitzer} eclipse and transit data for TrES-1 and obtained its eclipse depths and brightness temperatures in the 3.6 {micron} (0.083 % {pm} 0.024 %, 1270 {pm} 110 K), 4.5 {micron} (0.094 % {pm} 0.024 %, 1126 {pm} 90 K), 5.8 {micron} (0.162 % {pm} 0.042 %, 1205 {pm} 130 K), 8.0 {micron} (0.213 % {pm} 0.042 %, 1190 {pm} 130 K), and 16 {micron} (0.33 % {pm} 0.12 %, 1270 {pm} 310 K) bands. The eclipse depths can be explained, within 1$sigma$ errors, by a standard atmospheric model with solar abundance composition in chemical equilibrium, with or without a thermal inversion. The combined analysis of the transit, eclipse, and radial-velocity ephemerides gives an eccentricity $e = 0.033^{+0.015}_{-0.031}$, consistent with a circular orbit. Since TrES-1s eclipses have low signal-to-noise ratios, we implemented optimal photometry and differential-evolution Markov-chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithms in our Photometry for Orbits, Eclipses, and Transits (POET) pipeline. Benefits include higher photometric precision and sim10 times faster MCMC convergence, with better exploration of the phase space and no manual parameter tuning.

WASP-8b: Characterization of a Cool and Eccentric Exoplanet with Spitzer

WASP-8b has 2.18 times Jupiters mass and is on an eccentric ($e=0.31$) 8.16-day orbit. With a time-averaged equilibrium temperature of 948 K, it is one of the least-irradiated hot Jupiters observed with the Spitzer Space Telescope. We have analyzed six photometric light curves of WASP-8b during secondary eclipse observed in the 3.6, 4.5, and 8.0 {microns} Infrared Array Camera bands. The eclipse depths are $0.113pm 0.018$%, $0.069pm 0.007$%, and $0.093pm 0.023$%, respectively, giving respective brightness temperatures of 1552, 1131, and 938 K. We characterized the atmospheric thermal profile and composition of the planet using a line-by-line radiative transfer code and a Markov-chain Monte Carlo sampler. The data indicated no thermal inversion, independently of any assumption about chemical composition. We noted an anomalously high 3.6-{microns} brightness temperature (1552 K); by modeling the eccentricity-caused thermal variation, we found that this temperature is plausible for radiative time scales less than $sim 10^{2}$ hours. However, as no model spectra fit all three data points well, the temperature discrepancy remains as an open question.

Plume Development of the Shoemaker-Levy 9 Comet Impact

We have studied plume formation after a Jovian comet impact using the ZEUS-MP 2 hydrodynamics code. The three-dimensional models followed objects with 500, 750, and 1000 meter diameters. Our simulations show the development of a fast, upward-moving component of the plume in the wake of the impacting comet that pinches off from the bulk of the cometary material ~50 km below the 1 bar pressure level, ~100 km above the depth of greatest mass and energy deposition. The fast-moving component contains about twice the mass of the initial comet, but consists almost entirely (>99.9%) of Jovian atmosphere rather than cometary material. The ejecta rise mainly along the impact trajectory, but an additional vertical velocity component due to buoyancy establishes itself within seconds of impact, leading to an asymmetry in the ejecta with respect to the entry trajectory. The mass of the upward-moving component follows a velocity distribution M(>v) approximately proportional to v^-1.4 (v^-1.6 for the 750 m and 500 m cases) in the velocity range 0.1 < v < 10 km/s.