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arXiv · 1703.09285

A precise optical transmission spectrum of the inflated exoplanet WASP-52b

Tom Louden·Peter J. Wheatley·Patrick G. J. Irwin·James Kirk·Ian Skillen
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Abstract

We have measured a precise optical transmission spectrum for WASP-52b, a highly inflated hot Jupiter with an equilibrium temperature of 1300 K. Two transits of the planet were observed spectroscopically at low resolution with the auxiliary-port camera (ACAM) on the William Herschel Telescope (WHT), covering a wide range of 4000-8750 \AA. We use a Gaussian process approach to model the correlated noise in the multi-wavelength light curves, resulting in a high precision relative transmission spectrum with errors on the order of a pressure scale height. We attempted to fit a variety of different representative model atmospheres to the transmission spectrum, but did not find a satisfactory match to the entire spectral range. For the majority of the covered wavelength range (4000-7750 \AA) the spectrum is flat, and can be explained by an optically thick and grey cloud layer at 0.1 mbar, but this is inconsistent with a slightly deeper transit at wavelengths $> 7750$ \AA. We were not able to find an obvious systematic source for this feature, so this opacity may be the result of an additional unknown absorber.

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Tom Louden, Peter J. Wheatley, Patrick G. J. Irwin, James Kirk, Ian Skillen. 2017-03-27. A precise optical transmission spectrum of the inflated exoplanet WASP-52b. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stx984

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