ARES. II. Characterizing the Hot Jupiters WASP-127 b, WASP-79 b, and WASP-62b with the Hubble Space Telescope
Journal
Date Issued
2020
Author(s)
Abstract
This paper presents the atmospheric characterization of three large, gaseous planets: WASP-127 b, WASP-79 b, and WASP-62 b. We analyzed spectroscopic data obtained with the G141 grism (1.088-1.68 μm) of the Wide Field Camera 3 on board the Hubble Space Telescope using the Iraclis pipeline and the TauREx3 retrieval code, both of which are publicly available. For WASP-127 b, which is the least dense planet discovered so far and is located in the short-period Neptune desert, our retrieval results found strong water absorption corresponding to an abundance of log(H2O) =-2.71-1.05+0.78 and absorption compatible with an iron hydride abundance of log(FeH) =-5.25-1.10+0.88, with an extended cloudy atmosphere. We also detected water vapor in the atmospheres of WASP-79 b and WASP-62 b, with best-fit models indicating the presence of iron hydride, too. We used the Atmospheric Detectability Index as well as Bayesian log evidence to quantify the strength of the detection and compared our results to the hot Jupiter population study by Tsiaras et al. While all the planets studied here are suitable targets for characterization with upcoming facilities such as the James Webb Space Telescope and Ariel, WASP-127 b is of particular interest due to its low density, and a thorough atmospheric study would develop our understanding of planet formation and migration.
Volume
160
Issue
3
Start page
109
Issn Identifier
0004-6256
Rights
open.access
File(s)![Thumbnail Image]()
Loading...
Name
Skaf_2020_AJ_160_109.pdf
Description
PDF editoriale
Size
3.13 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
ba55deb6453d373c5de1db7a3bdc50dd