Spectroscopically Resolved Partial Phase Curve of the Rapid Heating and Cooling of the Highly Eccentric Hot Jupiter HAT-P-2b with WFC3

The extreme environments of transiting close-in exoplanets in highly eccentric orbits are ideal for testing exoclimate physics. Spectroscopically resolved phase curves not only allow for the characterization of their thermal response to irradiation changes but also unveil phase-dependent atmospheric...

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Main Authors: Bob Jacobs, Jean-Michel Désert, Nikole Lewis, Ryan C. Challener, L. C. Mayorga, Zoë L. de Beurs, Vivien Parmentier, Kevin B. Stevenson, Julien de Wit, Saugata Barat, Jonathan Fortney, Tiffany Kataria, Michael Line
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2025-01-01
Series:The Astronomical Journal
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ad9b2a
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author Bob Jacobs
Jean-Michel Désert
Nikole Lewis
Ryan C. Challener
L. C. Mayorga
Zoë L. de Beurs
Vivien Parmentier
Kevin B. Stevenson
Julien de Wit
Saugata Barat
Jonathan Fortney
Tiffany Kataria
Michael Line
author_facet Bob Jacobs
Jean-Michel Désert
Nikole Lewis
Ryan C. Challener
L. C. Mayorga
Zoë L. de Beurs
Vivien Parmentier
Kevin B. Stevenson
Julien de Wit
Saugata Barat
Jonathan Fortney
Tiffany Kataria
Michael Line
author_sort Bob Jacobs
collection DOAJ
description The extreme environments of transiting close-in exoplanets in highly eccentric orbits are ideal for testing exoclimate physics. Spectroscopically resolved phase curves not only allow for the characterization of their thermal response to irradiation changes but also unveil phase-dependent atmospheric chemistry and dynamics. We observed a partial phase curve of the highly eccentric close-in giant planet HAT-P-2b ( e  = 0.51, M  = 9 M _Jup ) with the Wide Field Camera 3 aboard the Hubble Space Telescope. Using these data, we updated the planet's orbital parameters and radius and retrieved high-frequency pulsations consistent with the planet-induced pulsations reported in Spitzer data. We found that the peak in planetary flux occurred at 6.7 ± 0.6 hr after periastron, with heating and cooling timescales of $9.{0}_{-2.1}^{+3.5}$ hr and $3.{6}_{-0.6}^{+0.7}$ hr, respectively. We compare the light curve to various 1D and 3D forward models, varying the planet's chemical composition. The strong contrast in flux increase and decrease timescales before and after periapse indicates an opacity term that emerges during the planet's heating phase, potentially due to more H ^− than expected from chemical equilibrium models. The phase-resolved spectra are largely featureless, which we interpret as indicative of an inhomogeneous dayside. However, we identified an anomalously high flux in the spectroscopic bin coinciding with the hydrogen Pa β line, and that is likely connected to the planet's orbit. We interpret this as due to shock heating of the upper atmosphere given the short timescale involved, or evidence for other star−planet interactions.
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spelling doaj-art-372c223b3c2945d0afd92d0da49f83f02025-08-20T03:05:09ZengIOP PublishingThe Astronomical Journal1538-38812025-01-0116929610.3847/1538-3881/ad9b2aSpectroscopically Resolved Partial Phase Curve of the Rapid Heating and Cooling of the Highly Eccentric Hot Jupiter HAT-P-2b with WFC3Bob Jacobs0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0373-1517Jean-Michel Désert1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0875-8401Nikole Lewis2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8507-1304Ryan C. Challener3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8211-6538L. C. Mayorga4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4321-4581Zoë L. de Beurs5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7564-6047Vivien Parmentier6https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9521-6258Kevin B. Stevenson7https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7352-7941Julien de Wit8https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2415-2191Saugata Barat9https://orcid.org/0009-0000-6113-0157Jonathan Fortney10https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9843-4354Tiffany Kataria11https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3759-9080Michael Line12https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2338-476XAnton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of Amsterdam , Science Park 904, 1098 XH, Amsterdam, The Netherlands ; j.m.l.b.desert@uva.nl; Department of Astrophysics/IMAPP, Radboud University , P O Box 9010, 6500 GL Nijmegen, The NetherlandsAnton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of Amsterdam , Science Park 904, 1098 XH, Amsterdam, The Netherlands ; j.m.l.b.desert@uva.nlDepartment of Astronomy and Carl Sagan Institute, Cornell University , 122 Sciences Drive, Ithaca, NY 14853, USADepartment of Astronomy and Carl Sagan Institute, Cornell University , 122 Sciences Drive, Ithaca, NY 14853, USAJohns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory , 11100 Johns Hopkins Road, Laurel, MD 20723, USADepartment of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA 02139, USALaboratoire Lagrange, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, Université Côte d’Azur , Nice, FranceJohns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory , 11100 Johns Hopkins Road, Laurel, MD 20723, USADepartment of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA 02139, USAAnton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of Amsterdam , Science Park 904, 1098 XH, Amsterdam, The Netherlands ; j.m.l.b.desert@uva.nlDepartment of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz , Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USANASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology , Pasadena, CA 91109, USASchool of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University , Tempe, AZ 85287, USAThe extreme environments of transiting close-in exoplanets in highly eccentric orbits are ideal for testing exoclimate physics. Spectroscopically resolved phase curves not only allow for the characterization of their thermal response to irradiation changes but also unveil phase-dependent atmospheric chemistry and dynamics. We observed a partial phase curve of the highly eccentric close-in giant planet HAT-P-2b ( e  = 0.51, M  = 9 M _Jup ) with the Wide Field Camera 3 aboard the Hubble Space Telescope. Using these data, we updated the planet's orbital parameters and radius and retrieved high-frequency pulsations consistent with the planet-induced pulsations reported in Spitzer data. We found that the peak in planetary flux occurred at 6.7 ± 0.6 hr after periastron, with heating and cooling timescales of $9.{0}_{-2.1}^{+3.5}$ hr and $3.{6}_{-0.6}^{+0.7}$ hr, respectively. We compare the light curve to various 1D and 3D forward models, varying the planet's chemical composition. The strong contrast in flux increase and decrease timescales before and after periapse indicates an opacity term that emerges during the planet's heating phase, potentially due to more H ^− than expected from chemical equilibrium models. The phase-resolved spectra are largely featureless, which we interpret as indicative of an inhomogeneous dayside. However, we identified an anomalously high flux in the spectroscopic bin coinciding with the hydrogen Pa β line, and that is likely connected to the planet's orbit. We interpret this as due to shock heating of the upper atmosphere given the short timescale involved, or evidence for other star−planet interactions.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ad9b2aExoplanetsExtrasolar gaseous giant planetsExtrasolar gaseous planetsExoplanet atmospheresExoplanet atmospheric dynamicsExoplanet atmospheric composition
spellingShingle Bob Jacobs
Jean-Michel Désert
Nikole Lewis
Ryan C. Challener
L. C. Mayorga
Zoë L. de Beurs
Vivien Parmentier
Kevin B. Stevenson
Julien de Wit
Saugata Barat
Jonathan Fortney
Tiffany Kataria
Michael Line
Spectroscopically Resolved Partial Phase Curve of the Rapid Heating and Cooling of the Highly Eccentric Hot Jupiter HAT-P-2b with WFC3
The Astronomical Journal
Exoplanets
Extrasolar gaseous giant planets
Extrasolar gaseous planets
Exoplanet atmospheres
Exoplanet atmospheric dynamics
Exoplanet atmospheric composition
title Spectroscopically Resolved Partial Phase Curve of the Rapid Heating and Cooling of the Highly Eccentric Hot Jupiter HAT-P-2b with WFC3
title_full Spectroscopically Resolved Partial Phase Curve of the Rapid Heating and Cooling of the Highly Eccentric Hot Jupiter HAT-P-2b with WFC3
title_fullStr Spectroscopically Resolved Partial Phase Curve of the Rapid Heating and Cooling of the Highly Eccentric Hot Jupiter HAT-P-2b with WFC3
title_full_unstemmed Spectroscopically Resolved Partial Phase Curve of the Rapid Heating and Cooling of the Highly Eccentric Hot Jupiter HAT-P-2b with WFC3
title_short Spectroscopically Resolved Partial Phase Curve of the Rapid Heating and Cooling of the Highly Eccentric Hot Jupiter HAT-P-2b with WFC3
title_sort spectroscopically resolved partial phase curve of the rapid heating and cooling of the highly eccentric hot jupiter hat p 2b with wfc3
topic Exoplanets
Extrasolar gaseous giant planets
Extrasolar gaseous planets
Exoplanet atmospheres
Exoplanet atmospheric dynamics
Exoplanet atmospheric composition
url https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ad9b2a
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