Preparing for the Early eVolution Explorer: Characterizing the Photochemical Inputs and Transit Detection Efficiencies of Young Planets Using Multiwavelength Flare Observations by TESS and Swift
Ultraviolet flare emission can drive photochemistry in exoplanet atmospheres and even serve as the primary source of uncertainty in atmospheric retrievals. Additionally, flare energy budgets are not well understood due to a paucity of simultaneous observations. We present new near-UV (NUV) and optic...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
IOP Publishing
2024-01-01
|
| Series: | The Astronomical Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ad93ce |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850109228577980416 |
|---|---|
| author | Ward S. Howard Meredith A. MacGregor Adina D. Feinstein Laura D. Vega Ann Marie Cody Neal J. Turner Valerie J. Scott Jennifer A. Burt Laura Venuti |
| author_facet | Ward S. Howard Meredith A. MacGregor Adina D. Feinstein Laura D. Vega Ann Marie Cody Neal J. Turner Valerie J. Scott Jennifer A. Burt Laura Venuti |
| author_sort | Ward S. Howard |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Ultraviolet flare emission can drive photochemistry in exoplanet atmospheres and even serve as the primary source of uncertainty in atmospheric retrievals. Additionally, flare energy budgets are not well understood due to a paucity of simultaneous observations. We present new near-UV (NUV) and optical observations of flares from three M dwarfs obtained at 20 s cadence with Swift and the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), along with a reanalysis of flares from two M dwarfs in order to explore the energy budget and timing of flares at NUV-optical wavelengths. We find a 9000 K blackbody underestimates the NUV flux by ≥2× for 54 ± 14% of flares and 14.8× for one flare. We report time lags between the bands of 0.5–6.6 minutes and develop a method to predict the qualitative flare shape and time lag to 36% ± 30% accuracy. The scatter present in optical-NUV relations is reduced by a factor of 2.0 ± 0.6 when comparing the total NUV energy with the TESS energy during the FWHM duration due to the exclusion of the T _eff ≈ 5000 K tail. We show the NUV light curve can be used to remove flares from the optical light curve and consistently detect planets with 20% smaller transits than is possible without flare detrending. Finally, we demonstrate a 10× increase in the literature number of multiwavelength flares with the Early eVolution Explorer (EVE), an astrophysics Small Explorer concept to observe young clusters with simultaneous NUV and optical bands in order to detect young planets, assess their photochemical radiation environments, and observe accretion. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-59efa8e7630e44c1b320be59ea90a142 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1538-3881 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astronomical Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-59efa8e7630e44c1b320be59ea90a1422025-08-20T02:38:09ZengIOP PublishingThe Astronomical Journal1538-38812024-01-0116912710.3847/1538-3881/ad93cePreparing for the Early eVolution Explorer: Characterizing the Photochemical Inputs and Transit Detection Efficiencies of Young Planets Using Multiwavelength Flare Observations by TESS and SwiftWard S. Howard0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0583-0949Meredith A. MacGregor1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7891-8143Adina D. Feinstein2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9464-8101Laura D. Vega3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5928-2685Ann Marie Cody4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3656-6706Neal J. Turner5https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8292-1943Valerie J. Scott6https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0267-9833Jennifer A. Burt7https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0040-6815Laura Venuti8https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4115-0318Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado , 2000 Colorado Avenue, Boulder, CO 80309, USADepartment of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University , 3400 N Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218, USALaboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado Boulder , UCB 600, Boulder, CO 80309, USA; Department of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University , East Lansing, MI 48824, USAExoplanets and Stellar Astrophysics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center , Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA; Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland , College Park, MD 20742, USA; Center for Research and Exploration in Space Science & Technology (CRESST II) , NASA/GSFC, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USASETI Institute , 339 N Bernardo Avenue Suite 200, Mountain View, CA 94043, USAJet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology , 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109, USAJet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology , 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109, USAJet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology , 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109, USASETI Institute , 339 N Bernardo Avenue Suite 200, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA; School of Physics, UNSW Science , Kensington, NSW 2052, AustraliaUltraviolet flare emission can drive photochemistry in exoplanet atmospheres and even serve as the primary source of uncertainty in atmospheric retrievals. Additionally, flare energy budgets are not well understood due to a paucity of simultaneous observations. We present new near-UV (NUV) and optical observations of flares from three M dwarfs obtained at 20 s cadence with Swift and the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), along with a reanalysis of flares from two M dwarfs in order to explore the energy budget and timing of flares at NUV-optical wavelengths. We find a 9000 K blackbody underestimates the NUV flux by ≥2× for 54 ± 14% of flares and 14.8× for one flare. We report time lags between the bands of 0.5–6.6 minutes and develop a method to predict the qualitative flare shape and time lag to 36% ± 30% accuracy. The scatter present in optical-NUV relations is reduced by a factor of 2.0 ± 0.6 when comparing the total NUV energy with the TESS energy during the FWHM duration due to the exclusion of the T _eff ≈ 5000 K tail. We show the NUV light curve can be used to remove flares from the optical light curve and consistently detect planets with 20% smaller transits than is possible without flare detrending. Finally, we demonstrate a 10× increase in the literature number of multiwavelength flares with the Early eVolution Explorer (EVE), an astrophysics Small Explorer concept to observe young clusters with simultaneous NUV and optical bands in order to detect young planets, assess their photochemical radiation environments, and observe accretion.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ad93ceExoplanet atmospheric evolutionYoung star clustersStellar flaresNear ultraviolet astronomy |
| spellingShingle | Ward S. Howard Meredith A. MacGregor Adina D. Feinstein Laura D. Vega Ann Marie Cody Neal J. Turner Valerie J. Scott Jennifer A. Burt Laura Venuti Preparing for the Early eVolution Explorer: Characterizing the Photochemical Inputs and Transit Detection Efficiencies of Young Planets Using Multiwavelength Flare Observations by TESS and Swift The Astronomical Journal Exoplanet atmospheric evolution Young star clusters Stellar flares Near ultraviolet astronomy |
| title | Preparing for the Early eVolution Explorer: Characterizing the Photochemical Inputs and Transit Detection Efficiencies of Young Planets Using Multiwavelength Flare Observations by TESS and Swift |
| title_full | Preparing for the Early eVolution Explorer: Characterizing the Photochemical Inputs and Transit Detection Efficiencies of Young Planets Using Multiwavelength Flare Observations by TESS and Swift |
| title_fullStr | Preparing for the Early eVolution Explorer: Characterizing the Photochemical Inputs and Transit Detection Efficiencies of Young Planets Using Multiwavelength Flare Observations by TESS and Swift |
| title_full_unstemmed | Preparing for the Early eVolution Explorer: Characterizing the Photochemical Inputs and Transit Detection Efficiencies of Young Planets Using Multiwavelength Flare Observations by TESS and Swift |
| title_short | Preparing for the Early eVolution Explorer: Characterizing the Photochemical Inputs and Transit Detection Efficiencies of Young Planets Using Multiwavelength Flare Observations by TESS and Swift |
| title_sort | preparing for the early evolution explorer characterizing the photochemical inputs and transit detection efficiencies of young planets using multiwavelength flare observations by tess and swift |
| topic | Exoplanet atmospheric evolution Young star clusters Stellar flares Near ultraviolet astronomy |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ad93ce |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT wardshoward preparingfortheearlyevolutionexplorercharacterizingthephotochemicalinputsandtransitdetectionefficienciesofyoungplanetsusingmultiwavelengthflareobservationsbytessandswift AT meredithamacgregor preparingfortheearlyevolutionexplorercharacterizingthephotochemicalinputsandtransitdetectionefficienciesofyoungplanetsusingmultiwavelengthflareobservationsbytessandswift AT adinadfeinstein preparingfortheearlyevolutionexplorercharacterizingthephotochemicalinputsandtransitdetectionefficienciesofyoungplanetsusingmultiwavelengthflareobservationsbytessandswift AT lauradvega preparingfortheearlyevolutionexplorercharacterizingthephotochemicalinputsandtransitdetectionefficienciesofyoungplanetsusingmultiwavelengthflareobservationsbytessandswift AT annmariecody preparingfortheearlyevolutionexplorercharacterizingthephotochemicalinputsandtransitdetectionefficienciesofyoungplanetsusingmultiwavelengthflareobservationsbytessandswift AT nealjturner preparingfortheearlyevolutionexplorercharacterizingthephotochemicalinputsandtransitdetectionefficienciesofyoungplanetsusingmultiwavelengthflareobservationsbytessandswift AT valeriejscott preparingfortheearlyevolutionexplorercharacterizingthephotochemicalinputsandtransitdetectionefficienciesofyoungplanetsusingmultiwavelengthflareobservationsbytessandswift AT jenniferaburt preparingfortheearlyevolutionexplorercharacterizingthephotochemicalinputsandtransitdetectionefficienciesofyoungplanetsusingmultiwavelengthflareobservationsbytessandswift AT lauravenuti preparingfortheearlyevolutionexplorercharacterizingthephotochemicalinputsandtransitdetectionefficienciesofyoungplanetsusingmultiwavelengthflareobservationsbytessandswift |