Transmission spectroscopy of the ultra-hot Jupiter MASCARA-4 b: Disentangling the hydrostatic and exospheric regimes of ultra-hot Jupiters

Abstract

Ultra-hot Jupiters (UHJs), rendering the hottest planetary atmospheres, offer great opportunities of detailed characterisation with high-resolution spectroscopy. MASCARA-4 b is a recently discovered close-in gas giant belonging to this category. In order to refine system and planet parameters, we carried out radial velocity measurements and transit photometry with the CORALIE spectrograph and EulerCam at the Swiss 1.2m Euler telescope. We observed two transits of MASCARA-4 b with the high-resolution spectrograph ESPRESSO at ESO's Very Large Telescope. We searched for atomic, ionic, and molecular species via individual absorption lines and cross-correlation techniques. These results are compared to literature studies on UHJs characterised to date. With CORALIE and EulerCam observations, we updated the mass of MASCARA-4 b (1.675 +/- 0.241 Jupiter masses) as well as other system and planet parameters. In the transmission spectrum derived from ESPRESSO observations, we resolve excess absorption by H$\alpha$, H$\beta$, Na D1 & D2, Ca+ H & K, and a few strong individual lines of Mg, Fe and Fe+. We also present the cross-correlation detection of Mg, Ca, Cr, Fe and Fe+. The absorption strength of Fe+ significantly exceeds the prediction from a hydrostatic atmospheric model, as commonly observed in other UHJs. We attribute this to the presence of Fe+ in the exosphere due to hydrodynamic outflows. This is further supported by the positive correlation of absorption strengths of Fe+ with the H$\alpha$ line. Comparing transmission signatures of various species in the UHJ population allows us to disentangle the hydrostatic regime (as traced via the absorption by Mg and Fe) from the exospheres (as probed by H$\alpha$ and Fe+) of the strongly irradiated atmospheres.

13 pages, 9 figures, accepted to A&A

References in corpus (47)

• The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite
• Molecfit: A general tool for telluric absorption correction. I. Method and application to ESO instruments
• Atmospheric Escape from Hot Jupiters
• petitRADTRANS: a Python radiative transfer package for exoplanet characterization and retrieval
• ESPRESSO@VLT -- On-sky performance and first results
• Roche lobe effects on the atmospheric loss of "Hot Jupiters"
• Sodium Absorption From the Exoplanetary Atmosphere of HD189733b Detected in the Optical Transmission Spectrum
• Spectrally resolved detection of sodium in the atmosphere of HD189733b with the HARPS spectrograph
• Can TiO Explain Thermal Inversions in the Upper Atmospheres of Irradiated Giant Planets?
• Nightside condensation of iron in an ultra-hot giant exoplanet
• A giant planet undergoing extreme ultraviolet irradiation by its hot massive-star host
• A spectral survey of an ultra-hot Jupiter: Detection of metals in the transmission spectrum of KELT-9 b
• Detection of Fe I in the atmosphere of the ultra-hot Jupiter WASP-121b, and a new likelihood-based approach for Doppler-resolved spectroscopy
• PASTIS: Bayesian extrasolar planet validation. I. General framework, models, and performance
• Hot Exoplanet Atmospheres Resolved with Transit Spectroscopy (HEARTS) IV. A spectral inventory of atoms and molecules in the high-resolution transmission spectrum of WASP-121 b
• Atmospheric Rossiter-McLaughlin effect and transmission spectroscopy of WASP-121b with ESPRESSO
• WASP-42 b and WASP-49 b: two new transiting sub-Jupiters
• Hot Exoplanet Atmospheres Resolved with Transit Spectroscopy (HEARTS) - II. A broadened sodium feature on the ultra-hot giant WASP-76b
• Ionized calcium in the atmospheres of two ultra-hot exoplanets WASP-33b and KELT-9b
• Titanium oxide and chemical inhomogeneity in the atmosphere of the exoplanet WASP-189b
• ESPRESSO high resolution transmission spectroscopy of WASP-76b
• Mass loss rate and local thermodynamic state of KELT-9 b thermosphere from the hydrogen Balmer series
• An Atomic Spectral Survey of WASP-76b: Resolving Chemical Gradients and Asymmetries
• Detection of neutral atomic species in the ultra-hot jupiter WASP-121b
• Search for water vapor in the high-resolution transmission spectrum of HD189733b in the visible
• Searching for Thermal Inversion Agents in the Transmission Spectrum of MASCARA-2b/KELT-20b: Detection of Neutral Iron and Ionised Calcium H$\&$K Lines
• Detection of ionized calcium in the atmosphere of the ultra-hot Jupiter KELT-9b
• First Detection of Hydroxyl Radical Emission from an Exoplanet Atmosphere: High-dispersion Characterization of WASP-33b using Subaru/IRD
• p-winds: an open-source Python code to model planetary outflows and upper atmospheres
• Detection of Fe I and Fe II in the atmosphere of MASCARA-2b using a cross-correlation method
• A photometric study of the hot exoplanet WASP-19b
• An inventory of atomic species in the atmosphere of WASP-121b using UVES high-resolution spectroscopy
• High-resolution Transmission Spectroscopy of MASCARA-2 b with EXPRES
• Into the Storm: Diving into the winds of the ultra hot Jupiter WASP-76 b with HARPS and ESPRESSO
• Rapid escape of ultra-hot exoplanet atmospheres driven by Hydrogen Balmer absorption
• The atmosphere and architecture of WASP-189 b probed by its CHEOPS phase curve
• Modeling magnesium escape from HD209458b atmosphere
• Bias and robustness of eccentricity estimates from radial velocity data
• A Model of the H$\alpha$ and Na Transmission Spectrum of HD 189733b
• Neutral Cr and V in the atmosphere of ultra hot jupiter WASP-121 b
• High-resolution transmission spectroscopy study of ultra-hot Jupiters HAT-P-57b, KELT-17b, KELT-21b, KELT-7b, MASCARA-1b, and WASP-189b
• Alkaline Exospheres of Exoplanet Systems: Evaporative Transmission Spectra
• TOI-222: a single-transit TESS candidate revealed to be a 34-day eclipsing binary with CORALIE, EulerCam and NGTS
• Mining the Ultra-Hot Skies of HAT-P-70b: Detection of a Profusion of Neutral and Ionized Species
• Evidence of energy-, recombination-, and photon-limited escape regimes in giant planet H/He atmospheres
• Gravity-Darkening Analysis of Misaligned Hot Jupiter MASCARA-4 b
• Atmosphere escape inferred from modelling the H$\alpha$ transmission spectrum of WASP-121b

Cited by in corpus (17)

• Retrieval survey of metals in six ultra-hot Jupiters: Trends in chemistry, rain-out, ionisation and atmospheric dynamics
• The GAPS Programme at TNG. XLI. The climate of KELT-9b revealed with a new approach to high spectral resolution phase curves
• Detection of a high-velocity sodium feature on the ultra-hot Jupiter WASP-121 b
• Magnetic Effects and 3D Structure in Theoretical High-Resolution Transmission Spectra of Ultrahot Jupiters: the Case of WASP-76b
• Transmission spectroscopy of the lowest-density gas giant: metals and a potential extended outflow in HAT-P-67b
• Dynamics and Clouds in Planetary Atmospheres from Telescopic Observations
• Expanding the inventory of spectral lines used to trace atmospheric escape in exoplanets
• Detection of rubidium and samarium in the atmosphere of the ultra-hot Jupiter MASCARA-4b
• Retrieving day- and nightside atmospheric properties of the ultra-hot Jupiter TOI-2109b. Detection of Fe and CO emission lines and evidence for inefficient heat transport
• Extreme winds on the emerging dayside of an ultrahot Jupiter
• True spin-orbit obliquities distribution: data-driven confirmation of no clustering of misaligned planets
• Transmission spectroscopy of WASP-7 b with UVES -- Detection of Na I D${}_2$ and tentative D${}_1$ line absorption
• PEPSI's non-detection of escaping hydrogen and metal lines adds to the enigma of WASP-12 b
• Magnetic field strengths of hot giant exoplanets consistent with Solar System values
• Revisiting the atmosphere of HAT-P-70b with CARMENES high-resolution transmission spectroscopy
• Assessing robustness and bias in 1D retrievals of 3D Global Circulation Models at high spectral resolution: a WASP-76 b simulation case study in emission
• First Results from WINERED: Detection of Emission Lines from Neutral Iron and a Combined Set of Trace Species on the Dayside of WASP-189 b