The Search for an Atmospheric Signature of the Transiting Exoplanet HD 149026b

Abstract

HD 149026b is a short-period, Saturn-mass planet that transits a metal-rich star. The planet's radius, determined by photometry, is remarkably small compared to other known transiting planets, with a heavy-element core that apparently comprises ~70% of the total planet mass. Time-series spectra were obtained at Keck before and during transit in order to model the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect. Here we make use of these observations to carry out a differential comparison of spectra obtained in and out of transit to search for signatures of neutral atomic lithium and potassium from the planet atmosphere. No signal was detected at the 2% level; we therefore place upper limits on the column density of these atoms.

8 pages, 10 figures, 2 tables

References in corpus (1)

• Transit Photometry of the Core-Dominated Planet HD 149026b

Cited by in corpus (4)

• Sodium Absorption From the Exoplanetary Atmosphere of HD189733b Detected in the Optical Transmission Spectrum
• Homogeneous studies of transiting extrasolar planets. I. Light curve analyses
• The Broadband Infrared Emission Spectrum of the Exoplanet HD 189733b
• Using Transit Timing Observations to Search for Trojans of Transiting Extrasolar Planets