TY - JOUR
T1 - NEAR-IR direct detection of water vapor in tau Boötis b
AU - Lockwood, Alexandra C.
AU - Johnson, John A.
AU - Bender, Chad F.
AU - Carr, John S.
AU - Barman, Travis
AU - Richert, Alexander J.W.
AU - Blake, Geoffrey A.
PY - 2014/3/10
Y1 - 2014/3/10
N2 - We use high dynamic range, high-resolution L-band spectroscopy to measure the radial velocity (RV) variations of the hot Jupiter in the τ Boötis planetary system. The detection of an exoplanet by the shift in the stellar spectrum alone provides a measure of the planet's minimum mass, with the true mass degenerate with the unknown orbital inclination. Treating the τ Boo system as a high flux ratio double-lined spectroscopic binary permits the direct measurement of the planet's true mass as well as its atmospheric properties. After removing telluric absorption and cross-correlating with a model planetary spectrum dominated by water opacity, we measure a 6σ detection of the planet at Kp = 111 ± 5 km s-1, with a 1σ upper limit on the spectroscopic flux ratio of 10-4. This RV leads to a planetary orbital inclination of i = 45+3-4° and a mass of Mp = 5.90+0.35-0.20 MJup. We report the first detection of water vapor in the atmosphere of a non-transiting hot Jupiter, τ Boo b.
AB - We use high dynamic range, high-resolution L-band spectroscopy to measure the radial velocity (RV) variations of the hot Jupiter in the τ Boötis planetary system. The detection of an exoplanet by the shift in the stellar spectrum alone provides a measure of the planet's minimum mass, with the true mass degenerate with the unknown orbital inclination. Treating the τ Boo system as a high flux ratio double-lined spectroscopic binary permits the direct measurement of the planet's true mass as well as its atmospheric properties. After removing telluric absorption and cross-correlating with a model planetary spectrum dominated by water opacity, we measure a 6σ detection of the planet at Kp = 111 ± 5 km s-1, with a 1σ upper limit on the spectroscopic flux ratio of 10-4. This RV leads to a planetary orbital inclination of i = 45+3-4° and a mass of Mp = 5.90+0.35-0.20 MJup. We report the first detection of water vapor in the atmosphere of a non-transiting hot Jupiter, τ Boo b.
KW - atmospheres - techniques
KW - planets and satellites
KW - spectroscopic
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U2 - 10.1088/2041-8205/783/2/L29
DO - 10.1088/2041-8205/783/2/L29
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84895108996
SN - 2041-8205
VL - 783
JO - Astrophysical Journal Letters
JF - Astrophysical Journal Letters
IS - 2
M1 - L29
ER -