Speaker
Description
Characterisation of exoplanet atmospheres using high-resolution spectra provides a unique window into their composition, dynamics as well as their formation and evolution pathways. Our MEASURE data set contains a diverse set of 11 targets with a wide range of periods, equilibrium temperatures and masses. For one of the targets, the Ultra Hot Jupiter WASP-33 b, we report the first detection of CO emission lines at high spectral resolution from its thermal spectrum. These emission lines provide unambiguous evidence of a thermal inversion layer in its atmosphere. Moreover, by incorporating a Bayesian framework with 1D PHOENIX and 3D GCM atmospheric models, we show via Cross-Correlation-to-log-Likelihood mapping that the spectra indicate an eastward hotspot. Our resolution of R=15,000 pushes the High-Resolution Cross-Correlation Spectroscopy method to its lowest resolution limits. This bodes well for systems that may require the use of lower resolution spectra to improve photon collection, such as small planets orbiting in the close in habitable zones of small, faint M-dwarfs. Finally, we will show some preliminary results from the other targets in the MEASURE survey.
