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Infrared Light Curves and the Detectability of Close-In Extrasolar Giant Planets

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 May 2006

L. Jeremy Richardson ,
Sara Seager ,
Drake Deming ,
Joseph Harrington ,
Richard K. Barry ,
Jayadev Rajagopal  and
William C. Danchi
L. Jeremy Richardson
Affiliation:
Exoplanets and Stellar Astrophysics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Mail Code 667, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA email: richardsonlj@milkyway.gsfc.nasa.gov
Sara Seager
Affiliation:
Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washingtone, 5241 Broad Branch Rd. NW, Washington, DC 20015, USA
Drake Deming
Affiliation:
Planetary Systems Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Mail Code 693, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
Joseph Harrington
Affiliation:
Cornell University, 326 Space Sciences Bldg., Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
Richard K. Barry
Affiliation:
Exoplanets and Stellar Astrophysics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Mail Code 667, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA email: richardsonlj@milkyway.gsfc.nasa.gov
Jayadev Rajagopal
Affiliation:
Exoplanets and Stellar Astrophysics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Mail Code 667, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA email: richardsonlj@milkyway.gsfc.nasa.gov
William C. Danchi
Affiliation:
Exoplanets and Stellar Astrophysics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Mail Code 667, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA email: richardsonlj@milkyway.gsfc.nasa.gov
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Abstract

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We compute theoretical infrared light curves for several known extrasolar planets. We have constructed a set of routines to calculate the orbital parameters for a given planet and integrate over the planetary disk to determine the total flux density of the planet as it orbits the parent star. We have further developed a spectral synthesis routine to calculate theoretical spectra of extrasolar giant planets from 3–24 $\mu$m. The code requires a temperature-pressure profile as input, calculated by solving the radiative transfer equation; it then calculates continuous opacities and line opacities for water, carbon monoxide, and methane, and finally integrates over the layers of the atmosphere to determine the emergent flux. By integrating the theoretical spectrum over the bandpass of a particular instrument and including realistic instrument noise, we produce a set of multi-wavelength, infrared light curves. Using these light curves, we predict whether a particular known planet can be observed and characterized using the Spitzer Space Telescope, as well as other proposed space-based instruments, such as the Fourier-Kelvin Stellar Interferometer (FKSI) and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

Keywords

methods: analyticalstars: individual (HD 209458)
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 1 , Colloquium C200: Direct Imaging of Exoplanets: Science & Techniques , October 2005 , pp. 185 - 188
Copyright
© 2006 International Astronomical Union