Exoplanets and Stellar Physics

Abstract:

Pictoris b is one of the closest known directly imaged gas giant exoplanets with an orbit that is almost edge-on to our line of sight, making it an ideal target for radial velocity monitoring to search for massive exomoons. We measure the radial velocity of Pictoris b over several epochs between October 2024 and March 2025 by using the cross-correlation of a template spectrum with absorption lines in the planet’s atmosphere, giving a mean precision of 160 m s. The resultant set of radial velocities is analysed with a periodogram to search for candidate radial velocity (RV) signals indicating a massive exomoon. Although we do not detect an exomoon signal in our data, our detection limits for a single moon are 80 Earth masses at d and 1 Jupiter at d, comparable to RV exomoon searches around other substellar companions. The RV limit is comparable with the astrometric exomoon limit at a period of 7 d and a mass of 150 , where for longer periods the astrometric searches have lower mass limits. With an additional observing season, the upgraded CRyogenic InfraRed Echelle Spectrograph (CRIRES+) can detect a planet/moon mass ratio of () with a period of up to one day, and can detect a Neptune-mass moon at hundreds of Jupiter radii.

Abstract:

Ultrahot Jupiters (UHJs) are exceptional laboratories for studying planetary atmospheres under extreme irradiation conditions. With close-in tidally locked orbits, these planets can have daysides hot enough for metals to be significantly ionized while still maintaining nightsides cold enough for refractory species to potentially condense. We present an analysis of the UHJ HAT-P-70b taken with the MAROON-X high-resolution spectrograph. Using cross correlations, we detect 14 neutral and singly ionized species, including Fe I, Fe II, Ti I, Ca I, Ca II, Cr I, Na I, V I, Mn I, Ni I, Mg I, Ba II, O I, and Sr I, with tentative evidence for H I, Co I, and K I. The absorption signals exhibit blueshifts on the order of a few kilometers per second, consistent with day-to-night winds. We further constrain relative abundances with atmospheric retrievals and demonstrate that some inferred elemental abundance ratios depend strongly on modeling assumptions. In particular, we show that a well-mixed retrieval approach neglecting ionization can strongly bias highly ionizable elements such as Ca and Ti. Accounting for the effects of equilibrium chemistry and thermal ionization generally results in inferred elemental abundance ratios that are closer to expectations for a solar-like composition, although not in all cases. Interestingly, we find a distinct nickel enrichment on HAT-P-70b, adding to the growing number of UHJ studies where the Ni abundance is seemingly enhanced. Our results underline the importance of considering physical and chemical atmospheric processes such as ionization when interpreting high-resolution transmission spectra of UHJs.

Abstract:

Magnetic fields are a key factor in the evolution of planets and their atmospheres, but they are still poorly constrained for exoplanets owing to limited direct observations. Ultra-hot Jupiters provide a new avenue to probe magnetic effects, as the circulation of their highly ionized atmospheres could be directly sensitive to the atmospheric magnetic field. However, it remains unclear whether the impact of these magnetic effects can be observed directly and used to constrain the magnetic field strength. With high spectral resolution observations targeting the planetary iron lines, we measure the Doppler shift and thus the wind speed of seven transiting ultra-hot Jupiters. Here we find a clear decrease of wind speed with increasing planetary temperature, which is a trend inconsistent with purely hydrodynamic mechanisms but naturally reproduced by magnetic drag. From this relationship, we estimate the possible strength of magnetic fields of hot giant planets to at most a few gauss, which is comparable with the Jovian equatorial field. Our results support the idea that magnetic fields affect the atmospheric circulation of ultra-hot Jupiters and could provide a crucial benchmark for scaling laws used to predict magnetic fields in exoplanets, from hot Jupiters to rocky Earths, with additional implications for future direct observations.