Publication: Modelling the HeI triplet absorption at 10 830 angstrom in the atmosphere of HD 209458 b
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2020-04-07
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Caballero, J. A.
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Abstract
Context. HD 209458 b is an exoplanet with an upper atmosphere undergoing blow-off escape that has mainly been studied using measurements of the Lyα absorption. Recently, high-resolution measurements of absorption in the He I triplet line at 10 830 Å of several exoplanets (including HD 209458 b) have been reported, creating a new opportunity to probe escaping atmospheres
Aims. We aim to better understand the atmospheric regions of HD 209458 b from where the escape originates. Methods. We developed a 1D hydrodynamic model with spherical symmetry for the HD 209458 b thermosphere coupled with a nonlocal thermodynamic model for the population of the He I triplet state. In addition, we performed high-resolution radiative transfer calculations of synthetic spectra for the helium triplet lines and compared them with the measured absorption spectrum in order to retrieve information about the atmospheric parameters.
Results. We find that the measured spectrum constrains the [H]/[H^(+) ] transition altitude occurring in the range of 1.2 R_(P)–1.9 R_(P). Hydrogen is almost fully ionised at altitudes above 2.9 R_(P). We also find that the X-ray and extreme ultraviolet absorption takes place at effective radii from 1.16 to 1.30 R_(P), and that the He I triplet peak density occurs at altitudes from 1.04 to 1.60 R_(P). Additionally, the averaged mean molecular weight is confined to the 0.61–0.73 g mole^(−1) interval, and the thermospheric H/He ratio should be larger than 90/10, and most likely approximately 98/2. We also provide a one-to-one relationship between mass-loss rate and temperature. Based on the energy-limited escape approach and assuming heating efficiencies of 0.1–0.2, we find a mass-loss rate in the range of (0.42–1.00) × 10^(11) g s^(−1) and a corresponding temperature range of 7125–8125 K.
Conclusions. The analysis of the measured He I triplet absorption spectrum significantly constrains the thermospheric structure of HD 209458 b and advances our knowledge of its escaping atmosphere.
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© ESO 2020. Artículo firmado por 19 autores. We thank Prof. J. Linsky for his helpful refereed report. IAA authors acknowledge financial support from the State Agency for Research of the Spanish MCIU through the “Center of Excellence Severo Ochoa” award SEV-2017-0709. CARMENES is an instrument for the Centro Astronómico Hispano-Alemán de Calar Alto (CAHA, Almería, Spain). CARMENES is funded by the German Max-Planck-Gesellschaft (MPG), the Spanish Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), the European Union through FEDER/ERF FICTS-2011-02 funds, and the members of the CARMENES Consortium (Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie, Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, Landessternwarte Königstuhl, Institut de Ciències de l’Espai, Insitut für Astrophysik Göttingen, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Thüringer Landessternwarte Tautenburg, Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, Hamburger Sternwarte, Centro de Astrobiología and Centro Astronómico Hispano-Alemán), with additional contributions by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, the German Science Foundation through the Major Research Instrumentation Programme and DFG Research Unit FOR2544 “Blue Planets around Red Stars”, the Klaus Tschira Stiftung, the states of Baden-Württemberg and Niedersachsen, and by the Junta de Andalucía. We acknowledge financial support from the Agencia Estatal de Investigación of the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, funds through projects: ESP2016–76076–R, ESP2017-87143-R, BES–2015–074542, BES– 2015–073500, PGC2018-098153-B-C31, AYA2016-79425-C3-1/2/3-P.