Results: We present three independent transmission spectra of WASP-49b between 0.73 and 1.02 ¯m, as well as a transmission spectrum between 0.65 and 1.02 ¯m from the combined analysis of FORS2 and broadband data. The results obtained from the three individual epochs agree well. The transmission spectrum of WASP-49b is best fit by atmospheric models containing a cloud deck at pressure levels of 1 mbar or lower. Based on photometric observations made with FORS2 on the ESO VLT/UT1 (Prog. ID 090.C-0758), EulerCam on the Euler-Swiss telescope and the Belgian TRAPPIST telescope.The photometric time series data in this work are only available in electronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp to http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (ftp://130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/587/A67 [less ▲]Detailed reference viewed: 9 (1 ULg) HD 97658 and its super-EarthVan Grootel, Valérie ; Gillon, Michaël ; Valencia, D. et alin European Physical Journal Web of Conferences (2015, September 01)Super-Earths transiting nearby bright stars are key objects that simultaneously allow for accurate measurements of both their mass and radius, providing essential constraints on their internal composition ... [more ▼]Super-Earths transiting nearby bright stars are key objects that simultaneously allow for accurate measurements of both their mass and radius, providing essential constraints on their internal composition. We present the confirmation, based on Spitzer observations, that the super-Earth HD 97658 b transits its host star. HD 97658 is a low-mass (M*=0.77+-0.05 Msun) K1 dwarf, as determined from the Hipparcos parallax and stellar evolution modeling. To constrain the planet parameters, we carry out Bayesian global analyses of Keck-HIRES radial velocities, and MOST and Spitzer photometry. HD 97658 b is a massive (Mp=7.55 +0.83,-0.79 Mearth) and large (Rp = 2.247 +0.098,-0.095 Rearth at 4.5 microns) super-Earth. We investigate the possible internal compositions for HD 97658 b. Our results indicate a large rocky component, by at least 60% by mass, and very little H-He components, at most 2% by mass. We also discuss how future asteroseismic observations can improve the knowledge of the HD 97658 system, in particular by constraining its age. [less ▲]Detailed reference viewed: 23 (5 ULg) HD 97658 and its super-Earth. Spitzer & MOST transit analysis and modeling of the host starVan Grootel, Valérie ; Gillon, Michaël ; Valencia, D. et alConference (2014, July)Super-Earths transiting nearby bright stars are key objects that simultaneously allow for accurate measurements of both their mass and radius, providing essential constraints on their internal composition ... [more ▼]Super-Earths transiting nearby bright stars are key objects that simultaneously allow for accurate measurements of both their mass and radius, providing essential constraints on their internal composition. We present here the confirmation, based on Spitzer transit observations, that the super-Earth HD 97658 b transits its host star. HD 97658 is a low-mass ($M_*=0.77\pm0.05\,M_{\odot}$) K1 dwarf, as determined from the Hipparcos parallax and stellar evolution modeling. To constrain the planet parameters, we carry out Bayesian global analyses of Keck-HIRES radial velocities, and MOST and Spitzer photometry. HD 97658 b is a massive ($M_P=7.55^{+0.83}_{-0.79} M_{\oplus}$) and large ($R_{P} = 2.247^{+0.098}_{-0.095} R_{\oplus}$ at 4.5 $\mu$m) super-Earth. We investigate the possible internal compositions for HD 97658 b. Our results indicate a large rocky component, by at least 60% by mass, and very little H-He components, at most 2% by mass. We also discuss how future asteroseismic observations can improve the knowledge of the HD 97658 system, in particular by constraining its age. Orbiting a bright host star, HD 97658 b will be a key target for coming space missions TESS, CHEOPS, PLATO, and also JWST, to characterize thoroughly its structure and atmosphere. [less ▲]Detailed reference viewed: 22 (2 ULg) Transit confirmation and improved stellar and planet parameters for the super-Earth HD 97658 b and its host starVan Grootel, Valérie ; Gillon, Michaël ; Valencia, D. et alin Astrophysical Journal (2014), 786Super-Earths transiting nearby bright stars are key objects that simultaneously allow for accurate measurements of both their mass and radius, providing essential constraints on their internal composition ... [more ▼]Super-Earths transiting nearby bright stars are key objects that simultaneously allow for accurate measurements of both their mass and radius, providing essential constraints on their internal composition. We present here the confirmation, based on Spitzer transit observations, that the super-Earth HD 97658 b transits its host star. HD 97658 is a low-mass ($M_*=0.77\pm0.05\,M_{\odot}$) K1 dwarf, as determined from the Hipparcos parallax and stellar evolution modeling. To constrain the planet parameters, we carry out Bayesian global analyses of Keck-HIRES radial velocities, and MOST and Spitzer photometry. HD 97658 b is a massive ($M_P=7.55^{+0.83}_{-0.79} M_{\oplus}$) and large ($R_{P} = 2.247^{+0.098}_{-0.095} R_{\oplus}$ at 4.5 $\mu$m) super-Earth. We investigate the possible internal compositions for HD 97658 b. Our results indicate a large rocky component, by at least 60% by mass, and very little H-He components, at most 2% by mass. We also discuss how future asteroseismic observations can improve the knowledge of the HD 97658 system, in particular by constraining its age. Orbiting a bright host star, HD 97658 b will be a key target for coming space missions TESS, CHEOPS, PLATO, and also JWST, to characterize thoroughly its structure and atmosphere. [less ▲]Detailed reference viewed: 57 (13 ULg) Physical properties, transmission and emission spectra of the WASP-19 planetary system from multi-colour photometryMancini, L.; Ciceri, S.; Chen, G. et alin Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (2013), 436We present new ground-based, multi-colour, broad-band photometric measurements of the physical parameters, transmission and emission spectra of the transiting extrasolar planet WASP-19b. The measurements ... [more ▼]We present new ground-based, multi-colour, broad-band photometric measurements of the physical parameters, transmission and emission spectra of the transiting extrasolar planet WASP-19b. The measurements are based on observations of eight transits and four occultations through a Gunn i filter using the 1.54-m Danish Telescope, 14 transits through an R[SUB]c[/SUB] filter at the Perth Exoplanet Survey Telescope (PEST) observatory and one transit observed simultaneously through four optical (Sloan g[SUP]'[/SUP], r[SUP]'[/SUP], i[SUP]'[/SUP], z[SUP]'[/SUP]) and three near-infrared (J, H, K) filters, using the Gamma Ray Burst Optical and Near-Infrared Detector (GROND) instrument on the MPG/ESO 2.2-m telescope. The GROND optical light curves have a point-to-point scatter around the best-fitting model between 0.52 and 0.65 mmag rms. We use these new data to measure refined physical parameters for the system. We find the planet to be more bloated (R[SUB]b[/SUB] = 1.410 ± 0.017R[SUB]Jup[/SUB]; M[SUB]b[/SUB] = 1.139 ± 0.030M[SUB]Jup[/SUB]) and the system to be twice as old as initially thought. We also used published and archived data sets to study the transit timings, which do not depart from a linear ephemeris. We detected an anomaly in the GROND transit light curve which is compatible with a spot on the photosphere of the parent star. The starspot position, size, spot contrast and temperature were established. Using our new and published measurements, we assembled the planet's transmission spectrum over the 370-2350 nm wavelength range and its emission spectrum over the 750-8000 nm range. By comparing these data to theoretical models we investigated the theoretically predicted variation of the apparent radius of WASP-19b as a function of wavelength and studied the composition and thermal structure of its atmosphere. We conclude that: (i) there is no evidence for strong optical absorbers at low pressure, supporting the common idea that the planet's atmosphere lacks a dayside inversion; (ii) the temperature of the planet is not homogenized, because the high warming of its dayside causes the planet to be more efficient in re-radiating than redistributing energy to the night side; (iii) the planet seems to be outside of any current classification scheme. [less ▲]Detailed reference viewed: 29 (7 ULg) Search for a habitable terrestrial planet transiting the nearby red dwarf GJ 1214Gillon, Michaël ; Demory, B.-O.; Madhusudhan, N. et alin Astronomy and Astrophysics (2013)High-precision eclipse spectrophotometry of transiting terrestrial exoplanets represents a promising path for the first atmospheric characterizations of habitable worlds and the search for life outside ... [more ▼]High-precision eclipse spectrophotometry of transiting terrestrial exoplanets represents a promising path for the first atmospheric characterizations of habitable worlds and the search for life outside our solar system. The detection of terrestrial planets transiting nearby late-type M-dwarfs could make this approach applicable within the next decade, with soon-to-come general facilities. In this context, we previously identified GJ 1214 as a high-priority target for a transit search, as the transit probability of a habitable planet orbiting this nearby M4.5 dwarf would be significantly enhanced by the transiting nature of GJ 1214 b, the super-Earth already known to orbit the star. Based on this observation, we have set up an ambitious high-precision photometric monitoring of GJ 1214 with the Spitzer Space Telescope to probe the inner part of its habitable zone in search of a transiting planet as small as Mars. We present here the results of this transit search. Unfortunately, we did not detect any other transiting planets. Assuming that GJ 1214 hosts a habitable planet larger than Mars that has an orbital period smaller than 20.9 days, our global analysis of the whole Spitzer dataset leads to an a posteriori no-transit probability of ~98%. Our analysis allows us to significantly improve the characterization of GJ 1214 b, to measure its occultation depth to be 70 ± 35 ppm at 4.5 mum, and to constrain it to be smaller than 205 ppm (3sigma upper limit) at 3.6 mum. In agreement with the many transmission measurements published so far for GJ 1214 b, these emission measurements are consistent with both a metal-rich and a cloudy hydrogen-rich atmosphere. [less ▲]Detailed reference viewed: 22 (4 ULg) Warm Spitzer Occultation Photometry of WASP-26b at 3.6{\mu}m and 4.5{\mu}mMahtani, D. P.; Maxted, P. F. L.; Anderson, D. R. et alin Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (2013), 432(1), 693-701We present new warm Spitzer occultation photometry of WASP-26 at 3.6{\mu}m and 4.5{\mu}m along with new transit photometry taken in the g,r and i bands. We report the first detection of the occultation of ... [more ▼]We present new warm Spitzer occultation photometry of WASP-26 at 3.6{\mu}m and 4.5{\mu}m along with new transit photometry taken in the g,r and i bands. We report the first detection of the occultation of WASP-26b, with occultation depths at 3.6{\mu}m and 4.5{\mu}m of 0.00126 +/- 0.00013 and 0.00149 +/- 0.00016 corresponding to brightness temperatures of 1825+/-80K and 1725+/-89K, respectively. We find that the eccentricity of the orbit is consistent with a circular orbit at the 1{\sigma} level with a 3{\sigma} upper limit of e < 0.04. According to the activity-inversion relation of Knutson et al. (2010), WASP-26b is predicted to host a thermal inversion. The brightness temperatures deduced from the eclipse depths are consistent with an isothermal atmosphere, although it is within the uncertainties that the planet may host a weak thermal inversion. The data are equally well fit by atmospheric models with or without a thermal inversion. We find that variation in activity of solar-like stars does not change enough over the time-scales of months or years to change the interpretation of the Knutson et al. (2010) activity-inversion relation, provided that the measured activity level is averaged over several nights. Further data are required to fully constrain the thermal structure of the atmosphere because the planet lies very close to the boundary between atmospheres with and without a thermal inversion. [less ▲]Detailed reference viewed: 13 (1 ULg) Thermal emission at 3.6-8 micron from WASP-19b: a hot Jupiter without a stratosphere orbiting an active starAnderson, D. R.; Smith, A. M. S.; Madhusudhan, N. et alin Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (2013), 430(4), 3422-3431We report detection of thermal emission from the exoplanet WASP-19b at 3.6, 4.5, 5.8 and 8.0 μm. We used the InfraRed Array Camera on the Spitzer Space Telescope to observe two occultations of WASP-19b by ... [more ▼]We report detection of thermal emission from the exoplanet WASP-19b at 3.6, 4.5, 5.8 and 8.0 μm. We used the InfraRed Array Camera on the Spitzer Space Telescope to observe two occultations of WASP-19b by its host star. We combine our new detections with previous measurements of WASP-19b's emission at 1.6 and 2.09 μm to construct a spectral energy distribution of the planet's dayside atmosphere. By comparing this with model-atmosphere spectra, we find that the dayside atmosphere of WASP-19b lacks a strong temperature inversion. As WASP-19 is an active star (log R'HK = -4.50 ± 0.03), this finding supports the hypothesis of Knutson, Howard and Isaacson that inversions are suppressed in hot Jupiters orbiting active stars. The available data are unable to differentiate between a carbon-rich and an oxygen-rich atmosphere. [less ▲]Detailed reference viewed: 32 (5 ULg) 1