Mapping the Atmospheres of Hot Jupiters

TL;DR

This paper reports on phase-dependent brightness observations of hot Jupiters, especially HD 189733b, revealing atmospheric circulation patterns and diversity among these exoplanets using Spitzer data.

Contribution

It provides new measurements of atmospheric dynamics of hot Jupiters through phase variations, expanding understanding of their atmospheric diversity.

Findings

Determined day-night circulation efficiency of HD 189733b.

Detected phase variations in non-transiting hot Jupiters.

Indicated diversity in hot Jupiter atmospheres.

Abstract

We present the results of recent observations of phase-dependent variations in brightness designed to characterize the atmospheres of hot Jupiters. In particular, we focus on recent observations of the transiting planet HD 189733b at 8 micron using the Spitzer Space Telescope, which allow us to determine the efficiency of the day-night circulation on this planet and estimate the longitudinal positions of hot and cold regions in the atmosphere. We discuss the implications of these observations in the context of two other successful detections of more sparsely-sampled phase variations for the non-transiting systems upsilon And b and HD 179949b, which imply a potential diversity in the properties of the atmospheres of hot Jupiters. Lastly, we highlight several upcoming Spitzer observations that will extend this sample to additional wavelengths and more transiting systems in the near future.