Determination of stellar, orbital and planetary parameters using complete Monte-Carlo analysis -- the case of HAT-P-7b

TL;DR

This paper presents a comprehensive Monte-Carlo analysis combining all available photometric and spectroscopic data to precisely determine the parameters of the hot Jupiter HAT-P-7b, emphasizing the value of partial light curve data.

Contribution

It introduces a self-consistent Monte-Carlo method that integrates diverse data sources and stellar models to accurately estimate exoplanetary system parameters without assumptions.

Findings

Most precise parameter estimates achieved.

Partial light curves are valuable for characterization.

Method applicable to long-period planets with incomplete data.

Abstract

The recently discovered transiting very hot Jupiter, HAT-P-7b, a planet detected by the telescopes of HATNet, turned out to be among the ones subjected to the highest irradiation from the parent star. As known, the combination of photometric and spectroscopic data for such an object yields the stellar, orbital and planetary parameters. In order to best characterize this particular planet, we carried out a complex analysis based on a complete and simultaneous Monte-Carlo solution using all available data. We included the discovery light curves, partial follow-up light curves, the radial velocity data, and we used the stellar evolution models to infer the stellar properties. This self-consistent way of modeling provides the most precise estimate of the a posteriori distributions of all of the system parameters of interest, and avoids making assumptions on the values and uncertainties of any of the internally derived variables describing the system. This analysis demonstrates that even partial light curve information can be valuable. This may become very important for future discoveries of planets with longer periods -- and therefore longer transit durations -- where the chance of observing a full event is small.