Near-Infrared Thermal Emission from the Hot Jupiter TrES-2b: Ground-Based Detection of the Secondary Eclipse

TL;DR

This study reports the ground-based detection of thermal emission from the hot Jupiter TrES-2b during its secondary eclipse, revealing insights into its atmospheric temperature and heat redistribution.

Contribution

First ground-based near-infrared detection of TrES-2b's secondary eclipse, providing new data on its atmospheric properties and heat distribution.

Findings

Detected thermal emission with 0.062% eclipse depth

Indicates a near-isothermal dayside atmosphere

Suggests efficient heat redistribution and no strong temperature inversion

Abstract

We present near-infrared Ks-band photometry bracketing the secondary eclipse of the hot Jupiter TrES-2b using the Wide-field Infrared Camera on the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope. We detect its thermal emission with an eclipse depth of 0.062 +/- 0.012% (5-sigma). Our best-fit secondary eclipse is consistent with a circular orbit (a 3-sigma upper limit on the eccentricity, e, and argument or periastron, omega, of |ecos(omega)| < 0.0090), in agreement with mid-infrared detections of the secondary eclipse of this planet. A secondary eclipse of this depth corresponds to a day-side Ks-band brightness temperature of TB = 1636 +/- 88 K. Our thermal emission measurement when combined with the thermal emission measurements using Spitzer/IRAC from O'Donovan and collaborators suggest that this planet exhibits relatively efficient day to night-side redistribution of heat and a near isothermal dayside atmospheric temperature structure, with a spectrum that is well approximated by a blackbody. It is unclear if the atmosphere of TrES-2b requires a temperature inversion; if it does it is likely due to chemical species other than TiO/VO as the atmosphere of TrES-2b is too cool to allow TiO/VO to remain in gaseous form. Our secondary eclipse has the smallest depth of any detected from the ground at around 2 micron to date.