Near-Infrared Thermal Emission from TrES-3b: A Ks-band detection and an H-band upper limit on the depth of the secondary eclipse

TL;DR

This study reports near-infrared observations of the exoplanet TrES-3b, detecting its Ks-band secondary eclipse and setting a strict upper limit in H-band, revealing insights into its atmospheric heat redistribution and temperature structure.

Contribution

First near-infrared detection of TrES-3b's secondary eclipse with constraints challenging existing models, highlighting the importance of multi-wavelength observations for exoplanet atmospheres.

Findings

Detected Ks-band secondary eclipse with 8-sigma significance

Placed a 3-sigma upper limit on H-band eclipse depth

Results suggest efficient heat redistribution and possible atmospheric temperature inversion

Abstract

We present H and Ks-band photometry bracketing the secondary eclipse of the hot Jupiter TrES-3b using the Wide-field Infrared Camera on the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope. We detect the secondary eclipse of TrES-3b with a depth of 0.133+/-0.017% in Ks-band (8-sigma) - a result in sharp contrast to the eclipse depth reported by de Mooij & Snellen. We do not detect its thermal emission in H-band, but place a 3-sigma limit on the depth of the secondary eclipse in this band of 0.051%. A secondary eclipse of this depth in Ks requires very efficient day-to-nightside redistribution of heat and nearly isotropic reradiation, conclusion that is in agreement with longer wavelength, mid-infrared Spitzer observations. Our 3-sigma upper-limit on the depth of our H-band secondary eclipse also argues for very efficient redistribution of heat and suggests that the atmospheric layer probed by these observations may be well homogenized. However, our H-band upper limit is so constraining that it suggests the possibility of a temperature inversion at depth, or an absorbing molecule, such as methane, that further depresses the emitted flux at this wavelength. The combination of our near-infrared measurements and those obtained with Spitzer suggest that TrES-3b displays a near isothermal dayside atmospheric temperature structure, whose spectrum is well approximated by a blackbody. We emphasize that our strict H-band limit is in stark disagreement with the best-fit atmospheric model that results from longer wavelength observations only, thus highlighting the importance of near-infrared observations at multiple wavelengths in addition to those returned by Spitzer in the mid-infrared to facilitate a comprehensive understanding of the energy budgets of transiting exoplanets.