The GTC exoplanet transit spectroscopy survey XI. Possible detection of Rayleigh scattering in the atmosphere of the Saturn-mass planet WASP-69b

TL;DR

This study presents ground-based spectrophotometric observations of exoplanet WASP-69b, revealing a wavelength-dependent increase in transit depth toward blue light, consistent with Rayleigh scattering in its atmosphere, and discusses potential stellar activity influences.

Contribution

First ground-based detection of Rayleigh scattering in WASP-69b's atmosphere using spectrophotometry, confirming space-based results and exploring stellar activity effects.

Findings

Transit depth increases toward blue wavelengths.

Results align with Hubble Space Telescope measurements.

Possible Rayleigh scattering or stellar activity influence.

Abstract

One of the main atmospheric features in exoplanet atmospheres, detectable both from ground- and space-based facilities, is Rayleigh scattering. In hydrogen-dominated planetary atmospheres, Rayleigh scattering causes the measured planetary radius to increase toward blue wavelengths in the optical range. We obtained a spectrophotometric time series of one transit of the Saturn-mass planet WASP-69b using the OSIRIS instrument at the Gran Telescopio Canarias. From the data we constructed 19 spectroscopic transit light curves representing 20 nm wide wavelength bins spanning from 515 nm to 905 nm. We derived the transit depth for each curve individually by fitting an analytical model together with a Gaussian process to account for systematic noise in the light curves. We find that the transit depth increases toward bluer wavelengths, indicative of a larger effective planet radius. Our results are consistent with space-based measurements obtained in the near infrared using the Hubble Space Telescope, which show a compatible slope of the transmission spectrum. We discuss the origin of the detected slope and argue between two possible scenarios: a Rayleigh scattering detection originating in the planet's atmosphere or a stellar activity induced signal from the host star.