Stellar limb darkening. A new MPS-ATLAS library for Kepler, TESS, CHEOPS, and PLATO passbands

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new library of stellar limb darkening models computed with the MPS-ATLAS code, covering a wide range of stellar parameters and passbands, to improve exoplanet radius measurements.

Contribution

It provides an extensive, finely sampled grid of stellar limb darkening coefficients for Kepler, TESS, CHEOPS, and PLATO passbands, enhancing the accuracy of exoplanet characterization.

Findings

Good agreement with solar limb darkening measurements

Consistent results with Kepler star observations

Library available in CDS for community use

Abstract

The detection of the first exoplanet paved the way into the era of transit photometry space missions with a revolutionary photometric precision that aim at discovering new exoplanetary systems around different types of stars. With this high precision, it is possible to derive very accurately the radii of exoplanets which is crucial for constraining their type and composition. However, it requires an accurate description of host stars, especially their center-to-limb variation of intensities (so called limb darkening) as it affects the planet-to-star radius ratio determination. We aim at improving the accuracy of limb darkening calculations for stars with a wide range of fundamental parameters. We used the recently developed 1D MPS-ATLAS code to compute model atmosphere structures and to synthesize stellar limb darkening on a very fine grid of stellar parameters. For the computations we utilized the most accurate information on chemical element abundances and mixing length parameters including convective overshoot. The stellar limb darkening was fitted using the two most accurate limb darkening laws: the power-2 and 4-parameters non-linear laws. We present a new extensive library of stellar model atmospheric structures, the synthesized stellar limb darkening curves, and the coefficients of parameterized limb-darkening laws on a very fine grid of stellar parameters in the Kepler, TESS, CHEOPS, and PLATO passbands. The fine grid allows overcoming the sizable errors introduced by the need to interpolate. Our computations of solar limb darkening are in a good agreement with available solar measurements at different view angles and wavelengths. Our computations of stellar limb darkening agree well with available measurements of Kepler stars. A new grid of stellar model structures, limb darkening and their fitted coefficients in different broad filters is provided in CDS.