The Transit Method

1.  Photometric
2.  Spectroscopic
Discovery Space for Exoplanets
 What are Transits and why are they important?
R*

ΔI

The drop in intensity is give by the ratio of the cross-section areas:

ΔI = (Rp /R*)2 = (0.1Rsun/1 Rsun)2 = 0.01 for Jupiter
Radial Velocity measurements => Mp (we know sin i !)
=> density of planet

→ Transits allows us to measure the physical properties of the

planets
What can we learn about Planetary Transits?

1.  The radius of the planet

2.  The orbital inclination and the mass when
combined with radial velocity measurements
3.  Density → first hints of structure
4.  The Albedo from reflected light
5.  The temperature from radiated light
6.  Atmospheric spectral features

In other words, we can begin to characterize

exoplanets
 Transit Probability
i = 90o+θ

θ
R*
a

sin θ = R*/a = |cos i| a is orbital semi-major axis, and i is the

orbital inclination1
90+θ

Porb = ∫ 2π sin i di / 4π =
90-θ

–0.5 cos (90+θ) + 0.5 cos(90–θ) = sin θ

= R*/a for small angles 1by definition i = 90 deg is

looking in the orbital plane
 Transit Duration
τ = 2(R* +Rp)/v

where v is the orbital velocity and i = 90 (transit across disk center)

Exercise left to the audience: Show that the transit

duration for a fixed period is roughly related to the
mean density of the star.

τ3 ~ (ρmean)–1
 Transit Duration

Note: The transit duration gives you an estimate of the stellar radius

0.55 τ M1/3
Rstar =
P1/3

R in solar radii Most Stars have

M in solar masses masses of 0.1 – 4
P in days solar masses.

τ in hours M⅓ = 0.46 – 1.6

For more accurate times need to take into account the
orbital inclination

for i ≠ 90o need to replace R* with R:

R2 + d2cos2i = R*2
d cos i R*

R = (R*2 –
d2 cos2i)1/2

R
Making contact:

1.  First contact with star Note: for grazing transits there is
2.  Planet fully on star no 2nd and 3rd contact
3.  Planet starts to exit 1 4

4.  Last contact with star

2 3
 The Solar System from Afar
Planet ΔI/I Prob. N τ (hrs) forbit
Mercury 1.2 x 10-5 0.012 83 8 0.0038
Venus 7.5 x 10-5 0.0065 154 11 0.002
Earth 8.3 x 10-5 0.0047 212 13 0.0015
Mars 2.3 x 10-5 0.0031 322 16 9.6 x 10-4
Jupiter 0.01 0.0009 1100 29 2.8 x 10-4
Saturn 0.007 0.00049 2027 40 1.5 x 10-4
Uranus 0.0012 0.000245 4080 57 7.7 x 10-5
Neptune 0.0013 0.000156 6400 71 4.9 x 10-4
51 Peg b 0.01 0.094 11 3 0.03
Moon 6.2 x10-6

Ganymede 1.3 x 10-5

N is the number of stars you would have to observe to see a transit, if all stars had
such a planet. This is for our solar system observed from a distant star.
 Note the closer a planet is to the star:
1.  The more likely that you have a favorable orbit
for a transit
2.  The shorter the transit duration
3.  Higher frequency of transits

→ The transit method is best suited for short period planets.

Prior to 51 Peg it was not really considered a viable detection
method.
 Shape of Transit Curves

2
tflat [R* – Rp]2 – d2 cos2i
tflat =
ttotal [R* +
Rp]2 – d2 cos2i
ttotal

Note that when i = 90o tflat/ttotal = (R* – Rp)/( R* + Rp)

 Shape of Transit Curves

HST light curve of HD 209458b

A real transit light curve is not flat

To probe limb ..you can use
darkening in other transiting planets
stars..

No limb darkening
transit shape

At the limb the star has less flux than is expected, thus the planet blocks less light
At different
wavelengths in Ang.
 Shape of Transit Curves

Grazing eclipses/transits
These produce a „V-shaped“
transit curve that are more
shallow

Planet hunters like to see a flat part on the bottom of the transit
 Probability of detecting a transit Ptran:

Ptran = Porb x fplanets x fstars x ΔT/P

Porb = probability that orbit has correct orientation

fplanets = fraction of stars with planets

fstars = fraction of suitable stars (Spectral Type later than F5)
ΔT/P = fraction of orbital period spent in transit
Estimating the Parameters for 51 Peg systems

Porb

Period ≈ 4 days → a = 0.05 AU = 10 R‫סּ‬

Porb ≈ 0.1

fplanets

Although the fraction of giant planet hosting stars is

5-10%, the fraction of short period planets is
smaller, or about 0.5–1%
Estimating the Parameters for 51 Peg systems

fstars

This depends on where you look (galactic plane,

clusters, etc.) but typically about 30-40% of the stars
in the field will have radii (spectral type) suitable for
transit searches.
 Radius as a function of Spectral Type for Main Sequence Stars

A planet has a maximum radius ~ 0.15 Rsun. This means that a star can
have a maximum radius of 1.5 Rsun to produce a transit depth consistent
with a planet → one must know the type of star you are observing!
 Take 1% as the limiting depth that you can detect a transit from
the ground and assume you have a planet with 1 RJ = 0.1 Rsun

Example:
B8 Star: R=3.8 RSun
ΔI = (0.1/3.8)2 = 0.0007

Suppose you detect a transit event with a depth of 0.01. This

corresponds to a radius of 50 RJupiter = 0.5 Rsun

Additional problem: It is difficult to get radial velocity

confirmation on transits around early-type stars
Transit searches on Early type, hot stars are not effective
You also have to worry about late-type giant stars

Example:
A K III Star can have R ~ 10 RSun
ΔI = 0.01 = (Rp/10)2
→ Rp = 1 RSun!

Unfortunately, background giant stars are

everywhere. In the CoRoT fields, 25% of the stars
are giant stars

Giant stars are relatively few, but they are bright and can be seen to
large distances. In a brightness limited sample you will see many
distant giant stars.
 Along the Main Sequence

Planet Radius (RJup)

1 REarth

Stellar Mass (Msun)

Assuming a 1% photometric precision this is the minimum planet radius as a

function of stellar radius (spectral type) that can be detected
Estimating the Parameters for 51 Peg systems

Fraction of the time in transit

Porbit ≈ 4 days
Transit duration ≈ 3 hours
ΔT/P ≈ 0.03

Thus the probability of detecting a transit of a planet in a single

night is 0.00004.
E.g. a field of 10.000 Stars the number of expected transits is:

Ntransits = (10.000)(0.1)(0.01)(0.3) = 3

Probability of right orbit inclination

Frequency of Hot Jupiters

Fraction of stars with suitable radii

So roughly 1 out of 3000 stars will show a transit event due to a

planet. And that is if you have full phase coverage!

CoRoT: looked at 10,000-12,000 stars per field and found on

average 3 Hot Jupiters per field. Similar results for Kepler

Note: Ground-based transit searches are finding hot Jupiters 1 out of

30,000 – 50,000 stars → less efficient than space-based searches
Catching a transiting planet is thus like playing
Lotto. To win in LOTTO you have to
1.  Buy lots of tickets → Look at lots of stars
2.  Play often → observe as often as you can

The obvious method is to use CCD photometry

(two dimensional detectors) that cover a large
field. You simultaneously record the image of
thousands of stars and measure the light
variations in each.
 Confirming Transit Candidates

A transit candidate found by photometry is only a candidate

until confirmed by spectroscopic measurement (radial
velocity)

Any 10–30 cm telescope can find transits. To confirm these

requires a 2–10 m diameter telescope with a high resolution
spectrograph. This is the bottleneck.

Current programs are finding transit candidates faster than

they can be confirmed.
 Light curve for HD 209458

Transit Curve from a 10 cm telescope

Radial Velocity Curve for HD 209458

Transit
phase = 0

Period = 3.5 days

M = 0.63 MJup

Radial Velocity Curve: 3m telescope

 Confirming Transit Candidates

Spectroscopic measurements are important to:

1.  Remove false positives
2.  Derive the mass of the planet
3.  Determine the stellar parameters
 False Positives

It looks like a planet, it smells like a planet, but it is not a planet

1. Grazing eclipse by a main sequence star:

One should be able to distinguish

these from the light curve shape and
secondary eclipses, but this is often
difficult with low signal to noise

These are easy to exclude with Radial

Velocity measurements as the
amplitudes should be tens km/s
(2–3 observations)
For grazing binary star eclipses one usually sees a
secondary eclipse (transit) and ellispoidal variations
2. Giant Star eclipsed by main sequence star:

G star

Giant stars have radii of 10-100 solar radii which

translates into photometric depths of 0.0001 – 0.01 for a
companion like the sun.
These can easily be excluded using one spectrum to
establish spectral and luminosity class. In principle no
radial velocity measurements are required.

Often a giant star can be known from the transit time.

These are typically several days long!
 e.g. giant star with R = 10 Rsun and M = 1 Msun and
we find a transit by a companion with a period of 10
days:

The transit duriation τ would be 1.3 days!

Probably not detectable from ground-based observations

A transiting planet around a solar-type star with a 4 day

period should have a transit duration of ~ 3 hours. If the
transit time is significantly longer then this it is a giant or
an early type star.
Low resolution spectra can easily distinguish between a giant and main
sequence star for the host.

Green: model
Black: data
 CoRoT: LRa02_E2_2249

Spectral Classification:
K0 III (Giant, spectroscopy)
Period: 27.9 d
Transit duration: 11.7 hrs → implies Giant,
but long period!

Mass ≈ 0.2 MSun

3. Eclipsing Binary as a background (foreground) star:

Eclipsing Binary

Target Star

Image quality of Telescope or

photometric aperture for calculating
light curve
 3. Eclipsing Binary as a background (foreground) star:

Fainter binary
system in Total = 17% depth
background or
foreground
Light from bright
star

Light curve of
eclipsing
system. 50%
depth

Difficult case. This results in no radial velocity variations as the fainter binary
probably has too little flux to be measured by high resolution spectrographs.
Large amounts of telescope time can be wasted with no conclusion. High
resolution imaging may help to see faint background star.
If you see a nearby companion you can do „on-transit“ and „off-transit“ with
high resolution imaging to confirm the right star is eclipsing
4. Eclipsing binary in orbit around a bright star (hierarchical
triple systems)

Another difficult case. Radial Velocity Measurements of the bright

star will show either long term linear trend no variations if the orbital
period of the eclipsing system around the primary is long. This is
essentialy the same as case 3) but with a bound system
5. Unsuitable transits for Radial Velocity measurements

Transiting planet orbits an early type star with rapid rotation

which makes it impossible to measure the RV variations or
you need lots and lots of measurements.

Depending on the rotational velocity RV measurements are

only possible for stars later than about F3
 Period =

Companion may be a
planet, but RV
measurements are
impossible

Period: 4.8 d
Transit duration: 5 hrs
Depth : 0.67%
No spectral line seen in this star. This is a
hot star for which RV measurements are
difficult
6. Sometimes you do not get a final answer
Period: 9.75
Transit duration: 4.43 hrs
Depth : 0.2%
V = 13.9
Spectral Type: G0IV (1.27 Rsun)
Planet Radius: 5.6 REarth
Photometry: On Target

CoRoT: LRc02_E1_0591 The Radial Velocity

measurements are
inconclusive. So, how do we
know if this is really a planet.

Note: We have over 30 RV

measurements of this star: 10 Keck
HIRES, 18 HARPS, 3 SOPHIE. In spite of
these, even for V = 13.9 we still do not
have a firm RV detection. This
underlines the difficulty of confirmation
measurements on faint stars.
 Results from the CoRoT Initial Run Field: 12000 Stars

26 Transit candidates:

Grazing Eclipsing Binaries: 9

Background Eclipsing Binaries: 8

Unsuitable Host Star: 3

Unclear (no result): 4

Planets: 2

→ for every „quality“ transiting planet found there are 10

false positive detections. These still must be followed-up
with spectral observations
 Search Strategies
Look at fields where there is a high density of stars.

1.  Look in galactic bulge with a large (1 m) telescope

and a small field of view
2.  Look in the galactic plane with a small (10-20 cm)
telescope with a wide field of view (few square deg)
3.  Look at stellar clusters
4.  Look one star at a time
 OGLE

•  OGLE: Optical Gravitational Lens Experiment (http://www.astrouw.edu.pl/

~ogle/)
•  1.3m telescope looking into the galactic bulge
•  Mosaic of 8 CCDs: 35‘ x 35‘ field
•  Typical magnitude: V = 15-19
•  Designed for Gravitational Microlensing
•  First planet discovered with the transit method
 OGLE Strategy
Look at the galactic bulge with a large (1-2m) telescope
Pros: Potentially many stars
Cons: V-mag > 14 faint!
The first planet found with the transit method
Konacki et al.
 The OGLE Planets
Planet Mass Radius Period Year
(MJup) (RJup) (Days)
OGLE2-TR-L9 b 4.5 1.6 2.48 2007
OGLE-TR-10 b 0.63 1.26 3.19 2004
OGLE-TR-56 b 1.29 1.3 1.21 2002
OGLE-TR-111 b 0.53 1.07 4.01 2004
OGLE-TR-113 b 1.32 1.09 1.43 2004
OGLE-TR-132 b 1.14 1.18 1.69 2004
OGLE-TR-182 b 1.01 1.13 3.98 2007

OGLE-TR-211 b 1.03 1.36 3.68 2007

Prior to OGLE all the RV planet detections had periods greater than
about 3 days.
The last OGLE planet was discovered in 2007. Most likely these will be
the last because the target stars are too faint.
 WASP

WASP: Wide Angle Search For Planets (http://www.superwasp.org). Also

known as SuperWASP
•  Array of 8 Wide Field Cameras
•  Field of View: 7.8o x 7.8o
•  13.7 arcseconds/pixel
•  Typical magnitude: V = 9-13
•  86 Planets discovered
•  Most successful ground-based transit search program
 Another Successful Transit Search Program

•  HATNet: Hungarian-made Automated Telescope (http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/

~gbakos/HAT/
•  Six 11cm telescopes located at two sites: Arizona and Hawaii
•  8 x 8 square degrees
•  43 Planets discovered
HAT 1b

Follow-up
with larger
telescope
 The MEarth Strategy

One star at a time!

The MEarth project
(http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/~zberta/mearth/)
uses 8 identical 40 cm telescopes to search
for terrestrial planets around M dwarfs one
after the other
 Clusters
A dense open cluster: M 67 A not so dense open cluster:
Pleiades

Stars of interest have

magnitudes of 14 or
greater
h and χ Persei double cluster
A dense globular cluster: M 92

Stars of interest have

magnitudes of 17 or
greater
•  8.3 days of Hubble Space Telescope Time
•  Expected 17 transits
•  None found
•  This is a statistically significant result.

[Fe/H] = –0.7
 Stellar Magnitude distribution of Exoplanet
Discoveries

Percent

V- magnitude
 Radial Velocity Follow-up for a Hot Jupiter

The problem is not in finding the transits, the problem

(bottleneck) is in confirming these with RVs which requires
high resolution spectrographs.

Telescope Easy Challenging Impossible

2m V<9 V=10-12 V >13
4m V < 10–11 V=12-14 V >15
8–10m V< 12–14 V=14–16 V >17

It takes approximately 8-10 hours of telescope time on a

large telescope to confirm one transit candidate
 Two Final Comments

1.  In modeling a transit light curve one only derives

the ratio of the planet radius to the stellar radius:

k = Rp/Rstar

2. In measuring the planet mass with radial velocities

you only derive the mass function:
P K 3(1 – e2)3/2
(mp sin i) 3
f(m) = 2
=
(mp + ms) 2πG

The planet radius, mass, and thus density depends on

the stellar mass and radius. For high precision data the
uncertainty in the stellar parameters is the largest error
 Important discoveries from
Ground-based Transit Surveys
Charbonneau et al. (2000): The observations that started it all:

•  Proof that RV variations are due to planet

•  Mass = 0,63 MJupiter
•  Radius = 1,35 RJupiter
•  Density = 0,38 g cm–3
 GJ 436: The First Transiting Neptune

Host Star:
Butler et al. 2004
Mass = 0.4 M‫( סּ‬M2.5 V)
 Special Transits: GJ 436

Butler et al. 2004

„Photometric transits of the planet across the star are ruled out for gas giant
compositions and are also unlikely for solid compositions“
 The First Transiting Hot Neptune!
Gillon et al. 2007
 GJ 436

Star
Stellar mass [ M‫] סּ‬ 0.44 ( ± 0.04)
Planet
Period [days] 2.64385 ± 0.00009
Eccentricity 0.16 ± 0.02
Orbital inclination 86.5 0.2
Planet mass [ ME ] 22.6 ± 1.9
Planet radius [ RE ] 3.95 +0.41-0.28

Mean density = 1.95 gm cm–3,
slightly
higher
than
Neptune
(1.64)


 HD 17156: An eccentric orbit planet

M = 3.11 MJup

Probability of a transit ~ 3%
 Barbieri et al. 2007

R = 0.96 RJup

Mean density = 4.88 gm/cm3

Mean for M2 star ≈ 4.3 gm/cm3

HD 80606: Long period and eccentric R = 1.03 RJup ρ = 4.44 (cgs)

a = 0.45 AU
Probability of having a favorable
dmin = 0.03 AU dmax = 0.87 AU orbital orientation is only 1%!
 WASP 12b: The Hottest Transiting Giant Planet

High quality light curve for accurate parameters

Discovery data

Orbital Period: 1.09 d

Transit duration: 2.6 hrs
Planet Mass: 1.41 MJupiter
Planet Radius: 1.79 RJupiter
Doppler confirmation
Planet Temperature: 2516 K
Spectral Type of Host Star: F7 V
 WASP 12b: The Hottest Transiting Giant Planet

High quality light curve for accurate parameters

Discovery data

Orbital Period: 1.09 d

Transit duration: 2.6 hrs
Planet Mass: 1.41 MJupiter
Planet Radius: 1.79 RJupiter
Doppler confirmation
Planet Temperature: 2516 K
Spectral Type of Host Star: F7 V
 Comparison of WASP 12 to an M8 Main Sequence Star

Planet Mass: 1.41 MJupiter Mass: 60 MJupiter

Planet Radius: 1.79 RJupiter Radius: ~1 RJupiter
Planet Temperature: 2516 K Teff: ~ 2800 K

WASP 12 has a smaller mass, larger radius, and comparable

effective temperature than an M8 dwarf. Its atmosphere
should look like an M9 dwarf or L0 brown dwarf. One
difference: above temperature for the planet is only on the day
side because the planet does not generate its own energy
Although WASP-33b is closer to the
planet than WASP-12 it is not as hot
because the host star is cooler (4400 K)
and it has a smaller radius
 MEarth-1b: A transiting Superearth

D Charbonneau et al. Nature 462, 891-894 (2009) doi:10.1038/nature08679

 Change in radial velocity of GJ1214.

D Charbonneau et al. Nature 462, 891-894 (2009) doi:10.1038/nature08679

ρ = 1.87 (cgs)
Neptune like
 So what do all of these transiting planets tell us?

5.5 gm/cm3

ρ = 1.25 gm/cm3 1.6 gm/cm3

ρ = 1.24 gm/cm3 ρ = 0.62 gm/cm3

The density is the first indication of the internal structure of the exoplanet

Solar System Object ρ (gm cm–3)

Mercury 5.43
Rocks
Venus 5.24
Earth 5.52
Mars 3.94
Jupiter 1.24
He/H
Saturn 0.62
Uranus 1.25 Ice
Neptune 1.64
Pluto 2
Moon 3.34
Carbonaceous 2–3.5
Meteorites
Iron Meteorites 7–8
Comets 0.06-0.6
 Masses and radii of transiting planets.

H/He dominated

Pure H20

75% H20,
67.5% Si mantle 22% Si
32.5% Fe
(earth-like)

GJ 1214b is shown as a red filled circle (the 1σ uncertainties correspond to the size of the symbol), and the other known transiting planets
are shown as open red circles. The eight planets of the Solar System are shown as black diamonds. GJ 1214b and CoRoT-7b are the only
extrasolar planets with both well-determined masses and radii for which the values are less than those for the ice giants of the Solar
System. Despite their indistinguishable masses, these two planets probably have very different compositions. Predicted16 radii as a
function of mass are shown for assumed compositions of H/He (solid line), pure H2O (dashed line), a hypothetical16 water-dominated
world (75% H2O, 22% Si and 3% Fe core; dotted line) and Earth-like (67.5% Si mantle and a 32.5% Fe core; dot-dashed line). The radius
of GJ 1214b liesD0.49 ± 0.13 R⊕ above
Charbonneau et al.the water-world
Nature curve, indicating
462, 891-894 that even if the planet is predominantly water in composition, it
(2009) doi:10.1038/nature08679
probably has a substantial gaseous envelope
 HD 149026: A planet with a large core
Sato et al. 2005

Period = 2.87 d
Rp = 0.7 RJup
Mp = 0.36 MJup
Mean density = 2.8 gm/cm3
 10-13 Mearth core

~70 Mearth core mass is difficult to

form with gravitational instability.
HD 149026 b provides strong
support for the core accretion theory

Rp = 0.7 RJup
Mp = 0.36 MJup
Mean density = 2.8 gm/cm3
Lower bound Upper bound
ρ = 0.15 gm cm–3 ρ = 3 gm cm–3
 Planet Radius

Most transiting planets tend to be inflated. Approximately 68% of all

transiting planets have radii larger than 1.1 RJup.
There is a slight correlation of radius
with planet temperature (r = 0.37)
Are Close-in Jupiters inflated because they are hot?

Demory and Seager 2011

Possible Explanations for the Large Radii
1.  Irradiation from the star heats the planet and slows its
contraction it thus will appear „younger“ than it is and have a
larger radius

Models I, C, and D are for isolated planets

Models A and B are for irradiated planets.
 Possible Explanations for the Large Radii

2.  Slight orbital eccentricity (difficult to measure)

causes tidal heating of core → larger radius
Slight Problem:
HD 17156b: e=0.68 R = 1.02 RJup
HD 80606b: e=0.93 R = 0.92 RJup
CoRoT 10b: e=0.53 R = 0.97RJup

Caveat: These planets all have masses 3-4 MJup, so it may

be the smaller radius is just due to the larger mass.

3.  We do not know what is going on.

Comparison of Mean Densities of eccentric planets

Giant Planets with M < 2 MJup : 0.78 cgs

HD 17156, P = 21 d, e= 0.68 M = 3.2 MJup, density = 4.8
HD 80606, P = 111 d, e=0.93, M = 3.9 MJup, density = 4.4
CoRoT 10b, P=13.2, e= 0.53, M = 2.7 MJup, density = 3.7

The three eccentric transiting planets have high mass

and high densities. Formed by mergers?
 Period Distribution for short period Exoplanets
p = 13%

p = probability of a
favorable orbit

p = 7%
Number

Period (Days)
Both RV and Transit Searches show a peak in the
Period at 3 days

The ≈ 3 day period may mark the inner edge of

the proto-planetary disk
 Mass-Radius Relationship

Radius (RJ)

Mass (MJ)

Radius is roughly independent of mass, until you get to small planets

(rocks)
Planet Mass Distribution

RV Planets

Close in planets
tend to have
lower mass, as
we have seen
before.

Transiting
Planets
 Summary of Global Properties of Transiting Planets

1.  Transiting giant planets (close-in) tend to have inflated radii

(much larger than Jupiter)
2.  The period distribution of close-in planets peaks around P ≈ 3
days for both RV and transit discovered planets.
3.  Most transiting giant planets have densities near that of Saturn.
It is not known if this is due to their close proximity to the star
(i.e. inflated radius)
4.  Transiting planets have been discovered around stars fainter
than those from radial velocity surveys
 Summary
1.  The Transit Method is an efficient way to find
short period planets.
2.  Combined with radial velocity measurements it
gives you the mass, radius and thus density of
planets
3.  Roughly 1 in 3000 stars will have a transiting hot
Jupiter → need to look at lots of stars (in galactic
plane or clusters)
4.  Radial Velocity measurements are essential to
confirm planetary nature
5.  Anyone with a small telescope can do transit work
(i.e even amateurs)
Spectroscopic Transits
 The Rossiter-McClaughlin Effect

1 2 3 4

+v

1
4

0
2

–v

3

The R-M effect occurs in eclipsing systems when the companion crosses in
front of the star. This creates a distortion in the normal radial velocity of the
star. This occurs at point 2 in the orbit.
The Rossiter-McLaughlin Effect in an
Eclipsing Binary

From Holger Lehmann

 The effect was discovered in 1924 independently by Rossiter and
McClaughlin

Curves show Radial Velocity after

removing the binary orbital motion
The Rossiter-McLaughlin Effect is a
„Rotation Effect“ due to stellar rotation
 Average rotational velocities
in main sequence stars

Spectral Vequator (km/s)

Type
O5 190
B0 200
B5 210
A0 190
A5 160
i is the inclination of the rotation axis
F0 95
F5 25
G0 12
 The Rossiter-McClaughlin Effect

+v

–v
+v

–v

When the companion covers the

receeding portion of the star, you see
more negatve velocities of the star

0
rotating
towards
you.
You
thus
see
a

displacement
to
negative
RV.


As the companion cosses the star the

observed radial velocity goes from + to –

(as
the
planet
moves
towards
you
the
star

is
moving
away).
The
companion
covers

part
of
the
star
that
is
rotating
towards

you.
You
see
more
possitive
velocities

from
the
receeding
portion
of
the
star)
you

thus
see
a
displacement
to
+
RV.

 The Rossiter-McClaughlin Effect
What can the RM effect tell you?


1) The orbital inclination or impact parameter

Planet a2

a2
 The Rossiter-McClaughlin Effect

2) The direction of the orbit

Planet

b
 The Rossiter-McClaughlin Effect

2) The alignment of the orbit

Planet

c
d
 Orbital
λ plane

What can the RM effect tell you?


Are the spin axes aligned?

Summary of Rossiter-McClaughlin „Tracks“
 Amplitude of the R-M effect:

Vs r 2 –2
ARV = 52.8 m s–1 ( 5 km s–1 )( RJup) ( R
R‫סּ‬ )
ARV is amplitude after removal of orbital mostion
Vs is rotational velocity of star in km s–1
r is radius of planet
R is stellar radius

Note:
1.  The Magnitude of the R-M effect depends on the radius of the
planet and not its mass.
2.  As with photometric transits the amplitude is proportional to the
ratio of the disk area of the planet and star.
3.  The R-M effect is proportional to the rotational velocity of the star.
If the star has little rotation, it will not show a R-M effect.
HD 209458

λ = –0.1 ± 2.4 deg

The first RM
measurements of
exoplanets showed
aligned systems
HD 189733

λ = –1.4 ± 1.1 deg

 HD 147506

Best candidate for misalignment is HD 147506 because of the high

eccentricity
 On the Origin of the High Eccentricities

Two possible explanations for the high eccentricities seen in exoplanet

orbits:

•  Scattering by multiple giant planets

•  Kozai mechanism
If either mechanism is at work, then we should expect that planets in eccentric
orbits not have the spin axis aligned with the stellar rotation. This can be checked
with transiting planets in eccentric orbits

Winn et al. 2007: HD 147506b (alias HAT-P-2b)

Spin axes are aligned within 14 degrees (error of measurement). No

support for Kozai mechanism or scattering
What about HD 17156?

Narita et al. (2007) reported a large (62 ± 25 degree) misalignment between

planet orbit and star spin axes!
Cochran et al. 2008: λ = 9.3 ± 9.3 degrees → No misalignment!
 TrES-1

λ = 30 ± 21 deg
XO-3-b
Hebrard et al. 2008

λ = 70 degrees
Winn et al. (2009) recent R-M measurements for X0-3

λ = 37 degrees
From
PUBL
ASTRON
SOC
PAC 
121(884):1104-1111.


©
2009.
The
Astronomical
Society
of
the
Pacific.
All
rights
reserved.
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in

U.S.A.


For
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journalpermissions@press.uchicago.edu.


Fig. 3.— Relative radial velocity measurements made during transits of WASP-14. The symbols are as follows: Subaru
(circles), Keck (squares), Joshi et al. 2009 (triangles). Top panel: The Keplerian radial velocity has been subtracted, to
isolate the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect. The predicted times of ingress, midtransit, and egress are indicated by vertical
dotted lines. Middle panel: The residuals after subtracting the best-fitting model including both the Keplerian radial
velocity and the RM effect. Bottom panel: Subaru/HDS measurements of the standard star HD 127334 made on the
same night as the WASP-14 transit.
Fabricky & Winn, 2009, ApJ, 696, 1230

As of 2009 there was little strong evidence that exoplanet

orbital axes were misaligned with the stellar spin axes.
HAT-P7

λ = 182 deg!
λ = 32-87 deg
 An misaligned planet in CoRoT-1b

HARPS data : F. Bouchy Model fit: F. Pont Lambda ~ 80 deg!

 Distribution of spin-orbit axes

Red: retrograde
orbits

~30% of transiting planets are in misaligned

As of 2010 or retrograde orbits
 λ (deg)
35% of Short Period Exoplanets show significant misalignments
~10-20% of Short Period Exoplanets are in retrograde orbits
Basically all angles are covered
 Summary

1.  There are 2 ways from spectroscopy to measure the

angle between the spin axis and the orbital axis of the
star:
a)  Rossiter-McClaughlin effect (most successful)
b)  Doppler tomography
2.  No technique can give you the mass
3.  Exoplanets show all possible obliquity angles, but
most are aligned (even in eccentric orbits)
4.  Implications for planet formation (problems for
migration theory)