Earths and mini Neptunes likely have a wide range of atmospheric compositions, ranging from low molecular mass atmospheres of H-2 to higher molecular atmospheres of water, CO2, N-2, or other species. Here we systematically investigate the effects of atmospheric bulk compositions on temperature and wind distributions for tidally locked sub-Jupiter-sized planets, using an idealized 3D general circulation model (GCM). The bulk composition effects are characterized in the framework of two independent variables: molecular weight and molar heat capacity. The effect of molecular weight dominates. As the molecular weight increases, the atmosphere tends to have a larger day-night temperature contrast, a smaller eastward phase shift in the thermal phase curve, and a smaller zonal wind speed. The width of the equatorial super-rotating jet also becomes narrower, and the "jet core" region, where the zonal-mean jet speed maximizes, moves to a greater pressure level. The zonal-mean zonal wind is more prone to exhibit a latitudinally alternating pattern in a higher molecular weight atmosphere. We also present analytical theories that quantitatively explain the above trends and shed light on the underlying dynamical mechanisms. Those trends might be used to indirectly determine the atmospheric compositions on tidally locked sub-Jupiter-sized planets. The effects of the molar heat capacity are generally small. But if the vertical temperature profile is close to adiabatic, molar heat capacity will play a significant role in controlling the transition from a divergent flow in the upper atmosphere to a jet-dominated flow in the lower atmosphere.

No description available.

As followup to our recent detection of a pre-transit signal around HD 189733 b, we obtained full pre-transit phase coverage of a single planetary transit. The pre-transit signal is again detected in the Balmer lines but with variable strength and timing, suggesting that the bow shock geometry reported in our previous work does not describe the signal from the latest transit. We also demonstrate the use of the Ca II H and K residual core flux as a proxy for the stellar activity level throughout the transit. A moderate trend is found between the pre-transit absorption signal in the 2013 data and the Ca II H flux. This suggests that some of the 2013 pre-transit hydrogen absorption can be attributed to varying stellar activity levels. A very weak correlation is found between the Ca II H core flux and the Balmer line absorption in the 2015 transit, hinting at a smaller contribution from stellar activity compared to the 2013 transit. We simulate how varying stellar activity levels can produce changes in the Balmer line transmission spectra. These simulations show that the strength of the 2013 and 2015 pre-transit signals can be reproduced by stellar variability. If the pre-transit signature is attributed to circumplanetary material, its evolution in time can be described by accretion clumps spiraling toward the star, although this interpretation has serious limitations. Further high-cadence monitoring at H alpha is necessary to distinguish between true absorption by transiting material and short-term variations in the stellar activity level.

We present the. Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) optical transmission spectroscopy of the cool Saturn-mass exoplanet WASP-39b from 0.29-1.025 mu m, along with complementary transit observations from Spitzer IRAC at 3.6 and 4.5 mu m. The low density and large atmospheric pressure scale height of WASP-39b make it particularly amenable to atmospheric characterization using this technique. We detect a Rayleigh scattering slope as well as sodium and potassium absorption features; this is the first exoplanet in which both alkali features are clearly detected with the extended wings predicted by cloud-free atmosphere models. The full transmission spectrum is well matched by a clear H-2-dominated atmosphere, or one containing a weak contribution from haze, in good agreement with the preliminary reduction of these data presented in Sing et al.. WASP-39b is predicted to have a pressure-temperature profile comparable to that of HD 189733b and WASP-6b, making it one of the coolest transiting gas giants observed in our HST STIS survey. Despite this similarity, WASP-39b appears to be largely cloud-free, while the transmission spectra of HD 189733b and WASP-6b both indicate the presence of high altitude clouds or hazes. These observations further emphasize the surprising diversity of cloudy and cloud-free gas giant planets in short-period orbits and the corresponding challenges associated with developing predictive cloud models for these atmospheres.

We present new H (1.51.8 mu m) photometric and K-1 (1.92.2 mu m) spectroscopic observations of the young exoplanet HD 95086 b obtained with the Gemini Planet Imager. The Hband magnitude has been significantly improved relative to previous measurements, whereas the lowresolution K-1 (lambda/delta lambda approximate to 66) spectrum is featureless within the measurement uncertainties and presents a monotonically increasing pseudocontinuum consistent with a cloudy atmosphere. By combining these new measurements with literature L' photometry, we compare the spectral energy distribution (SED) of the planet to other young planetarymass companions, field brown dwarfs, and to the predictions of grids of model atmospheres. HD 95086 b is over a magnitude redder in K-1 - L' color than 2MASS J120733463932539 b and HR 8799 c and d, despite having a similar L' magnitude. Considering only the near-infrared measurements, HD 95086 b is most analogous to the brown dwarfs 2MASS J2244316+204343 and 2MASS J21481633+4003594, both of which are thought to have dusty atmospheres. Morphologically, the SED of HD 95086 b is best fit by low temperature (T-eff = 8001300 K), low surface gravity spectra from models which simulate high photospheric dust content. This range of effective temperatures is consistent with field L/T transition objects, but the spectral type of HD 95086 b is poorly constrained between early L and late T due to its unusual position the colormagnitude diagram, demonstrating the difficulty in spectral typing young, low surface gravity substellar objects. As one of the reddest such objects, HD 95086 b represents an important empirical benchmark against which our current understanding of the atmospheric properties of young extrasolar planets can be tested.

The Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) has built the largest moderately high-resolution (R approximate to 22,500) spectroscopic map of the stars across the Milky Way, and including dust-obscured areas. The APOGEE Stellar Parameter and Chemical Abundances Pipeline (ASPCAP) is the software developed for the automated analysis of these spectra. ASPCAP determines atmospheric parameters and chemical abundances from observed spectra by comparing observed spectra to libraries of theoretical spectra, using. 2 minimization in a multidimensional parameter space. The package consists of a FORTRAN90 code that does the actual minimization and a wrapper IDL code for book-keeping and data handling. This paper explains in detail the ASPCAP components and functionality, and presents results from a number of tests designed to check its performance. ASPCAP provides stellar effective temperatures, surface gravities, and metallicities precise to 2%, 0.1 dex, and 0.05 dex, respectively, for most APOGEE stars, which are predominantly giants. It also provides abundances for up to 15 chemical elements with various levels of precision, typically under 0.1 dex. The final data release (DR12) of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey III contains an APOGEE database of more than 150,000 stars. ASPCAP development continues in the SDSS-IV APOGEE-2 survey.

We present a detailed search and analysis of chemically stratified hybrid (traces of helium and hydrogen) white dwarfs in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Only one stratified white dwarf, PG 1305-017, was known prior to this analysis. The main objective is to confirm the existence of several new stratified objects. We first describe our new generation of stratified model atmospheres, where a thin hydrogen layer floats in diffusive equilibrium on top of a more massive helium layer. We then present the results of our search for hot (T-eff > 30,000 K) white dwarfs with a hybrid spectral type among the similar to 38,000 white dwarf spectra listed in the SDSS. A total of 51 spectra were retained in our final sample, which we analyze using spectroscopic fits to both chemically homogeneous and stratified model atmospheres. We identify 14 new stratified white dwarfs in the SDSS sample. From these results, we draw several conclusions regarding the physical processes that might explain the presence of helium in the atmospheres of all the stars in our sample.

Condensate clouds fundamentally impact the atmospheric structure and spectra of exoplanets and brown dwarfs, but the connections between surface gravity, cloud structure, dust in the upper atmosphere, and the red colors of some brown dwarfs remain poorly understood. Rotational modulations enable the study of different clouds in the same atmosphere, thereby providing a method to isolate the effects of clouds. Here, we present the discovery of high peak-to-peak amplitude (8%) rotational modulations in a low-gravity, extremely red (J-K-s = 2.55) L6 dwarf WISEP J004701.06+680352.1 (W0047). Using the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) time-resolved grism spectroscopy, we find a best-fit rotational period (13.20 +/- 0.14 hr) with a larger amplitude at 1.1 mu m than at 1.7 mu m. This is the third-largest near-infrared variability amplitude measured in a brown dwarf, demonstrating that large-amplitude variations are not limited to the L/T transition but are present in some extremely red L-type dwarfs. We report a tentative trend between the wavelength dependence of relative amplitude, possibly proxy for small dust grains lofted in the upper atmosphere, and the likelihood of large-amplitude variability. By assuming forsterite as a haze particle, we successfully explain the wavelength-dependent amplitude with submicron-sized haze particle sizes of around 0.4 mu m. W0047 links the earlier spectral and later spectral type brown dwarfs in which rotational modulations have been observed; the large amplitude variations in this object make this a benchmark brown dwarf for the study of cloud properties close to the L/T transition.

No description available.

Nestes últimos anos, tivemos um aumento no interesse na monitoração dos efeitos da atividade humana sobre a atmosfera e o clima no planeta. O uso de técnicas de sensoriamento remoto têm sido utilizados em diversos estudos, inclusive em estudos relacionados à mudanças globais. Um sistema LIDAR de espalhamento, primeiro deste tipo no Brasil, tem sido usado para fornecer o perfil vertical do coeficiente de retroespalhamento de aerossóis em 532 nm para altitudes de 4 a 6 km acima do nível do mar. Neste estudo, foram utilizados dados coletados no ano de 2005. Estes dados foram correlacionados com dados do fotômetro solar CIMEL e também com dados meteorológicos. Os principais resultados indicaram existir um padrão no comportamento destes dados meteorológicos e a distribuição vertical do coeficiente de extinção obtido através do LIDAR. Em períodos desfavoráveis de dispersão atmosférica, ou seja, elevação da temperatura do ar associado a queda de umidade relativa, aumento da pressão atmosférica e baixa taxa de ventilação, foi possível determinar com boa precisão a altura da Camada Limite Planetária, tanto através do perfil vertical do coeficiente de extinção quanto através da técnica da temperatura potencial. A técnica LIDAR mostrou ser um importante aliado na determinação da estrutura termodinâmica da atmosfera, auxiliando a caracterizar a evolução da CLP ao longo do dia, devido a sua boa resolução espacial e temporal. / In these last years, we had an increase in the interest in the monitoring of the effect of the human activity being on the atmosphere and the climate in the planet. The remote sensing techniques has been used in many studies, also related the global changes. A backscattering lidar system, the first of this kind in Brazil, has been used to provide the vertical profile of the aerosol backscatter coefficient at 532 nm up to an altitude of 4-6 km above sea level. In this study, data has was collected in the year of 2005. These data had been correlated with data of solar photometer CIMEL and also with meteorological data. The main results had indicated to exist a standard in the behavior of these meteorological data and the vertical distribution of the extinction coefficient gotten through LIDAR. In favorable periods of atmospheric dispersion, that is, rise of the temperature of associated air the fall of relative humidity, increase of the atmospheric pressure and low ventilation tax, was possible to determine with good precision the height of the Planetary Boundary Layer, as much through the vertical profile of the extinction coefficient how much through the technique of the vertical profile of the potential temperature. The technique LIDAR showed to be an important tool in the determination of the thermodynamic structure of the atmosphere, assisting to characterize the evolution of the CLP throughout the day, which had its good space and secular resolution.