https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/201510102002
Characterizing exoplanets atmospheres with space photometry at optical wavelengths
1 Laboratoire Lagrange, UMR 7293, Université de Nice-Sophia Antipolis, CNRS, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, 06304 Nice Cedex 04, France
2 Department of Planetary Sciences, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona
3 Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
4 Sagan fellow
5 NASA Ames Research Center, MS-245-3, Mofett Field, CA 94035
a e-mail: vivien.parmentier@oca.eu
Published online: 23 September 2015
Space photometry such as performed by Kepler and CoRoT provides exoplanets radius and phase curves with an exquisite precision. The phase curve constrains the longitudinal variation of the albedo and shed light on the horizontal distribution of clouds. The planet radius constraints thermal evolution of the planet, potentially unveiling its atmospheric composition. We present how the atmospheric circulation can affect the cloud distribution of three different planets, HD209458b, Kepler-7b and HD189733b based on three-dimensional models and analytical calculations. Then we use an analytical atmospheric model coupled to a state-of-the-art interior evolution code to study the role of TiO in shaping the thermal evolution and final radius of the planet.
© Owned by the authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2015
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
