Principle Investigators: Adam Langeveld, Cornell University, Department of Astronomy, Ithaca, NY, USA
Emily Deibert, Gemini Observatory/NSF’s NOIRLab (South), La Serena, Chile
Program Summary:
Ultra-hot Jupiters (UHJs) have extreme atmospheres driven by intense stellar irradiation and tidally locked orbits, resulting in permanent, scorching, daysides (>2200 K) and significant day-to-night temperature gradients. UHJs are prime candidates for in-depth characterisation due to the detectability and chemical diversity of their atmospheres, composed of a vast array of atomic and ionic species with hundreds of narrow spectral features prominent in optical wavelengths. We will leverage the unique capabilities of GHOST, taking advantage of the high-resolution (>75,000) and broad wavelength coverage (363-1000nm) to perform a detailed survey of transiting UHJ atmospheres. We will comprehensively compare chemical and dynamical processes in the daysides and terminator regions of a broad sample of UHJs by observing orbital phases during their transits and near their eclipses. In particular, we will explore the 3D nature of UHJ atmospheres using phase-resolved detections in their transmission and emission spectra, and interpret the origin of such signals using general circulation models and atmospheric retrievals. These observations will provide the most sensitive optical view of UHJ atmospheres to date, and create a unique archive of data that will be invaluable as we prepare to further our knowledge with the advent of the ELTs in the next decade.
Co-Investigators:
- Hayley Beltz: University of Maryland
- Ernst de Mooij: Queen's University Belfast
- Laura Flagg: Cornell University
- Ray Jayawardhana: Johns Hopkins University
- Ryan MacDonald: University of Michigan
- Stevanus Nugroho: Astrobiology Center, Japan
- Emily Rauscher: University of Michigan
- Henrique Reggiani: Gemini Observatory/NSF’s NOIRLab (South)
- Jake Turner: Cornell University
- Ruizhe Wang: Cornell University
- Mitchell Young: Queen's University Belfast