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A theoretical look at the direct detection of giant planets outside the Solar System

Nature volume 433, pages 261–268 (2005)Cite this article

Abstract

Astronomy is at times a science of unexpected discovery. When it is, and if we are lucky, new intellectual territories emerge to challenge our views of the cosmos. The recent indirect detections using high-precision Doppler spectroscopy of more than 100 giant planets orbiting more than 100 nearby stars is an example of such rare serendipity. What has been learned has shaken out preconceptions, for none of the planetary systems discovered so far is like our own. The key to unlocking a planet's chemical, structural, and evolutionary secrets, however, is the direct detection of the planet's light. Because there have been as yet no confirmed detections, a theoretical analysis of such a planet's atmosphere is necessary for guiding our search.

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Figure 1: Profiles of atmospheric temperature (in Kelvin) versus the logarithm base ten of the pressure (in bars) for a family of irradiated 1-MJ EGPs around a G2V star as a function of orbital distance.
Figure 2: Planet to star flux ratios versus wavelength from 0.5 to 30 µm for a 1-MJ EGP with an age of 5 Gyr orbiting a G2V main-sequence star similar to the Sun.
Figure 3: The logarithm of the absolute flux in milliJanskays (≡ 10-26 ergs cm-2 s-1 Hz-1) at 10 pc for a ‘Class V’ roaster versus wavelength from 0.4 to 5 µm.
Figure 4: Keplerian orbital elements.
Figure 5: A comparison of the planet/star contrast ratios (and contrast magnitudes = -2.5 log(f)) versus angular separation (in arcsec) achievable for some proposed planet imaging systems.

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Acknowledgements

I thank D. Sudarsky, I. Hubeny, W. Hubbard, J. Lunine, J. Liebert, J. Young, J. Trauger, J. Fortney, A. Li, C. Sharp, and D. Milsom for conversations or technical help during the course of this work. I thank NASA and the NASA Astrobiology Institute for their financial support.

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  1. Department of Astronomy, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA

    Adam Burrows

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Burrows, A. A theoretical look at the direct detection of giant planets outside the Solar System. Nature 433, 261–268 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03244

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