Optical transmission spectrum of HAT-P-47b: evidence for aerosols and tentative TiO absorption

Fuente: arXiv
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Autores principales: Wang, Wan-Hao, Chen, Guo, Yan, Fei, Jiang, Chengzi, Mancini, Luigi, Pallé, Enric, Murgas, Felipe, Parviainen, Hannu
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2026
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author Wang, Wan-Hao
Chen, Guo
Yan, Fei
Jiang, Chengzi
Mancini, Luigi
Pallé, Enric
Murgas, Felipe
Parviainen, Hannu
author_facet Wang, Wan-Hao
Chen, Guo
Yan, Fei
Jiang, Chengzi
Mancini, Luigi
Pallé, Enric
Murgas, Felipe
Parviainen, Hannu
contents Transmission spectroscopy enables the characterization of exoplanet atmospheres by probing absorption features in their terminator regions. In the optical, it is particularly sensitive to metal oxides and atomic species that can strongly influence atmospheric energy balance and thermal structure. We aim to investigate the atmospheric properties of the hot Jupiter HAT-P-47b through optical transmission spectroscopy. Thirteen TESS transits were analyzed to refine the planetary ephemeris and system parameters. Two ground-based transits were observed with LBT/MODS and GTC/OSIRIS+. Chromatic transit light curves were modeled to derive instrument-specific transmission spectra and multiple Bayesian spectral retrievals were performed to characterize the atmospheric properties. The MODS transmission spectrum provides moderate Bayesian evidence ($Δ\ln\mathcal{Z}=2.68$) for TiO absorption, whereas the OSIRIS+ spectrum does not yield statistically significant evidence for any specific opacity source. Both datasets exhibit a wavelength-dependent slope indicative of enhanced aerosol scattering. The MODS and OSIRIS+ joint free-chemistry retrieval, dominated by the higher signal-to-noise MODS data, yields moderate evidence ($Δ\ln\mathcal{Z}=3.44$) for TiO with a log mass fraction of $-6.86^{+0.64}_{-0.63}$ dex. The same model indicates an aerosol contribution to the optical scattering opacity approximately $5000\times$ larger than pure H$_2$ Rayleigh scattering. HAT-P-47b appears to host a cloudy atmosphere with evidence for aerosols and tentative evidence for TiO absorption. Future high-precision observations will be essential to confirm the presence of TiO and further characterize its atmospheric structure.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_29445
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Optical transmission spectrum of HAT-P-47b: evidence for aerosols and tentative TiO absorption
Wang, Wan-Hao
Chen, Guo
Yan, Fei
Jiang, Chengzi
Mancini, Luigi
Pallé, Enric
Murgas, Felipe
Parviainen, Hannu
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Transmission spectroscopy enables the characterization of exoplanet atmospheres by probing absorption features in their terminator regions. In the optical, it is particularly sensitive to metal oxides and atomic species that can strongly influence atmospheric energy balance and thermal structure. We aim to investigate the atmospheric properties of the hot Jupiter HAT-P-47b through optical transmission spectroscopy. Thirteen TESS transits were analyzed to refine the planetary ephemeris and system parameters. Two ground-based transits were observed with LBT/MODS and GTC/OSIRIS+. Chromatic transit light curves were modeled to derive instrument-specific transmission spectra and multiple Bayesian spectral retrievals were performed to characterize the atmospheric properties. The MODS transmission spectrum provides moderate Bayesian evidence ($Δ\ln\mathcal{Z}=2.68$) for TiO absorption, whereas the OSIRIS+ spectrum does not yield statistically significant evidence for any specific opacity source. Both datasets exhibit a wavelength-dependent slope indicative of enhanced aerosol scattering. The MODS and OSIRIS+ joint free-chemistry retrieval, dominated by the higher signal-to-noise MODS data, yields moderate evidence ($Δ\ln\mathcal{Z}=3.44$) for TiO with a log mass fraction of $-6.86^{+0.64}_{-0.63}$ dex. The same model indicates an aerosol contribution to the optical scattering opacity approximately $5000\times$ larger than pure H$_2$ Rayleigh scattering. HAT-P-47b appears to host a cloudy atmosphere with evidence for aerosols and tentative evidence for TiO absorption. Future high-precision observations will be essential to confirm the presence of TiO and further characterize its atmospheric structure.
title Optical transmission spectrum of HAT-P-47b: evidence for aerosols and tentative TiO absorption
topic Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.29445