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Title: HOW TO DETERMINE AN EXOMOON'S SENSE OF ORBITAL MOTION

Abstract

We present two methods to determine an exomoon's sense of orbital motion (SOM), one with respect to the planet's circumstellar orbit and one with respect to the planetary rotation. Our simulations show that the required measurements will be possible with the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT). The first method relies on mutual planet-moon events during stellar transits. Eclipses with the moon passing behind (in front of) the planet will be late (early) with regard to the moon's mean orbital period due to the finite speed of light. This ''transit timing dichotomy'' (TTD) determines an exomoon's SOM with respect to the circumstellar motion. For the 10 largest moons in the solar system, TTDs range between 2 and 12 s. The E-ELT will enable such measurements for Earth-sized moons around nearby Sun-like stars. The second method measures distortions in the IR spectrum of the rotating giant planet when it is transited by its moon. This Rossiter-McLaughlin effect (RME) in the planetary spectrum reveals the angle between the planetary equator and the moon's circumplanetary orbital plane, and therefore unveils the moon's SOM with respect to the planet's rotation. A reasonably large moon transiting a directly imaged planet like β Pic b causes an RME amplitudemore » of almost 100 m s{sup –1}, about twice the stellar RME amplitude of the transiting exoplanet HD209458 b. Both new methods can be used to probe the origin of exomoons, that is, whether they are regular or irregular in nature.« less

Authors:
 [1];  [2]
  1. Origins Institute, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4M1 (Canada)
  2. Stellar Astrophysics Centre, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 120, DK-8000 Aarhus C (Denmark)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
22364507
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Astrophysical Journal Letters
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 796; Journal Issue: 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 2041-8205
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
79 ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY; COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION; DATA ANALYSIS; ECLIPSE; INFRARED SPECTRA; MOON; ORBITS; PLANETS; RADIAL VELOCITY; ROTATION; SOLAR SYSTEM; SUN; TELESCOPES; VISIBLE RADIATION

Citation Formats

Heller, René, and Albrecht, Simon. HOW TO DETERMINE AN EXOMOON'S SENSE OF ORBITAL MOTION. United States: N. p., 2014. Web. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/796/1/L1.
Heller, René, & Albrecht, Simon. HOW TO DETERMINE AN EXOMOON'S SENSE OF ORBITAL MOTION. United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/796/1/L1
Heller, René, and Albrecht, Simon. 2014. "HOW TO DETERMINE AN EXOMOON'S SENSE OF ORBITAL MOTION". United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/796/1/L1.
@article{osti_22364507,
title = {HOW TO DETERMINE AN EXOMOON'S SENSE OF ORBITAL MOTION},
author = {Heller, René and Albrecht, Simon},
abstractNote = {We present two methods to determine an exomoon's sense of orbital motion (SOM), one with respect to the planet's circumstellar orbit and one with respect to the planetary rotation. Our simulations show that the required measurements will be possible with the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT). The first method relies on mutual planet-moon events during stellar transits. Eclipses with the moon passing behind (in front of) the planet will be late (early) with regard to the moon's mean orbital period due to the finite speed of light. This ''transit timing dichotomy'' (TTD) determines an exomoon's SOM with respect to the circumstellar motion. For the 10 largest moons in the solar system, TTDs range between 2 and 12 s. The E-ELT will enable such measurements for Earth-sized moons around nearby Sun-like stars. The second method measures distortions in the IR spectrum of the rotating giant planet when it is transited by its moon. This Rossiter-McLaughlin effect (RME) in the planetary spectrum reveals the angle between the planetary equator and the moon's circumplanetary orbital plane, and therefore unveils the moon's SOM with respect to the planet's rotation. A reasonably large moon transiting a directly imaged planet like β Pic b causes an RME amplitude of almost 100 m s{sup –1}, about twice the stellar RME amplitude of the transiting exoplanet HD209458 b. Both new methods can be used to probe the origin of exomoons, that is, whether they are regular or irregular in nature.},
doi = {10.1088/2041-8205/796/1/L1},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22364507}, journal = {Astrophysical Journal Letters},
issn = {2041-8205},
number = 1,
volume = 796,
place = {United States},
year = {Thu Nov 20 00:00:00 EST 2014},
month = {Thu Nov 20 00:00:00 EST 2014}
}