The orbital phases and secondary transit of Kepler-10b - A physical interpretation based on the Lava-ocean planet model -

Leger, A.; Deeg, H. J.; Demangeon, O.; Samuel, B.; Cavaroc, C.; Fegley, B.; Rouan, D.
Bibliographical reference

EPSC-DPS Joint Meeting 2011, held 2-7 October 2011 in Nantes, France. http://meetings.copernicus.org/epsc-dps2011, p.755

Advertised on:
10
2011
Number of authors
7
IAC number of authors
1
Citations
0
Refereed citations
0
Description
In this presentation, we apply the Lava-ocean model that has been proposed for planets of the class of CoRoT-7b, i.e. rocky planets at a few stellar radii from their star, since Kepler-10b is a typical member of this family. The model predicts that the light from the planet has an important emission component in addition to the reflected one, even in the Kepler spectral band. Assuming an isotropical reflection of light by the planetary surface (Lambertian-like approximation), we find that a plausible Bond albedo of ˜ 50% can account for the observed phase amplitude, as opposed to a first attempt where an unusually high value was found. We propose a test of this interpretation: future observations of the planetary phases, in the near-IR, with instruments as JWST or Echo. The predicted spectral dependence of the secondary transit is clearly distinguishable from that of purely reflected light. The measurements would permit the determination of the temperature distribution at the planetary surface, which could be compared to the predictions of the Lavaocean model, with significant details.