Transit Duration and Depth of an Exoplanet?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Misplaced
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    exoplanet transit
Click For Summary
SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on calculating the transit duration and depth of an exoplanet orbiting a main-sequence K star. The user is working with a planet of 0.05 solar radii orbiting a star of 0.8 solar radii and mass at an orbital radius of 0.5 AU, with an inclination of 89.8 degrees. They encountered issues with imaginary numbers when calculating transit duration, indicating potential errors in unit conversion or formula application. The user also highlights a correction needed in the referenced figure regarding the definition of the impact parameter.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of exoplanet transit method
  • Familiarity with orbital mechanics and parameters
  • Knowledge of unit conversion between solar radii and astronomical units (AU)
  • Ability to apply mathematical equations for transit duration and impact parameter
NEXT STEPS
  • Review the equations for calculating transit duration and depth from the provided resource
  • Learn about the impact parameter and its significance in transit observations
  • Explore unit conversion techniques specific to astronomical measurements
  • Investigate common errors in exoplanet transit calculations and how to avoid them
USEFUL FOR

Astronomy students, astrophysicists, and anyone interested in exoplanet research and transit method calculations.

Misplaced
Messages
3
Reaction score
0

Homework Statement


Hi, I'm a senior taking a course on exoplanets right now. I have a question regarding their transit across a star. I understand how it works in theory, but I had some questions regarding the equation to use. Here's the problem:

A 0.05 solar radius planet orbits a main-sequence K star of radius = 0.8 solar radii and mass = 0.8 solar masses at an orbital radius of a = 0.5 AU. If the inclination of the planet's orbit to the plane of the sky is i = 89.8o, calculate the duration and depth of the observed transit. What is the maximum orbital radius at which a transit would still be detected?

I'm checking into ask what units I'm supposed to use for this sort of problem, and to make sure that I'm using the correct equations.

Homework Equations



I'm using the equation found here: https://www.paulanthonywilson.com/e...tion-techniques/the-exoplanet-transit-method/

The page has helped me understand the transit method better, and I am using the equations it lists for transit duration, impact parameter and flux ratio.

The Attempt at a Solution



The first thing I did was convert the solar radii values to AU. Solving the problem this way gives an impact parameter of .469, which is a fine number, but when I attempt to solve for transit duration I end up with an imaginary number in the term for transit length since the star plus planets' radii squared is so much smaller than 5 AU. This is the reason I've come to this forum for help. Was converting the units a mistake? Am I using the wrong formulas? Or does my error lie elsewhere? Finding the flux ratio and maximum orbital radius shouldn't be too hard, since the listed site gives a formula for flux ratio and for the maximum orbital radius I can set b to 1 and then solve for a. Thank you for you help, and please let me know if you're able to spot any errors I've committed.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
It appears that the link has an error in figure 1. The side of the triangle shown as ##b## in the figure should actually be ##bR_*## due to the way ##b## is defined. Thus, the figure should be as below.

In the formulas for ##2l## and the transit time, you will need to use ##bR_*## in place of ##b##.
 

Attachments

  • Transit 2.png
    Transit 2.png
    21.8 KB · Views: 1,081
Last edited:

Similar threads

Replies
2
Views
919
  • · Replies 22 ·
Replies
22
Views
3K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
2K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
3K
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
2K
  • · Replies 67 ·
3
Replies
67
Views
15K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
3K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
2K