EXONEST: The Bayesian Exoplanetary Explorer

Abstract

Abstract:The fields of astronomy and astrophysics are currently engaged in an unprecedented era of discovery as recent missions have revealed thousands of exoplanets orbiting other stars. While the Kepler Space Telescope mission has enabled most of these exoplanets to be detected by identifying transiting events, exoplanets often exhibit additional photometric effects that can be used to improve the characterization of exoplanets. The EXONEST Exoplanetary Explorer is a Bayesian exoplanet inference engine based on nested sampling and originally designed to analyze archived Kepler Space Telescope and CoRoT (Convection Rotation et Transits planétaires) exoplanet mission data. We discuss the EXONEST software package and describe how it accommodates plug-and-play models of exoplanet-associated photometric effects for the purpose of exoplanet detection, characterization and scientific hypothesis testing. The current suite of models allows for both circular and eccentric orbits in conjunction with photometric effects, such as the primary transit and secondary eclipse, reflected light, thermal emissions, ellipsoidal variations, Doppler beaming and superrotation. We discuss our new efforts to expand the capabilities of the software to include more subtle photometric effects involving reflected and refracted light. We discuss the EXONEST inference engine design and introduce our plans to port the current MATLAB-based EXONEST software package over to the next generation Exoplanetary Explorer, which will be a Python-based open source project with the capability to employ third-party plug-and-play models of exoplanet-related photometric effects.

The Telltale Heartbeat: Detection and Characterization of Eccentric Orbiting Planets via Tides on Their Host Star

“…This photometric effect is small, usually, and though it has been identified in the light curves of exoplanet hosts, it has only recently become feasible to consider it as a primary method to detect new candidate exoplanets (Faigler & Mazeh 2011;Jackson et al 2012;Placek et al 2014;Knuth et al 2017). However, the classic formulation of ellipsoidal variations assumes a circular orbit.…”

Bayesian Model Testing of Ellipsoidal Variations on Stars due to Hot Jupiters

“…Each of the models for thermal emission and reflected light assume incoming parallel rays from the host star. Knuth et al (2017) explores more detailed models accounting for non-parallel incident rays that are required for large stars and planets with extremely close-in orbits.…”

“…Kepler and TESS), reflected light and thermal emission can be distinguished and provide improved constraints on geometric albedo, day-side temperatures, and night-side temperatures (Placek et al (2016)). A sufficient eccentricity (e 0.3) in the orbit breaks the degeneracy and allows one to independently identify reflected light and thermal emissions using only the Kepler light curve (Placek et al (2013); Placek (2014); Knuth et al (2017)).…”

Overview of the 37th MaxEnt

“…EXONEST: The Bayesian Exoplanetary Explorer [ 2 ] presented a Bayesian exoplanet inference engine based on nested sampling and originally designed to analyze archived Kepler Space Telescope and CoRoT (Convection Rotation et Transits planétaires) exoplanet mission data. The EXONEST package currently accommodates plug-and-play models which allow for both circular and eccentric orbits in conjunction with photometric effects, such as the primary transit and secondary eclipse, reflected light, thermal emissions, ellipsoidal variations, Doppler beaming and superrotation.…”