Transmission Spectroscopy of the Lowest-density Gas Giant: Metals and a Potential Extended Outflow in HAT-P-67b

Abstract

Extremely low-density exoplanets are tantalizing targets for atmospheric characterization because of their promisingly large signals in transmission spectroscopy. We present the first analysis of the atmosphere of the lowest-density gas giant currently known, HAT-P-67b. This inflated Saturn-mass exoplanet sits at the boundary between hot and ultrahot gas giants, where thermal dissociation of molecules begins to dominate atmospheric composition. We observed a transit of HAT-P-67b at high spectral resolution with CARMENES and searched for atomic and molecular species using cross-correlation and likelihood mapping. Furthermore, we explored potential atmospheric escape by targeting Hα and the metastable helium line. We detect Ca ii and Na i with significances of 13.2σ and 4.6σ, respectively. Unlike in several ultrahot Jupiters, we do not measure a day-to-night wind. The large line depths of Ca ii suggest that the upper atmosphere may be more ionized than models predict. We detect strong variability in Hα and the helium triplet during the observations. These signals suggest the possible presence of an extended planetary outflow that causes an early ingress and late egress. In the averaged transmission spectrum, we measure redshifted absorption at the ∼3.8% and ∼4.5% level in the Hα and He i triplet lines, respectively. From an isothermal Parker wind model, we derive a mass-loss rate of M ̇ ∼ 10 13 g s − 1 and an outflow temperature of T ∼ 9900 K. However, due to the lack of a longer out-of-transit baseline in our data, additional observations are needed to rule out stellar variability as the source of the Hα and He signals.

A Large and Variable Leading Tail of Helium in a Hot Saturn Undergoing Runaway Inflation

“…Recently, Bello-Arufe et al (2023) reported the transmission spectrum of HAT-P-67 b using the CARMENES spectrograph (Quirrenbach et al 2014). The point-and-stare observations were scheduled to coincide with transits, providing relatively short <1 hr out-of-transit baselines on either side of the transit.…”