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At least 1,405 records · Page 78
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DOE OSTI2014

X-ray observations of XSS J12270-4859 in a new low state: A transformation to a disk-free rotation-powered pulsar binary

We present XMM-Newton and Chandra observations of the low-mass X-ray binary XSS J12270-4859, which experienced a dramatic decline in optical/X-ray brightness at the end of 2012, indicative of the disappearance of its accretion disk. In this new state, the system exhibits previously absent orbital-phase-dependent, large-amplitude X-ray modulations with a decline in flux at superior conjunction. The X-ray emission remains predominantly non-thermal but with an order of magnitude lower mean luminosity and significantly harder spectrum relative to the previous high flux state. This phenomenology is identical to the behavior of the radio millisecond pulsar (MSP) binary PSR J1023+0038 in the absence of an accretion disk, where the X-ray emission is produced in an intra-binary shock driven by the pulsar wind. This further demonstrates that XSS J12270-4859 no longer has an accretion disk and has transformed to a full-fledged eclipsing 'redback' system that hosts an active rotation-powered MSP. There is no evidence for diffuse X-ray emission associated with the binary that may arise due to outflows or a wind nebula. An extended source situated 1.'5 from XSS J12270-4859 is unlikely to be associated, and is probably a previously uncataloged galaxy cluster.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Magnetic inhibition of convection and the fundamental properties of low-mass stars. II. Fully convective main-sequence stars

We examine the hypothesis that magnetic fields are inflating the radii of fully convective main-sequence stars in detached eclipsing binaries (DEBs). The magnetic Dartmouth stellar evolution code is used to analyze two systems in particular: Kepler-16 and CM Draconis. Magneto-convection is treated assuming stabilization of convection and also by assuming reductions in convective efficiency due to a turbulent dynamo. We find that magnetic stellar models are unable to reproduce the properties of inflated fully convective main-sequence stars, unless strong interior magnetic fields in excess of 10 MG are present. Validation of the magnetic field hypothesis given the current generation of magnetic stellar evolution models therefore depends critically on whether the generation and maintenance of strong interior magnetic fields is physically possible. An examination of this requirement is provided. Additionally, an analysis of previous studies invoking the influence of star spots is presented to assess the suggestion that star spots are inflating stars and biasing light curve analyses toward larger radii. From our analysis, we find that there is not yet sufficient evidence to definitively support the hypothesis that magnetic fields are responsible for the observed inflation among fully convective main-sequence stars in DEBs.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

The 4.5 μm full-orbit phase curve of the hot Jupiter HD 209458b

The hot Jupiter HD 209458b is particularly amenable to detailed study as it is among the brightest transiting exoplanet systems currently known (V-mag = 7.65; K-mag = 6.308) and has a large planet-to-star contrast ratio. HD 209458b is predicted to be in synchronous rotation about its host star with a hot spot that is shifted eastward of the substellar point by superrotating equatorial winds. Here we present the first full-orbit observations of HD 209458b, in which its 4.5 μm emission was recorded with Spitzer/IRAC. Our study revises the previous 4.5 μm measurement of HD 209458b's secondary eclipse emission downward by ∼35% to 0.1391%{sub −0.0069%}{sup +0.0072%}, changing our interpretation of the properties of its dayside atmosphere. We find that the hot spot on the planet's dayside is shifted eastward of the substellar point by 40.°9 ± 6.°0, in agreement with circulation models predicting equatorial superrotation. HD 209458b's dayside (T{sub bright} = 1499 ± 15 K) and nightside (T{sub bright} = 972 ± 44 K) emission indicate a day-to-night brightness temperature contrast smaller than that observed for more highly irradiated exoplanets, suggesting that the day-to-night temperature contrast may be partially a function of the incident stellar radiation. The observed phase curve shape deviates modestly from global circulation model predictions potentially due to disequilibrium chemistry or deficiencies in the current hot CH{sub 4} line lists used in these models. Observations of the phase curve at additional wavelengths are needed in order to determine the possible presence and spatial extent of a dayside temperature inversion, as well as to improve our overall understanding of this planet's atmospheric circulation.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

The atmospheric circulation and observable properties of non-synchronously rotating hot Jupiters

We study the feasibility of observationally constraining the rotation rate of hot Jupiters, planets that are typically assumed to have been tidally locked into synchronous rotation. We use a three-dimensional General Circulation Model to solve for the atmospheric structure of two hot Jupiters (HD 189733b and HD 209458b), assuming rotation periods that are 0.5, 1, or 2 times their orbital periods (2.2 and 3.3 days, respectively), including the effect of variable stellar heating. We compare two observable properties: (1) the spatial variation of flux emitted by the planet, measurable in orbital phase curves, and (2) the net Doppler shift in transmission spectra of the atmosphere, which is tantalizingly close to being measurable in high-resolution transit spectra. Although we find little difference between the observable properties of the synchronous and non-synchronous models of HD 189733b, we see significant differences when we compare the models of HD 209458b. In particular, the slowly rotating model of HD 209458b has an atmospheric circulation pattern characterized by westward flow and an orbital phase curve that peaks after secondary eclipse (in contrast to all of our other models), while the quickly rotating model has a net Doppler shift that is more strongly blueshifted than the other models. Our results demonstrate that the combined use of these two techniques may be a fruitful way to constrain the rotation rate of some planets and motivate future work on this topic.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

First detection of the white dwarf cooling sequence of the galactic bulge

We present Hubble Space Telescope data of the low-reddening Sagittarius window in the Galactic bulge. The Sagittarius Window Eclipsing Extrasolar Planet Search field (∼3'× 3'), together with three more Advanced Camera for Surveys and eight Wide-Field Camera 3 fields, were observed in the F606W and F814W filters, approximately every two weeks for 2 yr, with the principal aim of detecting a hidden population of isolated black holes and neutron stars through astrometric microlensing. Proper motions were measured with an accuracy of ≈0.1 mas yr{sup –1} (≈4 km s{sup –1}) at F606W ≈ 25.5 mag, and better than ≈0.5 mas yr{sup –1} (≈20 km s{sup –1}) at F606W ≈ 28 mag, in both axes. Proper-motion measurements allowed us to separate disk and bulge stars and obtain a clean bulge color-magnitude diagram. We then identified for the first time a white dwarf (WD) cooling sequence in the Galactic bulge, together with a dozen candidate extreme horizontal branch stars. The comparison between theory and observations shows that a substantial fraction of the WDs (≈30%) are systematically redder than the cooling tracks for CO-core H-rich and He-rich envelope WDs. This evidence would suggest the presence of a significant number of low-mass WDs and WD-main-sequence binaries in the bulge. This hypothesis is further supported by the finding of two dwarf novae in outburst, two short-period (P ≲ 1 day) ellipsoidal variables, and a few candidate cataclysmic variables in the same field.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

The green bank northern celestial cap pulsar survey. I. Survey description, data analysis, and initial results

We describe an ongoing search for pulsars and dispersed pulses of radio emission, such as those from rotating radio transients (RRATs) and fast radio bursts, at 350 MHz using the Green Bank Telescope. With the Green Bank Ultimate Pulsar Processing Instrument, we record 100 MHz of bandwidth divided into 4096 channels every 81.92 μs. This survey will cover the entire sky visible to the Green Bank Telescope (δ > –40°, or 82% of the sky) and outside of the Galactic Plane will be sensitive enough to detect slow pulsars and low dispersion measure (<30 pc cm{sup –3}) millisecond pulsars (MSPs) with a 0.08 duty cycle down to 1.1 mJy. For pulsars with a spectral index of –1.6, we will be 2.5 times more sensitive than previous and ongoing surveys over much of our survey region. Here we describe the survey, the data analysis pipeline, initial discovery parameters for 62 pulsars, and timing solutions for 5 new pulsars. PSR J0214+5222 is an MSP in a long-period (512 days) orbit and has an optical counterpart identified in archival data. PSR J0636+5129 is an MSP in a very short-period (96 minutes) orbit with a very low mass companion (8 M{sub J}). PSR J0645+5158 is an isolated MSP with a timing residual RMS of 500 ns and has been added to pulsar timing array experiments. PSR J1434+7257 is an isolated, intermediate-period pulsar that has been partially recycled. PSR J1816+4510 is an eclipsing MSP in a short-period orbit (8.7 hr) and may have recently completed its spin-up phase.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Radius constraints from high-speed photometry of 20 low-mass white dwarf binaries

We carry out high-speed photometry on 20 of the shortest-period, detached white dwarf binaries known and discover systems with eclipses, ellipsoidal variations (due to tidal deformations of the visible white dwarf), and Doppler beaming. All of the binaries contain low-mass white dwarfs with orbital periods of less than four hr. Our observations identify the first eight tidally distorted white dwarfs, four of which are reported for the first time here. We use these observations to place empirical constraints on the mass-radius relationship for extremely low-mass (≤0.30 M {sub ☉}) white dwarfs. We also detect Doppler beaming in several of these binaries, which confirms their high-amplitude radial-velocity variability. All of these systems are strong sources of gravitational radiation, and long-term monitoring of those that display ellipsoidal variations can be used to detect spin-up of the tidal bulge due to orbital decay.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

The effects of refraction on transit transmission spectroscopy: application to Earth-like exoplanets

We quantify the effects of refraction in transit transmission spectroscopy on spectral absorption features and on temporal variations that could be used to obtain altitude-dependent spectra for planets orbiting stars of different stellar types. We validate our model against altitude-dependent transmission spectra of the Earth from ATMOS and against lunar eclipse spectra from Pallé et al. We perform detectability studies to show the potential effects of refraction on hypothetical observations of Earth analogs with the James Webb Space Telescope NIRSPEC. Due to refraction, there will be a maximum tangent pressure level that can be probed during transit for each given planet-star system. We show that because of refraction, for an Earth-analog planet orbiting in the habitable zone of a Sun-like star only the top 0.3 bars of the atmosphere can be probed, leading to a decrease in the signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) of absorption features by 60%, while for an Earth-analog planet orbiting in the habitable zone of an M5V star it is possible to probe almost the entire atmosphere with minimal decreases in S/N. We also show that refraction can result in temporal variations in the transit transmission spectrum which may provide a way to obtain altitude-dependent spectra of exoplanet atmospheres. Additionally, the variations prior to ingress and subsequent to egress provide a way to probe pressures greater than the maximum tangent pressure that can be probed during transit. Therefore, probing the maximum range of atmospheric altitudes, and in particular the near-surface environment of an Earth-analog exoplanet, will require looking at out-of-transit refracted light in addition to the in-transit spectrum.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Supervised detection of anomalous light curves in massive astronomical catalogs

The development of synoptic sky surveys has led to a massive amount of data for which resources needed for analysis are beyond human capabilities. In order to process this information and to extract all possible knowledge, machine learning techniques become necessary. Here we present a new methodology to automatically discover unknown variable objects in large astronomical catalogs. With the aim of taking full advantage of all information we have about known objects, our method is based on a supervised algorithm. In particular, we train a random forest classifier using known variability classes of objects and obtain votes for each of the objects in the training set. We then model this voting distribution with a Bayesian network and obtain the joint voting distribution among the training objects. Consequently, an unknown object is considered as an outlier insofar it has a low joint probability. By leaving out one of the classes on the training set, we perform a validity test and show that when the random forest classifier attempts to classify unknown light curves (the class left out), it votes with an unusual distribution among the classes. This rare voting is detected by the Bayesian network and expressed as a low joint probability. Our method is suitable for exploring massive data sets given that the training process is performed offline. We tested our algorithm on 20 million light curves from the MACHO catalog and generated a list of anomalous candidates. After analysis, we divided the candidates into two main classes of outliers: artifacts and intrinsic outliers. Artifacts were principally due to air mass variation, seasonal variation, bad calibration, or instrumental errors and were consequently removed from our outlier list and added to the training set. After retraining, we selected about 4000 objects, which we passed to a post-analysis stage by performing a cross-match with all publicly available catalogs. Within these candidates we identified certain known but rare objects such as eclipsing Cepheids, blue variables, cataclysmic variables, and X-ray sources. For some outliers there was no additional information. Among them we identified three unknown variability types and a few individual outliers that will be followed up in order to perform a deeper analysis.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Observations and modeling of the companions of short period binary millisecond pulsars: evidence for high-mass neutron stars

We present observations of fields containing eight recently discovered binary millisecond pulsars using the telescopes at MDM Observatory. Optical counterparts to four of these systems are detected, one of which, PSR J2214+3000, is a novel detection. Additionally, we present the fully phase-resolved B, V, and R light curves of the optical counterparts to two objects, PSR J1810+1744 and PSR J2215+5135 for which we employ model fitting using the eclipsing light curve (ELC) model of Orosz and Hauschildt to measure the unknown system parameters. For PSR J1810+1744, we find that the system parameters cannot be fit even assuming that 100% of the spin-down luminosity of the pulsar is irradiating the secondary, and so radial velocity measurements of this object will be required for the complete solution. However, PSR J2215+5135 exhibits light curves that are extremely well constrained using the ELC model and we find that the mass of the neutron star is constrained by these and the radio observations to be M {sub NS} > 1.75 M {sub ☉} at the 3σ level. We also find a discrepancy between the model temperature and the measured colors of this object, which we interpret as possible evidence for an additional high-temperature source such as a quiescent disk. Given this and the fact that PSR J2215+5135 contains a relatively high mass companion (M {sub c} > 0.1 M {sub ☉}), we propose that similar to the binary pulsar systems PSR J1023+0038 and IGR J18245–2452, the pulsar may transition between accretion- and rotation-powered modes.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Non-axisymmetric flows on hot Jupiters with oblique magnetic fields

Giant planets that reside in close proximity to their host stars are subject to extreme irradiation, which gives rise to thermal ionization of trace alkali metals in their atmospheres. On objects where the atmospheric electrical conductivity is substantial, the global circulation couples to the background magnetic field, inducing supplementary fields and altering the nature of the flow. To date, a number of authors have considered the influence of a spin-pole aligned dipole magnetic field on the dynamical state of a weakly ionized atmosphere and found that magnetic breaking may lead to significantly slower winds than predicted within a purely hydrodynamical framework. Here, we consider the effect of a tilted dipole magnetic field on the circulation and demonstrate that in addition to regulating wind velocities, an oblique field generates stationary non-axisymmetric structures that adhere to the geometry of the magnetic pole. Using a kinematic perturbative approach, we derive a closed-form solution for the perturbed circulation and show that the fractional distortion of zonal jets scales as the product of the field obliquity and the Elsässer number. The results obtained herein suggest that on planets with oblique magnetic fields, advective shifts of dayside hotspots may have substantial latitudinal components. This prediction may be tested observationally using the eclipse mapping technique.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Optical counterparts of two Fermi millisecond pulsars: PSR J1301+0833 and PSR J1628–3205

Using the 1.3 m and 2.4 m Telescopes of the MDM Observatory, we identified the close companions of two eclipsing millisecond radio pulsars that were discovered by the Green Bank Telescope in searches of Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope sources, and measured their light curves. PSR J1301+0833 is a black widow pulsar in a 6.5 hr orbit whose companion star is strongly heated on the side facing the pulsar. It varies from R = 21.8 to R > 24 around the orbit. PSR J1628–3205 is a 'redback', a nearly Roche-lobe-filling system in a 5.0 hr orbit whose optical modulation in the range 19.0 < R < 19.4 is dominated by strong ellipsoidal variations, indicating a large orbital inclination angle. PSR J1628–3205 also shows evidence for a long-term variation of about 0.2 mag, and an asymmetric temperature distribution possibly due to either off-center heating by the pulsar wind, or large starspots. Modeling of its light curve restricts the inclination angle to i > 55°, the mass of the companion to 0.16 < M{sub c} < 0.30 M {sub ☉}, and the effective temperature to 3560 < T {sub eff} < 4670 K. As is the case for several redbacks, the companion of PSR J1628–3205 is less dense and hotter than a main-sequence star of the same mass.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Atmospheric circulation of eccentric hot Jupiter HAT-P-2B

The hot Jupiter HAT-P-2b has become a prime target for Spitzer Space Telescope observations aimed at understanding the atmospheric response of exoplanets on highly eccentric orbits. Here we present a suite of three-dimensional atmospheric circulation models for HAT-P-2b that investigate the effects of assumed atmospheric composition and rotation rate on global scale winds and thermal patterns. We compare and contrast atmospheric models for HAT-P-2b, which assume one and five times solar metallicity, both with and without TiO/VO as atmospheric constituents. Additionally we compare models that assume a rotation period of half, one, and two times the nominal pseudo-synchronous rotation period. We find that changes in assumed atmospheric metallicity and rotation rate do not significantly affect model predictions of the planetary flux as a function of orbital phase. However, models in which TiO/VO are present in the atmosphere develop a transient temperature inversion between the transit and secondary eclipse events that results in significant variations in the timing and magnitude of the peak of the planetary flux compared with models in which TiO/VO are omitted from the opacity tables. We find that no one single atmospheric model can reproduce the recently observed full orbit phase curves at 3.6, 4.5 and 8.0 μm, which is likely due to a chemical process not captured by our current atmospheric models for HAT-P-2b. Further modeling and observational efforts focused on understanding the chemistry of HAT-P-2b's atmosphere are needed and could provide key insights into the interplay between radiative, dynamical, and chemical processes in a wide range of exoplanet atmospheres.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

A Hubble space telescope search for a sub-Earth-sized exoplanet in the GJ 436 system

The detection of small planets orbiting nearby stars is an important step toward the identification of Earth twins. In previous work using the Spitzer Space Telescope, we found evidence to support at least one sub-Earth-sized exoplanet orbiting the nearby mid-M dwarf star GJ 436. As a follow up, here we used the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) to investigate the existence of one of these candidate planets, UCF-1.01, by searching for two transit signals as it passed in front of its host star. Interpretation of the data hinges critically on correctly modeling and removing the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) instrument systematics from the light curves. Building on previous HST work, we demonstrate that WFC3 analyses need to explore the use of a quadratic function to fit a visit-long time-dependent systematic. This is important for establishing absolute transit and eclipse depths in the white light curves of all transiting systems. The work presented here exemplifies this point by putatively detecting the primary transit of UCF-1.01 with the use of a linear trend. However, using a quadratic trend, we achieve a better fit to the white light curves and a reduced transit depth that is inconsistent with previous Spitzer measurements. Furthermore, quadratic trends with or without a transit model component produce comparable fits to the available data. Using extant WFC3 transit light curves for GJ 436b, we further validate the quadratic model component by achieving photon-limited model fit residuals and consistent transit depths over multiple epochs. We conclude that, when we fit for a quadratic trend, our new data contradict the prediction of a sub-Earth-sized planet orbiting GJ 436 with the size, period, and ephemeris posited from the Spitzer data by a margin of 3.1σ.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

The ground-based H-, K-, and L-band absolute emission spectra of HD 209458b

Here we explore the capabilities of NASA's 3.0 m Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) and SpeX spectrometer and the 5.08 m Hale telescope with the TripleSpec spectrometer with near-infrared H-, K-, and L-band measurements of HD 209458b's secondary eclipse. Our IRTF/SpeX data are the first absolute L-band spectroscopic emission measurements of any exoplanet other than the hot Jupiter HD 189733b. Previous measurements of HD 189733b's L band indicate bright emission hypothesized to result from non-LTE CH{sub 4} ν{sub 3} fluorescence. We do not detect a similar bright 3.3 μm feature to ∼3σ, suggesting that fluorescence does not need to be invoked to explain HD 209458b's L-band measurements. The validity of our observation and reduction techniques, which decrease the flux variance by up to 2.8 orders of magnitude, is reinforced by 1σ agreement with existent Hubble/NICMOS and Spitzer/IRAC1 observations that overlap the H, K, and L bands, suggesting that both IRTF/SpeX and Palomar/TripleSpec can measure an exoplanet's emission with high precision.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

CONSTRAINTS FROM ASYMMETRIC HEATING: INVESTIGATING THE EPSILON AURIGAE DISK

Epsilon Aurigae is a long-period eclipsing binary that likely contains an F0Ia star and a circumstellar disk enshrouding a hidden companion, assumed to be a main-sequence B star. High uncertainty in its parallax has kept the evolutionary status of the system in question and, hence, the true nature of each component. This unknown, as well as the absence of solid state spectral features in the infrared, requires an investigation of a wide parameter space by means of both analytic and Monte Carlo radiative transfer (MCRT) methods. The first MCRT models of epsilon Aurigae that include all three system components are presented here. We seek additional system parameter constraints by melding analytic approximations with MCRT outputs (e.g., dust temperatures) on a first-order level. The MCRT models investigate the effects of various parameters on the disk-edge temperatures; these include two distances, three particle size distributions, three compositions, and two disk masses, resulting in 36 independent models. Specifically, the MCRT temperatures permit analytic calculations of effective heating and cooling curves along the disk edge. These are used to calculate representative observed fluxes and corresponding temperatures. This novel application of thermal properties provides the basis for utilization of other binary systems containing disks. We find degeneracies in the model fits for the various parameter sets. However, the results show a preference for a carbon disk with particle size distributions ≥10 μm. Additionally, a linear correlation between the MCRT noon and basal temperatures serves as a tool for effectively eliminating portions of the parameter space.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

ON THE DISTANCE OF THE GLOBULAR CLUSTER M4 (NGC 6121) USING RR LYRAE STARS. I. OPTICAL AND NEAR-INFRARED PERIOD-LUMINOSITY AND PERIOD-WESENHEIT RELATIONS

We present new distance determinations to the nearby globular M4 (NGC 6121) based on accurate optical and near-infrared (NIR) mean magnitudes for fundamental (FU) and first overtone (FO) RR Lyrae variables (RRLs), and new empirical optical and NIR period-luminosity (PL) and period-Wesenheit (PW) relations. We have found that optical-NIR and NIR PL and PW relations are affected by smaller standard deviations than optical relations. The difference is the consequence of a steady decrease in the intrinsic spread of cluster RRL apparent magnitudes at fixed period as longer wavelengths are considered. The weighted mean visual apparent magnitude of 44 cluster RRLs is =13.329 ± 0.001 (standard error of the mean) ±0.177 (weighted standard deviation) mag. Distances were estimated using RR Lyr itself to fix the zero-point of the empirical PL and PW relations. Using the entire sample (FU+FO) we found weighted mean true distance moduli of 11.35 ± 0.03 ± 0.05 mag and 11.32 ± 0.02 ± 0.07 mag. Distances were also evaluated using predicted metallicity dependent PLZ and PWZ relations. We found weighted mean true distance moduli of 11.283 ± 0.010 ± 0.018 mag (NIR PLZ) and 11.272 ± 0.005 ± 0.019 mag (optical-NIR and NIR PWZ). The above weighted mean true distance moduli agree within 1σ. The same result is found from distances based on PWZ relations in which the color index is independent of the adopted magnitude (11.272 ± 0.004 ± 0.013 mag). These distances agree quite well with the geometric distance provided by Kaluzny et al. based on three eclipsing binaries. The available evidence indicates that this approach can provide distances to globulars hosting RRLs with a precision better than 2%-3%.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

THEORETICAL EMISSION SPECTRA OF ATMOSPHERES OF HOT ROCKY SUPER-EARTHS

Motivated by recent detection of transiting high-density super-Earths, we explore the detectability of hot rocky super-Earths orbiting very close to their host stars. In an environment hot enough for their rocky surfaces to be molten, they would have an atmosphere composed of gas species from the magma oceans. In this study, we investigate the radiative properties of the atmosphere that is in gas/melt equilibrium with the underlying magma ocean. Our equilibrium calculations yield Na, K, Fe, Si, SiO, O, and O{sub 2} as the major atmospheric species. We compile the radiative absorption line data of those species available in the literature and calculate their absorption opacities in the wavelength region of 0.1–100 μm. Using them, we integrate the thermal structure of the atmosphere. Then, we find that thermal inversion occurs in the atmosphere because of the UV absorption by SiO. In addition, we calculate the ratio of the planetary to stellar emission fluxes during secondary eclipse, and we find prominent emission features induced by SiO at 4 μm detectable by Spitzer, and those at 10 and 100 μm detectable by near-future space telescopes.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗