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Vincent Bourrier

Publications and source records attributed to Vincent Bourrier.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

The high-energy environment and atmospheric escape of the mini-Neptune K2-18 b

K2-18 b is a transiting mini-Neptune that orbits a nearby (38 pc) cool M3 dwarf and is located inside its region of temperate irradiation. We report on the search for hydrogen escape from the atmosphere K2-18 b using Lyman-$α$ transit spectroscopy with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) instrument installed on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). We analyzed the time-series of the fluxes of the stellar Lyman-$α$ emission of K2-18 in both its blue- and redshifted wings. We found that the average blueshifted emission of K2-18 decreases by $67\% \pm 18\%$ during the transit of the planet compared to the pre-transit emission, tentatively indicating the presence of H atoms escaping vigorously and being blown away by radiation pressure. This interpretation is not definitive because it relies on one partial transit. Based on the reconstructed Lyman-$α$ emission of K2-18, we estimate an EUV irradiation between $10^1-10^2$ erg s$^{-1}$ cm$^{-2}$ and a total escape rate in the order of $10^8$ g s$^{-1}$. The inferred escape rate suggests that the planet will lose only a small fraction (< 1%) of its mass and retain its volatile-rich atmosphere during its lifetime. More observations are needed to rule out stellar variability effects, confirm the in-transit absorption and better assess the atmospheric escape and high-energy environment of K2-18 b.

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Expected performances of the Characterising Exoplanet Satellite (CHEOPS) II. The CHEOPS simulator

The CHaracterising ExOPlanet Satellite (CHEOPS) is a mission dedicated to the search for exoplanetary transits through high precision photometry of bright stars already known to host planets. The telescope will provide the unique capability of determining accurate radii for planets whose masses have already been measured from ground-based spectroscopic surveys. This will allow a first-order characterisation of the planets' internal structure through the determination of the bulk density, providing direct insight into their composition. The CHEOPS simulator has been developed to perform detailed simulations of the data which is to be received from the CHEOPS satellite. It generates accurately simulated images that can be used to explore design options and to test the on-ground data processing, in particular, the pipeline producing the photometric time series. It is, thus, a critical tool for estimating the photometric performance expected in flight and to guide photometric analysis. It can be used to prepare observations, consolidate the noise budget, and asses the performance of CHEOPS in realistic astrophysical fields that are difficult to reproduce in the laboratory. Images generated by CHEOPSim take account of many detailed effects, including variations of the incident signal flux and backgrounds, and detailed modelling of the satellite orbit, pointing jitter and telescope optics, as well as the CCD response, noise and readout. The simulator results presented in this paper have been used in the context of validating the data reduction processing chain, in which image time series generated by CHEOPSim were used to generate light curves for simulated planetary transits across real and simulated targets. Independent analysts were successfully able to detect the planets and measure their radii to an accuracy within the science requirements of the mission.

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WASP-52b. The effect of starspot correction on atmospheric retrievals

We perform atmospheric retrievals on the full optical to infrared ($0.3-5 \, μ\mathrm{m}$) transmission spectrum of the inflated hot Jupiter WASP-52b by combining HST/STIS, WFC3 IR, and Spitzer/IRAC observations. As WASP-52 is an active star which shows both out-of-transit photometric variability and starspot crossings during transits, we account for the contribution of non-occulted active regions in the retrieval. We recover a $0.1-10\times$ solar atmospheric composition, in agreement with core accretion predictions for giant planets, and a weak contribution of aerosols. We also obtain a $<3000$ K temperature for the starspots, a measure which is likely affected by the models used to fit instrumental effects in the transits, and a 5% starspot fractional coverage, compatible with expectations for the host star's spectral type. Such constraints on the planetary atmosphere and on the activity of its host star will inform future JWST GTO observations of this target.

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The HST PanCET Program: Exospheric Mg II and Fe II in the Near-UV transmission spectrum of WASP-121b using Jitter Decorrelation

We present HST near-ultraviolet (NUV) transits of the hot Jupiter WASP-121b, acquired as part of the PanCET program. Time series spectra during two transit events were used to measure the transmission spectra between 2280 and 3070 Angstroms at a resolution of 30,000. Using HST data from 61 STIS visits, we show that data from HST's Pointing Control System can be used to decorrelate the instrument systematic errors (Jitter Decorrelation), which we used to fit the WASP-121b light curves. The NUV spectrum show very strong absorption features, with the NUV white light curve found to be larger than the average optical and near-infrared value at 6-$σ$ confidence. We identify and spectrally resolve absorption from the Mg ii doublet in the planetary exosphere at a 5.9-$σ$ confidence level. The Mg ii doublet is observed to reach altitudes of $R_{pl}/R_{star}=0.284\pm0.037$ for the 2796 Angstrom line and $0.242\pm0.0431$ in the 2804 Angstrom line, which exceeds the Roche lobe size as viewed in transit geometry ($R_{\rm eqRL}/R_{star}$ = 0.158). We also detect and resolve strong features of the Fe ii UV1 and UV2 multiplets, and observe the lines reaching altitudes of $R_{pl}/R_{star}\approx0.3$. At these high altitudes, the atmospheric Mg ii and Fe ii gas is not gravitationally bound to the planet, and these ionized species may be hydrodynamically escaping or could be magnetically confined. Refractory Mg and Fe atoms at high altitudes also indicates that these species are not trapped into condensate clouds at depth, which places constraints on the deep interior temperature.

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Nearly Polar orbit of the sub-Neptune HD3167 c: Constraints on a multi-planet system dynamical history

We present the obliquity measurement, that is, the angle between the normal angle of the orbital plane and the stellar spin axis, of the sub-Neptune planet HD3167 c, which transits a bright nearby K0 star. We study the orbital architecture of this multi-planet system to understand its dynamical history. We also place constraints on the obliquity of planet d based on the geometry of the planetary system and the dynamical study of the system. New observations obtained with HARPS-N at the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo (TNG) were employed for our analysis. The sky-projected obliquity was measured using three different methods: the Rossiter-McLaughlin anomaly, Doppler tomography, and reloaded Rossiter-McLaughlin techniques. We performed the stability analysis of the system and investigated the dynamical interactions between the planets and the star. HD3167 c is found to be nearly polar with sky-projected obliquity, $λ$ = -97$^{\circ} \pm$ 23$^{\circ}$. This misalignment of the orbit of planet c with the spin axis of the host star is detected with 97\% confidence. The analysis of the dynamics of this system yields coplanar orbits of planets c and d. It also shows that it is unlikely that the currently observed system can generate this high obliquity for planets c and d by itself. However, the polar orbits of planets c and d could be explained by the presence of an outer companion in the system. Follow-up observations of the system are required to confirm such a long-period companion.

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Lyman-alpha in the GJ 1132 System: Stellar Emission and Planetary Atmospheric Evolution

GJ 1132b, which orbits an M dwarf, is one of the few known Earth-sized planets, and at 12 pc away it is one of the closest known transiting planets. Receiving roughly 19x Earth's insolation, this planet is too hot to be habitable but can inform us about the volatile content of rocky planet atmospheres around cool stars. Using Hubble STIS spectra, we search for a transit in the Lyman-alpha line of neutral hydrogen (Ly-alpha). If we were to observe a deep Ly-alpha absorption signature, that would indicate the presence of a neutral hydrogen envelope flowing from GJ 1132b. On the other hand, ruling out deep absorption from neutral hydrogen may indicate that this planet does not have a detectable amount of hydrogen loss, is not losing hydrogen, or lost hydrogen and other volatiles early in the star's life. We do not detect a transit and determine a 2-sigma upper limit on the effective envelope radius of 0.36 R* in the red wing of the Ly-alpha line, which is the only portion of the spectrum we detect after absorption by the ISM. We analyze the Ly-alpha spectrum and stellar variability of GJ1132, which is a slowly-rotating 0.18 solar mass M dwarf with previously uncharacterized UV activity. Our data show stellar variabilities of 5-22%, which is consistent with the M dwarf UV variabilities of up to 41% found by \citet{Loyd2014}. Understanding the role that UV variability plays in planetary atmospheres is crucial to assess atmospheric evolution and the habitability of cooler rocky exoplanets.

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EUV influences on exoplanet atmospheric stability and evolution

The planetary effective surface temperature alone is insufficient to characterize exoplanet atmospheres and their stability or evolution. Considering the star-planet system as a whole is necessary, and a critical component of the system is the photoionizing stellar extreme ultraviolet emission (EUV; 100-912 Å). EUV photons drive atmospheric mass loss through thermal and nonthermal processes, and an accurate accounting of the EUV energy deposition in a planet's energy budget is essential, especially for terrestrial habitable zone planets and close-in gaseous planets. Direct EUV observations of exoplanet host stars would require a new, dedicated observatory. Archival observations from the $\textit{EUVE}$ satellite, models, and theory alone are insufficient to accurately characterize EUV spectra of the majority of exoplanet host stars, especially for low-mass stars.

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EUV observations of cool dwarf stars

The EUV (100-912 Å) is a spectral region notoriously difficult to observe due to attenuation by neutral hydrogen gas in the interstellar medium. Despite this, hundreds to thousands of nearby stars of different spectral types and magnetic activity levels are accessible in the EUV range. The EUV probes interesting and complicated regions in the stellar atmosphere like the lower corona and transition region that are inaccessible from other spectral regions. In this white paper we describe how direct EUV observations, which require a dedicated grazing-incidence observatory, cannot yet be accurately substituted with models and theory. Exploring EUV emission from cool dwarf stars in the time domain can make a major contribution to understanding stellar outer atmospheres and magnetism, and offers the clearest path toward detecting coronal mass ejections on stars other than the Sun.

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The XUV irradiation and likely atmospheric escape of the super-Earth $π$ Men c

$π$ Men c was recently announced as the first confirmed exoplanet from the TESS mission. The planet has a radius of just 2 R$_{\rm\oplus}$ and it transits a nearby Sun-like star of naked-eye brightness, making it the ideal target for atmospheric characterisation of a super-Earth. Here we analyse archival $\textit{ROSAT}$ and $\textit{Swift}$ observations of $π$ Men in order to determine the X-ray and extreme-ultraviolet irradiation of the planetary atmosphere and assess whether atmospheric escape is likely to be on-going. We find that $π$ Men has a similar level of X-ray emission to the Sun, with $L_{\rm X}/L_{\rm bol} = (4.84^{+0.92}_{-0.84})\times10^{-7}$. However, due to its small orbital separation, the high-energy irradiation of the super-Earth is around 2000 times stronger than suffered by the Earth. We show that this is sufficient to drive atmospheric escape at a rate greater than that readily detected from the warm Neptune GJ 436b. Furthermore, we estimate $π$ Men to be four times brighter at Ly $α$ than GJ 436. Given the small atmospheric scale heights of super-Earths, together with their potentially cloudy atmospheres, and the consequent difficulty in measuring transmission spectra, we conclude that ultraviolet absorption by material escaping $π$ Men c presents the best opportunity currently to determine the atmospheric composition of a super-Earth.

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Observability of hydrogen-rich exospheres in Earth-like exoplanets

(Abridged) The existence of an extended neutral hydrogen exosphere around small planets can be used as an evidence for the presence of water in their lower atmosphere but, to date, such feature has not been securely detected in rocky exoplanets. Planetary exospheres can be observed using transit spectroscopy of the Lyman-$α$ line, which is limited mainly by interstellar medium absorption in the core of the line, and airglow contamination from the geocorona when using low-orbit space telescopes. Our objective is to assess the detectability of the neutral hydrogen exosphere of an Earth-like planet transiting a nearby M dwarf using Lyman-$α$ spectroscopy and provide the necessary strategies to inform future observations. The spatial distribution in the upper atmosphere is provided by an empirical model of the geocorona, and we assume a velocity distribution based on radiative pressure as the main driver in shaping the exosphere. We compute the excess absorption in the stellar Lyman-$α$ line while in transit, and use realistic estimates of the uncertainties involved in observations to determine the observability of the signal. We found that the signal in Lyman-$α$ of the exosphere of an Earth-like exoplanet transiting M dwarfs with radii between 0.1 and 0.6 R$_\odot$ produces an excess absorption between 50 and 600 ppm. The Lyman-$α$ flux of stars decays exponentially with distance because of interstellar medium absorption, which is the main observability limitation. Other limits are related to the stellar radial velocity and instrumental setup. The excess absorption in Lyman-$α$ is observable using LUVOIR/LUMOS in M dwarfs up to a distance of $\sim$15 pc. The analysis of noise-injected data suggests that it would be possible to detect the exosphere of an Earth-like planet transiting TRAPPIST-1 within 20 transits.

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Detection of Helium in the Atmosphere of the Exo-Neptune HAT-P-11b

The helium absorption triplet at a wavelength of 10,833 Å has been proposed as a way to probe the escaping atmospheres of exoplanets. Recently this feature was detected for the first time using Hubble Space Telescope (HST) WFC3 observations of the hot Jupiter WASP-107b. We use similar HST/WFC3 observations to detect helium in the atmosphere of the hot Neptune HAT-P-11b at the $4σ$ confidence level. We compare our observations to a grid of 1D models of hydrodynamic escape to constrain the thermospheric temperatures and mass loss rate. We find that our data are best fit by models with high mass loss rates of $\dot{M} \approx 10^{9}$ - $10^{11}$ g s$^{-1}$. Although we do not detect the planetary wind directly, our data are consistent with the prediction that HAT-P-11b is experiencing hydrodynamic atmospheric escape. Nevertheless, the mass loss rate is low enough that the planet has only lost up to a few percent of its mass over its history, leaving its bulk composition largely unaffected. This matches the expectation from population statistics, which indicate that close-in planets with radii greater than 2 R$_{\oplus}$ form and retain H/He-dominated atmospheres. We also confirm the independent detection of helium in HAT-P-11b obtained with the CARMENES instrument, making this the first exoplanet with the detection of the same signature of photoevaporation from both ground- and space-based facilities.

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Disentangling the planet from the star in late type M dwarfs: A case study of TRAPPIST-1g

The atmospheres of late M stars represent a significant challenge in the characterization of any transiting exoplanets due to the presence of strong molecular features in the stellar atmosphere. TRAPPIST-1 is an ultra-cool dwarf, host to seven transiting planets, and contains its own molecular signatures which can potentially be imprinted on planetary transit lightcurves due to inhomogeneities in the occulted stellar photosphere. We present a case study on TRAPPIST-1g, the largest planet in the system, using a new observation together with previous data, to disentangle the atmospheric transmission of the planet from that of the star. We use the out-of-transit stellar spectra to reconstruct the stellar flux based on one-, two-, and three-temperature components. We find that TRAPPIST-1 is a 0.08 M$_*$, 0.117 R$_*$, M8V star with a photospheric effective temperature of 2400 K, with ~35% 3000 K spot coverage and a very small fraction, <3%, of ~5800 K hot spot. We calculate a planetary radius for TRAPPIST-1g to be Rp = 1.124 R$_\oplus$ with a planetary density of $ρ_p$ = 0.8214 $ρ_\oplus$. Based on the stellar reconstruction there are eleven plausible scenarios for the combined stellar photosphere and planet transit geometry; in our analysis we are able to rule out 8 of the 11 scenarios. Using planetary models we evaluate the remaining scenarios with respect to the transmission spectrum of TRAPPIST-1g. We conclude that the planetary transmission spectrum is likely not contaminated by any stellar spectral features, and are able to rule out a clear solar H2/He-dominated atmosphere at greater than 3-sigma.

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The HST PanCET Program: Hints of Na I & Evidence of a Cloudy Atmosphere for the Inflated Hot Jupiter WASP-52b

We present an optical to near-infrared transmission spectrum of the inflated hot Jupiter WASP-52b using three transit observations from the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) mounted on the Hubble Space Telescope, combined with Spitzer/Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) photometry at 3.6 microns and 4.5 microns. Since WASP-52 is a moderately active (log(Lx/Lbol) = -4.7) star, we correct the transit light curves for the effect of stellar activity using ground-based photometric monitoring data from the All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae (ASAS-SN) and Tennessee State University's Automatic Imaging Telescope (AIT). We bin the data in 38 spectrophotometric light curves from 0.29 to 4.5 microns and measure the transit depths to a median precision of 90 ppm. We compare the transmission spectrum to a grid of forward atmospheric models and find that our results are consistent with a cloudy spectrum and evidence of sodium at 2.3-sigma confidence, but no observable evidence of potassium absorption even in the narrowest spectroscopic channel. We find that the optical transmission spectrum of WASP-52b is similar to that of the well-studied inflated hot Jupiter HAT-P-1b, which has comparable surface gravity, equilibrium temperature, mass, radius, and stellar irradiation levels. At longer wavelengths, however, the best fitting models for WASP-52b and HAT-P-1b predict quite dissimilar properties, which could be confirmed with observations at wavelengths longer than ~1 micron. The identification of planets with common atmospheric properties and similar system parameters will be insightful for comparative atmospheric studies with the James Webb Space Telescope.

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An optical transmission spectrum for the ultra-hot Jupiter WASP-121b measured with the Hubble Space Telescope

We present an atmospheric transmission spectrum for the ultra-hot Jupiter WASP-121b, measured using the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) onboard the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Across the 0.47-1 micron wavelength range, the data imply an atmospheric opacity comparable to - and in some spectroscopic channels exceeding - that previously measured at near-infrared wavelengths (1.15-1.65 micron). Wavelength-dependent variations in the opacity rule out a gray cloud deck at a confidence level of 3.8-sigma and may instead be explained by VO spectral bands. We find a cloud-free model assuming chemical equilibrium for a temperature of 1500K and metal enrichment of 10-30x solar matches these data well. Using a free-chemistry retrieval analysis, we estimate a VO abundance of -6.6(-0.3,+0.2) dex. We find no evidence for TiO and place a 3-sigma upper limit of -7.9 dex on its abundance, suggesting TiO may have condensed from the gas phase at the day-night limb. The opacity rises steeply at the shortest wavelengths, increasing by approximately five pressure scale heights from 0.47 to 0.3 micron in wavelength. If this feature is caused by Rayleigh scattering due to uniformly-distributed aerosols, it would imply an unphysically high temperature of 6810+/-1530K. One alternative explanation for the short-wavelength rise is absorption due to SH (mercapto radical), which has been predicted as an important product of non-equilibrium chemistry in hot Jupiter atmospheres. Irrespective of the identity of the NUV absorber, it likely captures a significant amount of incident stellar radiation at low pressures, thus playing a significant role in the overall energy budget, thermal structure, and circulation of the atmosphere.

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Fe I in the Beta Pictoris circumstellar gas disk. II. The time variations in the iron circumstellar gas

Beta Pictoris is a young planetary system surrounded by a debris disk of dust and gas. The gas source of this disk could be exocomets (or 'falling and evaporating bodies', FEBs), which produce refractory elements (Mg, Ca, Fe) through sublimation of dust grains at several tens of stellar radii. Nearly 1700 high resolution spectra of Beta Pictoris have been obtained from 2003 to 2017 using the HARPS spectrograph. In paper I, we showed that a very high S/N ratio allows the detection of many weak Fe I lines in more than ten excited levels, and we derived the physical characteristics of the iron gas in the disk. The measured temperature of the gas (~1300 K) suggested that it is produced by evaporation of grains at about 0.3 au (38 Rstar) from the star. Here we describe the yearly variations of the column densities of all Fe I components (from both ground and excited levels). The drop in the Fe I ground level column density after 2011 coincides with a drop in Fe I excited levels column density, as well as in the Ca II doublet and a ground level Ca I line at the same epoch. All drops are compatible together with photoionisation-recombination equilibrium and Beta Pic like relative abundances, in a medium at 1300 K and at 0.3 au from Beta Pictoris. Interestingly, this warm medium does not correlate with the numerous exocomets in the circumstellar environnement of this young star.

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Evidence of magnetic star-planet interactions in the HD 189733 system from orbitally-phased Ca II K variations

Magnetic star-planet interactions (SPI) provide a detection method and insight into exoplanet magnetic fields and, in turn, exoplanet interiors and atmospheric environments. These signatures can be sporadic and difficult to confirm for single-epoch observations of a system due to inhomogeneous stellar magnetospheres and periodic variability in stellar magnetism. Thus an ideal SPI search consists of multiple epochs containing observations on consecutive nights spanning at least one complete planetary orbit. Such data sets are rare but do exist for some of the most intensely studied hot Jupiter systems. One such system is HD 189733 for which six suitable SPI data sets exist, the result of spectroscopic monitoring to perform some of the first SPI searches and also to study the star's magnetic field. Here we perform a uniform analysis of six archival Ca II K data sets for HD 189733, spanning 2006 June through 2015 July, in order to search for magnetic SPI signatures in the chromospheric line variations. We find significant evidence for modulations of Ca II K with a $2.29\pm0.04$ day period in the 2013 August data, which is consistent with the planet's orbital period. The peak in the orbital variations occurs at $ϕ_\text{orb} \approx 0.9$, which corresponds to the SPI emission leading the planet with a phase difference of $Δϕ\approx 40^\circ$ from the sub-planetary point. This is consistent with the phase lead predictions of non-linear force-free magnetic field SPI models. The stellar magnetic field strength at the planet's orbit is greatest in 2013 August which, due to the energy released in magnetic SPI scaling with $B_*$, lends strength to the SPI interpretation.

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Combining low- to high-resolution transit spectroscopy of HD 189733b. Linking the troposphere and the thermosphere of a hot gas giant

Space-borne low-to medium-resolution (R~10^2-10^3) transmission spectroscopy of atmospheres detect the broadest spectral features (alkali doublets, molecular bands, scattering), while high-resolution (R~10^5), ground-based observations probe the sharpest features (cores of the alkali lines, molecular lines).The two techniques differ by:(1) The LSF of ground-based observations is 10^3 times narrower than for space-borne observations;(2)Space-borne transmission spectra probe up to the base of thermosphere, while ground-based observations can reach pressures down to 10^(-11);(3)Space-borne observations directly yield the transit depth of the planet, while ground-based observations measure differences in the radius of the planet at different wavelengths.It is challenging to combine both techniques.We develop a method to compare theoretical models with observations at different resolutions.We introduce PyETA, a line-by-line 1D radiative transfer code to compute transmission spectra at R~10^6 (0.01 A) over a broad wavelength range.An hybrid forward modeling/retrieval optimization scheme is devised to deal with the large computational resources required by modeling a broad wavelength range (0.3-2 $μ$m) at high resolution.We apply our technique to HD189733b.Here, HST observations reveal a flattened spectrum due to scattering by aerosols, while high-resolution ground-based HARPS observations reveal the sharp cores of sodium lines.We reconcile these results by building models that reproduce simultaneously both data sets, from the troposphere to the thermosphere. We confirm:(1)the presence of scattering by tropospheric aerosols;(2)that the sodium core feature is of thermospheric origin.Accounting for aerosols, the sodium cores indicate T up to 10000K in the thermosphere.The precise value of the thermospheric temperature is degenerate with the abundance of sodium and altitude of the aerosol deck.

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The XUV environments of exoplanets from Jupiter-size to super-Earth

Planets that reside close-in to their host star are subject to intense high-energy irradiation. Extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) and X-ray radiation (together, XUV) is thought to drive mass loss from planets with volatile envelopes. We present $\textit{XMM-Newton}$ observations of six nearby stars hosting transiting planets in tight orbits (with orbital period, $P_\text{orb} < 10\,$d), wherein we characterise the XUV emission from the stars and subsequent irradiation levels at the planets. In order to reconstruct the unobservable EUV emission, we derive a new set of relations from Solar $\textit{TIMED/SEE}$ data that are applicable to the standard bands of the current generation of X-ray instruments. From our sample, WASP-80b and HD$\,$149026b experience the highest irradiation level, but HAT-P-11b is probably the best candidate for Ly$\,α$ evaporation investigations because of the system's proximity to the Solar System. The four smallest planets have likely lost a greater percentage of their mass over their lives than their larger counterparts. We also detect the transit of WASP-80b in the near ultraviolet with the Optical Monitor on $\textit{XMM-Newton}$.

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