Search for a habitable terrestrial planet transiting the nearby red dwarf GJ 1214
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Author(s)
Gillon, M.
Madhusudhan, Nikku
Deming, D.
Knutson, Heather A.
Lanotte, A. A.
Bonfils, X.
Delrez, L.
Jehin, Emmanuel
Fraine, Jonathan D.
Magain, P.
Date Issued
February 2014
Journal
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Publisher
EDP Sciences
Citation
Gillon, M., B.-O. Demory, N. Madhusudhan, D. Deming, S. Seager, A. Zsom, H. A. Knutson, et al. “Search for a Habitable Terrestrial Planet Transiting the Nearby Red Dwarf GJ 1214.” A&A 563 (February 27, 2014): A21. © 2014 ESO
Version
Final published version
Abstract
High-precision eclipse spectrophotometry of transiting terrestrial exoplanets represents a promising path for the first atmospheric characterizations of habitable worlds and the search for life outside our solar system. The detection of terrestrial planets transiting nearby late-type M-dwarfs could make this approach applicable within the next decade, with soon-to-come general facilities. In this context, we previously identified GJ 1214 as a high-priority target for a transit search, as the transit probability of a habitable planet orbiting this nearby M4.5 dwarf would be significantly enhanced by the transiting nature of GJ 1214 b, the super-Earth already known to orbit the star. Based on this observation, we have set up an ambitious high-precision photometric monitoring of GJ 1214 with the Spitzer Space Telescope to probe the inner part of its habitable zone in search of a transiting planet as small as Mars. We present here the results of this transit search. Unfortunately, we did not detect any other transiting planets. Assuming that GJ 1214 hosts a habitable planet larger than Mars that has an orbital period smaller than 20.9 days, our global analysis of the whole Spitzer dataset leads to an a posteriori no-transit probability of ~98%. Our analysis allows us to significantly improve the characterization of GJ 1214 b, to measure its occultation depth to be 70 ± 35 ppm at 4.5 μm, and to constrain it to be smaller than 205 ppm (3σ upper limit) at 3.6 μm. In agreement with the many transmission measurements published so far for GJ 1214 b, these emission measurements are consistent with both a metal-rich and a cloudy hydrogen-rich atmosphere.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics
MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research
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Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201322362
