The DOI matches its Crossref record; 75 of the 75 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
The Transit Light Source Effect: False Spectral Features and Incorrect Densities for M-dwarf Transiting Planets
Open accessAbstract
Transmission spectra are differential measurements that utilize stellar illumination to probe transiting exoplanet atmospheres. Any spectral difference between the illuminating light source and the disk-integrated stellar spectrum due to starspots and faculae will be imprinted in the observed transmission spectrum. However, few constraints exist for the extent of photospheric heterogeneities in M dwarfs. Here we model spot and faculae covering fractions consistent with observed photometric variabilities for M dwarfs and the associated 0.3–5.5 μ m stellar contamination spectra. We find that large ranges of spot and faculae covering fractions are consistent with observations and corrections assuming a linear relation between variability amplitude, and covering fractions generally underestimate the stellar contamination. Using realistic estimates for spot and faculae covering fractions, we find that stellar contamination can be more than 10× larger than the transit depth changes expected for atmospheric features in rocky exoplanets. We also find that stellar spectral contamination can lead to systematic errors in radius and therefore the derived density of small planets. In the case of the TRAPPIST-1 system, we show that TRAPPIST-1's rotational variability is consistent with spot covering fractions and faculae covering fractions . The associated stellar contamination signals alter the transit depths of the TRAPPIST-1 planets at wavelengths of interest for planetary atmospheric species by roughly 1–15× the strength of planetary features, significantly complicating JWST follow-up observations of this system. Similarly, we find that stellar contamination can lead to underestimates of the bulk densities of the TRAPPIST-1 planets of , thus leading to overestimates of their volatile contents.
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Cites
Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite
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A new extensive library of PHOENIX stellar atmospheres and synthetic spectra
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Seven temperate terrestrial planets around the nearby ultracool dwarf star TRAPPIST-1
Gillon, M., Triaud, A. H. M. J., Demory, B.-O., Jehin, E., Agol, E., Deck, K. M., Lederer, S. M., de Wit, J., Burdanov, A., Ingalls, J. G., et al. (2017) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature21360 · Cited by 1,555 · cited 9×
“The shaded region in this panel illustrates the range of feature scales for the six innermost TRAPPIST-1 planets, calculated using the planetary parameters from Gillon et al. (2017) and assuming an Earth-like atmospheric mean molecular weight (µ = 28.97 amu).”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialThe Topology of the Sun's Magnetic Field and the 22-YEAR Cycle.
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A continuum from clear to cloudy hot-Jupiter exoplanets without primordial water depletion
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Clouds in the atmosphere of the super-Earth exoplanet GJ 1214b
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Theoretical Transmission Spectra during Extrasolar Giant Planet Transits
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Temperate Earth-sized planets transiting a nearby ultracool dwarf star
Gillon, M., Jehin, E., Lederer, S. M., Delrez, L., de Wit, J., Burdanov, A., Van Grootel, V., Burgasser, A. J., Triaud, A. H. M. J., Opitom, C., et al. (2016) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature17448 · Cited by 647
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Cited by
Helium in the eroding atmosphere of an exoplanet
Spake, J. J., Sing, D. K., Evans, T. M., Oklopčić, A., Bourrier, V., Kreidberg, L., Rackham, B. V., Irwin, J., Ehrenreich, D., Wyttenbach, A., et al. (2018) · Nature · doi:10.1038/s41586-018-0067-5 · Cited by 365
Self-citationKrissansen-Totton, J., Garland, R., Irwin, P., & Catling, D. C. (2018) · The Astronomical Journal · doi:10.3847/1538-3881/aad564 · Cited by 145
Metadata
- Authors
- Rackham, B. V., Apai, D., & Giampapa, M. S.
- Venue
- The Astrophysical Journal
- Publisher
- American Astronomical Society
- Published
- 2018-01-30
- Volume
- 853
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 122
- ISSN
- 0004-637X (ISSN-L)
- 1538-4357
- OpenAlex
- W2769898786
- Cited by
- 389
- References
- 75
- FWCI
- 18.44
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
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- CoChat. (2026). Citation check: The Transit Light Source Effect: False Spectral Features and Incorrect Densities for M-dwarf Transiting Planets. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.3847/1538-4357/aaa08c
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- Rackham, B. V., Apai, D., & Giampapa, M. S. (2018). The Transit Light Source Effect: False Spectral Features and Incorrect Densities for M-dwarf Transiting Planets. The Astrophysical Journal. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aaa08c
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