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Title:
Benefits of Ground-Based Photometric Follow-Up for Transiting Extrasolar Planets Discovered with Kepler and CoRoT
Authors:
Colón, Knicole D.; Ford, Eric B.
Affiliation:
AA(Department of Astronomy, University of Florida, 211 Bryant Space Science Center, P.O. Box 112055, Gainesville, FL 32611-2055, USA), AB(Department of Astronomy, University of Florida, 211 Bryant Space Science Center, P.O. Box 112055, Gainesville, FL 32611-2055, USA)
Publication:
The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 703, Issue 1, pp. 1086-1095 (2009). (ApJ Homepage)
Publication Date:
09/2009
Origin:
IOP
ApJ Keywords:
planetary systems, planets and satellites: general, techniques: photometric
DOI:
10.1088/0004-637X/703/1/1086
Bibliographic Code:
2009ApJ...703.1086C

Abstract

Currently, over 40 transiting planets have been discovered by ground-based photometric surveys, and space-based missions such as Kepler and CoRoT are expected to detect hundreds more. Follow-up photometric observations from the ground will play an important role in constraining both orbital and physical parameters for newly discovered planets, especially those with small radii (Rp lsim 4R ⊕) and/or intermediate-to-long orbital periods (Pgsim 30 days). Here, we simulate transit light curves (LCs) from Kepler-like photometry and ground-based observations in the near-infrared (NIR) to determine how jointly modeling space-based and ground-based LCs can improve measurements of the transit duration and planet-star radius ratio. We find that adding observations of at least one ground-based transit to space-based observations can significantly improve the accuracy for measuring the transit duration and planet-star radius ratio of small planets (Rp lsim 4R ⊕) in long-period (~1 year) orbits, largely thanks to the reduced effect of limb darkening in the NIR. We also demonstrate that multiple ground-based observations are needed to gain a substantial improvement in the measurement accuracy for small planets with short orbital periods (~3 days). Finally, we consider the role that higher ground-based precisions will play in constraining parameter measurements for typical Kepler targets. Our results can help inform the priorities of transit follow-up programs (including both primary and secondary transit of planets discovered with Kepler and CoRoT), leading to improved constraints for transit durations, planet sizes, and orbital eccentricities.
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