Detection of Fe and evidence for TiO in the dayside emission spectrum of WASP-33b

Abstract

Context. Theoretical studies predict the presence of thermal inversions in the atmosphere of highly irradiated gas giant planets. Recent observations have identified these inversion layers. However, the role of different chemical species in their formation remains unclear. Aims. We search for the signature of the thermal inversion agents TiO and Fe in the dayside emission spectrum of the ultra-hot Jupiter WASP-33b. Methods. The spectra were obtained with CARMENES and HARPS-N, covering different wavelength ranges. Telluric and stellar absorption lines were removed with SYSREM. We cross-correlated the residual spectra with model spectra to retrieve the signals from the planetary atmosphere. Results. We find evidence for TiO at a significance of 4.9σ with CARMENES. The strength of the TiO signal drops close to the secondary eclipse. No TiO signal is found with HARPS-N. An injection-recovery test suggests that the TiO signal is below the detection level at the wavelengths covered by HARPS-N. The emission signature of Fe is detected with both instruments at significance levels of 5.7σ and 4.5σ, respectively. By combining all observations, we obtain a significance level of 7.3σ for Fe. We find the TiO signal at Kp = 248.0-2.5+2.0 km s-1, which is in disagreement with the Fe detection at Kp = 225.0-3.5+4.0 km s-1. The Kp value for Fe is in agreement with prior investigations. The model spectra require different temperature profiles for TiO and Fe to match the observations. We observe a broader line profile for Fe than for TiO. Conclusions. Our results confirm the existence of a temperature inversion layer in the planetary atmosphere. The observed Kp offset and different strengths of broadening in the line profiles suggest the existence of a TiO-depleted hot spot in the planetary atmosphere. © ESO 2021.