PyTranSpot: A tool for multiband light curve modeling of planetary transits and stellar spots

• Published in: Astronomy and astrophysics (Berlin) 2018-02, Vol.610, p.A15
• Main Authors: Juvan, Ines G., Lendl, M., Cubillos, P. E., Fossati, L., Tregloan-Reed, J., Lammer, H., Guenther, E. W., Hanslmeier, A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Astronomical models; Computer simulation; Darkening; Extrasolar planets; Light curve; Limb darkening; Markov analysis; Markov chains; Monte Carlo simulation; Parameters; Physical properties; planetary systems; planets and satellites: fundamental parameters; planets and satellites: individual: WASP-41b; Starspots; Stellar activity; techniques: photometric; Transit
• ISSN: 0004-6361; 1432-0746
• DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201731345

Several studies have shown that stellar activity features, such as occulted and non-occulted starspots, can affect the measurement of transit parameters biasing studies of transit timing variations and transmission spectra. We present PyTranSpot, which we designed to model multiband transit light curves showing starspot anomalies, inferring both transit and spot parameters. The code follows a pixellation approach to model the star with its corresponding limb darkening, spots, and transiting planet on a two dimensional Cartesian coordinate grid. We combine PyTranSpot with a Markov chain Monte Carlo framework to study and derive exoplanet transmission spectra, which provides statistically robust values for the physical properties and uncertainties of a transiting star-planet system. We validate PyTranSpot’s performance by analyzing eleven synthetic light curves of four different star-planet systems and 20 transit light curves of the well-studied WASP-41b system. We also investigate the impact of starspots on transit parameters and derive wavelength dependent transit depth values for WASP-41b covering a range of 6200−9200 Å, indicating a flat transmission spectrum.