Detection of the ellipsoidal and the relativistic beaming effects in the CoRoT-3 lightcurve

Abstract

CoRoT-3b is a 22 Jupiter-mass massive-planet/brown-dwarf object, orbiting an F3-star with a period of 4.3 days. We analyzed the out-of-transit CoRoT-3 red-channel lightcurve obtained by the CoRoT mission and detected the ellipsoidal modulation, with half the orbital period and an amplitude of 59 ± 9 ppm (parts per million), and the relativistic beaming effect, with the orbital period and an amplitude of 27 ± 9 ppm. Phases and amplitudes of both modulations are consistent with our theoretical approximation.