VLT FORS2 Comparative Transmission Spectroscopy: Detection of Na in the Atmosphere of WASP-39b from the Ground
Nikolov, Nikolay; Fortney, Jonathan J.; Gibson, Neale P.; Sing, David K.; Kataria, Tiffany; Evans, Thomas M.; Wilson, Paul A.; Barstow, Joanna K.
United Kingdom, United States, France
Abstract
We present transmission spectroscopy of the warm Saturn-mass exoplanet WASP-39b made with the Very Large Telescope FOcal Reducer and Spectrograph (FORS2) across the wavelength range 411-810 nm. The transit depth is measured with a typical precision of 240 parts per million (ppm) in wavelength bins of 10 nm on a V = 12.1 mag star. We detect the sodium absorption feature (3.2σ) and find evidence of potassium. The ground-based transmission spectrum is consistent with Hubble Space Telescope (HST) optical spectroscopy, supporting the interpretation that WASP-39b has a largely clear atmosphere. Our results demonstrate the great potential of the recently upgraded FORS2 spectrograph for optical transmission spectroscopy, with which we obtained HST-quality light curves from the ground.