We present HST STIS optical transmission spectroscopy of the cool Saturn-mass exoplanet WASP-39b from 0.29-1.025 micron, along with complementary transit observations from Spitzer IRAC at 3.6 and 4.5 micron. The low density and large atmospheric pressure scale height ofWASP-39b make it particularly amenable to atmospheric characterization using this technique. We detect a Rayleigh scattering slope as well as sodium and potassium absorption features; this is the first exoplanet in which both alkali features are clearly detected with the extended wings predicted by cloud-free atmosphere models. The full transmission spectrum is well matched by a clear, H2-dominated atmosphere or one containing a weak contribution from haze, in good agreement with the preliminary reduction of these data presented in Sing et al. (2016). WASP-39b is predicted to have a pressure-temperature profile comparable to that of HD 189733b and WASP-6b, making it one of the coolest transiting gas giants observed in our HST STIS survey. Despite this similarity, WASP-39b appears to be largely cloud-free while the transmission spectra of HD 189733b and WASP-6b both indicate the presence of high altitude clouds or hazes. These observations further emphasize the surprising diversity of cloudy and cloud-free gas giant planets in short-period orbits and the corresponding challenges associated with developing predictive cloud models for these atmospheres.

Thousands of transiting exoplanets have been discovered, but spectral analysis of their atmospheres has so far been dominated by a small number of exoplanets and data spanning relatively narrow wavelength ranges (such as 1.1-1.7 micrometres). Recent studies show that some hot-Jupiter exoplanets have much weaker water absorption features in their near-infrared spectra than predicted. The low amplitude of water signatures could be explained by very low water abundances, which may be a sign that water was depleted in the protoplanetary disk at the planet's formation location, but it is unclear whether this level of depletion can actually occur. Alternatively, these weak signals could be the result of obscuration by clouds or hazes, as found in some optical spectra. Here we report results from a comparative study of ten hot Jupiters covering the wavelength range 0.3-5 micrometres, which allows us to resolve both the optical scattering and infrared molecular absorption spectroscopically. Our results reveal a diverse group of hot Jupiters that exhibit a continuum from clear to cloudy atmospheres. We find that the difference between the planetary radius measured at optical and infrared wavelengths is an effective metric for distinguishing different atmosphere types. The difference correlates with the spectral strength of water, so that strong water absorption lines are seen in clear-atmosphere planets and the weakest features are associated with clouds and hazes. This result strongly suggests that primordial water depletion during formation is unlikely and that clouds and hazes are the cause of weaker spectral signatures.

The Gemini Planet Imager is a dedicated facility for directly imaging and spectroscopically characterizing extrasolar planets. It combines a very high-order adaptive optics system, a diffraction-suppressing coronagraph, and an integral field spectrograph with low spectral resolution but high spatial resolution. Every aspect of the Gemini Planet Imager has been tuned for maximum sensitivity to faint planets near bright stars. During first-light observations, we achieved an estimated H band Strehl ratio of 0.89 and a 5-σ contrast of 10(6) at 0.75 arcseconds and 10(5) at 0.35 arcseconds. Observations of Beta Pictoris clearly detect the planet, Beta Pictoris b, in a single 60-s exposure with minimal postprocessing. Beta Pictoris b is observed at a separation of 434 ± 6 milliarcseconds (mas) and position angle 211.8 ± 0.5°. Fitting the Keplerian orbit of Beta Pic b using the new position together with previous astrometry gives a factor of 3 improvement in most parameters over previous solutions. The planet orbits at a semimajor axis of [Formula: see text] near the 3:2 resonance with the previously known 6-AU asteroidal belt and is aligned with the inner warped disk. The observations give a 4% probability of a transit of the planet in late 2017.

Using the recently installed Gemini Planet Imager (GPI), we have obtained the first H-band spectrum of the planetary companion to the nearby young star β Pictoris. GPI is designed to image and provide low-resolution spectra of Jupiter-sized, self-luminous planetary companions around young nearby stars. These observations were taken covering the H band (1.65 μm). The spectrum has a resolving power of ∼45 and demonstrates the distinctive triangular shape of a cool substellar object with low surface gravity. Using atmospheric models, we find an effective temperature of 1600-1700K and a surface gravity of log(g) = 3.5-4.5 (cgs units). These values agree well with "hot-start" predictions from planetary evolution models for a gas giant with mass between 10 and 12 MJup and age between 10 and 20 Myr.

We explore KLIP forward modeling spectral extraction on Gemini Planet Imager coronagraphic data of HR 8799, using PyKLIP, and show algorithm stability with varying KLIP parameters. We report new and re-reduced spectrophotometry of HR 8799 c, d, and e in the H and K bands. We discuss a strategy for choosing optimal KLIP PSF subtraction parameters by injecting simulated sources and recovering them over a range of parameters. The K1/K2 spectra for HR 8799 c and d are similar to previously published results from the same data set. We also present a K-band spectrum of HR 8799 e for the first time and show that our H-band spectra agree well with previously published spectra from the VLT/SPHERE instrument. We show that HR 8799 c and d show significant differences in their H and K spectra, but do not find any conclusive differences between d and e, nor between c and e, likely due to large error bars in the recovered spectrum of e. Compared to M-, L-, and T-type field brown dwarfs, all three planets are most consistent with mid- and late-L spectral types. All objects are consistent with low gravity, but a lack of standard spectra for low gravity limit the ability to fit the best spectral type. We discuss how dedicated modeling efforts can better fit HR 8799 planets' near-IR flux, as well as how differences between the properties of these planets can be further explored.

Using the Gemini Planet Imager located at Gemini South, we measured the near-infrared (1.0-2.4 μm) spectrum of the planetary companion to the nearby, young star β Pictoris. We compare the spectrum obtained with currently published model grids and with known substellar objects and present the best matching models as well as the best matching observed objects. Comparing the empirical measurement of the bolometric luminosity to evolutionary models, we find a mass of 12.9 ±0.2 , an effective temperature of 1724 ±15 K, a radius of 1.46 ±0.01 , and a surface gravity of [dex] (cgs). The stated uncertainties are statistical errors only, and do not incorporate any uncertainty on the evolutionary models. Using atmospheric models, we find an effective temperature of 1700-1800 K and a surface gravity of -4.0 [dex] depending upon the model. These values agree well with other publications and with "hot-start" predictions from planetary evolution models. Further, we find that the spectrum of β Pic b best matches a low surface gravity L2 ±1 brown dwarf. Finally, comparing the spectrum to field brown dwarfs, we find the the spectrum best matches 2MASS J04062677-381210 and 2MASS J03552337+1133437.

We present spectrophotometry spanning 1-5 μm of 51 Eridani b, a 2-10 planet discovered by the Gemini Planet Imager Exoplanet Survey. In this study, we present new K1 (1.90-2.19 μm) and K2 (2.10-2.40 μm) spectra taken with the Gemini Planet Imager as well as an updated L P (3.76 μm) and new M S (4.67 μm) photometry from the NIRC2 Narrow camera. The new data were combined with J (1.13-1.35 μm) and H (1.50-1.80 μm) spectra from the discovery epoch with the goal of better characterizing the planet properties. The 51 Eri b photometry is redder than field brown dwarfs as well as known young T-dwarfs with similar spectral type (between T4 and T8), and we propose that 51 Eri b might be in the process of undergoing the transition from L-type to T-type. We used two complementary atmosphere model grids including either deep iron/silicate clouds or sulfide/salt clouds in the photosphere, spanning a range of cloud properties, including fully cloudy, cloud-free, and patchy/intermediate-opacity clouds. The model fits suggest that 51 Eri b has an effective temperature ranging between 605 and 737 K, a solar metallicity, and a surface gravity of log(g) = 3.5-4.0 dex, and the atmosphere requires a patchy cloud atmosphere to model the spectral energy distribution (SED). From the model atmospheres, we infer a luminosity for the planet of -5.83 to -5.93 (logL/L⊙), leaving 51 Eri b in the unique position of being one of the only directly imaged planets consistent with having formed via a cold-start scenario. Comparisons of the planet SED against warm-start models indicate that the planet luminosity is best reproduced by a planet formed via core accretion with a core mass between 15 and 127 M⊕.

A principal scientific goal of the Gemini Planet Imager (GPI) is obtaining milliarcsecond astrometry to constrain exoplanet orbits. However, astrometry of directly imaged exoplanets is subject to biases, systematic errors, and speckle noise. Here, we describe an analytical procedure to forward model the signal of an exoplanet that accounts for both the observing strategy (angular and spectral differential imaging) and the data reduction method (Karhunen-Loève Image Projection algorithm). We use this forward model to measure the position of an exoplanet in a Bayesian framework employing Gaussian processes and Markov-chain Monte Carlo to account for correlated noise. In the case of GPI data on β Pic b, this technique, which we call Bayesian KLIP-FM Astrometry (BKA), outperforms previous techniques and yields 1σ errors at or below the one milliarcsecond level. We validate BKA by fitting a Keplerian orbit to 12 GPI observations along with previous astrometry from other instruments. The statistical properties of the residuals confirm that BKA is accurate and correctly estimates astrometric errors. Our constraints on the orbit of β Pic b firmly rule out the possibility of a transit of the planet at 10-σ significance. However, we confirm that the Hill sphere of β Pic b will transit, giving us a rare chance to probe the circumplanetary environment of a young, evolving exoplanet. We provide an ephemeris for photometric monitoring of the Hill sphere transit event, which will begin at the start of April in 2017 and finish at the end of January in 2018.