High-resolution cross-correlation spectroscopy Archives

Summary of our observations and detrending process.

Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release

The Roasting Marshmallows Program with IGRINS on Gemini South V: Atmosphere of MASCARA-1b is Enriched in Refractory Elements

by Keith CowingJune 10, 2026June 10, 2026

Ultra-hot Jupiters (UHJs; Teq≳2000 K) enable simultaneous detection of volatile (ice-forming) and refractory (rock-forming) species in planetary atmospheres, providing a powerful diagnostic of planet formation and atmospheric processing.

Cross-correlation maps produced using models broadened to the measured rotational broadening of each molecule. These CCFs are predicted to show stronger detections as the models used more closely match the broadened planetary lines in the data, and the influence of noise sources on the scale of a single resolution element in the CCF are suppressed. Most notably, when cross-correlating with an SiO model broadened to the 22 km s−1 rotational broadening measured from the H2O CCF, the evidence for the tentative SiO signal increases to an S/N = 4.3, while other regions are suppressed, suggesting a potential planetary origin. The CO signal is boosted to S/N = 6.6 and the H2O signal is now above the S/N = 5 threshold for a detection, with an S/N = 5.7. Cross-correlation with a broadened model containing CO, H2O, and SiO produces the strongest detection of all models tested, with a S/N = 7.5. The CCFs produced using the H2O model and the model containing all three molecular opacities show an offset from the expected velocity, which is discussed further in Section 6.3. To reduce the impact of correlated signals the noise estimates for these CCFs are measured from a down-sampled CCF, with the planet signal excluded (see Section 4.7). For clarity, and following the convention for HCS, the CCFs are presented here at the 1.5 km s−1 CRIRES+ pixel resolution. -- astro-ph.EP

Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

Into The Red: An M-band Study of the Chemistry and Rotation of β Pictoris b at High Spectral Resolution

by Keith CowingMay 16, 2024May 16, 2024

High-resolution cross-correlation spectroscopy (HRCCS) combined with adaptive optics has been enormously successful in advancing our knowledge of exoplanet atmospheres, from chemistry to rotation and atmospheric dynamics.

High-resolution cross-correlation spectroscopy

The Roasting Marshmallows Program with IGRINS on Gemini South V: Atmosphere of MASCARA-1b is Enriched in Refractory Elements

Into The Red: An M-band Study of the Chemistry and Rotation of β Pictoris b at High Spectral Resolution

Determining The “Biosignature Threshold” For Life Detection On Biotic, Abiotic, or Prebiotic Worlds.

Icy Ocean Planet Research: NASA ROSES-25 Amendment 71: New Opportunity A.16 Cryosphere

Global Carbon Fixation In Earth’s Subsurface Biosphere

tinyRNA-seq: An Optimized Approach To Sequencing Tiny RNAs And Primitive RNA Genomes

Stellar Flares Rather Than High Tint As Possible Cause For the Missing Methane In Young Exoplanets: The Case Study of V1298-Tau b