ESTIMATION OF ALBEDO OF EXOPLANETS FROM A SET OF COMPOSITE (STAR + PLANET) SPECTRA

The knowledge of the albedo of an exoplanet can be a very good source of information about its physical and chemical characteristics; however, it is normally very difficult to separate the planet albedo from the star spectrum, as the amplitude of the planet spectrum is much lower than that of its star, and the two spectra are acquired together, as it is not possible to spatially separate them. Here we present an algorithm for the estimation of the planet albedo, which exploits the amplitude modulation of the planet spectrum during its orbit around the star and works also if no eclipses are present. Results are presented using simulated spectra of the CoRoT-1 b system.