High-precision transit observations of the exoplanet WASP-13b with the RISE instrument

Abstract

WASP-13b is a sub-Jupiter mass exoplanet orbiting a G1V type star with a period of 4.35 d. The current uncertainty in its impact parameter (0 < b < 0.46) results in poorly defined stellar and planetary radii. To better constrain the impact parameter, we have obtained high-precision transit observations with the rapid imager to search for exoplanets (RISE) instrument mounted on 2.0-m Liverpool Telescope. We present four new transits which are fitted with a Markov chain Monte Carlo routine to derive accurate system parameters. We found an orbital inclination of 85°.2 ± 0°.3 resulting in stellar and planetary radii of 1.56 ± 0.04 R⊙ and 1.39 ± 0.05RJup, respectively. This suggests that the host star has evolved off the main sequence and is in the hydrogen-shell-burning phase. We also discuss how the limb darkening affects the derived system parameters. With a density of 0.17ρJ, WASP-13b joins the group of low-density planets whose radii are too large to be explained by standard irradiation models. We derive a new ephemeris for the system, T0= 245 5575.5136 ± 0.0016 (HJD) and P= 4.353 011 ± 0.000 013 d. The planet equilibrium temperature (Tequ= 1500 K) and the bright host star (V= 10.4 mag) make it a good candidate for follow-up atmospheric studies.