Abstract
This tutorial is an introduction to techniques used to characterize the
atmospheres of transiting exoplanets. We intend it to be a useful guide for the
undergraduate, graduate student, or postdoctoral scholar who wants to begin
research in this field, but who has no prior experience with transiting
exoplanets. We begin with a discussion of the properties of exoplanetary
systems that allow us to measure exoplanetary spectra, and the principles that
underlie transit techniques. Subsequently, we discuss the most favorable
wavelengths for observing, and explain the specific techniques of secondary
eclipses and eclipse mapping, phase curves, transit spectroscopy, and
convolution with spectral templates. Our discussion includes factors that
affect the data acquisition, and also a separate discussion of how the results
are interpreted. Other important topics that we cover include statistical
methods to characterize atmospheres such as stacking, and the effects of
stellar activity. We conclude by projecting the future utility of
large-aperture observatories such as the James Webb Space Telescope and the
forthcoming generation of extremely large ground-based telescopes.
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