Astronomy and Astrophysics
Aims: In this work, we aim to measure the Ag in the optical domain of WASP-43b, a moderately irradiated giant planet with an equilibrium temperature of ~1400 K.
Methods: For this purpose, we analyzed the secondary eclipse light curves collected by CHEOPS together with TESS along with observations of the system and the publicly available photometry obtained with HST WFC3/UVIS. We also analyzed the archival infrared observations of the eclipses and retrieve the thermal emission spectrum of the planet. By extrapolating the thermal spectrum to the optical bands, we corrected for the optical eclipses for thermal emission and derived the optical Ag.
Results: The fit of the optical data leads to a marginal detection of the phase-curve signal, characterized by an amplitude of 160 ± 60 ppm and 80−50+60 ppm in the CHEOPS and TESS passbands, respectively, with an eastward phase shift of ~50° (1.5σ detection). The analysis of the infrared data suggests a non-inverted thermal profile and solar-like metallicity. The combination of the optical and infrared analyses allows us to derive an upper limit for the optical albedo of Ag< 0.087, with a confidence of 99.9%.
Conclusions: Our analysis of the atmosphere of WASP-43b places this planet in the sample of irradiated hot Jupiters, with monotonic temperature-pressure profile and no indication of condensation of reflective clouds on the planetary dayside. The CHEOPS program ID is CH_PR100016. The CHEOPS photometry discussed in this paper is available in electronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr (ftp://130.79.128.5) or via https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/A+A/668/A17

The search for life in the universe has been driven by recent discoveries of planets around other stars (known as exoplanets), becoming one of the most active fields in modern astrophysics. The growing number of new exoplanets discovered in recent years and the recent advance on the study of their atmospheres are not only providing new valuable