We present a spectrally and temporally resolved detection of the optical Mg I triplet at 7.8σ in the extended atmosphere of the ultra-hot Jupiter KELT-9 b, adding to the list of detected metal species in the hottest gas giant currently known. Constraints are placed on the density and radial extent of the excited hydrogen envelope using simultaneous observations of Hα and Hβ under the assumption of a spherically symmetric atmosphere. We find that planetary rotational broadening of v rot = 8.2 +0.6 −0.7 km s −1 is necessary to reproduce the Balmer line transmission profile shapes, where the model including rotation is strongly preferred over the non-rotating model using a Bayesian information criterion comparison. The time-series of both metal line and hydrogen absorption show remarkable structure, suggesting that the atmosphere observed during this transit is dynamic rather than static. We detect a relative emission feature near the end of the transit which exhibits a P-Cygni-like shape, evidence of material moving at ≈ 50 − 100 km s −1 away from the planet. We hypothesize that the in-transit variability and subsequent P-Cygni-like profiles are due to a flaring event that caused the atmosphere to expand, resulting in unbound material being accelerated to high speeds by stellar radiation pressure. Further spectroscopic transit observations will help establish the frequency of such events.

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Abstract. STELLA is a robotic observatory with two fully automatic telescopes (STELLA-I and STELLA-II) located at the Teide Observatory in Tenerife, Spain. Not only the telescopes are automatic but also the entire observatory, no human presence is needed for observing -not even in remote control. STELLA-I supports a high-resolution, fiber-fed and benchmounted echelle spectrograph and a wide-field CCD imaging photometer while STELLA-II feeds a similar but wide-band imaging photometer and a testbed for prototype adaptive optics for robotic telescopes. The first telescope is scheduled for first light in

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Context. Current three-dimensional (3D) hydrodynamical model atmospheres together with detailed spectrum synthesis, accounting for departures from Local Thermodynamic Equilibrium (LTE), permit to derive reliable atomic and isotopic chemical abundances from high-resolution stellar spectra. Not much is known about the presence of the fragile 6 Li isotope in evolved solar-metallicity red giant branch (RGB) stars, not to mention its production in magnetically active targets like HD 123351. Aims. A detailed spectroscopic investigation of the lithium resonance doublet in HD 123351 in terms of both abundance and isotopic ratio is presented. From fits of the observed spectrum, taken at the Canada-France-Hawaii telescope, with synthetic line profiles based on 1D and 3D model atmospheres, we seek to estimate the abundance of the 6 Li isotope and to place constraints on its origin. Methods. We derive the lithium abundance A(Li) and the 6 Li/ 7 Li isotopic ratio by fitting different synthetic spectra to the Li-line region of a high-resolution CFHT spectrum (R=120 000, S/R=400). The synthetic spectra are computed with four different line lists, using in parallel 3D hydrodynamical CO 5 BOLD and 1D LHD model atmospheres and treating the line formation of the lithium components in non-LTE (NLTE). The fitting procedure is repeated with different assumptions and wavelength ranges to obtain a reasonable estimate of the involved uncertainties. Results. We find A(Li)= 1.69 ± 0.11 dex and 6 Li/ 7 Li = 8.0 ± 4.4% in 3D-NLTE, using the line list of Meléndez et al. (2012), updated with new atomic data for V i, which results in the best fit of the lithium line profile of HD 123351. Two other line lists lead to similar results but with inferior fit qualities. Conclusions. Our 2 σ detection of the 6 Li isotope is the result of a careful statistical analysis and the visual inspection of each achieved fit. Since the presence of a significant amount of 6 Li in the atmosphere of a cool evolved star is not expected in the framework of standard stellar evolution theory, non-standard, external lithium production mechanisms, possibly related to stellar activity or a recent accretion of rocky material, need to be invoked to explain the detection of 6 Li in HD 123351.