Title: Distinguishing the albedo of exoplanets from stellar activity,
Abstract: Light curves show the flux variation from the target star and its orbiting
planets as a function of time. In addition to the transit features created by
the planets, the flux also includes the reflected light component of each
planet, which depends on the planetary albedo. This signal is typically
referred to as phase curve and could be easily identified if there were no
additional noise. As well as instrumental noise, stellar activity, such as
spots, can create a modulation in the data, which may be very difficult to
distinguish from the planetary signal. We analyze the limitations imposed by
the stellar activity on the detection of the planetary albedo, considering the
limitations imposed by the predicted level of instrumental noise and the short
duration of the observations planned in the context of the CHEOPS mission. As
initial condition, we have assumed that each star is characterized by just one
orbiting planet. We built mock light curves that included a realistic stellar
activity pattern, the reflected light component of the planet and an
instrumental noise level, which we have chosen to be at the same level as
predicted for CHEOPS. We then fit these light curves to try to recover the
reflected light component, assuming the activity patterns can be modeled with a
Gaussian process.We estimate that at least one full stellar rotation is
necessary to obtain a reliable detection of the planetary albedo. This result
is independent of the level of noise, but it depends on the limitation of the
Gaussian process to describe the stellar activity when the light curve
time-span is shorter than the stellar rotation. Finally, in presence of typical
CHEOPS gaps in the simulations, we confirm that it is still possible to obtain
a reliable albedo.