We present the first case in which the BEER algorithm identified a hot Jupiter in the Kepler light curve , and its reality was confirmed by orbital solutions based on follow-up spectroscopy .
Kepler-76b was identified by the BEER algorithm , which detected the BEaming ( sometimes called Doppler boosting ) effect together with the Ellipsoidal and Reflection/emission modulations ( BEER ) , at an orbital period of 1.54 days , suggesting a planetary companion orbiting the 13.3 mag F star .
Further investigation revealed that this star appeared in the Kepler eclipsing binary catalog with estimated primary and secondary eclipse depths of 5 \times 10 ^ { -3 } and 1 \times 10 ^ { -4 } respectively .
Spectroscopic radial-velocity follow-up observations with TRES and SOPHIE confirmed Kepler-76b as a transiting 2.0 \pm 0.26 M _ { Jup } hot Jupiter .
The mass of a transiting planet can be estimated from either the beaming or the ellipsoidal amplitude .
The ellipsoidal-based mass estimate of Kepler-76b is consistent with the spectroscopically measured mass while the beaming-based estimate is significantly inflated .
We explain this apparent discrepancy as evidence for the superrotation phenomenon , which involves eastward displacement of the hottest atmospheric spot of a tidally-locked planet by an equatorial super-rotating jet stream .
This phenomenon was previously observed only for HD 189733b in the infrared .
We show that a phase shift of 10.3 \pm 2.0 degrees of the planet reflection/emission modulation , due to superrotation , explains the apparently inflated beaming modulation , resolving the ellipsoidal/beaming amplitude discrepancy .
Kepler-76b is one of very few confirmed planets in the Kepler light curves that show BEER modulations and the first to show superrotation evidence in the Kepler band .
Its discovery illustrates for the first time the ability of the BEER algorithm to detect short-period planets and brown dwarfs .