The Polarization Characteristics of Mercury-like Exoplanets

This paper aimed at studying the polarization characteristics of Mercury-like exoplanets via the polarimetric phase curve of the unresolvable Mercury. We utilized the Bayesian non-linear fitting method to get the photo- metric phase curve and the polarimetric phase curve of Mercury. From these two kinds of curves, we obtained further the polarimetric phase curve of the unresolvable Mercury. The results derived from this curve are as follows: first, in the visible light waveband the order of magnitude of the polarization degree is 10−12; second, the maximum degree of polarization parallel to the scattering plane is comparable to that vertical to the scattering plane, but their corre- sponding phase angles have changed evidently in comparison with the case of the resolvable Mercury; third, when the phase angle is greater than 158∘, the polarization degree of the unresolvable Mercury is almost reduced to zero.