Thermal emission from transiting very hot Jupiters:: Prospects for ground-based detection at optical wavelengths

Very hot Jupiters (VHJs) are defined as Jupiter-mass extrasolar planets with orbital periods shorter than 3 days. For low albedos the effective temperatures of irradiated VHJs can reach 2500-3000 K. Thermal emission from VHJs is therefore potentially strong at optical wavelengths. We explore the prospects of detecting optical-wavelength thermal emission during secondary eclipse with existing ground-based telescopes. We show that OGLE-TR-56b and OGLE-TR-132b are the best-suited candidates for detection and that the prospects are highest around z' band (similar to 0.9 mu m). We also speculate that any newly discovered VHJs with the right combination of orbital separation and host star parameters could be thermally detected in the optical. The lack of detections would still provide constraints on the planetary albedos and reradiation factors.