New limb-darkening coefficients for PHOENIX/1D model atmospheres I. Calculations for 1500 K ≤ Teff ≤ 4800 K Kepler, CoRot, Spitzer, uvby, UBVRIJHK, Sloan, and 2MASS photometric systems

Aims. The knowledge of how the specific intensity is distributed over the stellar disk is crucial for interpreting the light curves of extrasolar transiting planets, double-lined eclipsing binaries, and other astrophysical phenomena. To provide theoretical inputs for light curve modelling codes, we present new calculations of limb-darkening coefficients for the spherically symmetric phoenix models. Methods. The limb-darkening coefficients were computed by covering the transmission curves of Kepler, CoRoT, and Spitzer space missions, as well as the passbands of the Stromgren, Johnson-Cousins, Sloan, and 2MASS. These computations adopted the least-square method. In addition, we also calculated the linear and bi-parametric approximations by adopting the flux conservation method as an additional tool for estimating the theoretical error bars in the limb-darkening coefficients. Results. Six laws were used to describe the specific intensity distribution: linear, quadratic, square root, logarithmic, exponential, and a more general one with 4 terms. The computations are presented for the solar chemical composition, with log g varying between 2.5 and 5.5 and effective temperatures between 1500-4800 K. The adopted microturbulent velocity and the mixing-length parameters are 2.0 km s(-1) and 2.0, respectively.