FUNDPAR: A Program for deriving Fundamental Parameters from Equivalent Widths

We implemented a fortran code that determine fundamental parameters of solar type stars from a list of Fe line equivalent widths. The solution should verify 3 conditions in the standard method: ionization equilibrium, excitation equilibrium and independence between metallicity and equivalent widths. We added the condition that the input metallicity of the model atmosphere should be similar to the output metallicity derived with equivalent widths. Solar-scaled Kurucz model atmospheres with NEWODF opacities are calculated with an independent program. Parameter files control different details, such as the mixing-length parameter, the overshooting, the damping of the lines and the weight factors in the definition of the chi2 function. FUNDPAR derive the uncertainties following 2 methods: the criteria of Gonzalez & Vanture (1998) and the dispersion using the chi2 function. The code use the 2009 version of the MOOG program. The results derived with FUNDPAR are in agreement with previous determinations in the literature. In particular we obtained the fundamental parameters of 58 exoplanet host stars. The program is freely available from the web (http://icate-conicet.gob.ar/saffe/fundpar/).Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures, accepte

On the nature of sn stars. I. A detailed abundance study

The sn stars present sharp Balmer lines, sharp metallic lines and broad coreless He I lines. Initially Abt & Levato proposed a shell-like nature to explain the sn stars, although this scenario was subsequently questioned. We aim to derive abundances for a sample of 9 stars, including sn and non-sn stars, to determine the possible relation between sn and CP stars. We analysed the photospheric chemical composition of sn stars and show that approximately 40% of them display chemical peculiarities (such as He-weak and HgMn stars) within a range of temperature of 10300 - 14500 K. We have studied the possible contribution of different processes to the broad He I lines present in the sn stars. Although NLTE effects could not be completely ruled out, it seems that NLTE is not directly related to the broad He I profiles observed in the sn stars. The broad-line He I 4026 is the clearest example of the sn characteristics in our sample. We succesfully fit this line in 4 out of 7 sn stars by using the appropriate Stark broadening tables, while small differences appear in the other 3 stars. Studying the plots of abundance vs depth for the He I lines resulted in some sn stars probably being stratified in He. However, a further study of variability in the He I lines would help for determining whether a possible non-uniform He superficial distribution could also play a role in these sn stars. We conclude that the broad He I lines that characterize the sn class could be modelled (at least in some of these stars) by the usual radiative transfer process with Stark broadening, without needing another broadening mechanism. The observed line broadening in sn stars seems to be related to the "normal" He line formation that originates in these atmospheres. (abridged)Comment: 18 pages, 11 figures, Astronomy & Astrophysics accepte

On the Ages of Exoplanet Host Stars

We obtained spectra, covering the CaII H and K region, for 49 exoplanet host (EH) stars, observable from the southern hemisphere. We measured the chromospheric activity index, Rhk. We compiled previously published values of this index for the observed objects as well as the remaining EH stars in an effort to better smooth temporal variations and derive a more representative value of the average chromospheric activity for each object. We used the average index to obtain ages for the group of EH stars. In addition we applied other methods, such as: Isochrone, lithium abundance, metallicity and transverse velocity dispersions, to compare with the chromospheric results. The kinematic method is a less reliable age estimator because EH stars lie red-ward of Parenago's discontinuity in the transverse velocity dispersion vs dereddened B-V diagram. The chromospheric and isochrone techniques give median ages of 5.2 and 7.4 Gyr, respectively, with a dispersion of 4 Gyr. The median age of F and G EH stars derived by the isochrone technique is 1--2 Gyr older than that of identical spectral type nearby stars not known to be associated with planets. However, the dispersion in both cases is large, about 2--4 Gyr. We searched for correlations between the chromospheric and isochrone ages and Lir/L* (the excess over the stellar luminosity) and the metallicity of the EH stars. No clear tendency is found in the first case, whereas the metallicy dispersion seems to slightly increase with age.Comment: 22 pages, 25 figures, A&A accepte

HD 80606: Searching the chemical signature of planet formation

(Abridged) Binary systems with similar components are ideal laboratories which allow several physical processes to be tested, such as the possible chemical pattern imprinted by the planet formation process. Aims. We explore the probable chemical signature of planet formation in the remarkable binary system HD 80606 - HD 80607. The star HD 80606 hosts a giant planet with 4 MJup detected by both transit and radial velocity techniques, being one of the most eccentric planets detected to date. We study condensation temperature Tc trends of volatile and refractory element abundances to determine whether there is a depletion of refractories that could be related to the terrestrial planet formation. Methods. We carried out a high-precision abundance determination in both components of the binary system, using a line-by-line strictly differential approach, using the Sun as a reference and then using HD 80606 as reference. We used an updated version of the program FUNDPAR, together with ATLAS9 model atmospheres and the MOOG code. Conclusions. From the study of Tc trends, we concluded that the stars HD 80606 and HD 80607 do not seem to be depleted in refractory elements, which is different for the case of the Sun. Then, the terrestrial planet formation would have been less efficient in the components of this binary system than in the Sun. The lack of a trend for refractory elements with Tc between both stars implies that the presence of a giant planet do not neccesarily imprint a chemical signature in their host stars, similar to the recent result of Liu et al. (2014). This is also in agreement with Melendez et al. (2009), who suggest that the presence of close-in giant planets might prevent the formation of terrestrial planets. Finally, we speculate about a possible planet around the star HD 80607.Comment: 19 pages, 9 figures, A&A accepte

CN and CH bands in Exoplanet Host Stars

En este trabajo medimos la intensidad de las bandas moleculares CN y CH en una muestra de estrellas con y sin exoplanetas (indices δS3839, δS4142 y δCH4300). El índice δS3839 parece ser menor en estrellas sin exoplanetas. El hecho de que la banda CN aumente con la metalicidad, puede explicar al menos en parte las diferentes distribuciones observadas en estrellas con y sin exoplanetas. Advertimos que hasta el momento las muestras son relativamente pequeñas.We measured the strength of CN and CH molecular bands in a sample of stars with and without exoplanets (indices δS3839, δS4142 and δCH4300). The index δS3839 seem to present smaller values for stars without exoplanets. No correlation is found between molecular bands and exoplanet parameters, supporting the primordial hypothesis of planet formation. The CN band strength seem to increase with C, N and Fe abundances. This could explain at least in part the dissimilar distributions of CN observed for stars with and without exoplanets. We caution that this is an initial result based in relatively small number of objects.Fil: Saffe, Carlos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan. Instituto de Ciencias Astronómicas, de la Tierra y del Espacio. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Instituto de Ciencias Astronómicas, de la Tierra y del Espacio; ArgentinaFil: Jofre, Jorge Emiliano. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Petrucci, Romina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba; Argentin

Metalicidad de estrellas gigantes con planetas

Presentamos una determinación homogénea de metalicidades correspondiente a 31 estrellas gigantes (incluyendo 5 que albergan planetas) con el objetivo de verificar los recientes resultados que establecen que la metalicidad de este tipo de objetos podría depender de la lista de líneas espectrales utilizada y por lo tanto haber llevado a distintos grupos a subestimar o sobreestimar la metalicidad para este tipo de objetos (Santos et al. 2009). Además, comparamos la distribución de metalicidad de las estrellas gigantes con la obtenida para 22 estrellas de secuencia principal con planetas y analizamos los resultados en el marco de las hipótesis más importantes que explican el alto contenido metálico de las estrellas enanas que albergan planetas gigantes.We present an homogeneous metallicity determination for 31 giant stars (including 5 exoplanet host) to confirm recent results that stablish the metallicity of this kind of objects could depend on the spectral line list and therefore it could be the responsable for overestimating or subestimating the metallicity of these objects (Santos et al. 2009). Furthermore, we compare the giant stars metallicity distribution with a 22 main-sequence exoplanet host-stars’s and analyze our results in the context of the most important hypothesis that explain the high metal content of main-sequence stars with giant planets.Fil: Jofré, Emiliano. Universidad Nacional de Cordoba. Observatorio Astronomico de Cordoba; ArgentinaFil: Saffe, Carlos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientiâ­ficas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico San Juan. Instituto de Ciencias Astronomicas de la Tierra y del Espacio; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Juan; Argentin

Signatures of rocky planet engulfment in HAT-P-4. Implications for chemical tagging studies

Aims. To explore the possible chemical signature of planet formation in the binary system HAT-P-4, by studying abundance vs condensation temperature Tc trends. The star HAT-P-4 hosts a planet detected by transits while its stellar companion does not have any detected planet. We also study the Lithium content, which could shed light on the problem of Li depletion in exoplanet host stars. Conclusions. The exoplanet host star HAT-P-4 is found to be ~0.1 dex more metal rich than its companion, which is one of the highest differences in metallicity observed in similar systems. This could have important implications for chemical tagging studies, disentangling groups of stars with a common origin. We rule out a possible peculiar composition for each star as lambda Boo, delta Scuti or a Blue Straggler. The star HAT-P-4 is enhanced in refractory elements relative to volatile when compared to its stellar companion. Notably, the Lithium abundance in HAT-P-4 is greater than in its companion by ~0.3 dex, which is contrary to the model that explains the Lithium depletion by the presence of planets. We propose a scenario where, at the time of planet formation, the star HAT-P-4 locked the inner refractory material in planetesimals and rocky planets, and formed the outer gas giant planet at a greater distance. The refractories were then accreted onto the star, possibly due to the migration of the giant planet. This explains the higher metallicity, the higher Lithium content, and the negative Tc trend detected. A similar scenario was recently proposed for the solar twin star HIP 68468, which is in some aspects similar to HAT-P-4. We estimate a mass of at least Mrock ~ 10 Mearth locked in refractory material in order to reproduce the observed Tc trends and metallicity.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures, A&A Letters accepte

Elemental abundance studies of CP stars. The Silicon stars HD 87405 and HD 146555

In this paper we present an analysis of the Ap(Si) stars HD 87405 and HD 146555 using an ATLAS9 model atmospheres. These Chemically Peculiar (CP) stars belong to the southern hemisphere open clusters NGC 3114 and NGC 6087, respectively. For HD 87405 and HD 146555, C and Ca (only one line) are mostly solar, Mg and S are slightly underabundant, while Si is overabundant by factors between ? 4-6. Heavier elements are all overabundant, Ti, Cr by factors of ? 50, while Mn is nearly ? 50 and ? 120 times overabundant for HD 87405 and HD 146555, respectively. Fe is ? 10 times solar, Sr, Y, Zr are overabundant by factors between ? 100-1000 and rare earth by factors of ? 1000 or more. This work is part of our current study for verifying a possible tendence of abundances with the age of CP stars in open clusters.Fil: Saffe, Carlos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan. Instituto de Ciencias Astronómicas, de la Tierra y del Espacio. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Instituto de Ciencias Astronómicas, de la Tierra y del Espacio; ArgentinaFil: Levato, Orlando Hugo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan. Instituto de Ciencias Astronómicas, de la Tierra y del Espacio. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Instituto de Ciencias Astronómicas, de la Tierra y del Espacio; Argentin

Metalicidad de estrellas con exoplanetas y discos de polvo

We present an uniform comparison among three different kind of objects: cool-Jupiter exoplanet host-stars, stars with dust disks and exoplanet host-stars with dust disks. The goal of this contribution was to determine why stellar objects originally surrounded by planetesimals evolve to different final configurations, from stars with planets to stars with debris disks.Realizamos una comparación uniforme de las metalicidades de tres grupos de objetos diferentes: estrellas con planetas del tipo Júpiter frío, estrellas con discos de polvo y estrellas que poseen tanto planetas como discos de polvo. El objetivo de esta contribución fue el de indagar sobre los motivos por los cuales objetos estelares que originalmente son circundados por planetesimales, evolucionan hacia configuraciones finales distintas, que van desde estrellas con compañeras de masa planetaria hasta estrellas rodeadas por discos de partículas sólidas.Fil: Petrucci, Romina Paola. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio(i); ArgentinaFil: Saffe, Carlos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientiâ­ficas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico San Juan. Instituto de Ciencias Astronomicas de la Tierra y del Espacio; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Fisicas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Jofré, E.. Universidad Nacional de Cordoba. Observatorio Astronomico de Cordoba; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

High-precision analysis of binary stars with planets. I. Searching for condensation temperature trends in the HD 106515 system

We explore the probable chemical signature of planet formation in the remarkable binary system HD 106515. The A star hosts a massive long-period planet with 9 MJup detected by radial velocity. We also refine stellar and planetary parameters by using non-solar-scaled opacities when modeling the stars. Methods. We carried out a simultaneous determination of stellar parameters and abundances, by applying for the first time non-solar-scaled opacities in this binary system, in order to reach the highest possible precision. Results. The stars A and B in the binary system HD 106515 do not seem to be depleted in refractory elements, which is different when comparing the Sun with solar-twins. Then, the terrestrial planet formation would have been less efficient in the stars of this binary system. Together with HD 80606/7, this is the second binary system which does not seem to present a (terrestrial) signature of planet formation, and hosting both systems an eccentric giant planet. This is in agreement with numerical simulations, where the early dynamical evolution of eccentric giant planets clear out most of the possible terrestrial planets in the inner zone. We refined the stellar mass, radius and age for both stars and found a notable difference of 78% in R compared to previous works. We also refined the planet mass to mp sini = 9.08 +/- 0.20 MJup, which differs by 6% compared with literature. In addition, we showed that the non-solar-scaled solution is not compatible with the classical solar-scaled method, and some abundance differences are comparable to NLTE or GCE effects specially when using the Sun as reference. Then, we encourage the use of non-solar-scaled opacities in high-precision studies such as the detection of Tc trends.[abridged]Comment: 9 pages, 10 figures, A&A accepted. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1507.0812