Exoplanets: Gaia and the importance of ground based spectroscopy follow-up

The search for extrasolar planets has developed rapidly and, today, more than 1700 planets have been found orbiting stars. Thanks to Gaia, we will collect high-accuracy astrometric orbits of thousands of new low-mass celestial objects, such as extra-solar planets and brown dwarfs. These measurements in combination with spectroscopy and with present day and future extrasolar planet search programs (like HARPS, ESPRESSO) will have a crucial contribution to several aspects of planetary astrophysics (formation theories, dynamical evolution, etc.). Moreover, Gaia will have a strong contribution on the stellar chemical and kinematic characterisation studies. In this paper we present a short overview of the importance of Gaia in the context of exoplanet research. As preparatory work for Gaia, we will then present a study where we derived stellar parameters for a sample of field giant stars

EPICA Dome C electronic control system

AbstractA new deep drill has been developed within the framework of the European Programme for Ice Coring in Antarctica (EPICA). Several versions of the EPICA drill exist. The version used at Dome Concordia (75˚06'1" S, 123˚23'71" E) was operated with a new electronic control system developed by the Ente per le Nuove tecnologie, l'Energia e l'Ambiente (ENEA) Research Center in Brasimone, Italy. This electronic control system was used for the first time during the 1997/98 Antarctic summer season

Determination of the spectroscopic stellar parameters for 257 field giant stars

The study of stellar parameters of planet-hosting stars, such as metallicity and chemical abundances, help us to understand the theory of planet formation and stellar evolution. Here, we present a catalogue of accurate stellar atmospheric parameters and iron abundances for a sample of 257K and G field evolved stars that are being surveyed for planets using precise radial-velocity measurements as part of the Coralie programme to search for planets around giants. The analysis was done using a set of high-resolution and high-signal-to-noise Ultraviolet and Visible Echelle Spectrograph spectra. The stellar parameters were derived using Fei and ii ionization and excitation equilibrium methods. To take into account possible effects related to the choice of the lines on the derived parameters, we used three different iron line-list sets in our analysis, and the results differ among themselves by a small factor for most of stars. For those stars with previous literature parameter estimates, we found very good agreement with our own values. In the present catalogue, we are providing new precise spectroscopic measurements of effective temperature, surface gravity, microturbulence, and metallicity for 190 stars for which it has not been found or published in previous article

The HARPS search for southern extra-solar planets XXXV. The interesting case of HD41248: stellar activity, no planets?

The search for planets orbiting metal-poor stars is of uttermost importance for our understanding of the planet formation models. However, no dedicated searches have been conducted so far for very low mass planets orbiting such objects. Only a few cases of low mass planets orbiting metal-poor stars are thus known. Amongst these, HD41248 is a metal-poor, solar-type star on which a resonant pair of super-Earth like planets has In the present paper we present a new planet search program that is using the HARPS spectrograph to search for Neptunes and Super-Earths orbiting a sample of metal-poor FGK dwarfs. We then present a detailed analysis of an additional 162 radial velocity measurements of HD41248, obtained within this program, with the goal of confirming the existence of the proposed planetary system. We analyzed the precise radial velocities, obtained with the HARPS spectrograph, together with several stellar activity diagnostics and line profile indicators. A careful analysis shows no evidence for the planetary system previously announced. One of the signals, with a period of about 25 days, is shown to be related to the rotational period of the star, and is clearly seen in some of the activity proxies. The remaining signal (P~18 days) could not be convincingly retrieved in the new data set. We discuss possible causes for the complex (evolving) signals observed in the data of HD41248, proposing that they may be explained by the appearance and disappearance of active regions on the surface of a star with strong differential rotation, or by a combination of the sparse data sampling and active region evolution.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&

Chemical abundances and kinematics of 257G-, K-type field giants. Setting a base for further analysis of giant-planet properties orbiting evolved stars

We performed a uniform and detailed abundance analysis of 12 refractory elements (Na, Mg, Al, Si, Ca, Ti, Cr, Ni, Co, Sc, Mn, and V) for a sample of 257G- and K-type evolved stars from the CORALIE planet search programme. To date, only one of these stars is known to harbour a planetary companion. We aimed to characterize this large sample of evolved stars in terms of chemical abundances and kinematics, thus setting a solid base for further analysis of planetary properties around giant stars. This sample, being homogeneously analysed, can be used as a comparison sample for other planet-related studies, as well as for different type of studies related to stellar and Galaxy astrophysics. The abundances of the chemical elements were determined using an local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) abundance analysis relative to the Sun, with the spectral synthesis code moog and a grid of Kurucz ATLAS9 atmospheres. To separate the Galactic stellar populations, both a purely kinematical approach and a chemical method were applied. We confirm the overabundance of Na in giant stars compared to the field FGK dwarfs. This enhancement might have a stellar evolutionary character, but departures from LTE may also produce a similar enhancement. Our chemical separation of stellar populations also suggests a ‘gap' in metallicity between the thick-disc and high-α metal-rich stars, as previously observed in dwarfs sample from HARPS. The present sample, as most of the giant star samples, also suffers from the B − V colour cut-off, which excludes low-log g stars with high metallicities, and high-log g star with low [Fe/H]. For future studies of planet occurrence dependence on stellar metallicity around these evolved stars, we suggest to use a subsample of stars in a ‘cut-rectangle' in the log g-[Fe/H] diagram to overcome the aforementioned issu

VizieR Online Data Catalog: Chemical abundances of 257 giant stars (Adibekyan+, 2015)

The file ew.dat lists the equivalent widths (EW) of all the spectral lines. Columns 1, 2, and 3 list the name of the stars, wavelength and EWs of the lines. The file linelist.dat lists the lines that were used in this study. The last column shows the difference (in n*sigma) between chemical abundances of giant and dwarf stars with solar metallicity derived from each line. The file table2.dat lists the derived abundances of the elements, rms, and number of measured lines for each star. The file ab_best.dat lists the abundances of the elements derived by using the "best" linelist. The file vel.dat lists the parameters used to assign the Galactic population to which each star belongs. Galactic space velocity components and the probabilities to assign the stellar population to which each star belongs according to Bensby (2003A&A...410..527B) and Robin (2003A&A...409..523R) criteria. (5 data files). <P /

Hydrogen embrittlement characterization by disk pressure tests: Test analysis and application to high chromium martensitic steels

The paper reports and discusses the results of an experimental and numerical activity, aimed to the characterization of the influence of hydrogen on the mechanical properties of a few high chromium martensitic steels which are candidates for fusion reactor and chemical applications. Experiments were conducted with the Disk Pressure Test technique, according to which a circular thin specimen is loaded up to rupture by an uniform pressure. As a detailed analysis of the stress/strain distributions in the specimen was not available, this kind of test being mainly used to obtain comparative information about different materials, a nonlinear numerical (Finite Element) model of the specimen was set Icp, by which stress and strain could be accurately evaluated as a function of the applied pressure. This model was employed both for interpreting experimental results and to achieve a more general understanding of the capabilities of the Disk Pressure Test for the characterization of hydrogen embrittlement effects. The calculated strain at failure showed the typical dependence on hydrogen content, falling to very low levels as a threshold concentration is exceeded