15 research outputs found
Dusty Planetary Systems
Extensive photometric stellar surveys show that many main sequence stars show
emission at infrared and longer wavelengths that is in excess of the stellar
photosphere; this emission is thought to arise from circumstellar dust. The
presence of dust disks is confirmed by spatially resolved imaging at infrared
to millimeter wavelengths (tracing the dust thermal emission), and at optical
to near infrared wavelengths (tracing the dust scattered light). Because the
expected lifetime of these dust particles is much shorter than the age of the
stars (>10 Myr), it is inferred that this solid material not primordial, i.e.
the remaining from the placental cloud of gas and dust where the star was born,
but instead is replenished by dust-producing planetesimals. These planetesimals
are analogous to the asteroids, comets and Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs) in our
Solar system that produce the interplanetary dust that gives rise to the
zodiacal light (tracing the inner component of the Solar system debris disk).
The presence of these "debris disks" around stars with a wide range of masses,
luminosities, and metallicities, with and without binary companions, is
evidence that planetesimal formation is a robust process that can take place
under a wide range of conditions. This chapter is divided in two parts. Part I
discusses how the study of the Solar system debris disk and the study of debris
disks around other stars can help us learn about the formation, evolution and
diversity of planetary systems by shedding light on the frequency and timing of
planetesimal formation, the location and physical properties of the
planetesimals, the presence of long-period planets, and the dynamical and
collisional evolution of the system. Part II reviews the physical processes
that affect dust particles in the gas-free environment of a debris disk and
their effect on the dust particle size and spatial distribution.Comment: 68 pages, 25 figures. To be published in "Solar and Planetary
Systems" (P. Kalas and L. French, Eds.), Volume 3 of the series "Planets,
Stars and Stellar Systems" (T.D. Oswalt, Editor-in-chief), Springer 201
Observing Exoplanets with the James Webb Space Telescope
The census of exoplanets has revealed an enormous variety of planets or- biting stars of all ages and spectral types: planets in orbits of less than a day to frigid worlds in orbits over 100 AU; planets with masses 10 times that of Jupiter to planets with masses less than that of Earth; searingly hot planets to temperate planets in the Habitable Zone. The challenge of the coming decade is to move from demography to physical characterization. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is poised to open a revolutionary new phase in our understanding of exoplanets with transit spectroscopy of relatively short period planets and coronagraphic imaging of ones with wide separations from their host stars. This article discusses the wide variety of exoplanet opportunities enabled by JWSTs sensitivity and stability, its high angular resolution, and its suite of powerful instruments. These capabilities will advance our understanding of planet formation, brown dwarfs, and the atmospheres of young to mature planets
Circumstellar disks and planets. Science cases for next-generation optical/infrared long-baseline interferometers
We present a review of the interplay between the evolution of circumstellar
disks and the formation of planets, both from the perspective of theoretical
models and dedicated observations. Based on this, we identify and discuss
fundamental questions concerning the formation and evolution of circumstellar
disks and planets which can be addressed in the near future with optical and
infrared long-baseline interferometers. Furthermore, the importance of
complementary observations with long-baseline (sub)millimeter interferometers
and high-sensitivity infrared observatories is outlined.Comment: 83 pages; Accepted for publication in "Astronomy and Astrophysics
Review"; The final publication is available at http://www.springerlink.co
Toi-1235 b: A keystone super-earth for testing radius valley emergence models around early m dwarfs
Small planets on close-in orbits tend to exhibit envelope mass fractions of
either effectively zero or up to a few percent depending on their size and
orbital period. Models of thermally-driven atmospheric mass loss and of
terrestrial planet formation in a gas-poor environment make distinct
predictions regarding the location of this rocky/non-rocky transition in
period-radius space. Here we present the confirmation of TOI-1235 b (
days, R), a planet whose size and
period are intermediate between the competing model predictions, thus making
the system an important test case for emergence models of the rocky/non-rocky
transition around early M dwarfs ( R,
M). We confirm the TESS planet discovery using
reconnaissance spectroscopy, ground-based photometry, high-resolution imaging,
and a set of 38 precise radial-velocities from HARPS-N and HIRES. We measure a
planet mass of M which implies an iron core
mass fraction of % in the absence of a gaseous envelope. The
bulk composition of TOI-1235 b is therefore consistent with being Earth-like
and we constrain a H/He envelope mass fraction to be % at 90% confidence.
Our results are consistent with model predictions from thermally-driven
atmospheric mass loss but not with gas-poor formation, which suggests that the
former class of processes remain efficient at sculpting close-in planets around
early M dwarfs. Our RV analysis also reveals a strong periodicity close to the
first harmonic of the photometrically-determined stellar rotation period that
we treat as stellar activity, despite other lines of evidence favoring a
planetary origin ( days,
M) that cannot be firmly ruled out by our data
A pair of tess planets spanning the radius valley around the nearby mid-m dwarf ltt 3780
We present the confirmation of two new planets transiting the nearby mid-M
dwarf LTT 3780 (TIC 36724087, TOI-732, , , =0.374 R, =0.401 M, d=22 pc). The two planet candidates are identified in a single TESS sector and are validated with reconnaissance spectroscopy, ground-based photometric follow-up, and high-resolution imaging. With measured orbital periods of days, days and sizes R, R, the two planets span the radius valley in period-radius space around low mass stars thus making the system a laboratory to test competing theories of the emergence of the radius valley in that stellar mass regime. By combining 63 precise radial-velocity measurements from HARPS and HARPS-N, we measure planet masses
of M and M, which indicates that LTT 3780b has a bulk composition consistent with being Earth-like, while LTT 3780c likely hosts an extended H/He envelope.
We show that the recovered planetary masses are consistent with predictions from both photoevaporation and from core-powered mass loss models. The brightness and small size of LTT 3780, along with the measured planetary parameters, render LTT 3780b and c as accessible targets for atmospheric characterization of planets within the same planetary system and spanning the radius valley
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A pair of tess planets spanning the radius valley around the nearby mid-m dwarf ltt 3780
We present the confirmation of two new planets transiting the nearby mid-M
dwarf LTT 3780 (TIC 36724087, TOI-732, , , =0.374 R, =0.401 M, d=22 pc). The two planet candidates are identified in a single TESS sector and are validated with reconnaissance spectroscopy, ground-based photometric follow-up, and high-resolution imaging. With measured orbital periods of days, days and sizes R, R, the two planets span the radius valley in period-radius space around low mass stars thus making the system a laboratory to test competing theories of the emergence of the radius valley in that stellar mass regime. By combining 63 precise radial-velocity measurements from HARPS and HARPS-N, we measure planet masses
of M and M, which indicates that LTT 3780b has a bulk composition consistent with being Earth-like, while LTT 3780c likely hosts an extended H/He envelope.
We show that the recovered planetary masses are consistent with predictions from both photoevaporation and from core-powered mass loss models. The brightness and small size of LTT 3780, along with the measured planetary parameters, render LTT 3780b and c as accessible targets for atmospheric characterization of planets within the same planetary system and spanning the radius valley