Ultra Short Period Planets in K2: SuPerPiG Results for Campaigns 0-5

We have analyzed data from Campaigns 0-5 of the K2 mission and report 19 ultra-short-period candidate planets with orbital periods of less than 1 day (nine of which have not been previously reported). Planet candidates range in size from 0.7-16 Earth radii and in orbital period from 4.2 to 23.5 hours. One candidate (EPIC 203533312, Kp=12.5) is among the shortest-period planet candidates discovered to date (P=4.2 hours), and, if confirmed as a planet, must have a density of at least rho=8.9 g/cm^3 in order to not be tidally disrupted. Five candidates have nominal radius values in the sub-Jovian desert (R_P=3-11 R_E and P<=1.5 days) where theoretical models do not favor their long-term stability; the only confirmed planet in this range is in fact thought to be disintegrating (EPIC 201637175). In addition to the planet candidates, we report on four objects which may not be planetary, including one with intermittent transits (EPIC 211152484) and three initially promising candidates that are likely false positives based on characteristics of their light curves and on radial velocity follow-up. A list of 91 suspected eclipsing binaries identified at various stages in our vetting process is also provided. Based on an assessment of our survey's completeness, we estimate an occurrence rate for ultra-short period planets among K2 target stars that is about half that estimated from the Kepler sample, raising questions as to whether K2 systems are intrinsically different from Kepler systems, possibly as a result of their different galactic location.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, accepted to AJ on 2016 May 2

Hubble Space Telescope High Resolution Imaging of Kepler Small and Cool Exoplanet Host Stars

High resolution imaging is an important tool for follow-up study of exoplanet candidates found via transit detection with the Kepler Mission. We discuss here HST imaging with the WFC3 of 23 stars that host particularly interesting Kepler planet candidates based on their small size and cool equilibrium temperature estimates. Results include detections, exclusion of background stars that could be a source of false positives for the transits, and detection of physically-associated companions in a number of cases providing dilution measures necessary for planet parameter refinement. For six KOIs, we find that there is ambiguity in which star hosts the transiting planet(s), with potentially strong implications for planetary characteristics. Our sample is evenly distributed in G, K, and M spectral types. Albeit with a small sample size, we find that physically-associated binaries are more common than expected at each spectral type, reaching a factor of 10 frequency excess at M. We document the program detection sensitivities, detections, and deliverables to the Kepler follow-up program archive.Comment: Accepted for the Astronomical Journal; 13 pages with 9 figure

Investigating Planet Formation and Evolutionary Processes with Short-Period Exoplanets

From wispy gas giants on the verge of disruption to tiny rocky bodies already falling apart, short-period exoplanets pose a severe puzzle to theories of planet formation and orbital evolution. By far most of the planets known beyond the solar system orbit their stars in much tighter orbits than the most close-in planet in the solar system, Mercury. Short-period planets experienced dynamical and evolutions histories distinct from their farther-out cousins, and so it's not clear they are representative of all planets. These exoplanets typically have radii between about 1 and 4 Earth radii, whereas the solar system does not contain any planet in this radius range. And while the most massive planets in the solar system occupy the icy regions beyond about 5 AU from the sun, about 1% of sun-like stars have a Jupiter-mass planet near 0.05 AU, with just a few days of an orbital period. How did these short-period planets get there? Did they form in-situ, or did they migrate towards their contemporary orbits? If they migrated, what prevented them from falling into their stars? Vice versa, could some of the remaining 99% of stars without such a hot Jupiter show evidence of their past consumption of a close-in, massive planet? The proximity between short-period planets and their host stars naturally facilitates observational studies, and so short-period planets dominate our observational constraints on planetary composition, internal structure, meteorology, and more. This white paper discusses the unique advantages of short-period planets for the theoretical and observational investigations of exoplanets in general and of their host stars.Comment: White Paper submitted to National Academy of Sciences Exoplanet Science Strategy cal

Transit timing with fast cameras on large telescopes

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, 2010.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 171-178).Timing and system parameters were measured for seven transiting exoplanets: OGLETR- 56b (11 transits), OGLE-TR-132b (7), OGLE-TR-111b (6), OGLE-TR-113b (6), CoRoT-2b (3), OGLE-TR-10b (3), and XO-2b (2). Ground-based observations of 38 transits were made using three new frame-transfer instruments: POETS and MagICe2v on the 6.5m Magellan telescopes, and MORIS on the 3m IRTF. For each planet, all transit light curves including available literature data were jointly fit using a Monte Carlo Markov Chain method, providing accurate new values for the planetary radius and other parameters. Transit ephemerides have been updated and transit midtimes have been investigated for potential transit timing variations (TTVs) caused by other planets or moons. Our transit midtime analysis contradicts a claimed TTV for OGLE-TR-111b (Diaz et al., 2008), finding no evidence in data from 2005-2009. The radius, 1.019 + 0.026 Rj, is intermediate to previous values (Winn et al., 2007; Diaz et al., 2008). We confirm the radius of OGLE-TR-56b, which previously had only one light curve (Pont et al., 2007), as 1.332 ± 0.063 Rj, but find a longer duration by 15 minutes, while the orbital period, 1.2119094 ± 0.0000024, is unchanged. Times for OGLE-TR-10b are consistent with the ephemeris of Holman et al. (2007), though two literature transits show large deviations (586 ± 86 s; Pont et al., 2007) and (-612 ± 26 s; Bentley et al., 2009). Times for four planets (OGLE-TR-113b, OGLE-TR-132b, CoRoT-2b, and XO-2b), with midtime errors as small as 9 s, agree with published ephemerides and show no signs of TTVs. The orbital period of OGLE-TR-113b derived from new data from 2007-2009, however, is shorter by 0.24 ± 0.12 s compared to the period calculated for literature data from 2002 and 2005. If confirmed, this would be the first detection of a change in the orbital period of an exoplanet, which could be caused by orbital decay as the planet falls onto its star.by Elisabeth Rose Adams.Ph.D

The cost-effectiveness of screening for genital chlamydial infection in the UK

This PhD thesis explores the cost-effectiveness of Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) screening, in the context of the National Chlamydia Screening Programme (NCSP) currently being implemented in England. It uses statistical, mathematical and economic modelling techniques and methods. The epidemiology ofCT in the UK is explored by identifying studies through a systematic literature review. The data from them are extracted and analysed using regression techniques and CT prevalence is estimated, indicating a high burden in young women in health care settings. The prevalence estimates are used along with data on past CT treatment and sexual mixing behaviour to parameterise an individual-based dynamic mathematical model of CT transmission:' An extensive fitting process identified parameter values that generated realistic epidemiology and sexual behaviour, to optimise public health applicability ofthe model. The cost of offering CT screening is estimated based on empirical data from a screening study. The flow of patients through a screening programme is modelled and the associated costs of testing and treatment of positives are estimated. Results from the sensitivity analyses indicate that the proportion of individuals accepting a screening offer has the biggest impact on the results, and highlight how costs could be minimised. In the final analysis, results ofthe parameterised dynamic model are combined with an economic model of disease progression and costs to estimate the cost-effectiveness of the NCSP strategy and alternatives. Results indicate that the current NCSP strategy (screen women and men aged under 25 years) may be cost-effective when compared to no screening, but that alternate, less inclusive strategies may be more acceptable on cost-effectiveness grounds. Assumptions about the progression from CT to pelvic inflammatory disease have the largest impact on the resultsEThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo