Research and development of ground-based transiting extrasolar planet projects

The search for exoplanets has gone from the realm of speculation to being one of the most prolific topics of modern astronomy in the space of just 20 years. In particular, the geometric alignment of transiting exoplanets provides the added opportunity to measure a host of properties of these systems, including studies of planetary atmospheres. The vast majority of known transiting exoplanets to date were found using dedicated ground-based surveys such as the SuperWASP project. Such enterprises comprise of multiple small telescopes designed to perform high-precision photometry over a wide field of view and rely on efficiently compensating for several noise contributions. An analysis of the sources of noise in the SuperWASP light curves was performed, focussing on systematic e↵ects fixed in detector space. A study of a set of detector maps produced from the average of the fractional residuals of the light curves in CCD coordinates has revealed that the current flat-fielding strategy is introducing a component of red noise into the light curves due to the wavelengthdependent nature of the CCDs. The possibility of using such maps as a basis for an additional decorrelation step in the software pipeline is discussed. The next phase in planetary discoveries from ground-based surveys consists of the search for smaller planets and those in longer orbits around their host stars. This process involves an observing strategy that focuses on intensive coverage of particular locations of the sky. We develop simulation software to aid the choice of observed fields for the SuperWASP and Next Generation Transit Survey (NGTS) projects in order to maximise the chances of finding planets at those locations. Moreover, this simulation can be used for comparative studies of the planet finding probability for several design choices and has been used to justify the necessity to commission the NGTS instrument at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in order to benefit from one of the World’s premier sites. The increasing number of known transiting planets has triggered a new phase of exoplanet exploration, in which the properties of the atmospheres of these planets are being explored using techniques such as transmission spectroscopy. This process consists of measuring an enhanced transit depth at particular wavelengths due to the presence of opacity sources in the atmospheres of exoplanets. We use the multiband photometer ULTRACAM to attempt a similar measurement via the technique of transmission photometry for the highly inflated planets WASP-15b and WASP- 17b. The data are found to be dominated by systematic errors and a detailed study of the possible sources is performed

Collaborative virtual community to share class plans for STEAM education

This research presents an international community of practice for teachers using the VISIR remote lab. Throughout the research, it was necessary to study about communities of practice and their potential use in remote laboratories; identify practices with collaborative potential in the institutions and with the participating teachers; develop the necessary technological environment to support the proposed community of practice; validate the proposal with four institutions (four countries - Brazil, Portugal, Spain and Argentina) to evaluate the proposed model. The motivation for developing this research came from the history of the Remote Experimentation Laboratory (REXLAB) with the project VISIR+: Educational Modules for Electric and Electronic Circuits Theory and Practice following an Enquiry based Teaching and Learning Methodology supported by VISIR+”. The VISIR + project is an international cooperation project with the participation of 21 Ibero-American partner institutions between October 2015 and April 2018. The platform, called Labs4STEAM, was developed using Dokuwiki, an open source wiki software that contains a large number of plugins. From the data collection it was possible to receive a mostly positive feedback, but several improvement opportunities were pointed out, which will be performed soon. Thus, from the developed platform one can plan future work, taking into account the results obtained and experience and partnerships with the VISIR + project.The research was financed by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), the Erasmus+ programme through grant 561735-EPP-1-2015-1-PT-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP, and also by FCT through grant EQU/04730/2020.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Precision single mode fibre integral field spectroscopy with the RHEA spectrograph

The RHEA Spectrograph is a single-mode echelle spectrograph designed to be a replicable and cost effective method of undertaking precision radial velocity measurements. Two versions of RHEA currently exist, one located at the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia (450 - 600nm wavelength range), and another located at the Subaru Telescope in Hawaii, USA (600 - 800 nm wavelength range). Both instruments have a novel fibre feed consisting of an integral field unit injecting light into a 2D grid of single mode fibres. This grid of fibres is then reformatted into a 1D array at the input of the spectrograph (consisting of the science fibres and a reference fibre capable of receiving a white-light or xenon reference source for simultaneous calibration). The use of single mode fibres frees RHEA from the issue of modal noise and significantly reduces the size of the optics used. In addition to increasing the overall light throughput of the system, the integral field unit allows for cutting edge science goals to be achieved when operating behind the 8.2 m Subaru Telescope and the SCExAO adaptive optics system. These include, but are not limited to: resolved stellar photospheres; resolved protoplanetary disk structures; resolved Mira shocks, dust and winds; and sub-arcsecond companions. We present details and results of early tests of RHEA@Subaru and progress towards the stated science goals

NGTS: a robotic transit survey to detect Neptune and Super-Earth mass planets

NGTS is a new ground-based transit survey aimed at detecting sub-Neptune sized exoplanets around bright stars. The instrument will be installed at the ESO Paranal observatory in order to benefit from the excellent observing conditions and follow-up synergy with the VLT and E-ELT. It will be a robotic facility composed of 12, 200 mm telescopes equipped with 2Kx2K NIR sensitive detectors. It is built on the legacy of the WASP experience

Kelt-17B: A Hot-Jupiter Transiting an A-Star in a misaligned orbit detected with Doppler Tomography

We present the discovery of a hot Jupiter transiting the V = 9.23 mag main-sequence A-star KELT-17 (BD+14 1881). KELT-17b is a ${1.31}_{-0.29}^{+0.28}\,{M}_{{\rm{J}}}$, ${1.525}_{-0.060}^{+0.065}\,{R}_{{\rm{J}}}$ hot-Jupiter in a 3.08-day period orbit misaligned at −115fdg9 ± 4fdg1 to the rotation axis of the star. The planet is confirmed via both the detection of the radial velocity orbit, and the Doppler tomographic detection of the shadow of the planet during two transits. The nature of the spin–orbit misaligned transit geometry allows us to place a constraint on the level of differential rotation in the host star; we find that KELT-17 is consistent with both rigid-body rotation and solar differential rotation rates ($\alpha \lt 0.30$ at $2\sigma$ significance). KELT-17 is only the fourth A-star with a confirmed transiting planet, and with a mass of ${1.635}_{-0.061}^{+0.066}\,{M}_{\odot }$, an effective temperature of 7454 ± 49 K, and a projected rotational velocity of $v\sin {I}_{* }={44.2}_{-1.3}^{+1.5}\,\mathrm{km}\,{{\rm{s}}}^{-1};$ it is among the most massive, hottest, and most rapidly rotating of known planet hosts

WASP-34b: A near-grazing transiting sub-Jupiter-mass exoplanet in a hierarchical triple system

We report the discovery of WASP-34b, a sub-Jupiter-mass exoplanet transiting its 10.4-magnitude solar-type host star (1SWASP J110135.89-235138.4; TYC 6636-540-1) every 4.3177 days in a slightly eccentric orbit (e = 0.038±0.012). We find a planetary mass of 0.59±0.01 M Jup and radius of 1.22-0.08 +0.11 R Jup. There is a linear trend in the radial velocities of 55±4 m s-1 y-1 indicating the presence of a long-period third body in the system with a mass ≥0.45 MJup at a distance of ≥1.2 AU from the host star. This third-body is either a low-mass star, a white dwarf, or another planet. The transit depth ((RP/R*) 2 = 0.0126) and high impact parameter (b = 0.90) suggest that this could be the first known transiting exoplanet expected to undergo grazing transits, but with a confidence of only ~80

Simultaneous infrared and optical observations of the transiting debris cloud around WD 1145+017

We present multiwavelength photometric monitoring of WD 1145+017, a white dwarf exhibiting periodic dimming events interpreted to be the transits of orbiting, disintegrating planetesimals. Our observations include the first set of near-infrared light curves for the object, obtained on multiple nights over the span of 1 month, and recorded multiple transit events with depths varying between ∼20 and 50 per cent. Simultaneous near-infrared and optical observations of the deepest and longest duration transit event were obtained on two epochs with the Anglo-Australian Telescope and three optical facilities, over the wavelength range of 0.5–1.2μm. These observations revealed no measurable difference in transit depths for multiple photometric pass bands, allowing us to place a 2σ lower limit of 0.8μm on the grain size in the putative transiting debris cloud. This conclusion is consistent with the spectral energy distribution of the system, which can be fit with an optically thin debris disc with minimum particle sizes of 10+5−3μm

HATS-17b: A TRANSITING COMPACT WARM JUPITER in A 16.3 DAY CIRCULAR ORBIT

We report the discovery of HATS-17b, the first transiting warm Jupiter of the HATSouth network. HATS-17b transits its bright (V = 12.4) G-type (${M}_{\star }$ = $1.131\pm 0.030$ ${M}_{\odot }$, ${R}_{\star }$ = ${1.091}_{-0.046}^{+0.070}$ ${R}_{\odot }$) metal-rich ([Fe/H] = +0.3 dex) host star in a circular orbit with a period of P = $16.2546$ days. HATS-17b has a very compact radius of $0.777\pm 0.056$ ${R}_{{\rm{J}}}$ given its Jupiter-like mass of $1.338\pm 0.065$ ${M}_{{\rm{J}}}$. Up to 50% of the mass of HATS-17b may be composed of heavy elements in order to explain its high density with current models of planetary structure. HATS-17b is the longest period transiting planet discovered to date by a ground-based photometric survey, and is one of the brightest transiting warm Jupiter systems known. The brightness of HATS-17 will allow detailed follow-up observations to characterize the orbital geometry of the system and the atmosphere of the planet

Microbial community structure and dynamics in thermophilic composting viewed through metagenomics and metatranscriptomics

Composting is a promising source of new organisms and thermostable enzymes that may be helpful in environmental management and industrial processes. Here we present results of metagenomicand metatranscriptomic-based analyses of a large composting operation in the Sao Paulo Zoo Park. This composting exhibits a sustained thermophilic profile (50 degrees C to 75 degrees C), which seems to preclude fungal activity. The main novelty of our study is the combination of time-series sampling with shotgun DNA, 16S rRNA gene amplicon, and metatranscriptome high-throughput sequencing, enabling an unprecedented detailed view of microbial community structure, dynamics, and function in this ecosystem. The time-series data showed that the turning procedure has a strong impact on the compost microbiota, restoring to a certain extent the population profile seen at the beginning of the processand that lignocellulosic biomass deconstruction occurs synergistically and sequentially, with hemicellulose being degraded preferentially to cellulose and lignin. Moreover, our sequencing data allowed near-complete genome reconstruction of five bacterial species previously found in biomass-degrading environments and of a novel biodegrading bacterial species, likely a new genus in the order Bacillales. The data and analyses provided are a rich source for additional investigations of thermophilic composting microbiology.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Provost's Office for Research of the University of Sao PauloCoordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Quim, Dept Bioquim, Sao Paulo, BrazilUniv Sao Paulo, Programa Pos Graduacao Interunidades Bioinformat, Sao Paulo, BrazilUniv Sao Paulo, Escola Artes Ciencias & Humanidades, Sao Paulo, Brazil|Fundacao Parque Zool Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Dept Ciencias Biol, Sao Paulo, BrazilBiocomplex Inst Virginia, Blacksburg, VA USADepartamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, BrazilFAPESP: 2011/50870-6Web of Scienc