A system of three transiting super-Earths in a cool dwarf star

We present the detection of three super-Earths transiting the cool star LP415-17, monitored by K2 mission in its 13th campaign. High resolution spectra obtained with HARPS-N/TNG showed that the star is a mid-late K dwarf. Using spectral synthesis models we infer its effective temperature, surface gravity and metallicity and subse- quently determined from evolutionary models a stellar radius of 0.58 R Sun. The planets have radii of 1.8, 2.6 and 1.9 R Earth and orbital periods of 6.34, 13.85 and 40.72 days. High resolution images discard any significant contamination by an intervening star in the line of sight. The orbit of the furthest planet has radius of 0.18 AU, close to the inner edge of the habitable zone. The system is suitable to improve our understanding of formation and dynamical evolution of super-Earth systems in the rocky - gaseous threshold, their atmospheres, internal structure, composition and interactions with host stars.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS Letter

On the 12C/13C isotopic ratio at the dawn of chemical evolution

The known Mega and Hyper Metal-Poor (MMP-HMP) stars with [Fe/H]<-6.0 and <-5.0, respectively, likely belong to the CEMP-no class, i.e. carbon-enhanced stars with low or absent second peak neutron capture elements. They are likely second generation stars and the few elements measurable in their atmospheres are used to infer the properties of single or very few progenitors. The high carbon abundance in the CEMP-no stars offers a unique opportunity to measure the carbon isotopic ratio, which directly monitors the presence of mixing between the He and H-burning layers either within the star or in the progenitor(s). By means of high-resolution spectra acquired with the ESPRESSO spectrograph at the VLT we aim to derive values for the 12C/13C ratio at the lowest metallicities. A spectral synthesis technique based on the SYNTHE code and on ATLAS models is used within a Markov-chain Monte Carlo methodology to derive 12C/13C in the stellar atmospheres of five of the most metal poor stars. These are the Mega Metal-Poor giant SMS J0313-6708 ([Fe/H]<-7.1), the Hyper Metal-Poor dwarf HE1327-2326 ([Fe/H]=-5.8),the Hyper Metal-Poor giant SDSS J1313-0019 ([Fe/H] = -5.0) and the Ultra Metal-Poor subgiant HE0233-0343 ([Fe/H]=-4.7). We also revise a previous value for the Mega Metal-Poor giant SMSS J1605-1443 with ([Fe/H] = -6.2). In four stars we derive an isotopic value while for HE1327-2326 we provide a lower limit. All Measurements are in the range 39<12C/13C<100 showing that the He- and H-burning layers underwent partial mixing either in the stars or, more likely, in their progenitors. This provides evidence of a primary production of 13C at the dawn of chemical evolution. [abridged]Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure, accepted A&

The GAPS Programme with HARPS-N at TNG XIII. The orbital obliquity of three close-in massive planets hosted by dwarf K-type stars: WASP-43, HAT-P-20 and Qatar-2

Context. The orbital obliquity of planets with respect to the rotational axis of their host stars is a relevant parameter for the characterization of the global architecture of planetary systems and a key observational constraint to discriminate between different scenarios proposed to explain the existence of close-in giant planets. Aims. In the framework of the GAPS project, we conduct an observational programme aimed at determinating the orbital obliquity of known transiting exoplanets. The targets are selected to probe the obliquity against a wide range of stellar and planetary physical parameters. Methods. We exploit high-precision radial velocity (RV) measurements, delivered by the HARPS-N spectrograph at the 3.6 m Telescopio Nazionale Galileo, to measure the Rossiter-McLaughlin (RM) effect in RV time-series bracketing planet transits, and to refine the orbital parameters determinations with out-of-transit RV data. We also analyse new transit light curves obtained with several 1−2 m class telescopes to better constrain the physical fundamental parameters of the planets and parent stars. Results. We report here on new transit spectroscopic observations for three very massive close-in giant planets: WASP-43 b, HAT-P-20 b and Qatar-2 b (Mp = 2.00, 7.22, 2.62 MJ; a = 0.015, 0.036, 0.022 AU, respectively) orbiting dwarf K-type stars with effective temperature well below 5000 K (Teff = 4500 ± 100, 4595 ± 45, 4640 ± 65 K respectively). These are the coolest stars (except for WASP-80) for which the RM effect has been observed so far. We find λ = 3.5 ± 6.8 deg for WASP-43 b and λ = −8.0 ± 6.9 deg for HAT-P-20 b, while for Qatar-2, our faintest target, the RM effect is only marginally detected, though our best-fit value λ = 15 ± 20 deg is in agreement with a previous determination. In combination with stellar rotational periods derived photometrically, we estimate the true spin-orbit angle, finding that WASP-43 b is aligned while the orbit of HAT-P-20 b presents a small but significant obliquity (Ψ = 36-12+10 deg). By analyzing the CaII H&K chromospheric emission lines for HAT-P-20 and WASP-43, we find evidence for an enhanced level of stellar activity that is possibly induced by star-planet interactions

VizieR Online Data Catalog: GJ 3998 RVs, S and Halpha indexes (Affer+, 2016)

In this table we report the observing log for the GJ3998 spectra and the radial velocities, S, and Hα indexes. The star GJ3998 has been monitored from BJD=2456439.6 (26 May 2013) to BJD=2457307.8 (12 October 2015). We obtained a total of 136 data points spanning 869-days. The spectra were obtained at high resolution (R=115000) with the optical echelle spectrograph HARPS-N with exposure times of 15 minutes and an average signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) of 45 at 5500Å. Of the 136 epochs, 76 were obtained within the GAPS time and 60 within the Spanish time. Observations were gathered without the simultaneous Th-Ar calibration, which is commonly used to correct for instrumental drifts during the night. The M-type stars of the HADES program were observed by the Italian team in conjunction with other GAPS targets, which used the Th-Ar simultaneous calibration, therefore we estimated the drift data between the two fibers (star and reference calibration) for each night from these observations and evaluated the interpolated drift for GJ3998 (0.7m/s). Data reduction and spectral extraction were performed using the Data Reduction Software (DRS, Lovis & Pepe, 2007A&A...468.1115L, Cat. J/A+A/468/1115). RVs were measured by means of a weighted cross-correlation function (CCF) with the M2 binary mask provided with the DRS. The RVs were also measured by matching the spectra with a high S/N template obtained by coadding the spectra of the target, as implemented in the TERRA pipeline (Anglada-Escude & Butler, 2012ApJS..200...15A, Cat. J/ApJS/200/15), which provides a better RV accuracy when applied to M dwarfs. We list the observation dates (barycentric Julian date or BJD), the signal-to-noise ratios (S/Ns), the radial velocities (RVs) from the DRS and TERRA pipelines (indicated with a T) and the Hα and S indexes, calculated both by the TERRA pipeline and by an independent method described in the text. The RV errors reported are the formal ones and do not include the jitter term. The S index and Hα errors are calculated as described in the text and do not take into account the photon noise. The S index and Hα errors derived from the TERRA pipeline are due to photon noise through error propagation. (1 data file)

VizieR Online Data Catalog: HADES RV Programme with HARPS-N at TNG. II. (Perger+, 2017)

Intrinsic and observational characteristics of the 78 target stars of our sample sorted by number of observations (Nobs).We show the absolute RVs and their rms and the mean uncertainties dRV of every object for TERRA (T) and YABI (Y) pipelines. V magnitudes are from SIMBAD. Their masses are the average values of targets with the same spectral type. (1 data file)

HADES RV programme with HARPS-N at TNG: XII. The abundance signature of M dwarf stars with planets

Context. Most of our current knowledge on planet formation is still based on the analysis of main sequence, solar-type stars. Conversely, detailed chemical studies of large samples of M dwarfs hosting planets are still missing. Aims. Correlations exist between the presence of different types of planets around FGK stars and metallicity, individual chemical abundance, and stellar mass. We aim to test whether or not these correlations still hold for the less-massive M dwarf stars. Methods to determine stellar abundances of M dwarfs from high-resolution optical spectra in a consistent way are still missing. The present work is a first attempt to fill this gap. Methods. We analyse a large sample of M dwarfs with and without known planetary companions in a coherent and homogeneous way. We develop for the first time a methodology to determine stellar abundances of elements other than iron for M dwarf stars from high-resolution optical spectra. Our methodology is based on the use of a principal component analysis and sparse Bayesian methods. We made use of a set of M dwarfs orbiting around an FGK primary with known abundances to train our methods. We applied our methods to derive stellar metalliticies and abundances of a large sample of M dwarfs observed within the framework of current radial-velocity surveys. We then used a sample of nearby FGK stars to cross-validate our technique by comparing the derived abundance trends in the M dwarf sample with those found on the FGK stars. Results. The metallicity distribution of the different subsamples reveals a correlation between the metallicities of M dwarfs and their probability of hosting giant planets. We also find a correlation between this latter probability and stellar mass. M dwarfs hosting low-mass planets do not seem to follow the so-called planet-metallicity correlation. We also find that the frequency of low-mass planets does not depend on the mass of the stellar host. These results appear to be in agreement with those of previous works. However, we note that for giant-planet hosts our metallicities predict a weaker planet-host metallicity correlation but a stronger mass-dependency than corresponding values derived from photometric results. We show for the first time that there seems to be no differences between M dwarfs with and without known planets in terms of their abundance distributions of elements different from iron. Conclusions. Our data show that low-mass stars with planets follow the same metallicity, mass, and abundance trends as their FGK counterparts, which are usually explained within the framework of core-accretion models