Spin orbit alignment for KELT-7b and HAT-P-56b via Doppler tomography with TRES

We present Doppler tomographic analyses for the spectroscopic transits of KELT-7b and HAT-P-56b, two hot-Jupiters orbiting rapidly rotating F-dwarf host stars. These include analyses of archival TRES observations for KELT-7b, and a new TRES transit observation of HAT-P-56b. We report spin-orbit aligned geometries for KELT-7b (2.7 +/- 0.6 deg) and HAT-P-56b (8 +/- 2 deg). The host stars KELT-7 and HAT-P-56 are among some of the most rapidly rotating planet-hosting stars known. We examine the tidal re-alignment model for the evolution of the spin-orbit angle in the context of the spin rates of these stars. We find no evidence that the rotation rates of KELT-7 and HAT-P-56 have been modified by star-planet tidal interactions, suggesting that the spin-orbit angle of systems around these hot stars may represent their primordial configuration. In fact, KELT-7 and HAT-P-56 are two of three systems in super-synchronous, spin-orbit aligned states, where the rotation periods of the host stars are faster than the orbital periods of the planets.Comment: 9 pages, accepted for publication in MNRA

Análise de ciclos harmônicos de séries temporais de dados NDVI/MODIS para a discriminação de culturas agrícolas anuais.

Este trabalho desenvolveu e testou uma abordagem de representação de ciclos harmônicos de séries temporais de produtos MODIS, para o mapeamento da agricultura no Estado de Mato Grosso, tomando como base a metodologia proposta por Antunes et al. (2012), proposta para o mapeamento da paisagem da bacia do alto Paraguai.SBSR 2013

Uso combinado de dados NDVI/MODIS dos satélites Terra e Aqua no monitoramento multi-temporal de áreas agrícolas.

O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar a utilização combinada de dados de NDVI do sensor MODIS (Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) provenientes de duas plataformas orbitais - Terra e Aqua - na geração de perfis temporais em áreas agrícolas.SBSR 2013

Monitoring the temporal dynamics of four vegetation cover types from the Pantanal using the wavelet transform applied to a time-series of EVI/MODIS data.

Although one of the most preserved ecosystems in Brazil, the Pantanal suffers under problems such as fire, deforestation and changes in the flood and drought cycles. Monitoring all the extension of the Pantanal is essential to detect problems related to land use changes and to infer on the level of floods in the wetlands. The objective of this study was to monitor four areas in the Pantanal with different vegetation cover using the Wavelet Transform applied to a time-series of EVI (Enhanced Vegetation Index) acquired from the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) sensor, between 2005 and 2009, in order to analyze the vegetation phenology dynamics. The results showed that the Coiflet Wavelet Transform of 4th order with 90% power, was able to remove the high frequency noise and highlight the changes of the vegetation phenology with a higher precision, allowing a better analysis of trends in the inter-annual variability of EVI. Changes of the temporal EVI pattern may indicate changes in vegetation phenology, mainly due to rainfall seasonality. The technique is robust and can be extrapolated to other regions of the Pantanal in order to detect deforestation and fire occurrences.Número especial

HAT-P-4b: A metal-rich low-density transiting hot Jupiter

We describe the discovery of HAT-P-4b, a low-density extrasolar planet transiting BD+36 2593, a V = 11.2 mag slightly evolved metal-rich late F star. The planet's orbital period is 3.056536+/-0.000057 d with a mid-transit epoch of 2,454,245.8154 +/- 0.0003 (HJD). Based on high-precision photometric and spectroscopic data, and by using transit light curve modeling, spectrum analysis and evolutionary models, we derive the following planet parameters: Mp= 0.68 +/- 0.04 MJ, Rp= 1.27 +/- 0.05 RJ, rho = 0.41 +/- 0.06 g cm-3 and a = 0.0446 +/- 0.0012 AU. Because of its relatively large radius, together with its assumed high metallicity of that of its parent star, this planet adds to the theoretical challenges to explain inflated extrasolar planets.Comment: 5 pages, accepted for publication in ApJ

Two 'b's in the Beehive: The Discovery of the First Hot Jupiters in an Open Cluster

We present the discovery of two giant planets orbiting stars in Praesepe (also known as the Beehive Cluster). These are the first known hot Jupiters in an open cluster and the only planets known to orbit Sun-like, main-sequence stars in a cluster. The planets are detected from Doppler shifted radial velocities; line bisector spans and activity indices show no correlation with orbital phase, confirming the variations are caused by planetary companions. Pr0201b orbits a V=10.52 late F dwarf with a period of 4.4264 +/- 0.0070 days and has a minimum mass of 0.540 +/- 0.039 Mjup, and Pr0211b orbits a V=12.06 late G dwarf with a period of 2.1451 +/- 0.0012 days and has a minimum mass of 1.844 +/- 0.064 Mjup. The detection of 2 planets among 53 single members surveyed establishes a lower limit on the hot Jupiter frequency of 3.8 (+5.0)(-2.4) % in this metal-rich open cluster. Given the precisely known age of the cluster, this discovery also demonstrates that, in at least 2 cases, giant planet migration occurred within 600 Myr after formation. As we endeavor to learn more about the frequency and formation history of planets, environments with well-determined properties -- such as open clusters like Praesepe -- may provide essential clues to this end.Comment: 5 pages, 3 tables, 2 figures. Published in ApJ Letter

Monitoramento da dinâmica da vegetação do Pantanal utilizando a transformada de Wavelet em séries temporais de produtos MODIS.

Embora seja um dos ecossistemas mais conservados do Brasil, o Pantanal está sujeito a problemas como o fogo, desmatamentos e alterações dos ciclos de cheia e seca. O monitoramento de toda a extensão do Pantanal é fundamental para a detecção de problemas relacionados a alterações do uso e da cobertura do solo, assim como inferir sobre o nível das cheias que ocorrem na planície. O objetivo deste trabalho foi realizar o monitoramento de quatro áreas com diferentes coberturas vegetais no Pantanal, utilizando a Transformada de Wavelet aplicada à série temporal de produtos MODIS, do ano de 2005 a 2009, para analisar a dinâmica da fenologia da vegetação. Os resultados mostraram que a Transformada de Wavelet Coifet, de ordem 4 com potência de 90%, conseguiu remover os ruídos de alta frequência e destacar as mudanças de fenologia da vegetação com mais precisão, propiciando uma melhor análise das tendências interanuais de variabilidade do EVI (Enhanced Vegetation Index). As alterações do padrão temporal do EVI podem indicar mudanças da vegetação, sejam por conta da sazonalidade da precipitação, desmatamentos e queimadas, sejam por outras causas naturais ou antrópicas.Geopantanal 2010

HAT-P-3b: A heavy-element rich planet transiting a K dwarf star

We report the discovery of a Jupiter-size planet transiting a relatively bright (V = 11.56) and metal-rich early K dwarf star with a period of about 2.9 days. On the basis of follow-up photometry and spectroscopy we determine the mass and radius of the planet, HAT-P-3b, to be M_p = 0.599 +/- 0.026 M_Jup and R_p = 0.890 +/- 0.046 R_Jup. The relatively small size of the object for its mass implies the presence of about 75 Earth masses worth of heavy elements (1/3 of the total mass) based on current theories of irradiated extrasolar giant planets, similar to the mass of the core inferred for the transiting planet HD 149026b. The bulk density of HAT-P-3b is found to be rho_p = 1.06 +/- 0.17 g/cm^3, and the planet orbits the star at a distance of 0.03894 AU. Ephemerides for the transit centers are T_c = 2,454,218.7594 +/- 0.0029 + N (2.899703 +/- 0.000054) (HJD).Comment: To appear in ApJ

Representação de ciclos harmônicos de séries temporais de dados EVI/MODIS para análise do cultivo da cana-de-açúcar.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi analisar o cultivo da cana-de-açúcar no Estado de São Paulo, utilizando a análise harmônica aplicada em séries temporais de dados EVI/MODIS, do período de outubro de 2001 a setembro de 2011, por meio da representação dos termos harmônicos.SBSR 2013

HAT-P-18b and HAT-P-19b: Two Low-Density Saturn-Mass Planets Transiting Metal-Rich K Stars

We report the discovery of two new transiting extrasolar planets. HAT-P-18b orbits the V=12.759 K2 dwarf star GSC 2594-00646, with a period P=5.508023+-0.000006 d, transit epoch Tc=2454715.02174+-0.00020 (BJD), and transit duration 0.1131+-0.0009 d. The host star has a mass of 0.77+-0.03 Msun, radius of 0.75+-0.04 Rsun, effective temperature 4803+-80 K, and metallicity [Fe/H]=+0.10+-0.08. The planetary companion has a mass of 0.197+-0.013 Mjup, and radius of 0.995+-0.052 Rjup yielding a mean density of 0.25+-0.04 g cm-3. HAT-P-19b orbits the V=12.901 K1 dwarf star GSC 2283-00589, with a period P=4.008778+-0.000006 d, transit epoch Tc=2455091.53417+-0.00034 (BJD), and transit duration 0.1182+-0.0014 d. The host star has a mass of 0.84+-0.04 Msun, radius of 0.82+-0.05 Rsun, effective temperature 4990+-130 K, and metallicity [Fe/H]=+0.23+-0.08. The planetary companion has a mass of 0.292+-0.018 Mjup, and radius of 1.132+-0.072 Rjup yielding a mean density of 0.25+-0.04 g cm-3. The radial velocity residuals for HAT-P-19 exhibit a linear trend in time, which indicates the presence of a third body in the system. Comparing these observations with theoretical models, we find that HAT-P-18b and HAT-P-19b are each consistent with a hydrogen-helium dominated gas giant planet with negligible core mass. HAT-P-18b and HAT-P-19b join HAT-P-12b and WASP-21b in an emerging group of low-density Saturn-mass planets, with negligible inferred core masses. However, unlike HAT-P-12b and WASP-21b, both HAT-P-18b and HAT-P-19b orbit stars with super-solar metallicity. This calls into question the heretofore suggestive correlation between the inferred core mass and host star metallicity for Saturn-mass planets.Comment: 18 pages, 11 figures, 9 tables. Replaced with version accepted for publication in Ap