189 research outputs found
Robotic observations of the most eccentric spectroscopic binary in the sky
The visual A component of the Gliese 586AB system is a double-lined
spectroscopic binary consisting of two cool stars with the exceptional orbital
eccentricity of 0.976. Such an extremely eccentric system may be important for
our understanding of low-mass binary formation. We present a total of 598
high-resolution echelle spectra from our robotic facility STELLA from 2006-2012
which we used to compute orbital elements of unprecedented accuracy. The orbit
constrains the eccentricity to 0.97608+/-0.00004 and the orbital period to
889.8195+/-0.0003d. The masses of the two components are 0.87+/-0.05 Msun and
0.58+/-0.03 Msun if the inclination is 5+/-1.5degr as determined from
adaptive-optics images, that is good to only 6% due to the error of the
inclination although the minimum masses reached a precision of 0.3%. The flux
ratio Aa:Ab in the optical is betwee n 30:1 in Johnson-B and 11:1 in I. Radial
velocities of the visual B-component (K0-1V) appear constant to within 130 m/s
over six years. Sinusoidal modulations of Teff of Aa with an amplitude of apprx
55 K are seen with the orbital period. Component Aa appears warmest at
periastron and coolest at apastron, indicating atmospheric changes induced by
the high orbital eccentricity. No light variations larger than approximately 4
mmag are detected for A, while a photometric period of 8.5+/-0.2 d with an
amplitude of 7 mmag is discovered for the active star B, which we interpret to
be its rotation period. We estimate an orbital period of approx 50,000 yr for
the AB system. The most likely age of the AB system is >=2 Gyr, while the
activity of the B component, if it were a single star, would imply 0.5 Gyr.
Both Aa and B are matched with single-star evolutionary tracks of their
respective mass
Recommended from our members
Three years of experience with the STELLA robotic observatory
Since May 2006, the two STELLA robotic telescopes at the Izaa observatory in Tenerife, Spain, delivered an almost uninterrupted stream of scientific data. To achieve such a high level of autonomous operation, the replacement of all troubleshooting skills of a regular observer in software was required. Care must be taken on error handling issues and on robustness of the algorithms used. In the current paper, we summarize the approaches we followed in the STELLA observatory. Copyright © 2010 Thomas Granzer et al
Low albedos of hot to ultra-hot Jupiters in the optical to near-infrared transition regime
The depth of a secondary eclipse contains information of both the thermally
emitted light component of a hot Jupiter and the reflected light component. If
the dayside atmosphere of the planet is assumed to be isothermal, it is
possible to disentangle both. In this work, we analyze 11 eclipse light curves
of the hot Jupiter HAT-P-32b obtained at 0.89 m in the z' band. We obtain
a null detection for the eclipse depth with state-of-the-art precision, -0.01
+- 0.10 ppt. We confirm previous studies showing that a non-inverted atmosphere
model is in disagreement to the measured emission spectrum of HAT-P-32b. We
derive an upper limit on the reflected light component, and thus, on the
planetary geometric albedo . The 97.5%-confidence upper limit is <
0.2. This is the first albedo constraint for HAT-P-32b, and the first z' band
albedo value for any exoplanet. It disfavors the influence of large-sized
silicate condensates on the planetary day side. We inferred z' band geometric
albedo limits from published eclipse measurements also for the ultra-hot
Jupiters WASP-12b, WASP-19b, WASP-103b, and WASP-121b, applying the same
method. These values consistently point to a low reflectivity in the optical to
near-infrared transition regime for hot to ultra-hot Jupiters.Comment: accepted for publication in A&
First measurement of the magnetic field on FK Com and its relation to the contemporaneous starspot locations
In this study we present simultaneous low-resolution longitudinal magnetic
field measurements and high-resolution spectroscopic observations of the cool
single giant FK Com. The variation of the magnetic field over the rotational
period of 2.4 days is compared with the starspot location obtained using
Doppler imaging techniques, V-band photometry and V-I colours. The
chromospheric activity is studied simultaneously with the photospheric activity
using high resolution observations of the Halpha, Hbeta and Hgamma line
profiles. Both the maximum (272 +/- 24 G) and minimum (60 +/- 17 G) in the mean
longitudinal magnetic field, , are detected close to the phases where cool
spots appear on the stellar surface. A possible explanation for such a
behaviour is that the active regions at the two longitudes separated by 0.2 in
phase have opposite polarities.Comment: 10 Pages, 11 figures (quality of Figures 7,8 and 10 reduced),
accepted for publication in MNRA
XMM-Newton observations of the low-luminosity cataclysmic variable V405 Pegasi
V405 Peg is a low-luminosity cataclysmic variable (CV) that was identified as
the optical counterpart of the bright, high-latitude ROSAT all-sky survey
source RBS1955. The system was suspected to belong to a largely undiscovered
population of hibernating CVs. Despite intensive optical follow-up its subclass
however remained undetermined.
We want to further classify V405 Peg and understand its role in the CV zoo
via its long-term behaviour, spectral properties, energy distribution and
accretion luminosity.
We perform a spectral and timing analysis of \textit{XMM-Newton} X-ray and
ultra-violet data. Archival WISE, HST, and Swift observations are used to
determine the spectral energy distribution and characterize the long-term
variability.
The X-ray spectrum is characterized by emission from a multi-temperature
plasma. No evidence for a luminous soft X-ray component was found. Orbital
phase-dependent X-ray photometric variability by occurred without
significant spectral changes. No further periodicity was significant in our
X-ray data. The average X-ray luminosity during the XMM-Newton observations was
L_X, bol simeq 5e30 erg/s but, based on the Swift observations, the
corresponding luminosity varied between 5e29 erg/s and 2e31 erg/son timescales
of years.
The CV subclass of this object remains elusive. The spectral and timing
properties show commonalities with both classes of magnetic and non-magnetic
CVs. The accretion luminosity is far below than that expected for a standard
accreting CV at the given orbital period. Objects like V405 Peg might represent
the tip of an iceberg and thus may be important contributors to the Galactic
Ridge X-ray Emission. If so they will be uncovered by future X-ray surveys,
e.g. with eROSITA.Comment: A&A, in pres
Time-series Doppler images and surface differential rotation of the effectively-single rapidly-rotating K-giant KU Pegasi
According to most stellar dynamo theories, differential rotation (DR) plays a
crucial role for the generation of toroidal magnetic fields. Numerical models
predict surface differential rotation to be anti-solar for rapidly-rotating
giant stars, i.e., their surface angular velocity could increase with stellar
latitude. However, surface differential rotation has been derived only for a
handful of individual giant stars to date.
The spotted surface of the K-giant KU Pegasi is investigated in order to
detect its time evolution and quantify surface differential rotation.
We present altogether 11 Doppler images from spectroscopic data collected
with the robotic telescope STELLA between 2006--2011. All maps are obtained
with the surface reconstruction code iMap. Differential rotation is extracted
from these images by detecting systematic (latitude-dependent) spot
displacements. We apply a cross-correlation technique to find the best
differential rotation law.
The surface of KU Peg shows cool spots at all latitudes and one persistent
warm spot at high latitude. A small cool polar spot exists for most but not all
of the epochs. Re-identification of spots in at least two consecutive maps is
mostly possible only at mid and high latitudes and thus restricts the
differential-rotation determination mainly to these latitudes. Our
cross-correlation analysis reveals solar-like differential rotation with a
surface shear of , i.e., approximately five times weaker
than on the Sun. We also derive a more accurate and consistent set of stellar
parameters for KU Peg including a small Li abundance of ten times less than
solar.Comment: 13 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in A&
Ellipsoidal primary of the RS CVn binary zeta And: Investigation using high-resolution spectroscopy and optical interferometry
We have obtained high-resolution spectroscopy, optical interferometry, and
long-term broad band photometry of the ellipsoidal primary of the RS CVn-type
binary system zeta And. Based on the optical interferometry the apparent limb
darkened diameter of zeta And is 2.55 +/- 0.09 mas using a uniform disk fit.
The Hipparcos distance and the limb-darkened diameter obtained with a uniform
disk fit give stellar radius of 15.9 +/- 0.8 Rsolar, and combined with
bolometric luminosity, it implies an effective temperature of 4665 +/- 140 K.
The temperature maps obtained from high resolution spectra using Doppler
imaging show a strong belt of equatorial spots and hints of a cool polar cap.
The equatorial spots show a concentration around the phase 0.75. This spot
configuration is reminiscent of the one seen in the earlier published
temperature maps of zeta And. Investigation of the Halpha line reveals both
prominences and cool clouds in the chromosphere. Long-term photometry spanning
12 years shows hints of a spot activity cycle, which is also implied by the
Doppler images, but the cycle length cannot be reliably determined from the
current data.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figures, accepted for A&
Providing Remote Access to Robotic Telescopes by Adopting Grid Technology
We present an architecture for enabling remote access to robotic telescopes through the adoption of Grid technology. With this architecture, Internet connected robotic telescopes form a global network and are controlled by a global resource management system (scheduler), similar to individual compute resources in a Grid. By virtualizing the access to these telescope resources and by describing them and observation requests in a generic language (RTML). Astronomers are provided with an interface to a telescope network, from which they can get the appropriate resources for their observations. Moreover, new kinds of coordinated observations become feasible, such as multi-wavelength campaigns or immediate and continuous monitoring of transient astronomical events. This paper describes the architecture, the processing of observation requests and new research topics in a global network of robotic telescopes
Development of the opto-mechanical design for ICE-T
ICE-T (International Concordia Explorer Telescope) is a double 60 cm f/1.1
photometric robotic telescope, on a parallactic mount, which will operate at
Dome C, in the long Antarctic night, aiming to investigate exoplanets and
activity of the hosting stars. Antarctic Plateau site is well known to be one
of the best in the world for observations because of sky transparency in all
wavelengths and low scintillation noise. Due to the extremely harsh
environmental conditions (the lowest average temperature is -80C) the
criteria adopted for an optimal design are really challenging. Here we present
the strategies we have adopted so far to fulfill the mechanical and optical
requirements.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, contributed talk at 'An astronomical Observatory
at Concordia (Dome C, Antarctica) for the next decade', 11-15 May, Rome
(Italy
Transmission spectroscopy of the inflated exo-Saturn HAT-P-19b
We observed the Saturn-mass and Jupiter-sized exoplanet HAT-P-19b to refine
its transit parameters and ephemeris as well as to shed first light on its
transmission spectrum. We monitored the host star over one year to quantify its
flux variability and to correct the transmission spectrum for a slope caused by
starspots. A transit of HAT-P-19b was observed spectroscopically with OSIRIS at
the Gran Telescopio Canarias in January 2012. The spectra of the target and the
comparison star covered the wavelength range from 5600 to 7600 AA. One
high-precision differential light curve was created by integrating the entire
spectral flux. This white-light curve was used to derive absolute transit
parameters. Furthermore, a set of light curves over wavelength was formed by a
flux integration in 41 wavelength channels of 50 AA width. We analyzed these
spectral light curves for chromatic variations of transit depth. The transit
fit of the combined white-light curve yields a refined value of the
planet-to-star radius ratio of 0.1390 pm 0.0012 and an inclination of 88.89 pm
0.32 degrees. After a re-analysis of published data, we refine the orbital
period to 4.0087844 pm 0.0000015 days. We obtain a flat transmission spectrum
without significant additional absorption at any wavelength or any slope.
However, our accuracy is not sufficient to significantly rule out the presence
of a pressure-broadened sodium feature. Our photometric monitoring campaign
allowed for an estimate of the stellar rotation period of 35.5 pm 2.5 days and
an improved age estimate of 5.5^+1.8_-1.3 Gyr by gyrochronology.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figures, Accepted for publication in A&
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