Pursuing the planet-debris disk connection: Analysis of upper limits from the Anglo-Australian Planet Search

Solid material in protoplanetary discs will suffer one of two fates after the epoch of planet formation; either being bound up into planetary bodies, or remaining in smaller planetesimals to be ground into dust. These end states are identified through detection of sub-stellar companions by periodic radial velocity (or transit) variations of the star, and excess emission at mid- and far-infrared wavelengths, respectively. Since the material that goes into producing the observable outcomes of planet formation is the same, we might expect these components to be related both to each other and their host star. Heretofore, our knowledge of planetary systems around other stars has been strongly limited by instrumental sensitivity. In this work, we combine observations at far-infrared wavelengths by IRAS, Spitzer, and Herschel with limits on planetary companions derived from non-detections in the 16-year Anglo-Australian Planet Search to clarify the architectures of these (potential) planetary systems and search for evidence of correlations between their constituent parts. We find no convincing evidence of such correlations, possibly owing to the dynamical history of the disk systems, or the greater distance of the planet-search targets. Our results place robust limits on the presence of Jupiter analogs which, in concert with the debris disk observations, provides insights on the small-body dynamics of these nearby systems.Comment: Accepted for publication in A

The polarization of the planet-hosting WASP-18 system

We report observations of the linear polarization of the WASP-18 system, which harbors a very massive ( approx 10 M_J) planet orbiting very close to its star with an orbital period of 0.94 days. We find the WASP-18 system is polarized at about 200 parts-per-million (ppm), likely from the interstellar medium predominantly, with no strong evidence for phase dependent modulation from reflected light from the planet. We set an upper limit of 40 ppm (99% confidence level) on the amplitude of a reflected polarized light planetary signal. We compare the results with models for a number of processes that may produce polarized light in a planetary system to determine if we can rule out any phenomena with this limit. Models of reflected light from thick clouds can approach or exceed this limit, but such clouds are unlikely at the high temperature of the WASP-18b atmosphere. Additionally, we model the expected polarization resulting from the transit of the planet across the star and find this has an amplitude of about 1.6 ppm, which is well below our detection limits. We also model the polarization due to the tidal distortion of the star by the massive planet and find this is also too small to be measured currently.Comment: 23 pages, 10 Figures, 6 Tables, Accepted to A

Disk Radii and Grain Sizes in Herschel-Resolved Debris Disks

(Abridged) The radii of debris disks and the sizes of their dust grains are tracers of the formation mechanisms and physical processes operating in these systems. We use a sample of 34 debris disks spatially resolved in various Herschel programs to constrain them. While we modeled disks with both warm and cold components, we focus our analysis only on the cold outer disks, i.e. Kuiper-belt analogs. The disk radii derived from the resolved images reveal a large dispersion, but no significant trend with the stellar luminosity, which argues against ice lines as a dominant player in setting the debris disk sizes. Fixing the disk radii to those inferred from the resolved images, we model the spectral energy distributions to determine the dust temperatures and the grain size distributions. While the dust temperature systematically increases towards earlier spectral types, its ratio to the blackbody temperature at the disk radius decreases with the stellar luminosity. This is explained by an increase of typical grain sizes towards more luminous stars. The sizes are compared to the radiation pressure blowout limit $s_\text{blow}$ that is proportional to the stellar luminosity-to-mass ratio and thus also increases towards earlier spectral classes. The grain sizes in the disks of G- to A-stars are inferred to be several times $s_\text{blow}$ at all stellar luminosities, in agreement with collisional models of debris disks. The sizes, measured in the units of $s_\text{blow}$, appear to decrease with the luminosity, which may be suggestive of the disk's stirring level increasing towards earlier-type stars.Comment: accepted for publication in ApJ, 22 pages, 7 figure

The Curious Case of HU Aquarii - Dynamically Testing Proposed Planetary Systems

In early 2011, the discovery of two planets moving on surprisingly extreme orbits around the eclipsing polar cataclysmic variable system HU Aquraii was announced based on variations in the timing of mutual eclipses between the two central stars. We perform a detailed dynamical analysis of the stability of the exoplanet system as proposed in that work, revealing that it is simply dynamically unfeasible. We then apply the latest rigorous methods used by the Anglo-Australian Planet Search to analyse radial velocity data to re-examine the data used to make the initial claim. Using that data, we arrive at a significantly different orbital solution for the proposed planets, which we then show through dynamical analysis to be equally unfeasible. Finally, we discuss the need for caution in linking eclipse-timing data for cataclysmic variables to the presence of planets, and suggest a more likely explanation for the observed signal.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, 2 table

Interpreting the extended emission around three nearby debris disc host stars

Cool debris discs are a relic of the planetesimal formation process around their host star, analogous to the solar system's Edgeworth-Kuiper belt. As such, they can be used as a proxy to probe the origin and formation of planetary systems like our own. The Herschel Open Time Key Programmes "DUst around NEarby Stars" (DUNES) and "Disc Emission via a Bias-free Reconnaissance in the Infrared/Submillimetre" (DEBRIS) observed many nearby, sun-like stars at far-infrared wavelengths seeking to detect and characterize the emission from their circumstellar dust. Excess emission attributable to the presence of dust was identified from around $\sim$ 20% of stars. Herschel's high angular resolution ($\sim$ 7" FWHM at 100 $\mu$m) provided the capacity for resolving debris belts around nearby stars with radial extents comparable to the solar system (50 to 100 au). As part of the DUNES and DEBRIS surveys, we obtained observations of three debris disc stars, HIP 22263 (HD 30495), HIP 62207 (HD 110897), and HIP 72848 (HD 131511), at far-infrared wavelengths with the Herschel PACS instrument. Combining these new images and photometry with ancilliary data from the literature, we undertook simultaneous multi-wavelength modelling of the discs' radial profiles and spectral energy distributions using three different methodologies: single annulus, modified black body, and a radiative transfer code. We present the first far-infrared spatially resolved images of these discs and new single-component debris disc models. We characterize the capacity of the models to reproduce the disc parameters based on marginally resolved emission through analysis of two sets of simulated systems (based on the HIP 22263 and HIP 62207 data) with the noise levels typical of the Herschel images. We find that the input parameter values are recovered well at noise levels attained in the observations presented here.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures, 5 tables, accepted for publication in A&

Grasping the Links in the Chain: Understanding the Unintended Consequences of International Counter-Narcotics Measures for the EU

No abstract available

Far-infrared and sub-millimetre imaging of HD 76582's circumstellar disc

Debris discs, the tenuous rocky and icy remnants of planet formation, are believed to be evidence for planetary systems around other stars. The JCMT/SCUBA-2 debris disc legacy survey ‘SCUBA-2 Observations of Nearby Stars’ (SONS) observed 100 nearby stars, amongst them HD 76582, for evidence of such material. Here, we present imaging observations by JCMT/SCUBA-2 and Herschel/PACS at sub-millimetre and far-infrared wavelengths, respectively. We simultaneously model the ensemble of photometric and imaging data, spanning optical to sub-millimetre wavelengths, in a self-consistent manner. At far-infrared wavelengths, we find extended emission from the circumstellar disc providing a strong constraint on the dust spatial location in the outer system, although the angular resolution is too poor to constrain the interior of the system. In the sub-millimetre, photometry at 450 and 850 µm reveals a steep fall-off that we interpret as a disc dominated by moderately sized dust grains (amin = 36 µm), perhaps indicative of a non-steady-state collisional cascade within the disc. A disc architecture of three distinct annuli, comprising an unresolved component at 20 au and outer components at 80 and 270 au, along with a very steep particle size distribution (γ = 5), is proposed to match the observations

Life threatening nontraumatic tension gastrothorax

Tension gastrothorax is a rare condition, which poses a diagnostic dilemma and can be mistaken for a tension pneumothorax. Awareness of the risk factors, clinical presentation, and radiology findings of tension gastrothorax can help with the prompt identification and successful management of this life-threatening condition