Detection of a giant white-light flare on an L2.5 dwarf with the Next Generation Transit Survey

We present the detection of a V ∼ −10 flare from the ultracool L2.5 dwarf ULAS J224940.13−011236.9 with the Next Generation Transit Survey (NGTS). The flare was detected in a targeted search of late-type stars in NGTS full-frame images and represents one of the largest flares ever observed from an ultracool dwarf. This flare also extends the detection of white-light flares to stars with temperatures below 2000 K. We calculate the energy of the flare to be 3.4+0.9 −0.7 × 1033 erg, making it an order of magnitude more energetic than the Carrington event on the Sun. Our data show how the high-cadence NGTS full-frame images can be used to probe white-light flaring behaviour in the latest spectral types

Statistical Signatures of Nanoflare Activity. III. Evidence of Enhanced Nanoflaring Rates in Fully Convective stars as Observed by the NGTS

Abstract Previous examinations of fully convective M-dwarf stars have highlighted enhanced rates of nanoflare activity on these distant stellar sources. However, the specific role the convective boundary, which is believed to be present for spectral types earlier than M2.5V, plays on the observed nanoflare rates is not yet known. Here, we utilize a combination of statistical and Fourier techniques to examine M-dwarf stellar lightcurves that lie on either side of the convective boundary. We find that fully convective M2.5V (and later subtypes) stars have greatly enhanced nanoflare rates compared with their pre-dynamo mode-transition counterparts. Specifically, we derive a flaring power-law index in the region of 3.00 ± 0.20, alongside a decay timescale of 200 ± 100 s for M2.5V and M3V stars, matching those seen in prior observations of similar stellar subtypes. Interestingly, M4V stars exhibit longer decay timescales of 450 ± 50 s, along with an increased power-law index of 3.10 ± 0.18, suggesting an interplay between the rate of nanoflare occurrence and the intrinsic plasma parameters, e.g., the underlying Lundquist number. In contrast, partially convective (i.e., earlier subtypes from M0V to M2V) M-dwarf stars exhibit very weak nanoflare activity, which is not easily identifiable using statistical or Fourier techniques. This suggests that fully convective stellar atmospheres favor small-scale magnetic reconnection, leading to implications for the flare-energy budgets of these stars. Understanding why small-scale reconnection is enhanced in fully convective atmospheres may help solve questions relating to the dynamo behavior of these stellar sources

Classifying Exoplanet Candidates with Convolutional Neural Networks: Application to the Next Generation Transit Survey

Vetting of exoplanet candidates in transit surveys is a manual process, which suffers from a large number of false positives and a lack of consistency. Previous work has shown that convolutional neural networks (CNN) provide an efficient solution to these problems. Here, we apply a CNN to classify planet candidates from the Next Generation Transit Survey (NGTS). For training data sets we compare both real data with injected planetary transits and fully simulated data, as well as how their different compositions affect network performance. We show that fewer hand labelled light curves can be utilized, while still achieving competitive results. With our best model, we achieve an area under the curve (AUC) score of (95.6±0.2) per cent and an accuracy of (88.5±0.3) per cent on our unseen test data, as well as (76.5±0.4) per cent and (74.6±1.1) per cent in comparison to our existing manual classifications. The neural network recovers 13 out of 14 confirmed planets observed by NGTS, with high probability. We use simulated data to show that the overall network performance is resilient to mislabelling of the training data set, a problem that might arise due to unidentified, low signal-to-noise transits. Using a CNN, the time required for vetting can be reduced by half, while still recovering the vast majority of manually flagged candidates. In addition, we identify many new candidates with high probabilities which were not flagged by human vetters

NGTS clusters survey – V. Rotation in the Orion star-forming complex

We present a study of rotation across 30 square degrees of the Orion Star-forming Complex, following a ∼200 d photometric monitoring campaign by the Next Generation Transit Survey (NGTS). From 5749 light curves of Orion members, we report periodic signatures for 2268 objects and analyse rotation period distributions as a function of colour for 1789 stars with spectral types F0–M5. We select candidate members of Orion using Gaia data and assign our targets to kinematic sub-groups. We correct for interstellar extinction on a star-by-star basis and determine stellar and cluster ages using magnetic and non-magnetic stellar evolutionary models. Rotation periods generally lie in the range 1–10 d, with only 1.5 per cent of classical T Tauri stars or Class I/II young stellar objects rotating with periods shorter than 1.8 d, compared with 14 per cent of weak-line T Tauri stars or Class III objects. In period–colour space, the rotation period distribution moves towards shorter periods among low-mass (>M2) stars of age 3–6 Myr, compared with those at 1–3 Myr, with no periods longer than 10 d for stars later than M3.5. This could reflect a mass-dependence for the dispersal of circumstellar discs. Finally, we suggest that the turnover (from increasing to decreasing periods) in the period–colour distributions may occur at lower mass for the older-aged population: ∼K5 spectral type at 1–3 Myr shifting to ∼M1 at 3–6 Myr

The return of the spin period in DW Cnc and evidence of new high state outbursts

DW Cnc is an intermediate polar which has previously been observed in both high and low states. Observations of the high state of DW Cnc have previously revealed a spin period at ∼38.6 min, however, observations from the 2018 to 2019 low state showed no evidence of the spin period. We present results from our analysis of 12 s cadence photometric data collected by Next Generation Transit Survey of DW Cnc during the high state which began in 2019. Following the previously reported suppression of the spin period signal, we identify the return of this signal during the high state, consistent with previous observations of it. We identify this as the restarting of accretion during the high state. We further identified three short outbursts lasting ∼1 d in DW Cnc with a mean recurrence time of ∼60 d and an amplitude of ∼1 mag. These are the first outbursts identified in DW Cnc since 2008. Due to the short nature of these events, we identify them not as a result of accretion instabilities but instead either from instabilities originating from the interaction of the magnetorotational instability in the accretion disc and the magnetic field generated by the white dwarf or the result of magnetic gating

The return of the spin period in DW Cnc and evidence of new high state outbursts

DW Cnc is an intermediate polar which has previously been observed in both high and low states. Observations of the high state of DW Cnc have previously revealed a spin period at ∼38.6 min, however, observations from the 2018 to 2019 low state showed no evidence of the spin period. We present results from our analysis of 12 s cadence photometric data collected by Next Generation Transit Survey of DW Cnc during the high state which began in 2019. Following the previously reported suppression of the spin period signal, we identify the return of this signal during the high state, consistent with previous observations of it. We identify this as the restarting of accretion during the high state. We further identified three short outbursts lasting ∼1 d in DW Cnc with a mean recurrence time of ∼60 d and an amplitude of ∼1 mag. These are the first outbursts identified in DW Cnc since 2008. Due to the short nature of these events, we identify them not as a result of accretion instabilities but instead either from instabilities originating from the interaction of the magnetorotational instability in the accretion disc and the magnetic field generated by the white dwarf or the result of magnetic gating

NGTS and HST insights into the long period modulation in GW Librae

Light curves of the accreting white dwarf pulsator GW Librae spanning a 7.5 month period in 2017 were obtained as part of the Next Generation Transit Survey. This data set comprises 787 hours of photometry from 148 clear nights, allowing the behaviour of the long (hours) and short period (20min) modulation signals to be tracked from night to night over a much longer observing baseline than has been previously achieved. The long period modulations intermittently detected in previous observations of GW Lib are found to be a persistent feature, evolving between states with periods ~83min and 2-4h on time-scales of several days. The 20min signal is found to have a broadly stable amplitude and frequency for the duration of the campaign, but the previously noted phase instability is confirmed. Ultraviolet observations obtained with the Cosmic Origin Spectrograph onboard the Hubble Space Telescope constrain the ultraviolet-to-optical flux ratio to ~5 for the 4h modulation, and <=1 for the 20min period, with caveats introduced by non-simultaneous observations. These results add further observational evidence that these enigmatic signals must originate from the white dwarf, highlighting our continued gap in theoretical understanding of the mechanisms that drive them

The Next Generation Transit Survey (NGTS)

The Next Generation Transit Survey (NGTS) is a new ground-based sky survey designed to find transiting Neptunes and super-Earths. By covering at least sixteen times the sky area of Kepler we will find small planets around stars that are sufficiently bright for radial velocity confirmation, mass determination and atmospheric characterisation. The NGTS instrument will consist of an array of twelve independently pointed 20cm telescopes fitted with red-sensitive CCD cameras. It will be constructed at the ESO Paranal Observatory, thereby benefiting from the very best photometric conditions as well as follow up synergy with the VLT and E-ELT. Our design has been verified through the operation of two prototype instruments, demonstrating white noise characteristics to sub-mmag photometric precision. Detailed simulations show that about thirty bright super-Earths and up to two hundred Neptunes could be discovered. Our science operations are due to begin in 2014

Detection of a giant flare displaying quasi-periodic pulsations from a pre-main sequence M star with NGTS

We present the detection of an energetic flare on the pre-main-sequence M3 star NGTS J121939.5–355557, which we estimate to be only 2 Myr old. The flare had an energy of 3.2 ±0.4 0.3 ×1036 erg and a fractional amplitude of 7.2 ± 0.8, making it one of the most energetic flares seen on an M star. The star is also X-ray active, in the saturated regime with log LX/LBol = −3.1. In the flare’s peak, we have identified multimode quasi-periodic pulsations formed of two statistically significant periods of approximately 320 and 660 s. This flare is one of the largest amplitude events to exhibit such pulsations. The shorter period mode is observed to start after a short-lived spike in flux lasting around 30 s, which would not have been resolved in Kepler or TESS short-cadence modes. Our data show how the high cadence of the Next Generation Transient Survey (NGTS) can be used to apply solar techniques to stellar flares and to identify potential causes of the observed oscillations. We also discuss the implications of this flare for the habitability of planets around M star hosts and how NGTS can help our understanding of this

The Hot Neptune WASP-166 b with ESPRESSO - I. Refining the planetary architecture and stellar variability

In this paper, we present high-resolution spectroscopic transit observations from ESPRESSO of the super-Neptune WASP-166 b. In addition to spectroscopic ESPRESSO data, we analyse photometric data from TESS of six WASP-166 b transits along with simultaneous NGTS observations of the ESPRESSO runs. These observations were used to fit for the planetary parameters as well as assessing the level of stellar activity (e.g. spot crossings, flares) present during the ESPRESSO observations. We utilize the reloaded Rossiter McLaughlin (RRM) technique to spatially resolve the stellar surface, characterizing the centre-to-limb convection-induced variations, and to refine the star–planet obliquity. We find WASP-166 b has a projected obliquity of λ=−15.52 +2.85 −2.76 ∘ and vsin (i) = 4.97 ± 0.09 km s−1 which is consistent with the literature. We were able to characterize centre-to-limb convective variations as a result of granulation on the surface of the star on the order of a few km s−1 for the first time. We modelled the centre-to-limb convective variations using a linear, quadratic, and cubic model with the cubic being preferred. In addition, by modelling the differential rotation and centre-to-limb convective variations simultaneously, we were able to retrieve a potential antisolar differential rotational shear (α ∼ −0.5) and stellar inclination (i* either 42.03 +9.13 −9.60 ∘ or 133.64 +8.42 −7.98 ∘ if the star is pointing towards or away from us). Finally, we investigate how the shape of the cross-correlation functions change as a function of limb angle and compare our results to magnetohydrodynamic simulations.</p