Relativistic quantum motion of spin-0 particles under the influence of non-inertial effects in the cosmic string space-time

We study solutions for the Klein-Gordon equation with vector and scalar potentials of the Coulomb types under the influence of non-inertial effects in the space-time of topological defects. We also investigate a quantum particle described by the Klein-Gordon oscillator in the background space-time generated by a string. An important result obtained is that the non-inertial effects restrict the physical region of the space-time where the particle can be placed. In addition, we show that these potentials can form bound states for the relativistic wave equation equation in this kind of background.Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1608.0669

Line-profile variations in radial-velocity measurements: Two alternative indicators for planetary searches

Aims. We introduce two methods to identify false-positive planetary signals in the context of radial-velocity exoplanet searches. The first is the bi-Gaussian cross-correlation function fitting, and the second is the measurement of asymmetry in radial-velocity spectral line information content, Vasy. Methods. We make a systematic analysis of the most used common line profile diagnosis, Bisector Inverse Slope and Velocity Span, along with the two proposed ones. We evaluate all these diagnosis methods following a set of well-defined common criteria and using both simulated and real data. We apply them to simulated cross-correlation functions created with the program SOAP and which are affected by the presence of stellar spots, and to real cross-correlation functions, calculated from HARPS spectra, for stars with a signal originating both in activity and created by a planet. Results. We demonstrate that the bi-Gaussian method allows a more precise characterization of the deformation of line profiles than the standard bisector inverse slope. The calculation of the deformation indicator is simpler and its interpretation more straightforward. More importantly, its amplitude can be up to 30% larger than that of the bisector span, allowing the detection of smaller-amplitude correlations with radial-velocity variations. However, a particular parametrization of the bisector inverse slope is shown to be more efficient on high-signal-to-noise data than both the standard bisector and the bi-Gaussian. The results of the Vasy method show that this indicator is more effective than any of the previous ones, being correlated with the radial-velocity with more significance for signals resulting from a line deformation. Moreover, it provides a qualitative advantage over the bisector, showing significant correlations with RV for active stars for which bisector analysis is inconclusive. (abridged)Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics, comments welcom

Stability Limits in Resonant Planetary Systems

The relationship between the boundaries for Hill and Lagrange stability in orbital element space is modified in the case of resonantly interacting planets. Hill stability requires the ordering of the planets to remain constant while Lagrange stability also requires all planets to remain bound to the central star. The Hill stability boundary is defined analytically, but no equations exist to define the Lagrange boundary, so we perform numerical experiments to estimate the location of this boundary. To explore the effect of resonances, we consider orbital element space near the conditions in the HD 82943 and 55 Cnc systems. Previous studies have shown that, for non-resonant systems, the two stability boundaries are nearly coincident. However the Hill stability formula are not applicable to resonant systems, and our investigation shows how the two boundaries diverge in the presence of a mean-motion resonance, while confirming that the Hill and Lagrange boundaries are similar otherwise. In resonance the region of stability is larger than the domain defined by the analytic formula for Hill stability. We find that nearly all known resonant interactions currently lie in this extra stable region, i.e. where the orbits would be unstable according to the non-resonant Hill stability formula. This result bears on the dynamical packing of planetary systems, showing how quantifying planetary systems' dynamical interactions (such as proximity to the Hill-stability boundary) provides new constraints on planet formation models.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in ApJ Letters. A version with full resolution figures is available at http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~rory/research/xsp/resstab.pd

SOAP 2.0: A tool to estimate the photometric and radial velocity variations induced by stellar spots and plages

This paper presents SOAP 2.0, a new version of the SOAP code that estimates in a simple way the photometric and radial velocity variations induced by active regions. The inhibition of the convective blueshift inside active regions is considered, as well as the limb brightening effect of plages, a quadratic limb darkening law, and a realistic spot and plage contrast ratio. SOAP 2.0 shows that the activity-induced variation of plages is dominated by the inhibition of the convective blueshift effect. For spots, this effect becomes significant only for slow rotators. In addition, in the case of a major active region dominating the activity-induced signal, the ratio between the full width at half maximum (FWHM) and the RV peak-to-peak amplitudes of the cross correlation function can be used to infer the type of active region responsible for the signal for stars with \vsini$\le8$\kms. A ratio smaller than three implies a spot, while a larger ratio implies a plage. Using the observation of HD189733, we show that SOAP 2.0 manages to reproduce the activity variation as well as previous simulations when a spot is dominating the activity-induced variation. In addition, SOAP 2.0 also reproduces the activity variation induced by a plage on the slowly rotating star $\alpha$ Cen B, which is not possible using previous simulations. Following these results, SOAP 2.0 can be used to estimate the signal induced by spots and plages, but also to correct for it when a major active region is dominating the RV variation.Comment: 28 pages, 15 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ after minor revisions (taken into account in this version

Klein-Gordon oscillator in a topologically nontrivial space-time

In this study, we analyze solutions of the wave equation for scalar particles in a space-time with nontrivial topology. Solutions for the Klein--Gordon oscillator are found considering two configurations of this space-time. In the first one, it is assumed the $S^{1}\times R^{3}$ space where the metric is written in the usual inertial frame of reference. In the second case, we consider a rotating reference frame adapted to the circle S1. We obtained compact expressions for the energy spectrum and for the particles wave functions in both configurations. Additionally, we show that the energy spectrum of the solution associated to the rotating system has an additional term that breaks the symmetry around $E = 0$

Detecting transit signatures of exoplanetary rings using SOAP3.0

CONTEXT. It is theoretically possible for rings to have formed around extrasolar planets in a similar way to that in which they formed around the giant planets in our solar system. However, no such rings have been detected to date. AIMS: We aim to test the possibility of detecting rings around exoplanets by investigating the photometric and spectroscopic ring signatures in high-precision transit signals. METHODS: The photometric and spectroscopic transit signals of a ringed planet is expected to show deviations from that of a spherical planet. We used these deviations to quantify the detectability of rings. We present SOAP3.0 which is a numerical tool to simulate ringed planet transits and measure ring detectability based on amplitudes of the residuals between the ringed planet signal and best fit ringless model. RESULTS: We find that it is possible to detect the photometric and spectroscopic signature of near edge-on rings especially around planets with high impact parameter. Time resolution $\leq$ 7 mins is required for the photometric detection, while 15 mins is sufficient for the spectroscopic detection. We also show that future instruments like CHEOPS and ESPRESSO, with precisions that allow ring signatures to be well above their noise-level, present good prospects for detecting rings.Comment: 13 pages, 16 figures, 2 tables , accepted for publication in A&