On the functional form of the metallicity-giant planet correlation

It is generally accepted that the presence of a giant planet is strongly dependent on the stellar metallicity. A stellar mass dependence has also been investigated, but this dependence does not seem as strong as the metallicity dependence. Even for metallicity, however, the exact form of the correlation has not been established. In this paper, we test several scenarios for describing the frequency of giant planets as a function of its host parameters. We perform this test on two volume-limited samples (from CORALIE and HARPS). By using a Bayesian analysis, we quantitatively compared the different scenarios. We confirm that giant planet frequency is indeed a function of metallicity. However, there is no statistical difference between a constant or an exponential function for stars with subsolar metallicities contrary to what has been previously stated in the literature. The dependence on stellar mass could neither be confirmed nor be discarded.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, accepted in A&

Dielectric mismatch and shallow donor impurities in GaN/HfO2 quantum wells

In this work we investigate electron-impurity binding energy in GaN/HfO$_2$ quantum wells. The calculation considers simultaneously all energy contributions caused by the dielectric mismatch: (i) image self-energy (i.e., interaction between electron and its image charge), (ii) the direct Coulomb interaction between the electron-impurity and (iii) the interactions among electron and impurity image charges. The theoretical model account for the solution of the time-dependent Schr\"odinger equation and the results shows how the magnitude of the electron-impurity binding energy depends on the position of impurity in the well-barrier system. The role of the large dielectric constant in the barrier region is exposed with the comparison of the results for GaN/HfO$_2$ with those of a more typical GaN/AlN system, for two different confinement regimes: narrow and wide quantum wells.Comment: 6 Pages, 7 figure

Spin filtering in nanowire directional coupler

The spin transport characteristics of a nanowire directional electronic coupler have been evaluated theoretically via a transfer matrix approach. The application of a gate field in the region of mixing allows for control of spin current through the different leads of the coupler via the Rashba spin-orbit interaction. The combination of spin-orbit interaction and applied gate voltages on different legs of the coupler give rise to a controllable modulation of the spin polarization. Both structural factors and field strength tuning lead to a rich phenomenology that could be exploited in spintronic devices.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure

Towards the undestanding of radial velocity pulsation in roAp stars

High-resolution spectroscopic time series of rapidly oscillating Ap stars show evidence for a co-existence of standing and running waves in their atmospheric layers. With the purpose of understanding these observations we have carried out a theoretical analysis of the pulsations in the outermost layers of these stars, starting from the simplest possible model that still retains all important physical ingredients. In our analysis we considered an isothermal atmosphere in a plane-parallel approximation. Moreover we assumed that in the region considered the magnetic pressure is much larger than the gas pressure and, consequently, that the magnetoacoustic wave has decoupled into its acoustic and magnetic components. Using the analytical solutions for the velocity components appropriate to this model we estimate the velocity component parallel to the line of sight averaged over the visible stellar disk. Fitting the latter to a function of the form Acos($\sigma$t+phase), with $\sigma$ the dimensionless oscillation frequency and t the dimensionless time, we derive the amplitude A and the phase for our model as function of height in the atmosphere.Comment: 5 pages and 5 figure

New and updated stellar parameters for 71 evolved planet hosts. On the metallicity - giant planet connection

It is still being debated whether the well-known metallicity - giant planet correlation for dwarf stars is also valid for giant stars. For this reason, having precise metallicities is very important. Different methods can provide different results that lead to discrepancies in the analysis of planet hosts. To study the impact of different analyses on the metallicity scale for evolved stars, we compare different iron line lists to use in the atmospheric parameter derivation of evolved stars. Therefore, we use a sample of 71 evolved stars with planets. With these new homogeneous parameters, we revisit the metallicity - giant planet connection for evolved stars. A spectroscopic analysis based on Kurucz models in local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) was performed through the MOOG code to derive the atmospheric parameters. Two different iron line list sets were used, one built for cool FGK stars in general, and the other for giant FGK stars. Masses were calculated through isochrone fitting, using the Padova models. Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests (K-S tests) were then performed on the metallicity distributions of various different samples of evolved stars and red giants. All parameters compare well using a line list set, designed specifically for cool and solar-like stars to provide more accurate temperatures. All parameters derived with this line list set are preferred and are thus adopted for future analysis. We find that evolved planet hosts are more metal-poor than dwarf stars with giant planets. However, a bias in giant stellar samples that are searched for planets is present. Because of a colour cut-off, metal-rich low-gravity stars are left out of the samples, making it hard to compare dwarf stars with giant stars. Furthermore, no metallicity enhancement is found for red giants with planets ($\log g < 3.0$\,dex) with respect to red giants without planets.Comment: 22 pages, 10 figures, 12 tables, accepted to A&

New and updated stellar parameters for 90 transit hosts. The effect of the surface gravity

Context. Precise stellar parameters are crucial in exoplanet research for correctly determining of the planetary parameters. For stars hosting a transiting planet, determining of the planetary mass and radius depends on the stellar mass and radius, which in turn depend on the atmospheric stellar parameters. Different methods can provide different results, which leads to different planet characteristics.}%Spectroscopic surface gravities have shown to be poorly constrained, but the photometry of the transiting planet can provide an independent measurement of the surface gravity. Aims. In this paper, we use a uniform method to spectroscopically derive stellar atmospheric parameters, chemical abundances, stellar masses, and stellar radii for a sample of 90 transit hosts. Surface gravities are also derived photometrically using the stellar density as derived from the light curve. We study the effect of using these different surface gravities on the determination of the chemical abundances and the stellar mass and radius. Methods. A spectroscopic analysis based on Kurucz models in LTE was performed through the MOOG code to derive the atmospheric parameters and the chemical abundances. The photometric surface gravity was determined through isochrone fitting and the use of the stellar density, directly determined from the light curve. Stellar masses and radii are determined through calibration formulae. Results. Spectroscopic and photometric surface gravities differ, but this has very little effect on the precise determination of the stellar mass in our spectroscopic analysis. The stellar radius, and hence the planetary radius, is most affected by the surface gravity discrepancies. For the chemical abundances, the difference is, as expected, only noticable for the abundances derived from analyzing of lines of ionized species.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, 5 tables, accepted to A&