16,383 research outputs found
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
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 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(t+phase), with
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 (\,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&
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