130 research outputs found
AlH lines in the blue spectrum of Proxima Centauri
The recently-computed ExoMol line lists for isotopologues of AlH are used to
analyse the blue spectrum (4000-4500 {\AA}) of Proxima Cen (M5.5 V). Comparison
of the observed and computed spectra enables the identification of a large
number of 27AlH lines of the A1{\Pi} - X1{\Sigma}+ band system: the spectral
range covering 1-0, 0-0 and 1-1 bands is dominated by clearly resolved AlH
lines. We reveal the diffuse nature of transitions close to the dissociation
limit which appears in the form of increasingly wider(up to 5 {\AA}) and
shallower (up to the continuum confusion limit) AlH line profiles. The
predicted wavelengths of AlH diffuse lines are systematically displaced. The
effect broadening by pre-dissociation states on the line profiles is included
by increasing the radiative damping rate by up to 5 orders of magnitude. We
determine empirical values of damping rates for a number of the clean 0-0
Q-branch transitions by comparing the observed and synthetic stellar spectra.
We find excellent agreement between our damping rates and lifetimes available
in the literature. A comparison of 27Al1H ExoMol and REALH spectra shows that
the observed spectrum is better described by the ExoMol line list. A search for
26Al1H lines in the Proxima Cen spectrum does not reveal any notable features;
giving an upper limit of 27Al1H/26Al1H {>} 100.Comment: 22 pages, 6 tables, 10 figs, accepted by MNRA
The RoPES project with HARPS and HARPS-N. I. A system of super-Earths orbiting the moderately active K-dwarf HD 176986
We report the discovery of a system of two super-Earths orbiting the
moderately active K-dwarf HD 176986. This work is part of the RoPES RV program
of G- and K-type stars, which combines radial velocities (RVs) from the HARPS
and HARPS-N spectrographs to search for short-period terrestrial planets. HD
176986 b and c are super-Earth planets with masses of 5.74 and 9.18
M, orbital periods of 6.49 and 16.82 days, and distances of 0.063
and 0.119 AU in orbits that are consistent with circular. The host star is a
K2.5 dwarf, and despite its modest level of chromospheric activity (log(R'hk) =
- 4.90 +- 0.04), it shows a complex activity pattern. Along with the discovery
of the planets, we study the magnetic cycle and rotation of the star. HD 176986
proves to be suitable for testing the available RV analysis technique and
further our understanding of stellar activity.Comment: 21 pages, 24 figures, 7 table
Analysis of the chromosphere and corona of low-activity early-M dwarfs
While most of the exoplanets have been found orbiting around solar-type stars, low-mass stars have recently been recognized as ideal exo-life laboratory. Currently, stellar activity is one of the limiting factors for the characterization of Earth-twins and for assessing their habitability: understanding the activity of M dwarfs is thus crucial. In this contribution I present the spectroscopic analysis of the quiet early-M dwarfs monitored within the HADES (HArps-n red Dwarf Exoplanet Survey) radial velocity survey. The spectra allow us to analyze simultaneously the Ca ii H&K doublet and the Hydrogen Balmer series, while the intensive follow up gives us a large number of spectra ( 100) for each target. We complement this dataset with ground-based follow-up photometry and archival X-ray data. I present our results on the activity-rotation-stellar parameters and flux-flux relationships, and discuss the correlation of emission fluxes at low activity levels and the evolution timescales of active regions
A super-Earth orbiting the nearby M-dwarf GJ 536
We report the discovery of a super-Earth orbiting the star GJ 536 based on
the analysis of the radial-velocity time series from the HARPS and HARPS-N
spectrographs. GJ 536 b is a planet with a minimum mass M sin of 5.36 +-
0.69 Me with an orbital period of 8.7076 +- 0.0025 days at a distance of
0.066610(13) AU, and an orbit that is consistent with circular. The host star
is the moderately quiet M1 V star GJ 536, located at 10 pc from the Sun. We
find the presence of a second signal at 43 days that we relate to stellar
rotation after analysing the time series of Ca II H&K and H alpha spectroscopic
indicators and photometric data from the ASAS archive. We find no evidence
linking the short period signal to any activity proxy. We also tentatively
derived a stellar magnetic cycle of less than 3 years.Comment: 14 pages, 14 figures, 5 tables, Accepted in A&
Dynamical masses of two young transiting sub-Neptunes orbiting HD 63433
Although the number of exoplanets reported in the literature exceeds 5000 so
far, only a few dozen of them are young planets (900 Myr). However, a
complete characterization of these young planets is key to understanding the
current properties of the entire population. Hence, it is necessary to
constrain the planetary formation processes and the timescales of dynamical
evolution by measuring the masses of exoplanets transiting young stars. We
characterize and measure the masses of two transiting planets orbiting the 400
Myr old solar-type star HD\,63433, which is a member of the Ursa Major moving
group. We analysed precise photometric light curves of five sectors of the TESS
mission with a baseline of 750 days and obtained 150 precise radial
velocity measurements with the visible and infrared arms of the CARMENES
instrument at the Calar Alto 3.5 m telescope in two different campaigns of
500 days. We performed a combined photometric and spectroscopic analysis
to retrieve the planetary properties of two young planets. The strong stellar
activity signal was modelled by Gaussian regression processes. We have updated
the transit parameters of HD\,63433\,b and c and obtained planet radii of
R\,=\,2.140\,\,0.087 R and R\,=\,2.692\,\,0.108
R. Our analysis allowed us to determine the dynamical mass of the
outer planet with a 4 significance (\,=\,15.54\,\,3.86
M) and set an upper limit on the mass of the inner planet at 3
(\,\,21.76 M). According to theoretical models, both planets
are expected to be sub-Neptunes, whose interiors mostly consist of silicates
and water with no dominant composition of iron, and whose gas envelopes are
lower than 2\% in the case of HD\,63433\,c. The envelope is unconstrained in
HD\,63433\,b
The HADES RV Programme with HARPS-N at TNG XI. GJ 685 b: a warm super-Earth around an active M dwarf
Small rocky planets seem to be very abundant around low-mass M-type stars.
Their actual planetary population is however not yet precisely understood.
Currently several surveys aim to expand the statistics with intensive detection
campaigns, both photometric and spectroscopic. We analyse 106 spectroscopic
HARPS-N observations of the active M0-type star GJ 685 taken over the past five
years. We combine these data with photometric measurements from different
observatories to accurately model the stellar rotation and disentangle its
signals from genuine Doppler planetary signals in the RV data. We run an MCMC
analysis on the RV and activity indexes time series to model the planetary and
stellar signals present in the data, applying Gaussian Process regression
technique to deal with the stellar activity signals. We identify three periodic
signals in the RV time series, with periods of 9, 24, and 18 d. Combining the
analyses of the photometry of the star with the activity indexes derived from
the HARPS-N spectra, we identify the 18 d and 9 d signals as activity-related,
corresponding to the stellar rotation period and its first harmonic
respectively. The 24 d signals shows no relations with any activity proxy, so
we identify it as a genuine planetary signal. We find the best-fit model
describing the Doppler signal of the newly-found planet, GJ 685\,b,
corresponding to an orbital period d and a
minimum mass M. We also study a
sample of 70 RV-detected M-dwarf planets, and present new statistical evidence
of a difference in mass distribution between the populations of single- and
multi-planet systems, which can shed new light on the formation mechanisms of
low-mass planets around late-type stars.Comment: 18 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in A&
Calculations of periodicity from H<i>α</i> profiles of Proxima Centauri
We investigate retrieval of the stellar rotation signal for Proxima Centauri. We make use of high-resolution spectra taken with UVES and HARPS of Proxima Centauri over a 13-yr period as well as photometric observations of Proxima Centauri from ASAS and HST. We measure the Hα equivalent width and Hα index, skewness and kurtosis and introduce a method that investigates the symmetry of the line, the peak ratio, which appears to return better results than the other measurements. Our investigations return a most significant period of 82.6 ± 0.1 days, confirming earlier photometric results and ruling out a more recent result of 116.6 days which we conclude to be an alias induced by the specific HARPS observation times. We conclude that whilst spectroscopic Hα measurements can be used for period recovery, in the case of Proxima Centauri the available photometric measurements are more reliable. We make 2D models of Proxima Centauri to generate simulated Hα, finding that reasonable distributions of plage and chromospheric features are able to reproduce the equivalent width variations in observed data and recover the rotation period, including after the addition of simulated noise and flares. However the 2D models used fail to generate the observed variety of line shapes measured by the peak ratio. We conclude that only 3D models which incorporate vertical motions in the chromosphere can achieve this
The HADES RV Programme with HARPS-N@TNG IV. Time resolved analysis of the Ca ii H&K and H{\alpha} chromospheric emission of low-activity early-type M dwarfs
M dwarfs are prime targets for planet search programs, particularly of those
focused on the detection and characterization of rocky planets in the habitable
zone. Understanding their magnetic activity is important because it affects our
ability to detect small planets, and it plays a key role in the
characterization of the stellar environment. We analyze observations of the Ca
II H&K and H{\alpha} lines as diagnostics of chromospheric activity for
low-activity early-type M dwarfs. We analyze the time series of spectra of 71
early-type M dwarfs collected for the HADES project for planet search purposes.
The HARPS-N spectra provide simultaneously the H&K doublet and the H{\alpha}
line. We develop a reduction scheme able to correct the HARPS-N spectra for
instrumental and atmospheric effects, and to provide flux-calibrated spectra in
units of flux at the stellar surface. The H&K and H{\alpha} fluxes are compared
with each other, and their variability is analyzed. We find that the H and K
flux excesses are strongly correlated with each other, while the H{\alpha} flux
excess is generally less correlated with the H&K doublet. We also find that
H{\alpha} emission does not increase monotonically with the H&K line flux,
showing some absorption before being filled in by chromospheric emission when
H&K activity increases. Analyzing the time variability of the emission fluxes,
we derive a tentative estimate of the rotation period (of the order of a few
tens of days) for some of the program stars, and the typical lifetime of
chromospheric active regions (a few stellar rotations). Our results are in good
agreement with previous studies. In particular, we find evidence that the
chromospheres of early-type M dwarfs could be characterized by different
filaments coverage, affecting the formation mechanism of the H{\alpha} line. We
also show that chromospheric structure is likely related to spectral type
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