194 research outputs found
First Evidence of a Retrograde Orbit of Transiting Exoplanet HAT-P-7b
We present the first evidence of a retrograde orbit of the transiting
exoplanet HAT-P-7b. The discovery is based on a measurement of the
Rossiter-McLaughlin effect with the Subaru HDS during a transit of HAT-P-7b,
which occurred on UT 2008 May 30. Our best-fit model shows that the spin-orbit
alignment angle of this planet is \lambda = -132.6 (+10.5, -16.3) degrees. The
existence of such a retrograde planet have been predicted by recent planetary
migration models considering planet-planet scattering processes or the Kozai
migration. Our finding provides an important milestone that supports such
dynamic migration theories.Comment: PASJ Letters, in press [13 pages
Spin-Orbit Alignment of the TrES-4 Transiting Planetary System and Possible Additional Radial Velocity Variation
We report new radial velocities of the TrES-4 transiting planetary system,
including observations of a full transit, with the High Dispersion Spectrograph
of the Subaru 8.2m telescope. Modeling of the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect
indicates that TrES-4b has closely aligned orbital and stellar spin axes, with
. The close spin-orbit alignment angle
of TrES-4b seems to argue against a migration history involving planet-planet
scattering or Kozai cycles, although there are two nearby faint stars that
could be binary companion candidates. Comparison of our out-of-transit data
from 4 different runs suggest that the star exhibits radial velocity
variability of 20 ms^-1 in excess of a single Keplerian orbit. Although
the cause of the excess radial velocity variability is unknown, we discuss
various possibilities including systematic measurement errors, starspots or
other intrinsic motions, and additional companions besides the transiting
planet.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, 3 tables, PASJ in pres
Measurements of Stellar Inclinations for Kepler Planet Candidates II: Candidate Spin-Orbit Misalignments in Single and Multiple-Transiting Systems
We present a test for spin-orbit alignment for the host stars of 25 candidate
planetary systems detected by the {\it Kepler} spacecraft. The inclination
angle of each star's rotation axis was estimated from its rotation period,
rotational line broadening, and radius. The rotation periods were determined
using the {\it Kepler} photometric time series. The rotational line broadening
was determined from high-resolution optical spectra with Subaru/HDS. Those same
spectra were used to determine the star's photospheric parameters (effective
temperature, surface gravity, metallicity) which were then interpreted with
stellar-evolutionary models to determine stellar radii. We combine the new
sample with the 7 stars from our previous work on this subject, finding that
the stars show a statistical tendency to have inclinations near 90, in
alignment with the planetary orbits. Possible spin-orbit misalignments are seen
in several systems, including three multiple-planet systems (KOI-304, 988,
2261). Ideally these systems should be scrutinized with complementary
techniques---such as the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect, starspot-crossing
anomalies or asteroseismology---but the measurements will be difficult owing to
the relatively faint apparent magnitudes and small transit signals in these
systems.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
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