62 research outputs found
The Curious Case of HU Aquarii - Dynamically Testing Proposed Planetary Systems
In early 2011, the discovery of two planets moving on surprisingly extreme
orbits around the eclipsing polar cataclysmic variable system HU Aquraii was
announced based on variations in the timing of mutual eclipses between the two
central stars. We perform a detailed dynamical analysis of the stability of the
exoplanet system as proposed in that work, revealing that it is simply
dynamically unfeasible. We then apply the latest rigorous methods used by the
Anglo-Australian Planet Search to analyse radial velocity data to re-examine
the data used to make the initial claim. Using that data, we arrive at a
significantly different orbital solution for the proposed planets, which we
then show through dynamical analysis to be equally unfeasible. Finally, we
discuss the need for caution in linking eclipse-timing data for cataclysmic
variables to the presence of planets, and suggest a more likely explanation for
the observed signal.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, 2 table
High eccentricity planets from the Anglo-Australian Planet Search
We report Doppler measurements of the stars HD187085 and HD20782 which
indicate two high eccentricity low-mass companions to the stars. We find
HD187085 has a Jupiter-mass companion with a ~1000d orbit. Our formal `best
fit' solution suggests an eccentricity of 0.47, however, it does not sample the
periastron passage of the companion and we find that orbital solutions with
eccentricities between 0.1 and 0.8 give only slightly poorer fits (based on RMS
and chi^2) and are thus plausible. Observations made during periastron passage
in 2007 June should allow for the reliable determination of the orbital
eccentricity for the companion to HD187085. Our dataset for HD20782 does sample
periastron and so the orbit for its companion can be more reliably determined.
We find the companion to HD20782 has M sin i=1.77+/-0.22M_JUP, an orbital
period of 595.86+/-0.03d and an orbit with an eccentricity of 0.92+/-0.03. The
detection of such high-eccentricity (and relatively low velocity amplitude)
exoplanets appears to be facilitated by the long-term precision of the
Anglo-Australian Planet Search. Looking at exoplanet detections as a whole, we
find that those with higher eccentricity seem to have relatively higher
velocity amplitudes indicating higher mass planets and/or an observational bias
against the detection of high eccentricity systems.Comment: to appear in MNRA
On the Double Planet System Around HD 83443
The Geneva group has reported two Saturn-mass planets orbiting HD 83443 (K0V)
with periods of 2.98 and 29.8 d. The two planets have raised interest in their
dynamics because of the possible 10:1 orbital resonance and the strong
gravitational interactions. We report precise Doppler measurements of HD 83443
obtained with the Keck/HIRES and the AAT/UCLES spectrometers. These
measurements strongly confirm the inner planet with period of 2.985 d, with
orbital parameters in very good agreement with those of the Geneva group.
However these Doppler measurements show no evidence of the outer planet, at
thresholds of 1/4 (3 m/s) of the reported velocity amplitude of 13.8 m/s. Thus,
the existence of the outer planet is in question. Indeed, the current Doppler
measurements reveal no evidence of any second planet with periods less than a
year.Comment: 26 pages incl. 3 tables and 8 figures; uses AASTE
Two extra-solar planets from the Anglo-Australian Planet Search
We report the detection of two new extra-solar planets from the
Anglo-Australian Planet Search around the stars HD142 and HD23079. The planet
orbiting HD142 has an orbital period of just under one year, while that
orbiting HD23079 has a period of just under two years. HD142 falls into the
class of "eccentric" gas giants. HD23079 lies in the recently uncovered class
of "epsilon Ret-like" planets - extra-solar gas giant planets with
near-circular orbits outside 0.1 a.u. The recent discovery of several more
members of this class provides new impetus for the extension of existing planet
searches to longer periods, in the search for Jupiter-like planets in
Jupiter-like orbits.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures and 3 tables include
Oscillation frequencies and mode lifetimes in alpha Centauri A
We analyse our recently-published velocity measurements of alpha Cen A
(Butler et al. 2004). After adjusting the weights on a night-by-night basis in
order to optimize the window function to minimize sidelobes, we extract 42
oscillation frequencies with l=0 to 3 and measure the large and small frequency
separations. We give fitted relations to these frequencies that can be compared
with theoretical models and conclude that the observed scatter about these fits
is due to the finite lifetimes of the oscillation modes. We estimate the mode
lifetimes to be 1-2 d, substantially shorter than in the Sun.Comment: Accepted by Ap
The observed distribution of spectroscopic binaries from the Anglo-Australian Planet Search
This article has been accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. © 2015 The Authors. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society.We report the detection of sixteen binary systems from the Anglo-Australian Planet Search. Solutions to the radial velocity data indicate that the stars have companions orbiting with a wide range of masses, eccentricities and periods. Three of the systems potentially contain brown-dwarf companions while another two have eccentricities that place them in the extreme upper tail of the eccentricity distribution for binaries with periods less than 1000 d. For periods up to 12 years, the distribution of our stellar companion masses is fairly flat, mirroring that seen in other radial velocity surveys, and contrasts sharply with the current distribution of candidate planetary masses, which rises strongly below 10 MJ. When looking at a larger sample of binaries that have FGK star primaries as a function of the primary star metallicity, we find that the distribution maintains a binary fraction of âŒ43 ± 4âperâcent between â1.0 and +0.6 dex in metallicity. This is in stark contrast to the giant exoplanet distribution. This result is in good agreement with binary formation models that invoke fragmentation of a collapsing giant molecular cloud, suggesting that this is the dominant formation mechanism for close binaries and not fragmentation of the primary star's remnant protoplanetary disc.Peer reviewe
Simultaneous infrared and optical observations of the transiting debris cloud around WD 1145+017
We present multiwavelength photometric monitoring of WD 1145+017, a white dwarf exhibiting periodic dimming events interpreted to be the transits of orbiting, disintegrating planetesimals. Our observations include the first set of near-infrared light curves for the object, obtained on multiple nights over the span of 1 month, and recorded multiple transit events with depths varying between âŒ20 and 50 per cent. Simultaneous near-infrared and optical observations of the deepest and longest duration transit event were obtained on two epochs with the Anglo-Australian Telescope and three optical facilities, over the wavelength range of 0.5â1.2ÎŒm. These observations revealed no measurable difference in transit depths for multiple photometric pass bands, allowing us to place a 2Ï lower limit of 0.8ÎŒm on the grain size in the putative transiting debris cloud. This conclusion is consistent with the spectral energy distribution of the system, which can be fit with an optically thin debris disc with minimum particle sizes of 10+5â3ÎŒm
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