Multi-site campaign for transit timing variations of WASP-12 b: possible detection of a long-period signal of planetary origin

The transiting planet WASP-12 b was identified as a potential target for transit timing studies because a departure from a linear ephemeris was reported in the literature. Such deviations could be caused by an additional planet in the system. We attempt to confirm the existence of claimed variations in transit timing and interpret its origin. We organised a multi-site campaign to observe transits by WASP-12 b in three observing seasons, using 0.5-2.6-metre telescopes. We obtained 61 transit light curves, many of them with sub-millimagnitude precision. The simultaneous analysis of the best-quality datasets allowed us to obtain refined system parameters, which agree with values reported in previous studies. The residuals versus a linear ephemeris reveal a possible periodic signal that may be approximated by a sinusoid with an amplitude of 0.00068+/-0.00013 d and period of 500+/-20 orbital periods of WASP-12 b. The joint analysis of timing data and published radial velocity measurements results in a two-planet model which better explains observations than single-planet scenarios. We hypothesize that WASP-12 b might be not the only planet in the system and there might be the additional 0.1 M_Jup body on a 3.6-d eccentric orbit. A dynamical analysis indicates that the proposed two-planet system is stable over long timescales.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&

Electronic Spin Crossover of Iron in Ferroperclase in Earth?s Lower Mantle

Pressure-induced electronic spin-pairing transitions of iron and associated effects on the physical properties have been reported to occur in the lower-mantle ferropericlase, silicate perosvkite, and perhaps in post silicate perovskite at high pressures and room temperature. These recent results are motivating geophysicists and geodynamicists to reevaluate the implications of spin transitions on the seismic heterogeneity, composition, as well as the stability of the thermal upwellings of the Earth's lower mantle. Here we have measured the spin states of iron in ferropericlase and its crystal structure up to 95 GPa and 2000 K using a newly constructed X-ray emission spectroscopy and diffraction with the laser-heated diamond cell. Our results show that an isosymmetric spin crossover occurs over a pressure-temperature range extending from the upper part to the lower part of the lower mantle, and low-spin ferropericlase likely exists in the lowermost mantle. Although continuous changes in physical and chemical properties are expected to occur across the spin crossover, the spin crossover results in peculiar behavior in the thermal compression and sound velocities. Therefore, knowledge of the fraction of the spin states in the lower-mantle phases is thus essential to correctly evaluate the composition, geophysics, and dynamics of the Earth's lower mantle

VizieR Online Data Catalog: TrES-3b UBVIz' light curves (Mackebrandt+, 2017)

We observed transits of the hot Jupiter TrES-3b in Johnson U, B, V, I and Sloan z'. Telescopes are named according to the paper. We monitored the exoplanet host star TrES-3 with STELLA/WiFSIP in 2016 over the course of four months from March 7 to July 10, 2016. We observed in two filters, Johnson B and Johnson V, in blocks of three exposures each. (4 data files)

Revisiting the Transit Timing Variations in the TrES-3 and Qatar-1 Systems with TESS Data

We present and analyze 58 transit light curves of TrES-3b and 98 transit light curves of Qatar-1b, observed by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, plus two transit light curves of Qatar-1b, observed by us, using a ground-based 1.23 m telescope. These light curves are combined with the best-quality light curves taken from the Exoplanet Transit Database and the literature. The precisely determined midtransit times from these light curves enable us to obtain the refined orbital ephemerides, with improved precision, for both hot Jupiters. From the timing analysis, we find indications of the presence of transit timing variations (TTVs) in both systems. Since the observed TTVs are unlikely to be short-term and periodic, the possibility of additional planets in orbits close to TrES-3b and Qatar-1b is ruled out. The possible causes of long-term TTVs, such as orbital decay, apsidal precession, the Applegate mechanism, and line-of-sight acceleration, are also examined. However, none of these possibilities are found to explain the observed TTV of TrES-3b. In contrast to this, line-of-sight acceleration appears to be a plausible explanation for the observed TTV of Qatar-1b. In order to confirm these findings, further high-precision transit and radial velocity observations of both systems would be worthwhile