3,525 research outputs found
Search for Transits of a Short-Period, Sub-Saturn Extrasolar Planet Orbiting HD 46375
Precise brightness measurements of HD 46375 have been acquired with an automatic telescope to search for transits of its short-period, sub-Saturn extrasolar planet. Transits of the companion do not occur, indicating that the inclination of the orbit i is less than 83° and sin i is less than 0.992. This upper limit on sin i still preserves the possibility that the mass of the planet is less than Saturn\u27s. Analysis of the photometry for HD 46375 reveals no photometric variability larger than 0.0001 ± 0.0002 mag at the orbital period of the planet. This effectively eliminates starspots and stellar pulsations as the cause of the radial velocity variations used to infer the planet\u27s existence
Techniques for Automated High‐Precision Photometry of Sun‐like Stars
Tennessee State University operates several Automatic Photoelectric Telescopes (APTs) located at Fairborn Observatory in the Patagonia Mountains of southern Arizona. The APTs are dedicated to photometric monitoring programs that would be difficult and expensive to accomplish without the advantages provided by automation. I describe the operation of two of the telescopes (0.75 and 0.80 m APTs) and the quality‐control techniques that result in their routine acquisition of single‐star differential photometry with a precision of 0.001 mag for single observations and 0.0001–0.0002 mag for seasonal means. I show that a primary obstacle to photometry at this level of precision is intrinsic variability in the comparison stars. Finally, I illustrate the capabilities of the APTs with sample results from a program to measure luminosity cycles in Sun‐like stars and a related effort to search for extrasolar planets around these stars
A determination of the spin-orbit alignment of the anomalously dense planet orbiting HD 149026
We report 35 radial velocity measurements of HD 149026 taken with the Keck Telescope. Of these measurements, 15
were made during the transit of the companion planet HD 149026b, which occurred on 2005 June 25. These velocities
provide a high-cadence observation of the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect, the shifting of photospheric line profiles that occurs when a planet occults a portion of the rotating stellar surface. We combine these radial velocities with previously published radial velocity and photometric data sets and derive a composite best-fit model for the star-planet system. This model confirms and improves previously published orbital parameters, including the remarkably small planetary radius, the planetary mass, and the orbital inclination, found to be Rp/RJup = 0.718 ± 0.065, Mp/MJup = 0.352 ± 0.025, and I = 86.1° ± 1.4°, respectively. Together the planetary mass and radius determinations imply a mean planetary density
of 1.18(-0.30)(+0.38)g cm(-3). The new data also allow for the determination of the angle between the apparent stellar equator and the orbital plane, which we constrain to be λ = -12° ± 15°
Sun-Like Magnetic Cycles in the Rapidly-Rotating Young Solar Analog HD 30495
A growing body of evidence suggests that multiple dynamo mechanisms can drive
magnetic variability on different timescales, not only in the Sun but also in
other stars. Many solar activity proxies exhibit a quasi-biennial (2
year) variation, which is superimposed upon the dominant 11 year cycle. A
well-characterized stellar sample suggests at least two different relationships
between rotation period and cycle period, with some stars exhibiting long and
short cycles simultaneously. Within this sample, the solar cycle periods are
typical of a more rapidly rotating star, implying that the Sun might be in a
transitional state or that it has an unusual evolutionary history. In this
work, we present new and archival observations of dual magnetic cycles in the
young solar analog HD 30495, an 1 Gyr-old G1.5V star with a rotation
period near 11 days. This star falls squarely on the relationships established
by the broader stellar sample, with short-period variations at 1.7 years
and a long cycle of 12 years. We measure three individual long-period
cycles and find durations ranging from 9.6-15.5 years. We find the short-term
variability to be intermittent, but present throughout the majority of the time
series, though its occurrence and amplitude are uncorrelated with the longer
cycle. These essentially solar-like variations occur in a Sun-like star with
more rapid rotation, though surface differential rotation measurements leave
open the possibility of a solar equivalence.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures. Submitted to Ap
A Super-Earth Orbiting the Nearby Sun-like Star HD 1461
We present precision radial velocity data that reveal a Super-Earth mass
planet and two probable additional planets orbiting the bright nearby G0V star
HD 1461. Our 12.8 years of Keck HIRES precision radial velocities indicate the
presence of a 7.4M_Earth planet on a 5.77-day orbit. The data also suggest, but
cannot yet confirm, the presence of outer planets on low-eccentricity orbits
with periods of 446.1 and 5017 days, and projected masses (M sin i) of 27.9 and
87.1M_Earth, respectively. Test integrations of systems consistent with the
radial velocity data suggest that the configuration is dynamically stable. We
present a 12.2-year time series of photometric observations of HD 1461, which
comprise 799 individual measurements, and indicate that it has excellent
long-term photometric stability. However, there are small amplitude variations
with periods comparable to those of the suspected 2nd and 3rd signals in the
radial velocities near 5000 and 446 days, thus casting some suspicion on those
periodicities as Keplerian signals. If the 5.77-day companion has a
Neptune-like composition, then its expected transit depth is of order ~0.5
millimags. The geometric a priori probability of transits is ~8%. Phase-folding
of the ground-based photometry shows no indication that transits of the
5.77-day companion are occurring, but high-precision follow-up of HD 1461
during upcoming transit phase windows will be required to definitively rule out
or confirm transits. This new system joins a growing list of solar-type stars
in the immediate galactic neighborhood that are accompanied by at least one
Neptune- (or lower) mass planets having orbital periods of 50 days or less.Comment: 33 pages, 7 figure
The Stellar Activity - Rotation Relationship
Using a new catalog of 824 solar and late-type stars with X-ray luminosities
and rotation periods we have studied the relationship between rotation and
stellar activity. From an unbiased subset of this sample the power law slope of
the unsaturated regime, , is fit as
. This is inconsistent with the canonical slope
to a confidence of 5 and argues for an interface-type dynamo.
Super-saturation is observed for the fastest rotators in our sample and its
parametric dependencies are explored. Significant correlations are found with
both the corotation radius and the excess polar updraft, the latter theory
being supported by other observations. We also present a new X-ray population
synthesis model of the mature stellar component of our Galaxy and use it to
reproduce deep observations of a high Galactic latitude field. The model,
XStar, can be used to test models of stellar spin-down and dynamo decay, as
well as for estimating stellar X-ray contamination rates for non-stellar
studies.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. To appear in the proceedings of Cool Stars 17:
17th Cambridge Workshop on Cool Stars, Stellar Systems, and the Sun, AN 334,
1-2, Eds Klaus Strassmeier and Mercedes Lopez-Morale
C14 Automatic Imaging Telescope Photometry of GJ1214
GJ1214b is the highest signal-to-noise sub-Neptune for atmospheric studies.
Although most previous transmission spectroscopy measurements have revealed a
frustratingly featureless spectrum, JWST observations are expected to give new
insights to this benchmark planet. We have performed photometric monitoring of
GJ1214 (the host star) to provide context for these observations. We find that
GJ1214 entered a period of relatively high brightness during 2021 and 2022.
This implies that the JWST MIRI/LRS phase curve observation of GJ1214b in July
2022 was obtained during an epoch of low activity for the spot-dominated host
star. Like previous works, we are unable to definitively identify the star's
rotation period. Nevertheless, we confirm that it is likely >50 days.Comment: arXiv only posting, contact Greg Henry for access to the dat
Five New δ Scuti Stars
We present high‐resolution spectroscopy and precision photometry of five new, relatively bright δ Scuti stars. They were originally chosen as photometric comparison stars in our program of automated, high‐precision photometry of solar‐type stars and subsequently recognized as new variable stars. We conducted follow‐up spectroscopic and photometric observations to determine the properties of the stars and their types of variability. All five of the stars presented here belong to the most common subgroup of low‐amplitude, Population I δ Scuti variables. One of the stars, HD 10502, is the third example of a δ Scuti variable with composite broad and narrow spectroscopic line profiles suggesting the presence of a circumstellar shell or disk
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