337 research outputs found
The California-Kepler Survey. IV. Metal-rich Stars Host a Greater Diversity of Planets
Probing the connection between a star's metallicity and the presence and
properties of any associated planets offers an observational link between
conditions during the epoch of planet formation and mature planetary systems.
We explore this connection by analyzing the metallicities of Kepler target
stars and the subset of stars found to host transiting planets. After
correcting for survey incompleteness, we measure planet occurrence: the number
of planets per 100 stars with a given metallicity . Planet occurrence
correlates with metallicity for some, but not all, planet sizes and orbital
periods. For warm super-Earths having days and , planet occurrence is nearly constant over metallicities spanning
0.4 dex to +0.4 dex. We find 20 warm super-Earths per 100 stars, regardless
of metallicity. In contrast, the occurrence of warm sub-Neptunes () doubles over that same metallicity interval, from 20 to 40
planets per 100 stars. We model the distribution of planets as , where characterizes the strength of any metallicity
correlation. This correlation steepens with decreasing orbital period and
increasing planet size. For warm super-Earths ,
while for hot Jupiters . High metallicities in
protoplanetary disks may increase the mass of the largest rocky cores or the
speed at which they are assembled, enhancing the production of planets larger
than 1.7 . The association between high metallicity and short-period
planets may reflect disk density profiles that facilitate the inward migration
of solids or higher rates of planet-planet scattering.Comment: 32 pages, 15 figures, 9 tables, accepted for publication in The
Astronomical Journa
Resting Cerebral Blood Flow After Exercise Training in Mild Cognitive Impairment
Background:
Exercise training has been associated with greater cerebral blood flow (CBF) in cognitively normal older adults (CN). Alterations in CBF, including compensatory perfusion in the prefrontal cortex, may facilitate changes to the brain’s neural infrastructure. Objective:
To examine the effects of a 12-week aerobic exercise intervention on resting CBF and cognition in CN and those with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). We hypothesized individuals with MCI (vs. CN) would exhibit greater whole brain CBF at baseline and that exercise would mitigate these differences. We also expected CBF changes to parallel cognitive improvements. Methods:
Before and after a 12-week exercise intervention, 18 CN and 17 MCI participants (aged 61–88) underwent aerobic fitness testing, neuropsychological assessment, and an MRI scan. Perfusion-weighted images were collected using a GE 3T MR system. Repeated measures analyses of covariance were used to test within- and between-group differences over time, followed by post-hoc analyses to examine links between CBF changes and cognitive improvement. Results:
At baseline, individuals with MCI (vs. CN) exhibited significantly elevated perfusion in the left insula. Twelve weeks of aerobic exercise reversed this discrepancy. Additionally, exercise improved working memory (measured by the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test) and verbal fluency (measured by the Controlled Oral Word Association Test) and differentially altered CBF depending on cognitive status. Among those with MCI, decreased CBF in the left insula and anterior cingulate cortex was associated with improved verbal fluency. Conclusions:
Exercise training alters CBF and improves cognitive performance in older adults with and without cognitive impairment. Future studies must evaluate the mediating effects of CBF on the association between exercise training and cognition
Constraints on the Obliquities of Kepler Planet-Hosting Stars
Stars with hot Jupiters have obliquities ranging from 0-180 degrees, but
relatively little is known about the obliquities of stars with smaller planets.
Using data from the California-Kepler Survey, we investigate the obliquities of
stars with planets spanning a wide range of sizes, most of which are smaller
than Neptune. First, we identify 156 planet hosts for which measurements of the
projected rotation velocity (vsini) and rotation period are both available. By
combining estimates of v and vsini, we find nearly all the stars to be
compatible with high inclination, and hence, low obliquity (less than about 20
degrees). Second, we focus on a sample of 159 hot stars (> 6000K) for which
vsini is available but not necessarily the rotation period. We find 6 stars for
which vsini is anomalously low, an indicator of high obliquity. Half of these
have hot Jupiters, even though only 3% of the stars that were searched have hot
Jupiters. We also compare the vsini distribution of the hot stars with planets
to that of 83 control stars selected without prior knowledge of planets. The
mean vsini of the control stars is lower than that of the planet hosts by a
factor of approximately pi/4, as one would expect if the planet hosts have low
obliquities. All these findings suggest that the Kepler planet-hosting stars
generally have low obliquities, with the exception of hot stars with hot
Jupiters.Comment: AJ, in pres
The California-Kepler Survey. III. A Gap in the Radius Distribution of Small Planets
The size of a planet is an observable property directly connected to the
physics of its formation and evolution. We used precise radius measurements
from the California-Kepler Survey (CKS) to study the size distribution of 2025
planets in fine detail. We detect a factor of 2 deficit
in the occurrence rate distribution at 1.5-2.0 R. This gap splits
the population of close-in ( < 100 d) small planets into two size regimes:
R < 1.5 R and R = 2.0-3.0 R, with few planets in
between. Planets in these two regimes have nearly the same intrinsic frequency
based on occurrence measurements that account for planet detection
efficiencies. The paucity of planets between 1.5 and 2.0 R supports
the emerging picture that close-in planets smaller than Neptune are composed of
rocky cores measuring 1.5 R or smaller with varying amounts of
low-density gas that determine their total sizes.Comment: Paper III in the California-Kepler Survey series, accepted to the
Astronomical Journa
HAT-P-11: Discovery of a Second Planet and a Clue to Understanding Exoplanet Obliquities
HAT-P-11 is a mid-K dwarf that hosts one of the first Neptune-sized planets
found outside the solar system. The orbit of HAT-P-11b is misaligned with the
star's spin --- one of the few known cases of a misaligned planet orbiting a
star less massive than the Sun. We find an additional planet in the system
based on a decade of precision radial velocity (RV) measurements from
Keck/HIRES. HAT-P-11c is similar to Jupiter in its mass ( ) and orbital period ( year), but has a
much more eccentric orbit (). In our joint modeling of RV and
stellar activity, we found an activity-induced RV signal of 7 m s,
consistent with other active K dwarfs, but significantly smaller than the 31 m
s reflex motion due to HAT-P-11c. We investigated the dynamical coupling
between HAT-P-11b and c as a possible explanation for HAT-P-11b's misaligned
orbit, finding that planet-planet Kozai interactions cannot tilt planet b's
orbit due to general relativistic precession; however, nodal precession
operating on million year timescales is a viable mechanism to explain
HAT-P-11b's high obliquity. This leaves open the question of why HAT-P-11c may
have such a tilted orbit. At a distance of 38 pc, the HAT-P-11 system offers
rich opportunities for further exoplanet characterization through astrometry
and direct imaging.Comment: 16 pages, 11 figures, 4 tables. Accepted to A
The California-Kepler Survey V. Peas in a Pod: Planets in a Kepler Multi-planet System are Similar in Size and Regularly Spaced
We have established precise planet radii, semimajor axes, incident stellar
fluxes, and stellar masses for 909 planets in 355 multi-planet systems
discovered by Kepler. In this sample, we find that planets within a single
multi-planet system have correlated sizes: each planet is more likely to be the
size of its neighbor than a size drawn at random from the distribution of
observed planet sizes. In systems with three or more planets, the planets tend
to have a regular spacing: the orbital period ratios of adjacent pairs of
planets are correlated. Furthermore, the orbital period ratios are smaller in
systems with smaller planets, suggesting that the patterns in planet sizes and
spacing are linked through formation and/or subsequent orbital dynamics. Yet,
we find that essentially no planets have orbital period ratios smaller than
, regardless of planet size. Using empirical mass-radius relationships, we
estimate the mutual Hill separations of planet pairs. We find that of
the planet pairs are at least 10 mutual Hill radii apart, and that a spacing of
mutual Hill radii is most common. We also find that when comparing
planet sizes, the outer planet is larger in of cases, and the
typical ratio of the outer to inner planet size is positively correlated with
the temperature difference between the planets. This could be the result of
photo-evaporation.Comment: Published in The Astronomical Journal. 15 pages, 17 figure
The California-Kepler Survey. II. Precise Physical Properties of 2025 Kepler Planets and Their Host Stars
We present stellar and planetary properties for 1305 Kepler Objects of
Interest (KOIs) hosting 2025 planet candidates observed as part of the
California-Kepler Survey. We combine spectroscopic constraints, presented in
Paper I, with stellar interior modeling to estimate stellar masses, radii, and
ages. Stellar radii are typically constrained to 11%, compared to 40% when only
photometric constraints are used. Stellar masses are constrained to 4%, and
ages are constrained to 30%. We verify the integrity of the stellar parameters
through comparisons with asteroseismic studies and Gaia parallaxes. We also
recompute planetary radii for 2025 planet candidates. Because knowledge of
planetary radii is often limited by uncertainties in stellar size, we improve
the uncertainties in planet radii from typically 42% to 12%. We also leverage
improved knowledge of stellar effective temperature to recompute incident
stellar fluxes for the planets, now precise to 21%, compared to a factor of two
when derived from photometry.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures, 4 tables, accepted for publication in AJ; full
versions of tables 3 and 4 are include
The California-Kepler Survey. I. High Resolution Spectroscopy of 1305 Stars Hosting Kepler Transiting Planets
The California-Kepler Survey (CKS) is an observational program to improve our
knowledge of the properties of stars found to host transiting planets by NASA's
Kepler Mission. The improvement stems from new high-resolution optical spectra
obtained using HIRES at the W. M. Keck Observatory. The CKS stellar sample
comprises 1305 stars classified as Kepler Objects of Interest, hosting a total
of 2075 transiting planets. The primary sample is magnitude-limited (Kp < 14.2)
and contains 960 stars with 1385 planets. The sample was extended to include
some fainter stars that host multiple planets, ultra short period planets, or
habitable zone planets. The spectroscopic parameters were determined with two
different codes, one based on template matching and the other on direct
spectral synthesis using radiative transfer. We demonstrate a precision of 60 K
in effective temperature, 0.10 dex in surface gravity, 0.04 dex in [Fe/H], and
1.0 km/s in projected rotational velocity. In this paper we describe the CKS
project and present a uniform catalog of spectroscopic parameters. Subsequent
papers in this series present catalogs of derived stellar properties such as
mass, radius and age; revised planet properties; and statistical explorations
of the ensemble. CKS is the largest survey to determine the properties of
Kepler stars using a uniform set of high-resolution, high signal-to-noise ratio
spectra. The HIRES spectra are available to the community for independent
analyses.Comment: 20 pages, 19 figures, accepted for publication in AJ; a full version
of Table 5 is included as tab_cks.csv and tab_cks.te
Giant Outer Transiting Exoplanet Mass (GOT 'EM) Survey. I. Confirmation of an Eccentric, Cool Jupiter With an Interior Earth-sized Planet Orbiting Kepler-1514*
Despite the severe bias of the transit method of exoplanet discovery toward
short orbital periods, a modest sample of transiting exoplanets with orbital
periods greater than 100 days is known. Long-term radial velocity (RV) surveys
are pivotal to confirming these signals and generating a set of planetary
masses and densities for planets receiving moderate to low irradiation from
their host stars. Here, we conduct RV observations of Kepler-1514 from the Keck
I telescope using the High Resolution Echelle Spectrometer. From these data, we
measure the mass of the statistically validated giant ( ) exoplanet Kepler-1514 b with a 218 day orbital period as
. The bulk density of this cool (390 K) giant planet is
g cm, consistent with a core supported by
electron degeneracy pressure. We also infer an orbital eccentricity of
from the RV and transit observations, which is
consistent with planet-planet scattering and disk cavity migration models. The
Kepler-1514 system contains an Earth-size, Kepler Object of Interest on a 10.5
day orbit that we statistically validate against false positive scenarios,
including those involving a neighboring star. The combination of the brightness
(=11.8) of the host star and the long period, low irradiation, and high
density of Kepler-1514 b places this system among a rare group of known
exoplanetary systems and one that is amenable to continued study.Comment: 18 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in the Astronomical
Journa
- …