48 research outputs found
A photometric study of the hot exoplanet WASP-19b
Context: When the planet transits its host star, it is possible to measure
the planetary radius and (with radial velocity data) the planet mass. For the
study of planetary atmospheres, it is essential to obtain transit and
occultation measurements at multiple wavelengths.
Aims: We aim to characterize the transiting hot Jupiter WASP-19b by deriving
accurate and precise planetary parameters from a dedicated observing campaign
of transits and occultations.
Methods: We have obtained a total of 14 transit lightcurves in the r'-Gunn,
IC, z'-Gunn and I+z' filters and 10 occultation lightcurves in z'-Gunn using
EulerCam on the Euler-Swiss telescope and TRAPPIST. We have also obtained one
lightcurve through the narrow-band NB1190 filter of HAWK-I on the VLT measuring
an occultation at 1.19 micron. We have performed a global MCMC analysis of all
new data together with some archive data in order to refine the planetary
parameters and measure the occultation depths in z'-band and at 1.19 micron.
Results: We measure a planetary radius of R_p = 1.376 (+/-0.046) R_j, a
planetary mass of M_p = 1.165 (+/-0.068) M_j, and find a very low eccentricity
of e = 0.0077 (+/-0.0068), compatible with a circular orbit. We have detected
the z'-band occultation at 3 sigma significance and measure it to be dF_z'= 352
(+/-116) ppm, more than a factor of 2 smaller than previously published. The
occultation at 1.19 micron is only marginally constrained at dF_1190 = 1711
(+/-745) ppm.
Conclusions: We have shown that the detection of occultations in the visible
is within reach even for 1m class telescopes if a considerable number of
individual events are observed. Our results suggest an oxygen-dominated
atmosphere of WASP-19b, making the planet an interesting test case for
oxygen-rich planets without temperature inversion.Comment: Published in Astronomy & Astrophysics. 11 pages, 11 figures, 4 table
The rapid rotation and complex magnetic field geometry of Vega
The recent discovery of a weak surface magnetic field on the normal
intermediate-mass star Vega raises the question of the origin of this magnetism
in a class of stars that was not known to host magnetic fields. We aim to
confirm the field detection and provide additional observational constraints
about the field characteristics, by modelling the magnetic geometry of the star
and by investigating the seasonal variability of the reconstructed field. We
analyse a total of 799 circularly-polarized spectra collected with the NARVAL
and ESPaDOnS spectropolarimeters during 2008 and 2009. We employ a
cross-correlation procedure to compute, from each spectrum, a mean polarized
line profile with a signal-to-noise ratio of about 20,000. The technique of
Zeeman-Doppler Imaging is then used to determine the rotation period of the
star and reconstruct the large-scale magnetic geometry of Vega at two different
epochs. We confirm the detection of circularly polarized signatures in the mean
line profiles. The amplitude of the signatures is larger when spectral lines of
higher magnetic sensitivity are selected for the analysis, as expected for a
signal of magnetic origin. The short-term evolution of polarized signatures is
consistent with a rotational period of 0.732 \pm 0.008 d. The reconstructed
magnetic topology unveils a magnetic region of radial field orientation,
closely concentrated around the rotation pole. This polar feature is
accompanied by a small number of magnetic patches at lower latitudes. No
significant variability in the field structure is observed over a time span of
one year. The repeated observation of a weak photospheric magnetic field on
Vega suggests that a previously unknown type of magnetic stars exists in the
intermediate-mass domain. Vega may well be the first confirmed member of a much
larger, as yet unexplored, class of weakly-magnetic stars.Comment: Accepted by Astronomy & Astrophysics. Abstract shortened to respect
the arXiv limit of 1920 character
The TRAPPIST survey of southern transiting planets. I. Thirty eclipses of the ultra-short period planet WASP-43 b
We present twenty-three transit light curves and seven occultation light
curves for the ultra-short period planet WASP-43 b, in addition to eight new
measurements of the radial velocity of the star. Thanks to this extensive data
set, we improve significantly the parameters of the system. Notably, the
largely improved precision on the stellar density (2.41+-0.08 rho_sun) combined
with constraining the age to be younger than a Hubble time allows us to break
the degeneracy of the stellar solution mentioned in the discovery paper. The
resulting stellar mass and size are 0.717+-0.025 M_sun and 0.667+-0.011 R_sun.
Our deduced physical parameters for the planet are 2.034+-0.052 M_jup and
1.036+-0.019 R_jup. Taking into account its level of irradiation, the high
density of the planet favors an old age and a massive core. Our deduced orbital
eccentricity, 0.0035(-0.0025,+0.0060), is consistent with a fully circularized
orbit. We detect the emission of the planet at 2.09 microns at better than
11-sigma, the deduced occultation depth being 1560+-140 ppm. Our detection of
the occultation at 1.19 microns is marginal (790+-320 ppm) and more
observations are needed to confirm it. We place a 3-sigma upper limit of 850
ppm on the depth of the occultation at ~0.9 microns. Together, these results
strongly favor a poor redistribution of the heat to the night-side of the
planet, and marginally favor a model with no day-side temperature inversion.Comment: 14 pages, 6 tables, 11 figures. Accepted for publication in A&
Spectroscopic monitoring of the Herbig Ae star HD 104237. II. Non-radial pulsations, mode analysis and fundamental stellar parameters
Herbig Ae/Be stars are intermediate-mass pre-main sequence (PMS) stars
showing signs of intense activity and strong stellar winds, whose origin is not
yet understood in the frame of current theoretical models of stellar evolution
for young stars. The evolutionary tracks of the earlier Herbig Ae stars cross a
recently discovered PMS instability strip. Many of these stars exhibit
pulsations of delta Scuti type. HD 104237 is a well-known pulsating Herbig Ae
star. In this article, we reinvestigated an extensive high-resolution
quasi-continuous spectroscopic data set in order to search for very faint
indications of non-radial pulsations in the line profile. To do this, we worked
on dynamical spectra of equivalent photospheric (LSD) profiles of HD 104237. A
2D Fourier analysis (F2D) was performed of the entire profile and the temporal
variation of the central depth of the line was studied with the time-series
analysis tools Period04 and SigSpec. We present a mode identification
corresponding to the detected dominant frequency. We perform a new accurate
determination of the fundamental stellar parameters in view of a forthcoming
asteroseismic modeling. Following the previous studies on this star, our
analysis of the dynamical spectrum of recentered LSD profiles corresponding to
the 22nd -25th of April 1999 nights spectra has confirmed the presence of
multiple oscillation modes of low-degree l in HD 104237 and led to the first
direct detection of a non-radial pulsation mode in this star: the dominant mode
F1 was identified by the Fourier 2D method having a degree l value comprised
between 1 and 2, the symmetry of the pattern variation indicating an azimuthal
order of +1 or -1. The detailed study of the fundamental stellar parameters has
provided a Teff, log g and iron abundance of 8550 +/- 150K, 3.9 +/- 0.3 and
-4.38 +/- 0.19 (i.e. [Fe/H]=+0.16 +/- 0.19), respectively
First evidence of pulsations in Vega? Results of today's most extensive spectroscopic search
The impact of rapid rotation on stellar evolution theory remains poorly
understood as of today. Vega is a special object in this context as
spectroscopic and interferometric studies have shown that it is a rapid rotator
seen nearly pole one, a rare orientation particularly interesting for seismic
studies. In this paper we present a first systematic search for pulsations in
Vega. The goal of the present work is to detect for the first time pulsations
in a rapidly rotating star seen nearly pole-on. Vega was monitored in
quasi-continuous high-resolution echelle spectroscopy. A total of 4478 spectra
were obtained within 3 individual runs in 2008, 2009 and 2010 at high
resolution. This data set should represent the most extensive high S/N, high
resolution quasi-continuous survey obtained on Vega as of today. Equivalent
photospheric absorption profiles were calculated for the stellar spectrum, but
also for the telluric lines acting as a radial velocity reference. Residual
velocities were analysed and periodic low amplitude variations, potentially
indicative of stellar pulsations, detected. All three data sets revealed the
presence of residual periodic variations: 5.32 and 9.19 c/d, (A approx 6 m/s)
in 2008, 12.71 and 13.25 c/d, (A approx 8 m/s) in 2009 and 5.42 and 10.82 c/d,
(A approx 3-4 m/s) in 2010. A Lomb-Scargle periodogram of each velocity bin of
the equivalent profile was performed for the 2010 run, not showing the presence
of any higher order nrp mode. It is too early to conclude that the variations
are due to stellar pulsations, and a confirmation of the detection with a
highly stable spectrograph is a necessary next step. If pulsations are
confirmed, their very small amplitudes show that the star would belong to a
category of very "quiet" pulsators
Seven transiting hot-Jupiters from WASP-South, Euler and TRAPPIST: WASP-47b, WASP-55b, WASP-61b, WASP-62b, WASP-63b, WASP-66b & WASP-67b
We present seven new transiting hot Jupiters from the WASP-South survey. The
planets are all typical hot Jupiters orbiting stars from F4 to K0 with
magnitudes of V = 10.3 to 12.5. The orbital periods are all in the range
3.9--4.6 d, the planetary masses range from 0.4--2.3 Mjup and the radii from
1.1--1.4 Mjup. In line with known hot Jupiters, the planetary densities range
from Jupiter-like to inflated (rho = 0.13--1.07 rho_jup). We use the increasing
numbers of known hot Jupiters to investigate the distribution of their orbital
periods and the 3--4-d "pile-up".Comment: 15 page
Three newly discovered sub-Jupiter-mass planets: WASP-69b and WASP-84b transit active K dwarfs and WASP-70Ab transits the evolved primary of a G4+K3 binary
We report the discovery of the transiting exoplanets WASP-69b, WASP-70Ab and WASP-84b, each of which orbits a bright star (V ∼ 10). WASP-69b is a bloated Saturn-mass planet (0.26 MJup, 1.06 RJup) in a 3.868-d period around an active, ∼1-Gyr, mid-K dwarf. ROSAT detected X-rays 60±27 arcsec from WASP-69. If the star is the source then the planet could be undergoing mass-loss at a rate of ∼1012 g s−1. This is one to two orders of magnitude higher than the evaporation rate estimated for HD 209458b and HD 189733b, both of which have exhibited anomalously large Lyman α absorption during transit. WASP-70Ab is a sub-Jupiter-mass planet (0.59 MJup, 1.16 RJup) in a 3.713-d orbit around the primary of a spatially resolved, 9–10-Gyr, G4+K3 binary, with a separation of 3.3 arcsec (≥800 au). WASP-84b is a sub-Jupiter-mass planet (0.69 MJup, 0.94 RJup) in an 8.523-d orbit around an active, ∼1-Gyr, early-K dwarf. Of the transiting planets discovered from the ground to date, WASP-84b has the third-longest period. For the active stars WASP-69 and WASP-84, we pre-whitened the radial velocities using a low-order harmonic series. We found that this reduced the residual scatter more than did the oft-used method of pre-whitening with a fit between residual radial velocity and bisector span. The system parameters were essentially unaffected by pre-whitening
GASPS observations of Herbig Ae/Be stars with PACS/Herschel. The atomic and molecular content of their protoplanetary discs
We observed a sample of 20 representative Herbig Ae/Be stars and five A-type
debris discs with PACS onboard of Herschel. The observations were done in
spectroscopic mode, and cover far-IR lines of [OI], [CII], CO, CH+, H2O and OH.
We have a [OI]63 micron detection rate of 100% for the Herbig Ae/Be and 0% for
the debris discs. [OI]145 micron is only detected in 25%, CO J=18-17 in 45%
(and less for higher J transitions) of the Herbig Ae/Be stars and for [CII] 157
micron, we often found spatially variable background contamination. We show the
first detection of water in a Herbig Ae disc, HD 163296, which has a settled
disc. Hydroxyl is detected as well in this disc. CH+, first seen in HD 100546,
is now detected for the second time in a Herbig Ae star, HD 97048. We report
fluxes for each line and use the observations as line diagnostics of the gas
properties. Furthermore, we look for correlations between the strength of the
emission lines and stellar or disc parameters, such as stellar luminosity, UV
and X-ray flux, accretion rate, PAH band strength, and flaring. We find that
the stellar UV flux is the dominant excitation mechanism of [OI]63 micron, with
the highest line fluxes found in those objects with a large amount of flaring
and greatest PAH strength. Neither the amount of accretion nor the X-ray
luminosity has an influence on the line strength. We find correlations between
the line flux of [OI]63 micron and [OI]145 micron, CO J = 18-17 and [OI]6300
\AA, and between the continuum flux at 63 micron and at 1.3 mm, while we find
weak correlations between the line flux of [OI]63 micron and the PAH
luminosity, the line flux of CO J = 3-2, the continuum flux at 63 micron, the
stellar effective temperature and the Brgamma luminosity. (Abbreviated version)Comment: 20 pages, 29 figures, accepted by Astronomy and Astrophysic
Three sub-Jupiter-mass planets: WASP-69b & WASP-84b transit active K dwarfs and WASP-70Ab transits the evolved primary of a G4+K3 binary
peer reviewedWe report the discovery of the transiting exoplanets WASP-69b, WASP-70Ab and WASP-84b, each of which orbits a bright star (V ˜ 10). WASP-69b is a bloated Saturn-mass planet (0.26 MJup, 1.06 RJup) in a 3.868-d period around an active, ˜1-Gyr, mid-K dwarf. ROSAT detected X-rays 60±27 arcsec from WASP-69. If the star is the source then the planet could be undergoing mass-loss at a rate of ˜1012 g s-1. This is one to two orders of magnitude higher than the evaporation rate estimated for HD 209458b and HD 189733b, both of which have exhibited anomalously large Lyman alpha absorption during transit. WASP-70Ab is a sub-Jupiter-mass planet (0.59 MJup, 1.16 RJup) in a 3.713-d orbit around the primary of a spatially resolved, 9-10-Gyr, G4+K3 binary, with a separation of 3.3 arcsec (>=800 au). WASP-84b is a sub-Jupiter-mass planet (0.69 MJup, 0.94 RJup) in an 8.523-d orbit around an active, ˜1-Gyr, early-K dwarf. Of the transiting planets discovered from the ground to date, WASP-84b has the third-longest period. For the active stars WASP-69 and WASP-84, we pre-whitened the radial velocities using a low-order harmonic series. We found that this reduced the residual scatter more than did the oft-used method of pre-whitening with a fit between residual radial velocity and bisector span. The system parameters were essentially unaffected by pre-whitening