Exploring the link between star and planet formation with Ariel

The goal of the Ariel space mission is to observe a large and diversified population of transiting planets around a range of host star types to collect information on their atmospheric composition. The planetary bulk and atmospheric compositions bear the marks of the way the planets formed: Ariel’s observations will therefore provide an unprecedented wealth of data to advance our understanding of planet formation in our Galaxy. A number of environmental and evolutionary factors, however, can affect the final atmospheric composition. Here we provide a concise overview of which factors and effects of the star and planet formation processes can shape the atmospheric compositions that will be observed by Ariel, and highlight how Ariel’s characteristics make this mission optimally suited to address this very complex problem

Statistics of Magrathea exoplanets beyond the Main Sequence. Simulating the long-term evolution of circumbinary giant planets with TRES

Notwithstanding the tremendous growth of the exoplanetary field in the last decade, limited attention has been paid to the planets around binary stars. Circumbinary planets (CBPs) have been discovered primarily around Main Sequence (MS) stars. No exoplanet has been found orbiting double white dwarf (DWD) binaries yet. We modelled the long-term evolution of CBPs, throughout the life stages of their hosts, from MS to white dwarf (WD). Our goal is to provide the community with both theoretical constraints on CBPs evolution beyond the MS and the occurrence rates of planet survival. We further developed the publicly available Triple Evolution Simulation (TRES) code, implementing a variety of physical processes affecting substellar bodies. We then used this code to simulate the evolution, up to one Hubble time, of two synthetic populations of circumbinary giant planets. Each population has been generated using different priors for the planetary orbital parameters. In our simulated populations we identified several evolutionary categories, such as survived, merged, and destabilised systems. Our primary focus is those systems where the planet survived the entire system evolution and orbits a DWD binary, which we call "Magrathea" planets. We found that a significant fraction of simulated CBPs survive and become Magratheas. In the absence of multi-planet migration mechanisms, this category of planets is characterised by long orbital periods. Magrathea planets are a natural outcome of triple systems evolution, and they could be relatively common in the Galaxy. They can survive the death of their binary hosts if they orbit far enough to avoid engulfment and instabilities. Our results can ultimately be a reference to orient future observations of this uncharted class of planets and to compare different theoretical models.Comment: Accepted for publication on A&A. 17 pages (+7 in the appendix), 8 figures (+9 in the appendix), 3 table

The continuous cadence Roman Galactic Bulge survey

Galactic binaries with orbital periods less than 1 hour are strong gravitational wave sources in the mHz regime, ideal for the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA). At least several hundred, maybe up to a thousand of those binaries are predicted to be sufficiently bright in electromagnetic wavebands to allow detection in both the electromagnetic and the gravitational bands allowing us to perform multi-messenger studies on a statistically significant sample. Theory predicts that a large number of these sources will be located in the Galactic Plane and in particular towards the Galactic Bulge region. Some of these tight binaries may host sub-stellar tertiaries. In this white paper we propose an observing strategy for the Galactic Bulge Time Domain Survey which would use the unique observing capabilities of the Nancy Grace Roman Space telescope to discover and study several 10s of new strong LISA gravitational sources as well as exoplanet candidates around compact white dwarf binaries and other short period variables such as flaring stars, compact pulsators and rotators.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure; Submitted to the NASA Roman Core Community Surveys White Paper Cal

Exploring the link between star and planet formation with Ariel

The goal of the Ariel space mission is to observe a large and diversified population of transiting planets around a range of host star types to collect information on their atmospheric composition. The planetary bulk and atmospheric compositions bear the marks of the way the planets formed: Ariel's observations will therefore provide an unprecedented wealth of data to advance our understanding of planet formation in our Galaxy. A number of environmental and evolutionary factors, however, can affect the final atmospheric composition. Here we provide a concise overview of which factors and effects of the star and planet formation processes can shape the atmospheric compositions that will be observed by Ariel, and highlight how Ariel's characteristics make this mission optimally suited to address this very complex problem

Determination of stellar parameters for Ariel targets: a comparison analysis between different spectroscopic methods

Ariel has been selected as the next ESA M4 science mission and it is expected to be launched in 2028. During its 4-year mission, Ariel will observe the atmospheres of a large and diversified population of transiting exoplanets. A key factor for the achievement of the scientific goal of Ariel is the selection strategy for the definition of the input target list. A meaningful choice of the targets requires an accurate knowledge of the planet hosting star properties and this is necessary to be obtained well before the launch. In this work, we present the results of a bench-marking analysis between three different spectroscopic techniques used to determine stellar parameters for a selected number of targets belonging to the Ariel reference sample. We aim to consolidate a method that will be used to homogeneously determine the stellar parameters of the complete Ariel reference sample. Homogeneous, accurate and precise derivation of stellar parameters is crucial for characterising exoplanet-host stars and in turn is a key factor for the accuracy of the planet properties

IAA : Información y actualidad astronómica (66) (2022)

Nómadas estelares.- Cuatro años del proyecto Severo Ochoa del IAA.- Deconstrucción. Proyecto MASCOT. Primera liberación de datos.- El Moby Dick de Azaymi Siu (IAA-CSIC).- Historias: Exposición AstrónomAs.- Actualidad.Este número ha contado con el apoyo económico de la Agencia Estatal de Investigación (Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades) a través de la acreditación de Centro de Excelencia Severo Ochoa para el Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (SEV-2017-0709). La página web de esta revista ha sido financiada por la Sociedad Española de Astronomía (SEA).Peer reviewe

Simulating JWST high contrast observations with PanCAKE

Techniques and Instrumentation for Detection of Exoplanets X (2021) San Diego1 August 2021 through 5 August 2021, Code 172620.--Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering vol. 118232021 Article number 118230HThe James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and its suite of instruments will offer significant capabilities towards the high contrast imaging of objects such as exoplanets, protoplanetary disks, and debris disks at short angular separations from their considerably brighter host stars. For the JWST user community to simulate and predict these capabilities for a given science case, the JWST Exposure Time Calculator (ETC) is the most readily available and widely used simulation tool. However, the ETC is not capable of simulating a range of observational features that can significantly impact the performance of JWST's high contrast imaging modes (e.g.Target acquisition offsets, temporal wavefront drifts, small grid dithers, and telescope rolls) and therefore does not produce realistic contrast curves. Despite the development of a range of more advanced software that includes some or all of these features, these instead lack in either a) instrument diversity, or b) accessibility for novice usersThis project was supported by a grant from STScI (JWST-ERS-01386) under NASA contract NAS5-03127With funding from the Spanish government through the Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence accreditation SEV-2017-0709Peer reviewe

The beta Pictoris system: Setting constraints on the planet and the disk structures at mid-IR wavelengths with NEAR

[abridged] We analyzed mid-infrared high-contrast coronagraphic images of the beta Pictoris system, taking advantage of the NEAR experiment using the VLT/VISIR instrument. The goal of our analysis is to investigate both the detection of the planet beta Pictoris b and of the disk features at mid-IR wavelengths. In addition, by combining several epochs of observation, we expect to constrain the position of the known clumps and improve our knowledge on the dynamics of the disk. To evaluate the planet b flux contribution, we extracted the photometry and compared it to the flux published in the literature. In addition, we used previous data from T-ReCS and VISIR, to study the evolution of the position of the southwest clump that was initially observed in the planetary disk back in 2003. While we did not detect the planet b, we were able to put constraints on the presence of circumplanetary material, ruling out the equivalent of a Saturn-like planetary ring around the planet. The disk presents several noticeable structures, including the known southwest clump. Using a 16-year baseline, sampled with five epochs of observations, we were able to examine the evolution of the clump: the clump orbits in a Keplerian motion with an sma of 56.1+-0.4 au. In addition to the known clump, the images clearly show the presence of a second clump on the northeast side of the disk and fainter and closer structures that are yet to be confirmed. We found correlations between the CO clumps detected with ALMA and the mid-IR images. If the circumplanetary material were located at the Roche radius, the maximum amount of dust determined from the flux upper limit around beta Pictoris b would correspond to the mass of an asteroid of 5 km in diameter. Finally, the Keplerian motion of the southwestern clump is possibly indicative of a yet-to-be-detected planet or signals the presence of a vortex.Comment: Accepted in Astronomy and Astrophysic

The JWST Early Release Science Program for Direct Observations of Exoplanetary Systems: Best Practices for Data Collection in Cycle 2 and Beyond

We present a set of recommended best practices for JWST data collection for members of the community focussed on the direct imaging and spectroscopy of exoplanetary systems. These findings and recommendations are based on the early analysis of the JWST Early Release Science Program 1386, "High-Contrast Imaging of Exoplanets and Exoplanetary Systems with JWST." Our goal is for this information to be useful for observers in preparation of JWST proposals for Cycle 2 and beyond. In addition to compiling a set of best practices from our ERS program, in a few cases we also draw on the expertise gained within the instrument commissioning programs, as well as include a handful of data processing best practices. We anticipate that this document will be regularly updated and resubmitted to arXiv.org to ensure that we have distributed our knowledge of best-practices for data collection as widely and efficiently as possible.Comment: Not yet submitted for publication. Intended only to be a community resource for JWST Cycle 2 proposal