The way forward

For the last few decades the study of disks around stars young and old and of different types have progressed significantly. During the same time a completely new discipline, the study of exoplanets, planets orbiting stars other than our Sun, have emerged. Both these fields, which are interconnected, have benefited from the development of new instrumentation, and especially by telescopes and detectors deployed in space. In this chapter we are describing the state of the art of such instruments and make an inventory of what is being currently developed. We also state some of the requirements of the next steps and what type of instruments will lead the way forward.Comment: 25 pages, 4 figure

Towards a Molecular Inventory of Protostellar Discs

The chemical environment in circumstellar discs is a unique diagnostic of the thermal, physical and chemical environment. In this paper we examine the structure of star formation regions giving rise to low mass stars, and the chemical environment inside them, and the circumstellar discs around the developing stars.Comment: 9 page PDF, 550 kbyte

Star-Planet Interactions

Much effort has been invested in recent years, both observationally and theoretically, to understand the interacting processes taking place in planetary systems consisting of a hot Jupiter orbiting its star within 10 stellar radii. Several independent studies have converged on the same scenario: that a short-period planet can induce activity on the photosphere and upper atmosphere of its host star. The growing body of evidence for such magnetic star-planet interactions includes a diverse array of photometric, spectroscopic and spectropolarimetric studies. The nature of which is modeled to be strongly affected by both the stellar and planetary magnetic fields, possibly influencing the magnetic activity of both bodies, as well as affecting irradiation and non-thermal and dynamical processes. Tidal interactions are responsible for the circularization of the planet orbit, for the synchronization of the planet rotation with the orbital period, and may also synchronize the outer convective envelope of the star with the planet. Studying such star-planet interactions (SPI) aids our understanding of the formation, migration and evolution of hot Jupiters.Comment: 8 pages, proceedings of Cool Stars 15, St. Andrews, July 2008, to be published in the Conference Proceedings Series of the American Institute of Physics - "Star-planet interactions" splinter session summar

TOI-431/HIP 26013: A super-Earth and a sub-Neptune transiting a bright, early K dwarf, with a third RV planet

We present the bright (Vmag = 9.12), multiplanet system TOI-431, characterized with photometry and radial velocities (RVs). We estimate the stellar rotation period to be 30.5 \ub1 0.7 d using archival photometry and RVs. Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) objects of Interest (TOI)-431 b is\ua0a\ua0super-Earth with\ua0a\ua0period of 0.49 d,\ua0a\ua0radius of 1.28 \ub1 0.04 R,\ua0a\ua0mass of 3.07 \ub1 0.35 M, and\ua0a\ua0density of 8.0 \ub1 1.0 g cm-3; TOI-431 d is\ua0a\ua0sub-Neptune with\ua0a\ua0period of 12.46 d,\ua0a\ua0radius of 3.29 \ub1 0.09 R,\ua0a\ua0mass of 9.90+1.53-1.49 M, and\ua0a\ua0density of 1.36 \ub1 0.25 g cm-3. We find\ua0a\ua0third planet, TOI-431 c,\ua0in\ua0the High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher RV data, but it is not seen to transit\ua0in\ua0the TESS light curves. It has an Msin i of 2.83+0.41-0.34 M, and\ua0a\ua0period of 4.85 d. TOI-431 d likely has an extended atmosphere and is one of the most well-suited TESS discoveries for atmospheric characterization, while the super-Earth TOI-431 b may be\ua0a\ua0stripped core. These planets straddle the radius gap, presenting an interesting case-study for atmospheric evolution, and TOI-431 b is\ua0a\ua0prime TESS discovery for the study of rocky planet phase curves

Discovery of an extended G giant chromosphere in the 2019 eclipse of γ Per

The November 2019 eclipse of γ Per was a rare opportunity to seek evidence for a chromosphere of the G8 giant, hitherto suspected but not detected. Twenty-nine years after the only other observed eclipse, we aim to find chromospheric absorption in the strong Caa II H&K lines, and to determine its column densities and scale height. Using the Telescopio Internacional de Guanajuato Rob\uf3tico-Espectrosc\uf3pico (TIGRE) in Guanajuato (central Mexico) before, during and after the 8 days of total eclipse, we obtained good S/N spectra of the G8 giant alone and composite spectra of the partial phases, near eclipse and far from eclipse. In the near UV of the Caa II H&K and H\ucfμ lines, the G giant spectrum that was adequately scaled was subtracted from the composite spectra in partial phases, near and far from eclipse, to obtain the A3 companion spectra with and without traces of chromospheric absorption. In addition, we used PHOENIX full non-local thermodynamic equilibrium model atmospheres on the blue A star spectrum, iSpec spectral analysis of the red G giant spectrum, and evolution tracks to study both components of γ Per. For the first time, we present evidence for this rare type of a not very extended G giant chromosphere, reaching out about half of an A-star radius (~1.5 Gm) with a scale height of only 0.17 Gm. By its location in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, the γ Per G8 giant is very close to the onset of more extended chromospheres. Furthermore, we show that this giant has a rather inactive chromosphere, and a recent 5 ksec XMM pointing reveals only a very faint, low-energy corona. While the γ Per primary has a mass of ~3.6 M\u27, and its A3 companion has one of ~2.4 M\u27, the latter is too cool (8400 \ub1 300 K), which is too evolved on the main sequence to be the same age as the primary. The high eccentricity of the 5329.08 days long-period orbit may therefore be reminiscent of a rare capture event. Using the eclipse method, we resolve a pivotal case of a G giant chromosphere, which seems to represent a low-gravity analogue of the inactive Sun. A systematic change of giant chromospheric extent by Hertzsprung-Russell diagram position is confirmed. Compared to the solar chromosphere, the density scale height increases with gravity by \uc9\ua1\u271.5

K2-60b and K2-107b. A Sub-Jovian and a Jovian Planet from the K2 Mission

We report the characterization and independent detection of K2-60b, as well as the detection and characterization of K2-107b, two transiting hot gaseous planets from the K2 space mission. We confirm the planetary nature of the two systems and determine their fundamental parameters combining the K2 time-series data with FIES@NOT and HARPS-N@TNG spectroscopic observations

A pair of sub-Neptunes transiting the bright K-dwarf TOI-1064 characterized with CHEOPS

We report the discovery and characterization of a pair of sub-Neptunes transiting the bright K-dwarf TOI-1064 (TIC 79748331), initially detected in the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) photometry. To characterize the system, we performed and retrieved the CHaracterising ExOPlanets Satellite (CHEOPS), TESS, and ground-based photometry, the High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS) high-resolution spectroscopy, and Gemini speckle imaging. We characterize the host star and determine Teff,⋆=4734±67K⁠, R⋆=0.726±0.007R⊙⁠, and M⋆=0.748±0.032M⊙⁠. We present a novel detrending method based on point spread function shape-change modelling and demonstrate its suitability to correct flux variations in CHEOPS data. We confirm the planetary nature of both bodies and find that TOI-1064 b has an orbital period of Pb = 6.44387 ± 0.00003 d, a radius of Rb = 2.59 ± 0.04 R⊕, and a mass of Mb=13.5+1.7−1.8 M⊕, whilst TOI-1064 c has an orbital period of Pc=12.22657+0.00005−0.00004 d, a radius of Rc = 2.65 ± 0.04 R⊕, and a 3σ upper mass limit of 8.5 M⊕. From the high-precision photometry we obtain radius uncertainties of ∼1.6 per cent, allowing us to conduct internal structure and atmospheric escape modelling. TOI-1064 b is one of the densest, well-characterized sub-Neptunes, with a tenuous atmosphere that can be explained by the loss of a primordial envelope following migration through the protoplanetary disc. It is likely that TOI-1064 c has an extended atmosphere due to the tentative low density, however further radial velocities are needed to confirm this scenario and the similar radii, different masses nature of this system. The high-precision data and modelling of TOI-1064 b are important for planets in this region of mass–radius space, and it allow us to identify a trend in bulk density–stellar metallicity for massive sub-Neptunes that may hint at the formation of this population of planets