Red giants from the Pennsylvania - Torun Planet Search

The main goal of the Pennsylvania - Torun Planet Search (PTPS) is detection and characterization of planets around evolved stars using the high-accuracy radial velocity (RV) technique. The project is performed with the 9.2 m Hobby-Eberly Telescope. To determine stellar parameters and evolutionary status for targets observed within the survey complete spectral analysis of all objects is required. In this paper we present the atmospheric parameters (effective temperatures, surface gravities, microturbulent velocities and metallicities) of a subsample of Red Giant Clump stars using strictly spectroscopic methods based on analysis of equivalent widths of Fe I and Fe II lines. It is shown that our spectroscopic approach brings reliable and consistent results.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures, proceeding of the conference "New Technologies for Probing the Diversity of Brown Dwarfs and Exoplanets" (Shangai, China, July 19-24, 2009), to appear in EPJ Web of Conference

A Planet in a 0.6-AU Orbit Around the K0 Giant HD 102272

We report the discovery of one or more planet-mass companions to the K0-giant HD 102272 with the Hobby-Eberly Telescope. In the absence of any correlation of the observed periodicities with the standard indicators of stellar activity, the observed radial velocity variations are most plausibly explained in terms of a Keplerian motion of at least one planet-mass body around the star. With the estimated stellar mass of 1.9M$_\odot$, the minimum mass of the confirmed planet is 5.9M$_J$. The planet's orbit is characterized by a small but nonzero eccentricity of $e$=0.05 and the semi-major axis of 0.61 AU, which makes it the most compact one discovered so far around GK-giants. This detection adds to the existing evidence that, as predicted by theory, the minimum size of planetary orbits around intermediate-mass giants is affected by both planet formation processes and stellar evolution. The currently available evidence for another planet around HD 102272 is insufficient to obtain an unambiguous two-orbit solution.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure

The Penn State - Toru\'n Planet Search: target characteristics and recent results

More than 450 stars hosting planets are known today but only approximately 30 planetary systems were discovered around stars beyond the Main Sequence. The Penn State-Toru\'n Planet Search, putting an emphasis on extending studies of planetary system formation and evolution to intermediate-mass stars, is oriented towards the discoveries of substellar-mass companions to a large sample of evolved stars using high-precision radial velocity technique. We present the recent status of our survey and detailed characteristic for ~350 late type giant stars, i.e. the new results of radial velocity analysis and stellar fundamental parameters obtained with extensive spectroscopic method. Moreover, in the future we will make an attempt to perform the statistical study of our sample and searching the correlations between the existence of substellar objects and stellar atmospheric parameters according to previous works which investigated the planetary companion impact on the evolution of the host stars.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, proceeding of the conference "Planetary Systems beyond the Main Sequence" (Bamberg, Germany, August 11-14, 2010) edited by S. Schuh, H. Drechsel and U. Heber, AIP Conference Series, part of PlanetsbeyondMS/2010 proceedings http://arxiv.org/html/1011.660

Planets Around the K-Giants BD+20 274 and HD 219415

We present the discovery of planet-mass companions to two giant stars by the ongoing Penn State- Toru\'n Planet Search (PTPS) conducted with the 9.2 m Hobby-Eberly Telescope. The less massive of these stars, K5-giant BD+20 274, has a 4.2 MJ minimum mass planet orbiting the star at a 578-day period and a more distant, likely stellar-mass companion. The best currently available model of the planet orbiting the K0-giant HD 219415 points to a Jupiter-mass companion in a 5.7-year, eccentric orbit around the star, making it the longest period planet yet detected by our survey. This planet has an amplitude of \sim18 m/s, comparable to the median radial velocity (RV) "jitter", typical of giant stars.Comment: 5 figures, 13 pages, accepted by the Astrophysical Journal. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1110.164

Is there a metallicity enhancement in planet hosting red giants?

The Penn State/Toru\'n Centre for Astronomy Search for Planets Around Evolved Stars is a high-precision radial velocity (RV) survey aiming at planets detection around giant stars. It is based on observations obtained with the 9.2 m Hobby-Eberly Telescope. As proper interpretation of high precision RV data for red giants requires complete spectral analysis of targets we perform spectral modeling of all stars included in the survey. Typically, rotation velocities and metallicities are determined in addition to stellar luminosities and temperatures what allows us to estimate stellar ages and masses. Here we present preliminary results of metallicity studies in our sample. We search a metallicity dependence similar to that for dwarfs by comparing our results for a sample of 22 giants earlier than K5 showing significant RV variations with a control sample of 58 relatively RV-stable stars.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures. To appear in "Extrasolar Planets in Multi-body Systems: Theory and Observations

Phenolic and Flavonoid Content in Hericium Erinaceus, Ganoderma Lucidum and Agrocybe Aegerita under Selenium Addition

The phenolic and flavonoid contents and composition and the antioxidant ability in Hericium erinaceus, Ganoderma lucidum, and Agrocybe aegerita under selenium (Se) addition to growth medium were studied. The contents of total Se in fruiting bodies of controls (0 mM of Se) were 4.58 (A. aegerita), 8.53 (G. lucidum), and 14.29 (H. erinaceus) mg kg–1 dry weight (DW), and was significantly increased by Se enrichment of substrate. The total phenolics in fruiting bodies of controls of H. erinaceus, G. lucidum, and A. aegerita were significantly lower (17.10, 28.11, and 16.05 mg of gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/g of extract, respectively) than for Se-rich mushrooms (26.29, 40.29, and 20.07 mg GAE/g of extract, respectively). Total flavonoid content for H. erinaceus, G. lucidum, and A. aegerita increased after Se supplementation from 368.6 to 445.6, 469.9 to 627.7, and 318.1 to 393.9 μg g–1 of extract, respectively. The results show that the mushrooms have superior antioxidant properties after Se addition, because the scavenging ability on 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals was improved

A symptomatic pelvic rib

Pelvic rib is a rare anomaly where ectopic rib is found in a pelvic region. It is usually found occasionally in asymptomatic patients. We report a case of 15-year-old male, diagnosed with a symptomatic pelvic rib. It had an unusual presentation creating a pseudotumour associated with pain and reduced range of motion in the hip joint. Patient was operated on with good result and final diagnosis was confirmed in pathological examination. (Folia Morphol 2018; 77, 2: 406–408