Fraction of the radial velocity stable stars in the early observations of the Grid Giant Star Survey

The GGSS is a partially-filled, all-sky survey to identify K-giant stars with low level of RV-variability. We study histograms of the radial velocity (RV) variability obtained in the early phase of the Grid Giant Star Survey (GGSS, Bizyaev et al., 2006). This part of the survey has been conducted with a very limited nubmer of observations per star, and rough accuracy. We apply the Monte-Carlo simulations to infer a fraction of the RV-stable stars in the sample. Our optimistic estimate is that 20% of all considered K-giants have RV-variability under 30 m s$^{-1}$. Different assumptions of intrinsic RV-variability for our stars give 12 -- 20 % of RV-stable K-giants in the studied sample.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures, to be published in PAS

The Stellar Parameters and Evolutionary State of the Primary in the d'-Symbiotic System StH\alpha190

We report on a high-resolution, spectroscopic stellar parameter and abundance analysis of a d' symbiotic star: the yellow component of StH\alpha190. This star has recently been discovered, and confirmed here, to be a rapidly rotating (vsini=100 km/s) subgiant, or giant, that exhibits radial-velocity variations of probably at least 40 km/s, indicating the presence of a companion (a white dwarf star). It is found that the cool stellar component has Teff=5300K and log g=3.0. The iron and calcium abundances are close to solar, however, barium is overabundant, relative to Fe and Ca, by about +0.5 dex. The barium enhancement reflects mass-transfer of s-process enriched material when the current white dwarf was an asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star. The past and future evolution of this binary system depends critically on its current orbital period, which is not yet known. Concerted and frequent radial-velocity measurements are needed to provide crucial physical constraints to this d' symbiotic system.Comment: 9 pages, 1 table, 3 figures. In press to Astrophysical Journal Letter

A Spectroscopic Analysis of the California-Kepler Survey Sample. I. Stellar Parameters, Planetary Radii, and a Slope in the Radius Gap

We present results from a quantitative spectroscopic analysis conducted on archival Keck/HIRES high-resolution spectra from the California-Kepler Survey (CKS) sample of transiting planetary host stars identified from the Kepler mission. The spectroscopic analysis was based on a carefully selected set of Fe i and Fe ii lines, resulting in precise values for the stellar parameters of effective temperature (Teff) and surface gravity (log g). Combining the stellar parameters with Gaia DR2 parallaxes and precise distances, we derived both stellar and planetary radii for our sample, with a median internal uncertainty of 2.8% in the stellar radii and 3.7% in the planetary radii. An investigation into the distribution of planetary radii confirmed the bimodal nature of this distribution for the small-radius planets found in previous studies, with peaks at ~1.47 ± 0.05 and ~2.72 ± 0.10 R⊕ with a gap at ~1.9 R⊕. Previous studies that modeled planetary formation that is dominated by photoevaporation predicted this bimodal radii distribution and the presence of a radius gap, or photoevaporation valley. Our results are in overall agreement with these models, as well as core powered mass-loss models. The high internal precision achieved here in the derived planetary radii clearly reveal the presence of a slope in the photoevaporation valley for the CKS sample, indicating that the position of the radius gap decreases with orbital period; this decrease was fit by a power law of the form Rpl ∝ P−0.11, which is consistent with both photoevaporation and core powered mass-loss models of planet formation, with Earth-like core compositions.Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPq); National Aeronautics and Space Administration [16-XRP16 2-0004]; Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (CAPES)This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]