1,660 research outputs found
Eclipsing Binaries in Open Clusters
Detached eclipsing binaries are very useful objects for calibrating
theoretical stellar models and checking their predictions. Detached eclipsing
binaries in open clusters are particularly important because of the additional
constraints on their age and chemical composition from their membership of the
cluster. I compile a list containing absolute parameters of well-studied
eclipsing binaries in open clusters, and present new observational data on the
B-type systems V1481 Cyg and V2263 Cyg which are members of the young open
cluster NGC 7128.Comment: 4 pages, 2 colour figures. Poster presentation for IAUS 240 (Binary
Stars as Critical Tools and Tests in Contemporary Astrophysics), Prague,
August 2006. The poster itself can be dowloaded in ppt and pdf versions from
http://www.astro.keele.ac.uk/~jkt/pubs.htm
High-precision photometry by telescope defocussing. III. The transiting planetary system WASP-2
We present high-precision photometry of three transits of the extrasolar
planetary system WASP-2, obtained by defocussing the telescope, and achieving
point-to-point scatters of between 0.42 and 0.73 mmag. These data are modelled
using the JKTEBOP code, and taking into account the light from the
recently-discovered faint star close to the system. The physical properties of
the WASP-2 system are derived using tabulated predictions from five different
sets of stellar evolutionary models, allowing both statistical and systematic
errorbars to be specified. We find the mass and radius of the planet to be M_b
= 0.847 +/- 0.038 +/- 0.024 Mjup and R_b = 1.044 +/- 0.029 +/- 0.015 Rjup. It
has a low equilibrium temperature of 1280 +/- 21 K, in agreement with a recent
finding that it does not have an atmospheric temperature inversion. The first
of our transit datasets has a scatter of only 0.42 mmag with respect to the
best-fitting light curve model, which to our knowledge is a record for
ground-based observations of a transiting extrasolar planet.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. 9 pages, 3 figures, 10 table
KIC 4247791: A SB4 system with two eclipsing binaries (2EBs)
KIC 4247791 is an eclipsing binary observed by the Kepler satellite mission.
We wish to determine the nature of its components and in particular the origin
of a shallow dip in its Kepler light curve that previous investigations have
been unable to explain in a unique way. We analyze newly obtained
high-resolution spectra of the star using synthetic spectra based on atmosphere
models, derive the radial velocities of the stellar components from
cross-correlation with a synthetic template, and calculate the orbital
solution. We use the JKTEBOP program to model the Kepler light curve of KIC
4247791. We find KIC 4247791 to be a SB4 star. The radial velocity variations
of its four components can be explained by two separate eclipsing binaries. In
contradiction to previous photometric findings, we show that the observed
composite spectrum as well as the derived masses of all four of its components
correspond to spectral type F. The observed small dip in the light curve is not
caused by a transit-like phenomenon but by the eclipses of the second binary
system. We find evidence that KIC 4247791 might belong to the very rare
hierarchical SB4 systems with two eclipsing binaries.Comment: 6 pages, 8 figures, 2 table
High-precision photometry by telescope defocussing – VIII. WASP-22, WASP-41, WASP-42 and WASP-55
We present 13 high-precision and four additional light curves of four bright southern-hemisphere transiting planetary systems: WASP-22, WASP-41, WASP-42 and WASP-55. In the cases of WASP-42 and WASP-55, these are the first follow-up observations since their discovery papers. We present refined measurements of the physical properties and orbital ephemerides of all four systems. No indications of transit timing variations were seen. All four planets have radii inflated above those expected from theoretical models of gas-giant planets; WASP-55 b is the most discrepant with a mass of 0.63 MJup and a radius of 1.34 RJup. WASP-41 shows brightness anomalies during transit due to the planet occulting spots on the stellar surface. Two anomalies observed 3.1 d apart are very likely due to the same spot. We measure its change in position and determine a rotation period for the host star of 18.6 ± 1.5 d, in good agreement with a published measurement from spot-induced brightness modulation, and a sky-projected orbital obliquity of λ = 6 ± 11°. We conclude with a compilation of obliquity measurements from spot-tracking analyses and a discussion of this technique in the study of the orbital configurations of hot Jupiters
High-precision photometry by telescope defocusing – VII. The ultrashort period planet WASP-103
We present 17 transit light curves of the ultrashort period planetary system WASP-103, a strong candidate for the detection of tidally-induced orbital decay. We use these to establish a high-precision reference epoch for transit timing studies. The time of the reference transit mid-point is now measured to an accuracy of 4.8 s, versus 67.4 s in the discovery paper, aiding future searches for orbital decay. With the help of published spectroscopic measurements and theoretical stellar models, we determine the physical properties of the system to high precision and present a detailed error budget for these calculations. The planet has a Roche lobe filling factor of 0.58, leading to a significant asphericity; we correct its measured mass and mean density for this phenomenon. A high-resolution Lucky Imaging observation shows no evidence for faint stars close enough to contaminate the point spread function of WASP-103. Our data were obtained in the Bessell RI and the SDSS griz passbands and yield a larger planet radius at bluer optical wavelengths, to a confidence level of 7.3σ. Interpreting this as an effect of Rayleigh scattering in the planetary atmosphere leads to a measurement of the planetary mass which is too small by a factor of 5, implying that Rayleigh scattering is not the main cause of the variation of radius with wavelength
- …