Chaotic quadruple secular evolution and the production of misaligned exomoons and Warm Jupiters in stellar multiples

Chaotic quadruple secular evolution and the production of misaligned exomoons and Warm Jupiters in stellar multiples 

Authors:

Grishin et al

Abstract:
We study the chaotic and secular evolution of hierarchical quadruple systems in the 3+1 configuration, focusing on the evolution of mutual inclination of the inner binaries as the system undergoes coupled Lidov-Kozai (LK) oscillations. We include short-range forces (SRF; such as those due to tidal and rotational distortions) that control the eccentricity excitation of the inner binary. The evolution of mutual inclination is described, a priori, by two dimensionless parameters, $\pazocal{R}_0$, the ratio between the inner and outer LK time-scales and ϵSRF, the ratio between the SRF precession and the inner LK precession rates. We find that the chaotic zones for the mutual inclination depend mainly on $\pazocal{R}_0$, while ϵSRF controls mainly the range of eccentricity excitation. The mutual inclination evolves chaotically for $1\lesssim \pazocal{R}_0\lesssim 10$, leading to large misalignments. For $0.4 \lesssim \pazocal{R}_0 \lesssim 0.8$, the system could be weakly excited and produce bimodal distribution of mutual inclination angles. Our results can be applied to exomoons-planets in stellar binaries and Warm/Hot Jupiters in stellar triples. Such systems could develop large mutual inclination angles if the inner binary is tight enough, and also high eccentricities, depending of the strength of the short-range forces. Future detections of tilted Warm/Hot Jupiters and exomoons could put our mechanism under observational tests.

Models of Warm Jupiter Atmospheres: Observable Signatures of Obliquity

Models of Warm Jupiter Atmospheres: Observable Signatures of Obliquity


Author:

Rauscher

Abstract:
We present three-dimensional atmospheric circulation models of a hypothetical "warm Jupiter" planet, for a range of possible obliquities from 0-90 degrees. We model a Jupiter-mass planet on a 10-day orbit around a Sun-like star, since this hypothetical planet sits at the boundary between planets for which we expect that tidal forces should have aligned their rotation axes with their orbital axes (i.e., ones with zero obliquity) and planets whose timescale for tidal alignment is longer than the typical age of an exoplanet system. In line with observational progress, which is pushing atmospheric characterization to planets on longer orbital periods, we calculate the observable signatures of obliquity for a transiting warm Jupiter: in orbital phase curves of thermal emission and in the hemispheric flux gradients that could be measured by eclipse mapping. For both of these predicted measurements, the signal that we would see depends strongly on our viewing geometry relative to the orientation of the planet's rotation axis, and we thoroughly identify the degeneracies that result. We compare these signals to the predicted sensitivities of current and future instruments and determine that the James Webb Space Telescope should be able to constrain the obliquities of nearby warm Jupiters to be small (if less than or equal to 10 degrees) or to directly measure them if significantly non-zero (greater than or equal to 30 degrees), using the technique of eclipse mapping. For a bright target and assuming photon-limited precision, this could be done with a single secondary eclipse observation.

Kepler-448c & Kepler-693c: Two new Warm Jupiters in Eccentric Orbits

Eccentric Companions to Kepler-448b and Kepler-693b: Clues to the Formation of Warm Jupiters

Author:

Masuda

Abstract:
I report the discovery of non-transiting close companions to two transiting warm Jupiters (WJs), Kepler-448/KOI-12b (orbital period P=17.9days, radius Rp=1.23+0.06−0.05RJup) and Kepler-693/KOI-824b (P=15.4days, Rp=0.91±0.05RJup), via dynamical modeling of their transit timing and duration variations (TTVs and TDVs). The companions have masses of 22+7−5MJup (Kepler-448c) and 150+60−40MJup (Kepler-693c), and both are on eccentric orbits (e=0.65+0.13−0.09 for Kepler-448c and e=0.47+0.11−0.06 for Kepler-693c) with periastron distances of 1.5au. Moderate eccentricities are detected for the inner orbits as well (e=0.34+0.08−0.07 for Kepler-448b and e=0.2+0.2−0.1 for Kepler-693b). In the Kepler-693 system, a large mutual inclination between the inner and outer orbits (53+7−9deg or 134+11−10deg) is also revealed by the TDVs. This is likely to induce a secular oscillation of the inner WJ's eccentricity that brings its periastron close enough to the host star for tidal star-planet interactions to be significant. In the Kepler-448 system, the mutual inclination is weakly constrained and such an eccentricity oscillation is possible for a fraction of the solutions. Thus these WJs may be undergoing tidal migration to become hot Jupiters (HJs), although the migration via this process from beyond the snow line is disfavored by the close-in and massive nature of the companions. This may indicate that WJs can be formed in situ and could even evolve into HJs via high-eccentricity migration inside the snow line.

Moderately Eccentric Warm Jupiters from Secular Interactions with Exterior Companions

Moderately Eccentric Warm Jupiters from Secular Interactions with Exterior Companions

Authors:

Anderson et al

Abstract:
Recent work suggests that most warm Jupiters (WJs, giant planets with semi-major axes in the range of 0.1-1 AU) probably form in-situ, or arrive in their observed orbits through disk migration. However, both in-situ formation and disk migration, in their simplest flavors, predict WJs to be in low-eccentricity orbits, in contradiction with many observed WJs that are moderately eccentric (e=0.2−0.7). This paper examines the possibility that the WJ eccentricities are raised by secular interactions with exterior giant planet companions. Eccentricity growth may arise from an inclined companion (through Lidov-Kozai cycles), or from an eccentric, nearly coplanar companion. We quantify the necessary conditions (in terms of the eccentricity, semi-major axis and inclination) for external perturbers of various masses to raise the WJ eccentricity. We also consider the sample of eccentric WJs with detected outer companions, and for each system, identify the range of mutual inclinations needed to generate the observed eccentricity. For most systems, we find that relatively high inclinations (at least ∼40∘) are needed so that Lidov-Kozai cycles are induced; the observed outer companions are typically not sufficiently eccentric to generate the observed WJ eccentricity in a low-inclination configuration. The results of this paper place constraints on possibly unseen external companions to eccentric WJs. Observations that probe mutual inclinations of giant planet systems will help clarify the origin of eccentric WJs and the role of external companions.

Where do Gas Giants With Orbits Less Than 100 Days Originate?

The origin of the occurrence rate profile of gas giants inside 100 days 

Authors:

Ali-Dib et al

Abstract:
We investigate the origin of the period distribution of giant planets. We fit the bias-corrected distribution of gas-giant planets inside 300 days found by Santerne et al. (2016) using a planet formation model based on pebble accretion. We investigate two possible initial conditions: a linear distribution of planetary seeds, and seeds injected exclusively on the water and CO icelines. Our simulations exclude the linear initial distribution of seeds with a high degree of confidence. Our bimodal model based on snowlines give a more reasonable fit to the data, with the discrepancies reducing significantly if we assume the water snowline to be a factor 3-10 less efficient at producing planets. This model moreover performs better on both the warm/hot Jupiters ratio and a Gaussian mixture model as comparison criteria. Our results hint that the gas-giant exoplanets population inside 300 days is more compatible with planets forming preferentially at special locations.

The Migration Origin Story for Warm Jupiters Questioned

DYNAMICAL CONSTRAINTS ON THE ORIGIN OF HOT AND WARM JUPITERS WITH CLOSE FRIENDS

Authors:

Antonini et al

Abstract:

Gas giants orbiting their host star within the ice line are thought to have migrated to their current locations from farther out. Here we consider the origin and dynamical evolution of observed Jupiters, focusing on hot and warm Jupiters with outer friends. We show that the majority of the observed Jupiter pairs (20 out of 24) are dynamically unstable if the inner planet is placed at gsim1 au distance from the stellar host. This finding is at odds with formation theories that invoke the migration of such planets from semimajor axes gsim1 au due to secular dynamical processes (e.g., secular chaos, Lidov–Kozai [LK] oscillations) coupled with tidal dissipation. In fact, the results of N-body integrations show that the evolution of dynamically unstable systems does not lead to tidal migration but rather to planet ejections and collisions with the host star. This and other arguments lead us to suggest that most of the observed planets with a companion could not have been transported from farther out through secular migration processes. More generally, by using a combination of numerical and analytic techniques, we show that the high-e LK migration scenario can only account for less than 10% of all gas giants observed between 0.1 and 1 au. Simulations of multiplanet systems support this result. Our study indicates that rather than starting on highly eccentric orbits with orbital periods above 1 yr, these "warm" Jupiters are more likely to have reached the region where they are observed today without having experienced significant tidal dissipation.

implications for the formation of hot and warm Jupiters via high-eccentricity migration

Secular dynamics of multiplanet systems: implications for the formation of hot and warm Jupiters via high-eccentricity migration

Authors:

Hamers et al

Abstract:

Hot Jupiters (HJs) are Jupiter-like planets that reside very closely to their host star, within ∼0.1AU. Their formation is not well understood. It is generally believed that they cannot have formed in situ, implying that some form of migration must have occurred after their initial formation. We study the production of HJs through secular evolution in multiplanet systems with three to five planets. In this variant of high-e migration, the eccentricity of the orbit of the innermost planet is excited on secular time-scales, triggering orbital migration due to tidal dissipation. We use a secular dynamics code and carry out a population synthesis study. We find that HJs are only produced if the viscous time-scale is short (≈0.014 yr). In contrast, in up to ≈0.3 of systems, the innermost planet is tidally disrupted. The orbital period distribution is peaked around 5 d, consistent with observations. The median HJ mass is 1MJ with a maximum of ≈2MJ, similar to observed HJs. Approximately 0.1 of the HJs have retrograde orbits with respect to the stellar spin. We do not find any warm Jupiters in our simulations, i.e. planets with semimajor axes between 0.1 and 1 AU.

Photolytic Hazes in the Atmosphere of 51 Eri b

Photolytic Hazes in the Atmosphere of 51 Eri b

Authors:

Zahnle et al

Abstract:

We use a 1D model to address photochemistry and possible haze formation in the irradiated warm Jupiter, 51 Eridani b. The intended focus was to be carbon, but sulfur photochemistry turns out to be important. The case for organic photochemical hazes is intriguing but falls short of being compelling. If organic hazes form, they are likeliest to do so if vertical mixing in 51 Eri b is weaker than in Jupiter, and they would be found below the altitudes where methane and water are photolyzed. The more novel result is that photochemistry turns H2S into elemental sulfur, here treated as S8. In the cooler models, S8 is predicted to condense in optically thick clouds of solid sulfur particles, whilst in the warmer models S8 remains a vapor along with several other sulfur allotropes that are both visually striking and potentially observable. For 51 Eri b, the division between models with and without condensed sulfur is at an effective temperature of 700 K, which is within error its actual effective temperature; the local temperature where sulfur condenses is between 280 and 320 K. The sulfur photochemistry we have discussed is quite general and ought to be found in a wide variety of worlds over a broad temperature range, both colder and hotter than the 650-750 K range studied here, and we show that products of sulfur photochemistry will be nearly as abundant on planets where the UV irradiation is orders of magnitude weaker than it is on 51 Eri b.

Warm Jupiters Seem to Have Companion Exoplanets

After analyzing four years of Kepler space telescope observations, astronomers from the University of Toronto have given us our clearest understanding yet of a class of exoplanets called "Warm Jupiters", showing that many have unexpected planetary companions.

The team's analysis, published July 10th in the Astrophysical Journal, provides strong evidence of the existence of two distinct types of Warm Jupiters, each with their own formation and dynamical history.

The two types include those that have companions and thus, likely formed where we find them today; and those with no companions that likely migrated to their current positions.

According to lead-author Chelsea Huang, a Dunlap Fellow at the Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Toronto, "Our findings suggest that a big fraction of Warm Jupiters cannot have migrated to their current positions dynamically and that it would be a good idea to consider more seriously that they formed where we find them."

Warm Jupiters are large, gas-giant exoplanets--planets found around stars other than the Sun. They are comparable in size to the gas-giants in our Solar System. But unlike the Sun's family of giant planets, Warm Jupiters orbit their parent stars at roughly the same distance that Mercury, Venus and the Earth circle the Sun. They take 10 to two hundred days to complete a single orbit.

Because of their proximity to their parent stars, they are warmer than our system's cold gas giants--though not as hot as Hot Jupiters, which are typically closer to their parent stars than Mercury.

link.

Do hot Jupiters Have Companion Gas Giant Exoplanets Within the Water Line?

The Occurrence of Additional Giant Planets Inside the Water-Ice Line in Systems with Hot Jupiters: Evidence Against High-Eccentricity Migration

Authors:

Schlaufman et al

Abstract:

The origin of Jupiter-mass planets with orbital periods of only a few days is still uncertain. It is widely believed that these planets formed near the water-ice line of the protoplanetary disk, and subsequently migrated into much smaller orbits. Most of the proposed migration mechanisms can be classified either as disk-driven migration, or as excitation of a very high eccentricity followed by tidal circularization. In the latter scenario, the giant planet that is destined to become a hot Jupiter spends billions of years on a highly-eccentric orbit, with apastron near the water-ice line. Eventually, tidal dissipation at periastron shrinks and circularizes the orbit. If this is correct, then it should be especially rare for hot Jupiters to be accompanied by another giant planet interior to the water-ice line. Using the current sample of giant planets discovered with the Doppler technique, we find that hot Jupiters with P_orb less than 10 days are no more or less likely to have exterior Jupiter-mass companions than longer-period giant planets with P_orb greater than 10 days. This result holds for exterior companions both inside and outside of the approximate location of the water-ice line. These results are difficult to reconcile with the high-eccentricity migration scenario for hot Jupiter formation.

WASP-South transiting exoplanets: WASP-130b, WASP-131b, WASP-132b, WASP-139b, WASP-140b, WASP-141b & WASP-142b

WASP-South transiting exoplanets: WASP-130b, WASP-131b, WASP-132b, WASP-139b, WASP-140b, WASP-141b & WASP-142b

Authors:

Hellier et al

Abstract:

We describe seven new exoplanets transiting stars of V = 10.1 to 12.4.
WASP-130b is a "warm Jupiter" having an orbital period of 11.6 d, the longest yet found by WASP. It transits a V = 11.1, G6 star with [Fe/H] = +0.26. Warm Jupiters tend to have smaller radii than hot Jupiters, and WASP-130b is in line with this trend (1.23 Mjup; 0.89 Rjup).
WASP-131b is a bloated Saturn-mass planet (0.27 Mjup; 1.22 Rjup). Its large scale height coupled with the V = 10.1 brightness of its host star make the planet a good target for atmospheric characterisation.
WASP-132b is among the least irradiated and coolest of WASP planets, being in a 7.1-d orbit around a K4 star. It has a low mass and a modest radius (0.41 Mjup; 0.87 Rjup). The V = 12.4, [Fe/H] = +0.22 star shows a possible rotational modulation at 33 d.
WASP-139b is the lowest-mass planet yet found by WASP, at 0.12 Mjup and 0.80 Rjup. It is a "super-Neptune" akin to HATS-7b and HATS-8b. It orbits a V = 12.4, [Fe/H] = +0.20, K0 star. The star appears to be anomalously dense, akin to HAT-P-11.
WASP-140b is a 2.4-Mjup planet in a 2.2-d orbit that is both eccentric (e = 0.047) and with a grazing transit (b = 0.93) The timescale for tidal circularisation is likely to be the lowest of all known eccentric hot Jupiters. The planet's radius is large (1.4 Rjup), but uncertain owing to the grazing transit. The host star is a V = 11.1, [Fe/H] = +0.12, K0 dwarf showing a prominent 10.4-d rotational modulation. The dynamics of this system are worthy of further investigation.
WASP-141b is a typical hot Jupiter, being a 2.7 Mjup, 1.2 Rjup planet in a 3.3-d orbit around a V = 12.4, [Fe/H] = +0.29, F9 star.
WASP-142b is a typical bloated hot Jupiter (0.84 Mjup, 1.53 Rjup) in a 2.1-d orbit around a V = 12.3, [Fe/H] = +0.26, F8 star.

Do Warm Jupiters Migrate or Form in Situ?

Warm Jupiters from secular planet-planet interactions

Authors:

Petrovich et al

Abstract:

Most warm Jupiters (gas-giant planets with 0.1 AU≲a≲1 AU) have pericenter distances that are too large for significant orbital migration by tidal friction. We study the possibility that the warm Jupiters are undergoing secular eccentricity oscillations excited by an outer companion (a planet or star) in an eccentric and/or mutually inclined orbit. In this model the warm Jupiters migrate periodically, in the high-eccentricity phase of the oscillation when the pericenter distance is small, but are typically observed at much lower eccentricities. We show that the steady-state eccentricity distribution of the warm Jupiters migrating by this mechanism is approximately flat, which is consistent with the observed distribution if and only if we restrict the sample to warm Jupiters that have outer companions detected by radial-velocity surveys. The eccentricity distribution of warm Jupiters without companions exhibits a peak at low eccentricities (e≲0.2) that must be explained by a different formation mechanism. Based on a population-synthesis study we find that high-eccentricity migration excited by an outer planetary companion (i) can account for ∼20% of the warm Jupiters and most of the warm Jupiters with e≳0.4, a fraction that is consistent with the observed population of warm Jupiters with outer companions; (ii) can produce most of the observed population of hot Jupiters, with a semimajor axis distribution that matches the observations, but fails to account adequately for ∼60% of hot Jupiters with projected obliquities ≲20∘. Thus ∼20% of the warm Jupiters and ∼60% of the hot Jupiters can be produced by high-eccentricity migration. We also provide predictions for the expected mutual inclinations and spin-orbit angles of the planetary systems with hot and warm Jupiters produced by high-eccentricity migration.

TYC 3667-1280-1b: a Warm Jupiter Around a Massive Red Giant Star

TAPAS IV. TYC 3667-1280-1 b - the most massive red giant star hosting a warm Jupiter

Authors:

Niedzielski et al

Abstract:

We present the latest result of the TAPAS project that is devoted to intense monitoring of planetary candidates that are identified within the PennState-Toru\'n planet search.

We aim to detect planetary systems around evolved stars to be able to build sound statistics on the frequency and intrinsic nature of these systems, and to deliver in-depth studies of selected planetary systems with evidence of star-planet interaction processes.

The paper is based on precise radial velocity measurements: 13 epochs collected over 1920 days with the Hobby-Eberly Telescope and its High-Resolution Spectrograph, and 22 epochs of ultra-precise HARPS-N data collected over 961 days.

We present a warm-Jupiter (Teq=1350K, m2sini=5.4±0.4MJ) companion with an orbital period of 26.468 days in a circular (e=0.036) orbit around a giant evolved (logg=3.11±0.09, R=6.26±0.86R⊙) star with M⋆=1.87±0.17M⊙. This is the most massive and oldest star found to be hosting a close-in giant planet. Its proximity to its host (a=0.21au) means that the planet has a 13.9±2.0% probability of transits; this calls for photometric follow-up study.

This massive warm Jupiter with a near circular orbit around an evolved massive star can help set constraints on general migration mechanisms for warm Jupiters and, given its high equilibrium temperature, can help test energy deposition models in hot Jupiters.

HD 5583 and BD+15 2375: Two Evolved Giant Stars With Warm Jupiters

Tracking Advanced Planetary Systems (TAPAS) with HARPS-N. III. HD 5583 and BD+15 2375 - two cool giants with warm companions

Authors:

Niedzielski et al

Abstract:

Evolved stars are crucial pieces to understand the dependency of the planet formation mechanism on the stellar mass and to explore deeper the mechanism involved in star-planet interactions. Over the past ten years, we have monitored about 1000 evolved stars for radial velocity variations in search for low-mass companions under the Penn State - Torun Centre for Astronomy Planet Search program with the Hobby-Eberly Telescope. Selected prospective candidates that required higher RV precision measurements have been followed with HARPS-N at the 3.6 m Telescopio Nazionale Galileo under the TAPAS project.

We aim to detect planetary systems around evolved stars to be able to build sound statistics on the frequency and intrinsic nature of these systems, and to deliver in-depth studies of selected planetary systems with evidence of star-planet interaction processes. For HD 5583 we obtained 14 epochs of precise RV measurements collected over 2313 days with the Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET), and 22 epochs of ultra-precise HARPS-N data collected over 976 days. For BD+15 2375 we collected 24 epochs of HET data over 3286 days and 25 epochs of HARPS-S data over 902 days.

We report the discovery of two planetary mass objects orbiting two evolved Red Giant stars: HD~5583 has a m sin i = 5.78 MJ companion at 0.529~AU in a nearly circular orbit (e=0.076), the closest companion to a giant star detected with the RV technique, and BD+15~2735 that with a m sin i= 1.06 MJ holds the record of the lightest planet found so far orbiting an evolved star (in a circular e=0.001, 0.576~AU orbit). These are the third and fourth planets found within the TAPAS project, a HARPS-N monitoring of evolved planetary systems identified with the Hobby-Eberly Telescope.

Warm Jupiters are More Likely to be in Multi Exoplanet Systems

Warm Jupiters are less lonely than hot Jupiters: close neighbours

Authors:

Huang et al

Abstract:

Exploiting the Kepler transit data, we uncover a dramatic distinction in the prevalence of sub-Jovian companions, between systems that contain hot Jupiters (periods inward of 10 days) and those that host warm Jupiters (periods between 10 and 200 days). Hot Jupiters as a whole, with the singular exception of WASP-47b, do not have any detectable inner or outer planetary companions (with periods inward of 50 days and sizes down to 2REarth). Restricting ourselves to inner companions, our limits reach down to 1REarth. In stark contrast, half of the warm Jupiters are closely flanked by small companions. Statistically, the companion fractions for hot and warm Jupiters are mutually exclusive, in particular in regard to inner companions.

The high companion fraction of warm Jupiters also yields clue to their formation. The warm Jupiters that have close-by siblings should have low orbital eccentricities and low mutual inclinations. The orbital configurations of these systems are reminiscent of those of the low-mass, close-in planetary systems abundantly discovered by the Kepler mission. This, and other arguments, lead us to propose that these warm Jupiters are formed in-situ. There are indications that there may be a second population of warm Jupiters with different characteristics. In this picture, WASP-47b could be regarded as the extending tail of the in-situ warm Jupiters into the hot Jupiter region, and does not represent the generic formation route for hot Jupiters.

Re-inflated Warm Jupiters Around Red Giants

Re-inflated Warm Jupiters Around Red Giants

Authors:

Lopez et al

Abstract:

Since the discovery of the first transiting hot Jupiters, models have sought to explain the anomalously large radii of highly irradiated gas giants. We now know that the size of hot Jupiter radius anomalies scales strongly with a planet's level of irradiation and numerous models like tidal heating, ohmic dissipation, and thermal tides have since been developed to help explain these inflated radii. In general however, these models can be grouped into two broad categories: 1) models that directly inflate planetary radii by depositing a fraction of the incident irradiation into the interior and 2) models that simply slow a planet's radiative cooling allowing it to retain more heat from formation and thereby delay contraction. Here we present a new test to distinguish between these two classes of models. Gas giants orbiting at moderate orbital periods around post main sequence stars will experience enormous increases their irradiation as their host stars move up the sub-giant and red-giant branches. If hot Jupiter inflation works by depositing irradiation into the planet's deep interiors then planetary radii should increase in response to the increased irradiation. This means that otherwise non-inflated gas giants at moderate orbital periods less than 10 days can re-inflate as their host stars evolve. Here we explore the circumstances that can lead to the creation of these "re-inflated" gas giants and examine how the existence or absence of such planets can be used to place unique constraints of the physics of the hot Jupiter inflation mechanism. Finally, we explore the prospects for detecting this potentially important undiscovered population of planets.

The Effect of Stellar Evolution on Migrating Warm Jupiters

The Effect of Stellar Evolution on Migrating Warm Jupiters

Authors:

Frewen et al

Abstract:

Warm jupiters are an unexpected population of extrasolar planets that are too near to their host to have formed in situ, but distant enough to retain a significant eccentricity in the face of tidal damping. These planets are curiously absent around stars larger than two solar radii. We hypothesize that the warm jupiters are migrating due to Kozai-Lidov oscillations, which leads to transient episodes of high eccentricity and a consequent tidal decay.

As their host evolves, such planets would be rapidly dragged in or engulfed at minimum periapse, leading to a rapid depletion of the population with increasing stellar radius, as is observed. Using numerical simulations, we determine the relationship between periapse distance and orbital migration rate for planets 0.1 to 10 Jupiter masses and with orbital periods between 10 and 100 days. We find that Kozai-Lidov oscillations effectively result in planetary removal early in the evolution of the host star, possibly accounting for the observed deficit. While the observed eccentricity distribution is inconsistent with the simulated distribution for an oscillating and migrating warm jupiter population, observational biases may explain the discrepancy.

A Comprehensive Characterization of the 70 Virginis ExoPlanetary System

A Comprehensive Characterization of the 70 Virginis Planetary System

Authors:

Kane et al

Abstract:

An on-going effort in the characterization of exoplanetary systems is the accurate determination of host star properties. This effort extends to the relatively bright host stars of planets discovered with the radial velocity method. The Transit Ephemeris Refinement and Monitoring Survey (TERMS) is aiding in these efforts as part of its observational campaign for exoplanet host stars. One of the first known systems is that of 70 Virginis, which harbors a jovian planet in an eccentric orbit. Here we present a complete characterization of this system with a compilation of TERMS photometry, spectroscopy, and interferometry. We provide fundamental properties of the host star through direct interferometric measurements of the radius (1.5\% uncertainty) and through spectroscopic analysis. We combined 59 new Keck HIRES radial velocity measurements with the 169 previously published from the ELODIE, Hamilton, and HIRES spectrographs, to calculate a refined orbital solution and construct a transit ephemeris for the planet. These newly determined system characteristics are used to describe the Habitable Zone of the system with a discussion of possible additional planets and related stability simulations. Finally, we present 19 years of precision robotic photometry that constrain stellar activity and rule out central planetary transits for a Jupiter-radius planet at the 5σ level, with reduced significance down to an impact parameter of b=0.95.

KOI-12b: a 1.43 Jupiter Radius Warm Jovian Orbiting a Fast Rotating Host Star

SOPHIE velocimetry of Kepler transit candidates XVI. Tomographic measurement of the low obliquity of KOI-12b, a warm Jupiter transiting a fast rotator

Authors:

Bourrier et al

Abstract:

We present the detection and characterization of the transiting warm Jupiter KOI-12b, first identified with Kepler with an orbital period of 17.86 days. We combine the analysis of Kepler photometry with Doppler spectroscopy and line-profile tomography of time-series spectra obtained with the SOPHIE spectrograph to establish its planetary nature and derive its properties. To derive reliable estimates for the uncertainties on the tomographic model parameters, we devised an empirical method to calculate statistically independent error bars on the time-series spectra. KOI-12b has a radius of 1.43±0.13RJup and a 3σ upper mass limit of 10MJup. It orbits a fast-rotating star (vsini⋆ = 60.0±0.9 km s−1) with mass and radius of 1.45±0.09 MSun and 1.63±0.15 RSun, located at 426±40 pc from the Earth. Doppler tomography allowed a higher precision on the obliquity to be reached by comparison with the analysis of the Rossiter-McLaughlin radial velocity anomaly, and we found that KOI-12b lies on a prograde, slightly misaligned orbit with a low sky-projected obliquity λ = 12.6−2.9+3.0∘. The properties of this planetary system, with a 11.4 magnitude host-star, make of KOI-12b a precious target for future atmospheric characterization.

"Warm Jupiter" WASP-80b's Dayside is as hot as a T Class Brown Dwarf

WASP-80b has a dayside within the T-dwarf range

Authors:

Amaury et al

Abstract:

WASP-80b is a missing link in the study of exo-atmospheres. It falls between the warm Neptunes and the hot Jupiters and is amenable for characterisation, thanks to its host star's properties. We observed the planet through transit and during occultation with Warm Spitzer. Combining our mid-infrared transits with optical time series, we find that the planet presents a transmission spectrum indistinguishable from a horizontal line. In emission, WASP-80b is the intrinsically faintest planet whose dayside flux has been detected in both the 3.6 and 4.5 μm Spitzer channels. The depths of the occultations reveal that WASP-80b is as bright and as red as a T4 dwarf, but that its temperature is cooler. If planets go through the equivalent of an L-T transition, our results would imply this happens at cooler temperatures than for brown dwarfs. Placing WASP-80b's dayside into a colour-magnitude diagram, it falls exactly at the junction between a blackbody model and the T-dwarf sequence; we cannot discern which of those two interpretations is the more likely. Flux measurements on other planets with similar equilibrium temperatures are required to establish whether irradiated gas giants, like brown dwarfs, transition between two spectral classes. An eventual detection of methane absorption in transmission would also help lift that degeneracy.

We obtained a second series of high-resolution spectra during transit, using HARPS. We reanalyse the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect. The data now favour an aligned orbital solution and a stellar rotation nearly three times slower than stellar line broadening implies. A contribution to stellar line broadening, maybe macroturbulence, is likely to have been underestimated for cool stars, whose rotations have therefore been systematically overestimated.