Aims. We explore the relations between physical and orbital properties of planets and properties of their host stars to identify the main observable signatures of the formation and evolution ...processes of planetary systems. Methods. We used a large sample of FGK dwarf planet-hosting stars with stellar parameters derived in a homogeneous way from the SWEET-Cat database to study the relation between stellar metallicity and position of planets in the period-mass diagram. We then used all the radial-velocity-detected planets orbiting FGK stars to explore the role of planet-disk and planet-planet interaction on the evolution of orbital properties of planets with masses above 1 MJup. Results. Using a large sample of FGK dwarf hosts we show that planets orbiting metal-poor stars have longer periods than those in metal-rich systems. This trend is valid for masses at least from ≈10 M⊕ to ≈4 MJup. Earth-like planets orbiting metal-rich stars always show shorter periods (fewer than 20 days) than those orbiting metal-poor stars. However, in the short-period regime there are a similar number of planets orbiting metal-poor stars. We also found statistically significant evidence that very high mass giants (with a mass higher than 4 MJup) have on average more eccentric orbits than giant planets with lower mass. Finally, we show that the eccentricity of planets with masses higher than 4 MJup tends to be lower for planets with shorter periods. Conclusions. Our results suggest that the planets in the P − MP diagram are evolving differently because of a mechanism that operates over a wide range of planetary masses. This mechanism is stronger or weaker, depending on the metallicity of the respective system. One possibility is that planets in metal-poor disks form farther out from their central star and/or they form later and do not have time to migrate as far as the planets in metal-rich systems. The trends and dependencies obtained for very high mass planetary systems suggest that planet-disk interaction is a very important and orbit-shaping mechanism for planets in the high-mass domain.
Full text
Available for:
FMFMET, NUK, UL, UM, UPUK
Context.
Twenty-four years after the discoveries of the first exoplanets, the radial-velocity (RV) method is still one of the most productive techniques to detect and confirm exoplanets. But stellar ...magnetic activity can induce RV variations large enough to make it difficult to disentangle planet signals from the stellar noise. In this context, HD 41248 is an interesting planet-host candidate, with RV observations plagued by activity-induced signals.
Aims.
We report on ESPRESSO observations of HD 41248 and analyse them together with previous observations from HARPS with the goal of evaluating the presence of orbiting planets.
Methods.
Using different noise models within a general Bayesian framework designed for planet detection in RV data, we test the significance of the various signals present in the HD 41248 dataset. We use Gaussian processes as well as a first-order moving average component to try to correct for activity-induced signals. At the same time, we analyse photometry from the TESS mission, searching for transits and rotational modulation in the light curve.
Results.
The number of significantly detected Keplerian signals depends on the noise model employed, which can range from 0 with the Gaussian process model to 3 with a white noise model. We find that the Gaussian process alone can explain the RV data while allowing for the stellar rotation period and active region evolution timescale to be constrained. The rotation period estimated from the RVs agrees with the value determined from the TESS light curve.
Conclusions.
Based on the data that is currently available, we conclude that the RV variations of HD 41248 can be explained by stellar activity (using the Gaussian process model) in line with the evidence from activity indicators and the TESS photometry.
Full text
Available for:
FMFMET, NUK, UL, UM, UPUK
It is still being debated whether the well-known metallicity-giant planet correlation for dwarf stars is also valid for giant stars. For this reason, having precise metallicities is very important. ...Precise stellar parameters are also crucial to planetary research for several other reasons. Different methods can provide different results that lead to discrepancies in the analysis of planet hosts. To study the impact of different analyses on the metallicity scale for evolved stars, we compare different iron line lists to use in the atmospheric parameter derivation of evolved stars. Therefore, we use a sample of 71 evolved stars with planets. With these new homogeneous parameters, we revisit the metallicity-giant planet connection for evolved stars. All parameters compare well using a line list set, designed specifically for cool and solar-like stars to provide more accurate temperatures. All parameters derived with this line list set are preferred and are thus adopted for future analysis. We find that evolved planet hosts are more metal-poor than dwarf stars with giant planets.
Full text
Available for:
FMFMET, NUK, UL, UM, UPUK
Aims. The main goal of this work is to explore which elements carry the most information about the birth origin of stars and, as such, which are best suited for chemical tagging. Methods. We explored ...different techniques to minimize the effect of outlier value lines in the abundances by using Ni abundances derived for 1111 FGK-type stars. We evaluate how the limited number of spectral lines can affect the final chemical abundance. Then we make an efficient even footing comparison of the X/Fe scatter between the elements that have a different number of observable spectral lines in the studied spectra. Results. When several spectral lines are available, we find that the most efficient way of calculating the average abundance of elements is to use a weighted mean (WM), whereby we consider the distance from the median abundance as a weight. This method can be used effectively without removing suspected outlier lines. When the same number of lines are used to determine chemical abundances, we show that the X/Fe star-to-star scatter for iron group and α-capture elements is almost the same. The largest scatter among the studied elements, was observed for Al and the smallest for Cr and Ni. Conclusions. We recommend caution when comparing X/Fe scatters among elements where a different number of spectral lines are available. A meaningful comparison is necessary to identify elements that show the largest intrinsic scatter, which can then be used for chemical tagging.
Full text
Available for:
FMFMET, NUK, UL, UM, UPUK
Aims. The main goal of this work is to study element ratios that are important for the formation of planets of different masses. Methods. We study potential correlations between the existence of ...planetary companions and the relative elemental abundances of their host stars. We use a large sample of FGK-type dwarf stars for which precise Mg, Si, and Fe abundances have been derived using HARPS high-resolution and high-quality data. Results. A first analysis of the data suggests that low-mass planet host stars show higher Mg/Si ratios, while giant planet hosts present Mg/Si that is lower than field stars. However, we found that the Mg/Si ratio significantly depends on metallicity through Galactic chemical evolution. After removing the Galactic evolution trend only the difference in the Mg/Si elemental ratio between low-mass planet hosts and non-hosts was present in a significant way. These results suggest that low-mass planets are more prevalent around stars with high Mg/Si. Conclusions. Our results demonstrate the importance of Galactic chemical evolution and indicate that it may play an important role in the planetary internal structure and composition. The results also show that abundance ratios may be a very relevant issue for our understanding of planet formation and evolution.
Full text
Available for:
FMFMET, NUK, UL, UM, UPUK
Context. The search for planets orbiting metal-poor stars is of utmost importance for our understanding of planet formation models. However, no dedicated searches have been conducted so far for very ...low mass planets orbiting such objects. Only a few cases of low-mass planets orbiting metal-poor stars are thus known. Amongst these, HD 41248 is a metal-poor, solar-type star on the orbit of which a resonant pair of super-Earth-like planets has been announced. This detection was based on 62 radial velocity measurements obtained with the HARPS spectrograph (public data). Aims. We present a new planet search program that is using the HARPS spectrograph to search for Neptunes and super-Earths that orbit a sample of metal-poor FGK dwarfs. We then present a detailed analysis of 162 additional radial velocity measurements of HD 41248, obtained within this program, with the goal of confirming the existence of the proposed planetary system. Methods. We analysed the precise radial velocities, obtained with the HARPS spectrograph, together with several stellar activity diagnostics and line profile indicators. Results. A careful analysis shows no evidence for the planetary system. One of the signals, with a period of ~25days, is shown to be related to the rotational period of the star, and is clearly seen in some of the activity proxies. We were unable to convincingly retrieve the remaining signal (P ~ 18days) in the new dataset. Conclusions. We discuss possible causes for the complex (evolving) signals observed in the data of HD 41248, proposing that they might be explained by the appearance and disappearance of active regions on the surface of a star with strong differential rotation, or by a combination of the sparse data sampling and active region evolution.
Full text
Available for:
FMFMET, NUK, UL, UM, UPUK
ABSTRACT
Investigating the chemical homogeneity of stars born from the same molecular cloud at virtually the same time is very important for our understanding of the chemical enrichment of the ...interstellar medium and with it the chemical evolution of the Galaxy. One major cause of inhomogeneities in the abundances of open clusters is stellar evolution of the cluster members. In this work, we investigate variations in the surface chemical composition of member stars of the old open cluster M67 as a possible consequence of atomic diffusion effects taking place during the main-sequence phase. The abundances used are obtained from high-resolution UVES/FLAMES spectra within the framework of the Gaia-ESO Survey. We find that the surface abundances of stars on the main sequence decrease with increasing mass reaching a minimum at the turn-off. After deepening of the convective envelope in subgiant branch stars, the initial surface abundances are restored. We found the measured abundances to be consistent with the predictions of stellar evolutionary models for a cluster with the age and metallicity of M67. Our findings indicate that atomic diffusion poses a non-negligible constraint on the achievable precision of chemical tagging methods.
Aims. In this work we derive new precise and homogeneous parameters for 37 stars with planets. For this purpose, we analyze high resolution spectra obtained by the NARVAL spectrograph for a sample ...composed of bright planet host stars in the northern hemisphere. The new parameters are included in the SWEET-Cat online catalogue. Methods. To ensure that the catalogue is homogeneous, we use our standard spectroscopic analysis procedure, ARES+MOOG, to derive effective temperatures, surface gravities, and metallicities. These spectroscopic stellar parameters are then used as input to compute the stellar mass and radius, which are fundamental for the derivation of the planetary mass and radius. Results. We show that the spectroscopic parameters, masses, and radii are generally in good agreement with the values available in online databases of exoplanets. There are some exceptions, especially for the evolved stars. These are analyzed in detail focusing on the effect of the stellar mass on the derived planetary mass. Conclusions. We conclude that the stellar mass estimations for giant stars should be managed with extreme caution when using them to compute the planetary masses. We report examples within this sample where the differences in planetary mass can be as high as 100% in the most extreme cases.
Full text
Available for:
FMFMET, NUK, UL, UM, UPUK
Context.
Most of the currently known planets are small worlds with radii between that of the Earth and that of Neptune. The characterization of planets in this regime shows a large diversity in ...compositions and system architectures, with distributions hinting at a multitude of formation and evolution scenarios. However, many planetary populations, such as high-density planets, are significantly under-sampled, limiting our understanding of planet formation and evolution.
Aims.
NCORES is a large observing program conducted on the HARPS high-resolution spectrograph that aims to confirm the planetary status and to measure the masses of small transiting planetary candidates detected by transit photometry surveys in order to constrain their internal composition.
Methods.
Using photometry from the K2 satellite and radial velocities measured with the HARPS and CORALIE spectrographs, we searched for planets around the bright (
V
mag
= 10) and slightly evolved Sun-like star HD 137496.
Results.
We precisely estimated the stellar parameters,
M
*
= 1.035 ± 0.022
M
⊙
,
R
*
= 1.587 ± 0.028
R
⊙
,
T
eff
= 5799 ± 61 K, together with the chemical composition (e.g. Fe/H = −0.027 ± 0.040 dex) of the slightly evolved star. We detect two planets orbiting HD 137496. The inner planet, HD 137496 b, is a super-Mercury (an Earth-sized planet with the density of Mercury) with a mass of
M
b
= 4.04 ± 0.55
M
⊕
, a radius of R
b
= 1.31
−0.05
+0.06
R
⊕
, and a density of ρ
b
= 10.49
−1.82
+2.08
g cm
-3
. With an interior modeling analysis, we find that the planet is composed mainly of iron, with the core representing over 70% of the planet’s mass (M
core
/ M
total
= 0.73
−0.12
+0.11
). The outer planet, HD 137496 c, is an eccentric (
e
= 0.477 ± 0.004), long period (
P
= 479.9
−1.1
+1.0
days) giant planet (
M
c
sin
i
c
= 7.66 ± 0.11
M
Jup
) for which we do not detect a transit.
Conclusions.
HD 137496 b is one of the few super-Mercuries detected to date. The accurate characterization reported here enhances its role as a key target to better understand the formation and evolution of planetary systems. The detection of an eccentric long period giant companion also reinforces the link between the presence of small transiting inner planets and long period gas giants.
Full text
Available for:
FMFMET, NUK, UL, UM, UPUK
CNO behaviour in planet-harbouring stars Suarez-Andres, L; Israelian, G; Hernandez, J I Gonzalez ...
Astronomy and astrophysics (Berlin),
07/2016, Volume:
591
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Context. Carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen (CNO) are key elements in stellar formation and evolution, and their abundances should also have a significant impact on planetary formation and evolution. Aims. ...We present a detailed spectroscopic analysis of 74 solar-type stars, 42 of which are known to harbour planets. We determine the nitrogen abundances of these stars and investigate a possible connection between N and the presence of planetary companions. Methods. We used VLT/UVES to obtain high-resolution near-UV spectra of our targets. Spectral synthesis of the NH band at 3360 A was performed with the spectral synthesis codes MOOG and FITTING. Results. We identify several spectral windows from which accurate N abundance can be obtained. Nitrogen distributions for stars with and without planets show that planet hosts are nitrogen-rich when compared to single stars. However, given the linear trend between N/Fe vs. Fe/H, this fact can be explained as being due to the metal-rich nature of planet hosts. Conclusions. We conclude that reliable N abundances can be derived for metal-rich solar type stars from the near UV molecular band at 3360 A. We confirm a linear trend between N/Fe and metallicity expected from standard models of Galactic chemical evolution.
Full text
Available for:
FMFMET, NUK, UL, UM, UPUK
PDF
