Since the discovery of the transiting super-Earth CoRoT-7b, several investigations have yielded different results for the number and masses of planets present in the system, mainly owing to the ...star's high level of activity. We re-observed CoRoT-7 in 2012 January with both HARPS and CoRoT, so that we now have the benefit of simultaneous radial-velocity and photometric data. This allows us to use the off-transit variations in the star's light curve to estimate the radial-velocity variations induced by the suppression of convective blueshift and the flux blocked by starspots. To account for activity-related effects in the radial velocities which do not have a photometric signature, we also include an additional activity term in the radial-velocity model, which we treat as a Gaussian process with the same covariance properties (and hence the same frequency structure) as the light curve. Our model was incorporated into a Monte Carlo Markov Chain in order to make a precise determination of the orbits of CoRoT-7b and CoRoT-7c. We measure the masses of planets b and c to be 4.73 ± 0.95 and 13.56 ± 1.08 M⊕, respectively. The density of CoRoT-7b is (6.61 ± 1.72)(R
p
/1.58 R⊕)−3 g cm−3, which is compatible with a rocky composition. We search for evidence of an additional planet d, identified by previous authors with a period close to 9 d. We are not able to confirm the existence of a planet with this orbital period, which is close to the second harmonic of the stellar rotation at ∼7.9 d. Using Bayesian model selection, we find that a model with two planets plus activity-induced variations is most favoured.
The respiratory epithelium is highly complex, and its composition varies along the conducting airways and alveoli. In addition to their primary function in maintaining the respiratory barrier and ...lung homeostasis for gas exchange, epithelial cells interact with inhaled pathogens, which can manipulate cell signaling pathways, promoting adhesion to these cells or hosting tissue invasion. Moreover, pathogens (or their products) can induce the secretion of chemokines and cytokines by epithelial cells, and in this way, these host cells communicate with the immune system, modulating host defenses and inflammatory outcomes. This review will focus on the response of respiratory epithelial cells to two human fungal pathogens that cause systemic mycoses: Aspergillus and Paracoccidioides. Some of the host epithelial cell receptors and signaling pathways, in addition to fungal adhesins or other molecules that are responsible for fungal adhesion, invasion, or induction of cytokine secretion will be addressed in this review.
Context. With only two functional reaction wheels, Kepler cannot maintain stable pointing at its original target field and has entered a new mode of observation called K2. Aims. We describe a new ...pipeline to reduce K2 pixel files into light curves that are later searched for transit like features. Methods. Our method is based on many years of experience in planet hunting for the CoRoT mission. Owing to the unstable pointing, K2 light curves present systematics that are correlated with the target position in the charge coupled device (CCD). Therefore, our pipeline also includes a decorrelation of this systematic noise. Our pipeline is optimised for bright stars for which spectroscopic follow-up is possible. We achieve a maximum precision on 6 hours of 6 ppm. The decorrelated light curves are searched for transits with an adapted version of the CoRoT alarm pipeline. Results. We present 172 planetary candidates and 327 eclipsing binary candidates from campaigns 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 of K2. Both the planetary candidates and eclipsing binary candidates lists are made public to promote follow-up studies. The light curves will also be available to the community.
Context. The chemical composition of stars that have orbiting planets provides important clues about the frequency, architecture, and composition of exoplanet systems. Aims. We explore the ...possibility that stars from different galactic populations that have different intrinsic abundance ratios may produce planets with a different overall composition. Methods. We compiled abundances for Fe, O, C, Mg, and Si in a large sample of solar neighbourhood stars that belong to different galactic populations. We then used a simple stoichiometric model to predict the expected iron-to-silicate mass fraction and water mass fraction of the planet building blocks, as well as the summed mass percentage of all heavy elements in the disc. Results. Assuming that overall the chemical composition of the planet building blocks will be reflected in the composition of the formed planets, we show that according to our model, discs around stars from different galactic populations, as well as around stars from different regions in the Galaxy, are expected to form rocky planets with significantly different iron-to-silicate mass fractions. The available water mass fraction also changes significantly from one galactic population to another. Conclusions. The results may be used to set constraints for models of planet formation and chemical composition. Furthermore, the results may have impact on our understanding of the frequency of planets in the Galaxy, as well as on the existence of conditions for habitability.
SWEET-Cat updated Sousa, S. G.; Adibekyan, V.; Delgado-Mena, E. ...
Astronomy and astrophysics (Berlin),
12/2018, Letnik:
620
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Context.
Exoplanets have now been proven to be very common. The number of its detections continues to grow following the development of better instruments and missions. One key step for the ...understanding of these worlds is their characterization, which mostly depend on their host stars.
Aims.
We perform a significant update of the Stars With ExoplanETs CATalog (SWEET-Cat), a unique compilation of precise stellar parameters for planet-host stars provided for the exoplanet community.
Methods.
We made use of high-resolution spectra for planet-host stars, either observed by our team or found in several public archives. The new spectroscopic parameters were derived for the spectra following the same homogeneous process (ARES+MOOG). The host star parameters were then merged together with the planet properties listed in exoplanet.eu to perform simple data analysis.
Results.
We present new spectroscopic homogeneous parameters for 106 planet-host stars. Sixty-three planet hosts are also reviewed with new parameters. We also show that there is a good agreement between stellar parameters derived for the same star but using spectra obtained from different spectrographs. The planet-metallicity correlation is reviewed showing that the metallicity distribution of stars hosting low-mass planets (below 30
M
⊕
) is indistinguishable from that from the solar neighborhood sample in terms of metallicity distribution.
Context. Analysis of the statistical properties of exoplanets, together with those of their host stars, are providing a unique view into the process of planet formation and evolution. Aims. In this ...paper we explore the properties of the mass distribution of giant planet companions to solar-type stars, in a quest for clues about their formation process. Methods. With this goal in mind we studied, with the help of standard statistical tests, the mass distribution of giant planets using data from the exoplanet.eu catalog and the SWEET-Cat database of stellar parameters for stars with planets. Results. We show that the mass distribution of giant planet companions is likely to present more than one population with a change in regime around 4 MJup. Above this value host stars tend to be more metal poor and more massive and have Fe/H distributions that are statistically similar to those observed in field stars of similar mass. On the other hand, stars that host planets below this limit show the well-known metallicity-giant planet frequency correlation. Conclusions. We discuss these results in light of various planet formation models and explore the implications they may have on our understanding of the formation of giant planets. In particular, we discuss the possibility that the existence of two separate populations of giant planets indicates that two different processes of formation are at play.
Context. Short-period planets are influenced by the extreme tidal forces of their parent stars. These forces deform the planets causing them to attain nonspherical shapes. The nonspherical shapes, ...modeled here as triaxial ellipsoids, can have an impact on the observed transit light-curves and the parameters derived for these planets. Aims. We investigate the detectability of tidal deformation in short-period planets from their transit light curves and the instrumental precision needed. We also aim to show how detecting planet deformation allows us to obtain an observational estimate of the second fluid Love number from the light curve, which provides valuable information about the internal structure of the planet. Methods. We adopted a model to calculate the shape of a planet due to the external potentials acting on it and used this model to modify the ellc transit tool. We used the modified ellc to generate the transit light curve for a deformed planet. Our model is parameterized by the Love number; therefore, for a given light curve we can derive the value of the Love number that best matches the observations. Results. We simulated the known cases of WASP-103b and WASP-121b which are expected to be highly deformed. Our analyses show that instrumental precision ≤50 ppm min−1 is required to reliably estimate the Love number and detect tidal deformation. This precision can be achieved for WASP-103b in ∼40 transits using the Hubble Space Telescope and in ∼300 transits using the forthcoming CHEOPS instrument. However, fewer transits will be required for short-period planets that may be found around bright stars in the TESS and PLATO survey missions. The unprecedented precisions expected from PLATO and JWST will permit the detection of shape deformation with a single transit observation. However, the effects of instrumental and astrophysical noise must be considered as they can increase the number of transits required to reach the 50 ppm min−1 detection limit. We also show that improper modeling of limb darkening can act to bury signals related to the shape of the planet, thereby leading us to infer sphericity for a deformed planet. Accurate determination of the limb darkening coefficients is therefore required to confirm planet deformation.
Context. It is theoretically possible for rings to have formed around extrasolar planets in a similar way to that in which they formed around the giant planets in our solar system. However, no such ...rings have been detected to date. Aims. We aim to test the possibility of detecting rings around exoplanets by investigating the photometric and spectroscopic ring signatures in high-precision transit signals. Methods. The photometric and spectroscopic transit signals of a ringed planet is expected to show deviations from that of a spherical planet. We used these deviations to quantify the detectability of rings. We present SOAP3.0 which is a numerical tool to simulate ringed planet transits and measure ring detectability based on amplitudes of the residuals between the ringed planet signal and best fit ringless model. Results. We find that it is possible to detect the photometric and spectroscopic signature of near edge-on rings especially around planets with high impact parameter. Time resolution ≤7 min is required for the photometric detection, while 15 min is sufficient for the spectroscopic detection. We also show that future instruments like CHEOPS and ESPRESSO, with precisions that allow ring signatures to be well above their noise-level, present good prospects for detecting rings.
The hot-Jupiter WASP-10b was reported by Maciejewski et al. to show transit timing variations (TTVs) with an amplitude of ∼3.5 min. These authors proposed that the observed TTVs were caused by a 0.1M
...Jup perturbing companion with an orbital period of ∼5.23 d, and hence, close to the outer 5:3 mean-motion resonance with WASP-10b. To test this scenario, we present eight new transit light curves of WASP-10b obtained with the Faulkes Telescope North and the Liverpool Telescope. The new light curves, together with 22 previously published ones, were modelled with a Markov Chain Monte Carlo transit fitting code. Transit depth differences reported for WASP-10b are thought to be due to starspot-induced brightness modulation of the host star. Assuming the star is brighter at the activity minimum, we favour a small planetary radius. We find
in agreement with Johnson et al. and Maciejewski et al. Recent studies find no evidence for a significant eccentricity in this system. We present consistent system parameters for a circular orbit and refine the orbital ephemeris of WASP-10b. Our homogeneously derived transit times do not support the previous claimed TTV signal, which was strongly dependent on two previously published transits that have been incorrectly normalized. Nevertheless, a linear ephemeris is not a statistically good fit to the transit times of WASP-10b. We show that the observed transit time variations are due to spot occultation features or systematics. We discuss and exemplify the effects of occultation spot features in the measured transit times and show that despite spot occultation during egress and ingress being difficult to distinguish in the transit light curves, they have a significant effect in the measured transit times. We conclude that if we account for spot features, the transit times of WASP-10b are consistent with a linear ephemeris with the exception of one transit (epoch 143) which is a partial transit. Therefore, there is currently no evidence for the existence of a companion to WASP-10b. Our results support the lack of TTVs of hot-Jupiters reported for the Kepler sample.
Most of our knowledge of extrasolar planets rests on precise radial-velocity measurements, either for direct detection or for confirmation of the planetary origin of photometric transit signals. This ...has limited our exploration of the parameter space of exoplanet hosts to solar- and later-type, sharp-lined stars. Here we extend the realm of stars with known planetary companions to include hot, fast-rotating stars. Planet-like transits have previously been reported in the light curve obtained by the SuperWASP survey of the A5 star HD 15082 (WASP–33; V= 8.3, v sin i= 86 km s−1). Here we report further photometry and time-series spectroscopy through three separate transits, which we use to confirm the existence of a gas-giant planet with an orbital period of 1.22 d in orbit around HD 15082. From the photometry and the properties of the planet signal travelling through the spectral line profiles during the transit, we directly derive the size of the planet, the inclination and obliquity of its orbital plane and its retrograde orbital motion relative to the spin of the star. This kind of analysis opens the way to studying the formation of planets around a whole new class of young, early-type stars, hence under different physical conditions and generally in an earlier stage of formation than in sharp-lined late-type stars. The reflex orbital motion of the star caused by the transiting planet is small, yielding an upper mass limit of 4.1 MJupiter on the planet. We also find evidence of a third body of substellar mass in the system, which may explain the unusual orbit of the transiting planet. In HD 15082, the stellar line profiles also show evidence of non-radial pulsations, clearly distinct from the planetary transit signal. This raises the intriguing possibility that tides raised by the close-in planet may excite or amplify the pulsations in such stars.
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