Aims. Most hot Jupiters are expected to spiral in toward their host stars because the angular momentum of the orbital motion is transferred to the stellar spin. Their orbits can also precess as a ...result of planet-star interactions. Calculations show that both effects might be detected for the very-hot exoplanet WASP-12 b using the method of precise transit-timing over a time span of about 10 yr. Methods. We acquired new precise light curves for 29 transits of WASP-12 b, spannning four observing seasons from November 2012 to February 2016. New mid-transit times, together with those from the literature, were used to refine the transit ephemeris and analyze the timing residuals. Results. We find that the transit times of WASP-12 b do not follow a linear ephemeris with a 5σ confidence level. They may be approximated with a quadratic ephemeris that gives a change rate in the orbital period of (−2.56 ± 0.40) × 10-2 s yr-1. The tidal quality parameter of the host star was found to be equal to 2.5 × 105, which is similar to theoretical predictions for Sun-like stars. We also considered a model in which the observed timing residuals are interpreted as a result of the apsidal precession. We find, however, that this model is statistically less probable than the orbital decay.
Differently heat treated samples of a low alloyed TRIP steel have been investigated using electron diffraction techniques in SEM and TEM. Aim was, first, to discriminate the microstructure ...constituents, austenite, ferrite, bainite, and martensite, second to gain information on the γ–α phase transformation mechanisms and third to correlate the mechanical properties and the microstructure of the samples. Bainite always occurs in conjunction with an orientation gradient in the surrounding ferrite matrix. It consists of fine lamellae of ferrite and austenite which show a sharp Kurdjumov–Sachs orientation relationship with each other. This was interpreted in terms of a displacive bainite formation mechanism. The microstructure is formed by growth of γ-grains during intercritical annealing and shrinking of these grains during the subsequent cooling without nucleation of new α-grains. The transformation first occurs reconstructively into ferrite and then, at lower temperature, displacively into bainite. The mechanical properties of differently heat treated samples are most strongly influenced by the amount and distribution of carbon in the retained austenite and by the degree of recovery in bainite and austenite.
ABSTRACT
Hot Jupiters have been perceived as loners devoid of planetary companions in close orbital proximity. However, recent discoveries based on space-borne precise photometry have revealed that ...at least some fraction of giant planets coexists with low-mass planets in compact orbital architectures. We report detecting a 1.446-d transit-like signal in the photometric time series acquired with the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) for the WASP-84 system, which is known to contain a hot Jupiter on a circular 8.5-d orbit. The planet was validated based on TESS photometry, and its signal was distilled in radial velocity measurements. The joint analysis of photometric and Doppler data resulted in a multiplanetary model of the system. With a mass of $15\, \mathrm{ M}_{{\oplus }}$, radius of $2\, \mathrm{ R}_{{\oplus }}$, and orbital distance of 0.024 au, the new planet WASP-84 c was classified as a hot super-Earth with the equilibrium temperature of 1300 K. A growing number of companions to hot Jupiters indicates that a non-negligible part of them must have formed under a quiescent scenario such as disc migration or in situ formation.
Aims.
The orbital motion of the transiting hot Jupiter TrES-5 b was reported to be perturbed by a planetary companion on a nearby orbit. Such compact systems do not frequently occur in nature, and ...investigating their orbital architecture could shed some light on the formation processes of hot Jupiters.
Methods.
We acquired 15 new precise photometric time-series for 12 transits of TrES-5 b between June 2019 and October 2020 using 0.9–2.0 m telescopes. The method of precise transit timing was employed to verify the deviation of the planet from the Keplerian motion.
Results.
Although our results show no detectable short-time variation in the orbital period of TrES-5 b and the existence of the additional nearby planet is not confirmed, the new transits were observed about two minutes earlier than expected. We conclude that the orbital period of the planet could vary on a long timescale. We found that the most likely explanation of the observations is the line-of-sight acceleration of the system’s barycentre caused by the orbital motion induced by a massive, wide-orbiting companion.
ABSTRACT
Here we report on the results of the Whole Earth Blazar Telescope photo-polarimetric campaign targeting the blazar S5 0716+71, organized in 2014 March to monitor the source simultaneously in
...BVRI
and near-IR filters. The campaign resulted in an unprecedented data set spanning ∼110 hr of nearly continuous, multiband observations, including two sets of densely sampled polarimetric data mainly in the
R
filter. During the campaign, the source displayed pronounced variability with peak-to-peak variations of about 30% and “bluer-when-brighter” spectral evolution, consisting of a day-timescale modulation with superimposed hour-long microflares characterized by ∼0.1 mag flux changes. We performed an in-depth search for quasi-periodicities in the source light curve; hints for the presence of oscillations on timescales of ∼3 and ∼5 hr do not represent highly significant departures from a pure red-noise power spectrum. We observed that, at a certain configuration of the optical polarization angle (PA) relative to the PA of the innermost radio jet in the source, changes in the polarization degree (PD) led the total flux variability by about 2 hr; meanwhile, when the relative configuration of the polarization and jet angles altered, no such lag could be noted. The microflaring events, when analyzed as separate pulse emission components, were found to be characterized by a very high PD (>30%) and PAs that differed substantially from the PA of the underlying background component, or from the radio jet positional angle. We discuss the results in the general context of blazar emission and energy dissipation models.
Theoretical calculations and some indirect observations show that massive exoplanets on tight orbits must decay due to tidal dissipation within their host stars. This orbital evolution could be ...observationally accessible through precise transit timing over a course of decades. The rate of planetary in-spiraling may not only help us to understand some aspects of evolution of planetary systems, but also can be used as a probe of the stellar internal structure. In this paper we present results of transit timing campaigns organized for a carefully selected sample of the Northern hemisphere hot Jupiter-like planets which were found to be the best candidates for detecting planet-star tidal interactions. Among them, there is the WASP-12 system which is the best candidate for possessing an in-falling giant exoplanet. Our new observations support the scenario of orbital decay of WASP-12 b and allow us to refine its rate. The derived tidal quality parameter of the host star Q'*=(1.82±0.32)×105 is in agreement with theoretical predictions for subgiant stars. For the remaining systems – HAT-P-23, KELT-1, KELT-16, WASP-33, and WASP-103 – our transit timing data reveal no deviations from the constant-period models, hence constraints on the individual rates of orbital decay were placed. The tidal quality parameters of host stars in at least four systems – HAT-P-23, KELT-1, WASP-33, and WASP-103 – were found to be greater than the value reported for WASP-12. This is in line with the finding that those hosts are main sequence stars, for which efficiency of tidal dissipation is predicted to be relatively weak.
UX Orionis stars (UXors) are Herbig Ae/Be or T Tauri stars exhibiting sporadic occultation of stellar light by circumstellar dust. GM Cephei is such a UXor in the young (∼4 Myr) open cluster Trumpler ...37, showing prominent infrared excess, emission-line spectra, and flare activity. Our photometric monitoring (2008-2018) detects (1) an ∼3.43 day period, likely arising from rotational modulation by surface starspots, (2) sporadic brightening on timescales of days due to accretion, (3) irregular minor flux drops due to circumstellar dust extinction, and (4) major flux drops, each lasting for a couple of months with a recurrence time, though not exactly periodic, of about two years. The star experiences normal reddening by large grains, i.e., redder when dimmer, but exhibits an unusual "blueing" phenomenon in that the star turns blue near brightness minima. The maximum extinction during relatively short (lasting ≤50 days) events, is proportional to the duration, a consequence of varying clump sizes. For longer events, the extinction is independent of duration, suggestive of a transverse string distribution of clumps. Polarization monitoring indicates an optical polarization varying ∼3%-8%, with the level anticorrelated with the slow brightness change. Temporal variation of the unpolarized and polarized light sets constraints on the size and orbital distance of the circumstellar clumps in the interplay with the young star and scattering envelope. These transiting clumps are edge-on manifestations of the ring- or spiral-like structures found recently in young stars with imaging in infrared of scattered light, or in submillimeter of thermalized dust emission.
Context. Transit events of extrasolar planets offer the opportunity to study the composition of their atmospheres. Previous work on transmission spectroscopy of the close-in gas giant (TrES)-3 b ...revealed an increase in absorption towards blue wavelengths of very large amplitude in terms of atmospheric pressure scale heights, too large to be explained by Rayleigh-scattering in the planetary atmosphere. Aims. We present a follow-up study of the optical transmission spectrum of the hot Jupiter TrES-3 b to investigate the strong increase in opacity towards short wavelengths found by a previous study. Furthermore, we aim to estimate the effect of stellar spots on the transmission spectrum. Methods. This work uses previously published long slit spectroscopy transit data of the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) and published broad band observations as well as new observations in different bands from the near-UV to the near-IR, for a homogeneous transit light curve analysis. Additionally, a long-term photometric monitoring of the TrES-3 host star was performed. Results. Our newly analysed GTC spectroscopic transit observations show a slope of much lower amplitude than previous studies. We conclude from our results the previously reported increasing signal towards short wavelengths is not intrinsic to the TrES-3 system. Furthermore, the broad band spectrum favours a flat spectrum. Long-term photometric monitoring rules out a significant modification of the transmission spectrum by unocculted star spots.
Abstract
We report results from a one-week multiwavelength campaign to monitor the BL Lacertae object (BL Lac) S5 0716+714 (on 2009 December 9-16). Nine ground-based telescopes at widely separated ...longitudes and one space-based telescope aboard the Swift satellite collected optical data. Radio data were obtained from the Effelsberg and Urumqi observatories and X-ray data from Swift. In the radio bands, the source shows rapid ∼(0.5-1.5) d intraday variability with peak amplitudes of up to ∼10 per cent. The variability at 2.8 cm leads by about 1 d the variability at 6 and 11 cm. This time lag and more rapid variations suggest an intrinsic contribution to the source's intraday variability at 2.8 cm, while at 6 and 11 cm, interstellar scintillation (ISS) seems to predominate. Large and quasi-sinusoidal variations of ∼0.8 mag were detected in the V, R and I bands. The X-ray data (0.2-10 keV) do not reveal significant variability on a 4 d time-scale, favouring reprocessed inverse Compton over synchrotron radiation in this band. The characteristic variability time-scales in radio and optical bands are similar. A quasi-periodic variation of 0.9-1.1 d in the optical data may be present, but if so it is marginal and limited to 2.2 cycles. Cross-correlations between radio and optical bands are discussed. The lack of a strong radio-optical correlation indicates different physical causes of variability (ISS at long radio wavelengths, source intrinsic origin in the optical) and is consistent with a high jet opacity and a compact synchrotron component peaking at ≃100 GHz in an ongoing very prominent flux-density outburst. For the campaign period, we construct a quasi-simultaneous spectral energy distribution, including γ-ray data from the Fermi satellite. We obtain lower limits for the relativistic Doppler boosting of δ ≥ 12-26, which for a BL Lac-type object is remarkably high.
The loneliness of hot Jupiters supports the high-eccentricity migration as a primary path leading to the formation of systems with those planets stripped of any close-in planetary companions. Here we ...present the null results of searches for low-mass planets close to hot Jupiters in 10 planetary systems: HAT-P-4, HAT-P-10, HAT-P-12, HAT-P-17, HAT-P-19, HAT-P-32, HAT-P-44, Qatar-6, TrES-4, and WASP-48. We employed multi-sector time-series photometry from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite enhanced with new ground-based transit light curves to determine the sizes of hypothetical planets that might still avoid being detected. We redetermined transit parameters for the known hot Jupiters using a homogeneous approach. We refuted transit timing variations for HAT-P-12 b, claimed recently in the literature. The transit timing data permitted us to place tighter constraints on third bodies in HAT-P-19 and HAT-P-32 systems detected in Doppler measurements. We also study four multi-periodic pulsating variable stars in the field around HAT-P-17.
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