The all-sky PLATO input catalogue Montalto, M.; Piotto, G.; Marrese, P. M. ...
Astronomy and astrophysics (Berlin),
09/2021, Letnik:
653
Journal Article
Recenzirano
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Context.
The ESA PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars (PLATO) mission will search for terrestrial planets in the habitable zone of solar-type stars. Because of telemetry limitations, PLATO ...targets need to be pre-selected.
Aims.
In this paper, we present an all sky catalogue that will be fundamental to selecting the best PLATO fields and the most promising target stars, deriving their basic parameters, analysing the instrumental performances, and then planing and optimising follow-up observations. This catalogue also represents a valuable resource for the general definition of stellar samples optimised for the search of transiting planets.
Methods.
We used
Gaia
Data Release 2 astrometry and photometry and 3D maps of the local interstellar medium to isolate FGK (
V
≤ 13) and M (
V
≤ 16) dwarfs and subgiant stars.
Results.
We present the first public release of the all-sky PLATO input catalogue (asPIC1.1) containing a total of 2 675 539 stars including 2 378 177 FGK dwarfs and subgiants and 297 362 M dwarfs. The median distance in our sample is 428 pc for FGK stars and 146 pc for M dwarfs, respectively. We derived the reddening of our targets and developed an algorithm to estimate stellar fundamental parameters (
T
eff
, radius, mass) from astrometric and photometric measurements.
Conclusions.
We show that the overall (internal+external) uncertainties on the stellar parameter determined in the present study are ∼230 K (4%) for the effective temperatures, ∼0.1
R
⊙
(9%) for the stellar radii, and ∼0.1
M
⊙
(11%) for the stellar mass. We release a special target list containing all known planet hosts cross-matched with our catalogue.
Context. The habitable zone (HZ) describes the range of orbital distances around a star where the existence of liquid water on the surface of an Earth-like planet is in principle possible. The ...applicability of one-dimensional (1D) climate models for the estimation of the HZ boundaries has been questioned by recent three-dimensional (3D) climate studies. While 3D studies can calculate the water vapor, ice albedo, and cloud feedback self-consistently and therefore allow for a deeper understanding and the identification of relevant climate processes, 1D model studies rely on fewer model assumptions and can be more easily applied to the large parameter space possible for extrasolar planets. Aims. We evaluate the applicability of 1D climate models to estimate the potential habitability of Earth-like extrasolar planets by comparing our 1D model results to those of 3D climate studies in the literature. We vary the two important planetary properties, surface albedo and relative humidity, in the 1D model. These depend on climate feedbacks that are not treated self-consistently in most 1D models. Methods. We applied a cloud-free 1D radiative-convective climate model to calculate the climate of Earth-like planets around different types of main-sequence stars with varying surface albedo and relative humidity profile. We compared the results to those of 3D model calculations available in the literature and investigated to what extent the 1D model can approximate the surface temperatures calculated by the 3D models. Results. The 1D parameter study results in a large range of climates possible for an Earth-sized planet with an Earth-like atmosphere and water reservoir at a certain stellar insolation. At some stellar insolations the full spectrum of climate states could be realized, i.e., uninhabitable conditions due to surface temperatures that are too high or too low as well as habitable surface conditions, depending only on the relative humidity and surface albedo assumed. When treating the surface albedo and the relative humidity profile as parameters in 1D model studies and using the habitability constraints found by recent 3D modeling studies, the same conclusions about the potential habitability of a planet can be drawn as from 3D model calculations.
This work presents theoretical studies that combine aspects of combustion and explosion theory with exoplanetary atmospheric science. Super-Earths could possess a large amount of molecular hydrogen ...depending on disk, planetary, and stellar properties. Super-Earths orbiting pre-main-sequence M-dwarf stars have been suggested to possess large amounts of O2(g) produced abiotically via water photolysis followed by hydrogen escape. If these two constituents were present simultaneously, such large amounts of H2(g) and O2(g) can react via photochemistry to form up to ∼10 Earth oceans. In cases where photochemical removal is slow, hence O2(g) can indeed build up abiotically, the atmosphere could reach the combustion-explosion limit. Then, H2(g) and O2(g) react extremely quickly to release energy and form liquid water together with modest amounts of hydrogen peroxide. These processes set constraints for H2(g) and O2(g) atmospheric compositions in Super-Earth atmospheres. Our initial study of the gas-phase oxidation pathways for modest conditions (Earth's insolation and ∼10th of a percent of H2(g)) suggests that H2(g) is oxidized by O2(g) into H2O(g) mostly via HOx and mixed HOx-NOx catalyzed cycles. Regarding other pairs of atmospheric species, we find that CO-O2 could attain explosive-combustive levels on mini gas planets for midrange C/O in the equilibrium chemistry regime (p > ∼1 bar). Regarding (CH4-O2), a small number of modeled rocky planets assuming Earth-like atmospheres orbiting cooler stars could have compositions at or near the explosive-combustive level although more work is required to investigate this issue.
Context. Love numbers measure the reaction of a celestial body to perturbing forces, such as the centrifugal force caused by rotation, or tidal forces resulting from the interaction with a companion ...body. These parameters are related to the interior density profile. The non-point mass nature of the host star and a planet orbiting around each other contributes to the periastron precession. The rate of this precession is characterized mainly by the second-order Love number, which offers an opportunity to determine its value. When it is known, the planetary interior structure can be studied with one additional constraint beyond the mass, radius, and orbital parameters. Aims. We aim to re-determine the orbital period, eccentricity, and argument of the periastron for WASP-19Ab, along with a study of its periastron precession rate. We calculated the planetary Love number from the observed periastron precession rate, based on the assumption of the stellar Love number from stellar evolutionary models. Methods. We collected all available radial velocity (RV) data, along with the transit and occultation times from the previous investigations of the system. We supplemented the data set with 19 new RV data points of the host star WASP-19A obtained by HARPS. Here, we summarize the technique for modeling the RV observations and the photometric transit timing variations (TTVs) to determine the rate of periastron precession in this system for the first time. Results. We excluded the presence of a second possible planet up to a period of ~4200 d and with a radial velocity amplitude bigger than ≃ 1 m s −1 . We show that a constant period is not able to reproduce the observed radial velocities. We also investigated and excluded the possibility of tidal decay and long-term acceleration in the system. However, the inclusion of a small periastron precession term did indeed improve the quality of the fit. We measured the periastron precession rate to be 233 −35 +25 ″d −1 . By assuming synchronous rotation for the planet, it indicates a k 2 Love number of 0.20 −0.03 +0.02 for WASP-19Ab. Conclusions. The derived k 2,p value of the planet has the same order of magnitude as the estimated fluid Love number of other Jupiter-sized exoplanets (WASP-18Ab, WASP-103b, and WASP-121b). A low value of k 2,p indicates a higher concentration of mass toward the planetary nucleus.
We announce the discovery of K2-139 b (EPIC 218916923 b), a transiting warm-Jupiter (Teq = 547 ± 25 K) on a 29-d orbit around an active (log R'_HK = -4.46 ± 0.06) K0V star in K2 Campaign 7. We derive ...the system's parameters by combining the K2 photometry with ground-based follow-up observations. With a mass of 0.387_-0.075^+0.083 M_J and radius of 0.808_-0.033^+0.034 R_J, K2-139 b is one of the transiting warm Jupiters with the lowest mass known to date. The planetary mean density of 0.91_-0.20^+0.24 g/cm^3 can be explained with a core of ~50 M⊕. Given the brightness of the host star (V = 11.653 mag), the relatively short transit duration (~5 h), and the expected amplitude of the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect (~25m/s), K2-139 is an ideal target to measure the spin-orbit angle of a planetary system hosting a warm Jupiter.
Ocean planets are volatile-rich planets, not present in our Solar system, which are thought to be dominated by deep, global oceans. This results in the formation of high-pressure water ice, ...separating the planetary crust from the liquid ocean and, thus, also from the atmosphere. Therefore, instead of a carbonate–silicate cycle like on the Earth, the atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration is governed by the capability of the ocean to dissolve carbon dioxide (CO2). In our study, we focus on the CO2 cycle between the atmosphere and the ocean which determines the atmospheric CO2 content. The atmospheric amount of CO2 is a fundamental quantity for assessing the potential habitability of the planet's surface because of its strong greenhouse effect, which determines the planetary surface temperature to a large degree. In contrast to the stabilizing carbonate–silicate cycle regulating the long-term CO2 inventory of the Earth atmosphere, we find that the CO2 cycle feedback on ocean planets is negative and has strong destabilizing effects on the planetary climate. By using a chemistry model for oceanic CO2 dissolution and an atmospheric model for exoplanets, we show that the CO2 feedback cycle can severely limit the extension of the habitable zone for ocean planets.
Atmospheric temperature and mixing ratio profiles of terrestrial planets vary with the spectral energy flux distribution for different types of M-dwarf stars and the planetary gravity. We investigate ...the resulting effects on the spectral appearance of molecular absorption bands, that are relevant as indicators for potential planetary habitability during primary and secondary eclipse for transiting terrestrial planets with Earth-like biomass emissions. Atmospheric profiles are computed using a plane-parallel, 1D climate model coupled with a chemistry model. We then calculate simulated spectra using a line-by-line radiative transfer model. We find that emission spectra during secondary eclipse show increasing absorption of methane, water and ozone for planets orbiting quiet M0-M3 dwarfs and the active M-type star AD Leo compared to solar type central stars. However, for planets orbiting very cool and quiet M dwarfs (M4 to M7), increasing temperatures in the mid-atmosphere lead to reduced absorption signals, making the detection of molecules more difficult in such scenarios. Transmission spectra during primary eclipse show strong absorption features of CH4, N2O and H2O for planets orbiting quiet M0-M7 stars and AD Leo. The N2O absorption of an Earth-sized planet orbiting a quiet M7 star can even be as strong as the CO2 signal. However, ozone absorption decreases for planets orbiting such cool central stars due to chemical effects in the atmosphere. To investigate the effect on the spectroscopic detection of absorption bands with potential future satellite missions, we compute signal-to-noise-ratios (SNR) for a James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)-like aperture telescope.
ABSTRACT
Theories of planet formation give contradicting results of how frequent close-in giant planets of intermediate mass stars (IMSs; $1.3\le M_{\star }\le 3.2\, \mathrm{M}_{\odot }$) are. Some ...theories predict a high rate of IMSs with close-in gas giants, while others predict a very low rate. Thus, determining the frequency of close-in giant planets of IMSs is an important test for theories of planet formation. We use the CoRoT survey to determine the absolute frequency of IMSs that harbour at least one close-in giant planet and compare it to that of solar-like stars. The CoRoT transit survey is ideal for this purpose, because of its completeness for gas-giant planets with orbital periods of less than 10 d and its large sample of main-sequence IMSs. We present a high precision radial velocity follow-up programme and conclude on 17 promising transit candidates of IMSs, observed with CoRoT. We report the detection of CoRoT–34b, a brown dwarf close to the hydrogen burning limit, orbiting a 1.1 Gyr A-type main-sequence star. We also confirm two inflated giant planets, CoRoT–35b, part of a possible planetary system around a metal-poor star, and CoRoT–36b on a misaligned orbit. We find that $0.12 \pm 0.10\, {{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ of IMSs between $1.3\le M_{\star }\le 1.6\, \mathrm{M}_{\odot }$ observed by CoRoT do harbour at least one close-in giant planet. This is significantly lower than the frequency ($0.70 \pm 0.16\, {{\ \rm per\ cent}}$) for solar-mass stars, as well as the frequency of IMSs harbouring long-period planets ($\sim 8\, {{\ \rm per\ cent}}$).
Context.
The theory of remote sensing shows that observing a planet at multiple phase angles (
α
) is a powerful strategy to characterize its atmosphere. Here, we study this observing strategy as ...applied to future disc-integrated direct imaging of exoplanets in reflected starlight.
Aims.
We analyse how the information contained in reflected-starlight spectra of exoplanets depends on the phase angle and the potential of multi-phase measurements to better constrain the atmospheric properties and the planet radius (
R
p
).
Methods.
We simulate spectra (500−900 nm) at
α
= 37°, 85°, and 123° with a spectral resolution of
R
~ 125−225 and signal-to-noise ratio (
S
∕
N
) = 10, consistent with the expected capabilities of future direct-imaging space telescopes. Assuming a H
2
-He atmosphere, we use a seven-parameter model that includes the atmospheric methane abundance (
f
CH
4
), the optical properties of a cloud layer and
R
p
. All these parameters are assumed to be unknown a priori and are explored with a Markov chain Monte Carlo retrieval method.
Results.
No single-phase observation can robustly identify whether the atmosphere has clouds or not. A single-phase observation at
α
= 123° and
S
∕
N
= 10 can constrain
R
p
with a maximum error of 35%, regardless of the cloud coverage. We find that combining small (37°) and large (123°) phase angles is a generally effective strategy to break multiple parameter degeneracies. This enables us to determine the presence or absence of a cloud and its main properties,
f
CH
4
and
R
p
, with higher confidence in all the explored scenarios. Other strategies, such as doubling
S
∕
N
to 20 for a single-phase observation or combining small (37°) and moderate (85°) phase angles, fail to achieve this. We show that the improvements in multi-phase retrievals are associated with the shape of the scattering phase function of the cloud aerosols and that the improvement is more modest for isotropically scattering aerosols. We finally discuss that misidentifying the background gas in the retrievals of super-Earth observations leads to systematic underestimation of the absorbing gas abundance.
Conclusions.
Exoplanets with wide ranges of observable phase angles should be prioritized for atmospheric characterization in reflected starlight.
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