ABSTRACT
We present the discovery of NGTS J0930−18, an extreme mass ratio eclipsing M-dwarf binary system with an early M-dwarf primary and a late M-dwarf secondary close to the hydrogen burning ...limit. Global modelling of photometry and radial velocities reveals that the secondary component (NGTS J0930−18 B) has a mass of M* = $0.0818 ^{+0.0040}_{-0.0015}$ M⊙ and radius of R* = $0.1059 ^{+0.0023}_{-0.0021}$ R⊙, making it one of the lowest mass stars with direct mass and radius measurements. With a mass ratio of q = $0.1407 ^{+0.0065}_{-0.017}$, NGTS J0930−18 has the lowest mass ratio of any known eclipsing M-dwarf binary system, posing interesting questions for binary star formation and evolution models. The mass and radius of NGTS J0930−18 B is broadly consistent with stellar evolutionary models. NGTS J0930−18 B lies in the sparsely populated mass radius parameter space close to the substellar boundary. Precise measurements of masses and radii from single lined eclipsing binary systems of this type are vital for constraining the uncertainty in the mass–radius relationship – of importance due to the growing number of terrestrial planets being discovered around low-mass stars.
ABSTRACT
We determine rotation periods for 127 stars in the ∼115-Myr-old Blanco 1 open cluster using ∼200 d of photometric monitoring with the Next Generation Transit Survey. These stars span F5–M3 ...spectral types (1.2 M⊙ ≳ M ≳ 0.3 M⊙) and increase the number of known rotation periods in Blanco 1 by a factor of four. We determine rotation periods using three methods: Gaussian process (GP) regression, generalized autocorrelation function (G-ACF), and Lomb–Scargle (LS) periodogram, and find that the GP and G-ACF methods are more applicable to evolving spot modulation patterns. Between mid-F and mid-K spectral types, single stars follow a well-defined rotation sequence from ∼2 to 10 d, whereas stars in photometric multiple systems typically rotate faster. This may suggest that the presence of a moderate-to-high mass ratio companion inhibits angular momentum loss mechanisms during the early pre-main sequence, and this signature has not been erased at ∼100 Myr. The majority of mid-F to mid-K stars display evolving modulation patterns, whereas most M stars show stable modulation signals. This morphological change coincides with the shift from a well-defined rotation sequence (mid-F to mid-K stars) to a broad rotation period distribution (late-K and M stars). Finally, we compare our rotation results for Blanco 1 to the similarly aged Pleiades: the single-star populations in both clusters possess consistent rotation period distributions, which suggests that the angular momentum evolution of stars follows a well-defined pathway that is, at least for mid-F to mid-K stars, strongly imprinted by ∼100 Myr.
ABSTRACT
We observed a transit of WASP-166 b using nine Next Generation Transit Survey (NGTS) telescopes simultaneously with the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) observations of the same ...transit. We achieved a photometric precision of 152 ppm per 30 min with the nine NGTS telescopes combined, matching the precision reached by TESS for the transit event around this bright (T = 8.87) star. The individual NGTS light-curve noise is found to be dominated by scintillation noise and appears free from any time-correlated noise or any correlation between telescope systems. We fit the NGTS data for TC and Rp/R*. We find TC to be consistent to within 0.25σ of the result from the TESS data, and the difference between the TESS and NGTS measured Rp/R* values is 0.9σ. This experiment shows that multitelescope NGTS photometry can match the precision of TESS for bright stars, and will be a valuable tool in refining the radii and ephemerides for bright TESS candidates and planets. The transit timing achieved will also enable NGTS to measure significant transit timing variations in multiplanet systems.
Abstract
The Next Generation Transit Survey (NGTS), operating in Paranal since 2016, is a wide-field survey to detect Neptunes and super-Earths transiting bright stars, which are suitable for precise ...radial velocity follow-up and characterization. Thereby, its sub-mmag photometric precision and ability to identify false positives are crucial. Particularly, variable background objects blended in the photometric aperture frequently mimic Neptune-sized transits and are costly in follow-up time. These objects can best be identified with the centroiding technique: if the photometric flux is lost off-centre during an eclipse, the flux centroid shifts towards the centre of the target star. Although this method has successfully been employed by the Kepler mission, it has previously not been implemented from the ground. We present a fully automated centroid vetting algorithm developed for NGTS, enabled by our high-precision autoguiding. Our method allows detecting centroid shifts with an average precision of 0.75 milli-pixel (mpix), and down to 0.25 mpix for specific targets, for a pixel size of 4.97 arcsec. The algorithm is now part of the NGTS candidate vetting pipeline and automatically employed for all detected signals. Further, we develop a joint Bayesian fitting model for all photometric and centroid data, allowing to disentangle which object (target or background) is causing the signal, and what its astrophysical parameters are. We demonstrate our method on two NGTS objects of interest. These achievements make NGTS the first ground-based wide-field transit survey ever to successfully apply the centroiding technique for automated candidate vetting, enabling the production of a robust candidate list before follow-up.
ABSTRACT
The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite has produced a large number of single-transit event candidates which are being monitored by the Next Generation Transit Survey (NGTS). We observed a ...second epoch for the TIC-231005575 system (Tmag = 12.06 and $T_{\rm eff} = 5500 \pm 85\, \mathrm{ K}$) with NGTS and a third epoch with Las Cumbres Observatory’s telescope in South Africa to constrain the orbital period ($P = 61.777\, \mathrm{ d}$). Subsequent radial velocity measurements with CORALIE revealed the transiting object has a mass of M2 = 0.128 ± 0.003 M⊙, indicating the system is a G-M binary. The radius of the secondary is R2 = 0.154 ± 0.008 R⊙ and is consistent with mesa models of stellar evolution to better than 1σ.
The Next Generation Transit Survey (NGTS) Wheatley, Peter J; West, Richard G; Goad, Michael R ...
Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society,
04/2018, Letnik:
475, Številka:
4
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Abstract
We describe the Next Generation Transit Survey (NGTS), which is a ground-based project searching for transiting exoplanets orbiting bright stars. NGTS builds on the legacy of previous ...surveys, most notably WASP, and is designed to achieve higher photometric precision and hence find smaller planets than have previously been detected from the ground. It also operates in red light, maximizing sensitivity to late K and early M dwarf stars. The survey specifications call for photometric precision of 0.1 per cent in red light over an instantaneous field of view of 100 deg2, enabling the detection of Neptune-sized exoplanets around Sun-like stars and super-Earths around M dwarfs. The survey is carried out with a purpose-built facility at Cerro Paranal, Chile, which is the premier site of the European Southern Observatory (ESO). An array of twelve 20 cm f/2.8 telescopes fitted with back-illuminated deep-depletion CCD cameras is used to survey fields intensively at intermediate Galactic latitudes. The instrument is also ideally suited to ground-based photometric follow-up of exoplanet candidates from space telescopes such as TESS, Gaia and PLATO. We present observations that combine precise autoguiding and the superb observing conditions at Paranal to provide routine photometric precision of 0.1 per cent in 1 h for stars with I-band magnitudes brighter than 13. We describe the instrument and data analysis methods as well as the status of the survey, which achieved first light in 2015 and began full-survey operations in 2016. NGTS data will be made publicly available through the ESO archive.
The interiors of giant planets remain poorly understood. Even for the planets in the Solar System, difficulties in observation lead to large uncertainties in the properties of planetary cores. ...Exoplanets that have undergone rare evolutionary processes provide a route to understanding planetary interiors. Planets found in and near the typically barren hot-Neptune ‘desert’ (a region in mass–radius space that contains few planets) have proved to be particularly valuable in this regard. These planets include HD149026b, which is thought to have an unusually massive core, and recent discoveries such as LTT9779b and NGTS-4b, on which photoevaporation has removed a substantial part of their outer atmospheres. Here we report observations of the planet TOI-849b, which has a radius smaller than Neptune’s but an anomalously large mass of 39.1(+2.7−2.6) Earth masses and a density of 5.2(+0.7−0.8) grams per cubic centimetre, similar to Earth’s. Interior-structure models suggest that any gaseous envelope of pure hydrogen and helium consists of no more than 3.9(+0.8−0.9) per cent of the total planetary mass. The planet could have been a gas giant before undergoing extreme mass loss via thermal self-disruption or giant planet collisions, or it could have avoided substantial gas accretion, perhaps through gap opening or late formation. Although photoevaporation rates cannot account for the mass loss required to reduce a Jupiter-like gas giant, they can remove a small (a few Earth masses) hydrogen and helium envelope on timescales of several billion years, implying that any remaining atmosphere on TOI-849b is likely to be enriched by water or other volatiles from the planetary interior. We conclude that TOI-849b is the remnant core of a giant planet.
NGTS-1b: a hot Jupiter transiting an M-dwarf Bayliss, Daniel; Gillen, Edward; Eigmüller, Philipp ...
Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society,
04/2018, Letnik:
475, Številka:
4
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Abstract
We present the discovery of NGTS-1b, a hot Jupiter transiting an early M-dwarf host (Teff,* = $3916\, ^{+71}_{-63}$ K) in a P = 2.647 d orbit discovered as part of the Next Generation ...Transit Survey (NGTS). The planet has a mass of $0.812\, ^{+0.066}_{-0.075}$ MJ, making it the most massive planet ever discovered transiting an M-dwarf. The radius of the planet is $1.33\, ^{+0.61}_{-0.33}$ RJ. Since the transit is grazing, we determine this radius by modelling the data and placing a prior on the density from the population of known gas giant planets. NGTS-1b is the third transiting giant planet found around an M-dwarf, reinforcing the notion that close-in gas giants can form and migrate similar to the known population of hot Jupiters around solar-type stars. The host star shows no signs of activity, and the kinematics hint at the star being from the thick disc population. With a deep (2.5 per cent) transit around a K = 11.9 host, NGTS-1b will be a strong candidate to probe giant planet composition around M-dwarfs via James Webb Space Telescope transmission spectroscopy.
ABSTRACT
We present the results of a search for stellar flares in the first data release from the Next Generation Transit Survey (NGTS). We have found 610 flares from 339 stars, with spectral types ...between F8 and M6, the majority of which belong to the Galactic thin disc. We have used the 13-s cadence NGTS light curves to measure flare properties such as the flare amplitude, duration, and bolometric energy. We have measured the average flare occurrence rates of K and early to mid-M stars and present a generalized method to measure these rates while accounting for changing detection sensitivities. We find that field age K and early M stars show similar flare behaviour, while fully convective M stars exhibit increased white-light flaring activity, which we attribute to their increased spin-down time. We have also studied the average flare rates of pre-main-sequence K and M stars, showing they exhibit increased flare activity relative to their main-sequence counterparts.
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