Accurate measurements of the physical characteristics of a large number of exoplanets are useful to strongly constrain theoretical models of planet formation and evolution, which lead to the large ...variety of exoplanets and planetary-system configurations that have been observed. We present a study of the planetary systems WASP-45 and WASP-46, both composed of a main-sequence star and a close-in hot Jupiter, based on 29 new high-quality light curves of transits events. In particular, one transit of WASP-45 b and four of WASP-46 b were simultaneously observed in four optical filters, while one transit of WASP-46 b was observed with the NTT obtaining a precision of 0.30 mmag with a cadence of roughly 3 min. We also obtained five new spectra of WASP-45 with the FEROS spectrograph. We improved by a factor of 4 the measurement of the radius of the planet WASP-45 b, and found that WASP-46 b is slightly less massive and smaller than previously reported. Both planets now have a more accurate measurement of the density (0.959 ± 0.077 ρJup instead of 0.64 ± 0.30 ρJup for WASP-45 b, and 1.103 ± 0.052 ρJup instead of 0.94 ± 0.11 ρJup for WASP-46 b). We tentatively detected radius variations with wavelength for both planets, in particular in the case of WASP-45 b we found a slightly larger absorption in the redder bands than in the bluer ones. No hints for the presence of an additional planetary companion in the two systems were found either from the photometric or radial velocity measurements.
Transits in the WASP-57 planetary system have been found to occur half an hour earlier than expected. We present 10 transit light curves from amateur telescopes, on which this discovery was based, 13 ...transit light curves from professional facilities which confirm and refine this finding, and high-resolution imaging which show no evidence for nearby companions. We use these data to determine a new and precise orbital ephemeris, and measure the physical properties of the system. Our revised orbital period is 4.5 s shorter than found from the discovery data alone, which explains the early occurrence of the transits. We also find both the star and planet to be larger and less massive than previously thought. The measured mass and radius of the planet are now consistent with theoretical models of gas giants containing no heavy-element core, as expected for the subsolar metallicity of the host star. Two transits were observed simultaneously in four passbands. We use the resulting light curves to measure the planet's radius as a function of wavelength, finding that our data are sufficient in principle but not in practise to constrain its atmospheric properties. We conclude with a discussion of the current and future status of transmission photometry studies for probing the atmospheres of gas-giant transiting planets.
ABSTRACT
Discussing the particularly long gravitational microlensing event OGLE-2014-BLG-1186 with a time-scale tE ∼ 300 d, we present a methodology for identifying the nature of localised deviations ...from single-lens point-source light curves, which ensures that (1) the claimed signal is substantially above the noise floor, (2) the inferred properties are robustly determined and their estimation is not subject to confusion with systematic noise in the photometry, (3) alternative viable solutions within the model framework are not missed. Annual parallax and binarity could be separated and robustly measured from the wing and the peak data, respectively. We find matching model light curves that involve either a binary lens or a binary source, and discover hitherto unknown model ambiguities. Our binary-lens models indicate a planet of mass M2 = (45 ± 9) M⊕, orbiting a star of mass M1 = (0.35 ± 0.06) M⊙, located at a distance DL = (1.7 ± 0.3) kpc from Earth, whereas our binary-source models suggest a brown-dwarf lens of M = (0.046 ± 0.007) M⊙, located at a distance DL = (5.7 ± 0.9) kpc, with the source potentially being a (partially) eclipsing binary involving stars predicted to be of similar colour given the ratios between the luminosities and radii. Further observations might resolve the ambiguity in the interpretation in favour of either a lens or a source binary. We experienced that close binary source stars pose a challenge for claiming the detection of planets by microlensing in events where the source passes very close to the lens star hosting the planet.
ABSTRACT
SuperWASP, the Northern hemisphere WASP observatory, has been observing the skies from La Palma since 2004. In that time, more than 50 planets have been discovered with data contributions ...from SuperWASP. In the process of validating planets, many false-positive candidates have also been identified. The TESS telescope is set to begin observations of the northern sky in 2019. Similar to the WASP survey, the TESS pixel size is relatively large (13 arcsec for WASP and 21 arcsec for TESS), making it susceptible to many blended signals and false detections caused principally by grazing and blended stellar eclipsing binary systems. In order to reduce duplication of effort on targets, we present a catalogue of 1 041 Northern hemisphere SuperWASP targets that have been rejected as planetary transits through follow-up observation.
We present new photometric observations of WASP-15 and WASP-16, two transiting extrasolar planetary systems with measured orbital obliquities but without photometric follow-up since their discovery ...papers. Our new data for WASP-15 comprise observations of one transit simultaneously in four optical passbands using GROND on the MPG/European Southern Observatory (ESO) 2.2 m telescope, plus coverage of half a transit from DFOSC on the Danish 1.54 m telescope, both at ESO La Silla. For WASP-16 we present observations of four complete transits, all from the Danish telescope. We use these new data to refine the measured physical properties and orbital ephemerides of the two systems. Whilst our results are close to the originally determined values for WASP-15, we find that the star and planet in the WASP-16 system are both larger and less massive than previously thought.
We report the discovery and initial characterization of Qatar-1b, a hot Jupiter-orbiting metal-rich K dwarf star, the first planet discovered by the Qatar Exoplanet Survey. We describe the strategy ...used to select candidate transiting planets from photometry generated by the Qatar Exoplanet Survey camera array. We examine the rate of astrophysical and other false positives found during the spectroscopic reconnaissance of the initial batch of candidates. A simultaneous fit to the follow-up radial velocities and photometry of Qatar-1b yields a planetary mass of 1.09 ± 0.08 M
J and a radius of 1.16 ± 0.05 R
J. The orbital period and separation are 1.420 033 ± 0.000 016 d and 0.023 43 ± 0.000 26 au for an orbit assumed to be circular. The stellar density, effective temperature and rotation rate indicate an age greater than 4 Gyr for the system.
Aims. We analyse 20 nights of CCD observations in the V and I bands of the globular cluster M 68 (NGC 4590) and use them to detect variable objects. We also obtained electron-multiplying CCD (EMCCD) ...observations for this cluster in order to explore its core with unprecedented spatial resolution from the ground. Methods. We reduced our data using difference image analysis to achieve the best possible photometry in the crowded field of the cluster. In doing so, we show that when dealing with identical networked telescopes, a reference image from any telescope may be used to reduce data from any other telescope, which facilitates the analysis significantly. We then used our light curves to estimate the properties of the RR Lyrae (RRL) stars in M 68 through Fourier decomposition and empirical relations. The variable star properties then allowed us to derive the cluster’s metallicity and distance. Results. M 68 had 45 previously confirmed variables, including 42 RRL and 2 SX Phoenicis (SX Phe) stars. In this paper we determine new periods and search for new variables, especially in the core of the cluster where our method performs particularly well. We detect 4 additional SX Phe stars and confirm the variability of another star, bringing the total number of confirmed variable stars in this cluster to 50. We also used archival data stretching back to 1951 to derive period changes for some of the single-mode RRL stars, and analyse the significant number of double-mode RRL stars in M 68. Furthermore, we find evidence for double-mode pulsation in one of the SX Phe stars in this cluster. Using the different classes of variables, we derived values for the metallicity of the cluster of Fe/H = −2.07 ± 0.06 on the ZW scale, or −2.20 ± 0.10 on the UVES scale, and found true distance moduli μ0 = 15.00 ± 0.11 mag (using RR0 stars), 15.00 ± 0.05 mag (using RR1 stars), 14.97 ± 0.11 mag (using SX Phe stars), and 15.00 ± 0.07 mag (using the MV −Fe/H relation for RRL stars), corresponding to physical distances of 10.00 ± 0.49, 9.99 ± 0.21, 9.84 ± 0.50, and 10.00 ± 0.30 kpc, respectively. Thanks to the first use of difference image analysis on time-series observations of M 68, we are now confident that we have a complete census of the RRL stars in this cluster.
Aims. We present 11 high-precision photometric transitobservations of the transiting super-Earth planet GJ 1214 b. Combining these data with observations from other authors, we investigate the ...ephemeris for possible signs of transit timing variations (TTVs) using a Bayesian approach. Methods. The observations were obtained using telescope-defocusing techniques, and achieve a high precision with random errors in the photometry as low as 1 mmag per point. To investigate the possibility of TTVs in the light curve, we calculate the overall probability of a TTV signal using Bayesian methods. Results. The observations are used to determine the photometric parameters and the physical properties of the GJ 1214 system. Our results are in good agreement with published values. Individual times of mid-transit are measured with uncertainties as low as 10 s, allowing us to reduce the uncertainty in the orbital period by a factor of two. Conclusions. A Bayesian analysis reveals that it is highly improbable that the observed transit times is explained by TTV caused by a planet in the nominal habitable zone, when compared with the simpler alternative of a linear ephemeris.
Aims. In this paper, we present the analysis of time-series observations from 2013 and 2014 of five metal-rich (Fe/H > −1) globular clusters: NGC 6388, NGC 6441, NGC 6528, NGC 6638, and NGC 6652. The ...data have been used to perform a census of the variable stars in the central parts of these clusters. Methods. The observations were made with the electron-multiplying charge-couple device (EMCCD) camera at the Danish 1.54 m Telescope at La Silla, Chile, and they were analysed using difference image analysis to obtain high-precision light curves of the variable stars. Results. It was possible to identify and classify all of the previously known or suspected variable stars in the central regions of the five clusters. Furthermore, we were able to identify and, in most cases, classify 48, 49, 7, 8, and 2 previously unknown variables in NGC 6388, NGC 6441, NGC 6528, NGC 6638, and NGC 6652, respectively. Especially interesting is the case of NGC 6441, for which the variable star population of about 150 stars has been thoroughly examined by previous studies, including a Hubble Space Telescope study. In this paper we are able to present 49 new variable stars for this cluster, of which one (possibly two) are RR Lyrae stars, two are W Virginis stars, and the rest are long-period semi-regular or irregular variables on the red giant branch. We have also detected the first double-mode RR Lyrae in the cluster.
We present photometric observations of four transits in the WASP-17 planetary system, obtained using telescope defocusing techniques and with scatters reaching 0.5mmag per point. Our revised orbital ...period is 4.0 ± 0.6s longer than previous measurements, a difference of 6.6σ, and does not support the published detections of orbital eccentricity in this system. We model the light curves using the jktebop code and calculate the physical properties of the system by recourse to five sets of theoretical stellar model predictions. The resulting planetary radius, Rb = 1.932 ± 0.052 ± 0.010RJup (statistical and systematic errors, respectively), provides confirmation that WASP-17b is the largest planet currently known. All 14 planets with radii measured to be greater than 1.6RJup are found around comparatively hot (Teff > 5900K) and massive (MA > 1.15M) stars. Chromospheric activity indicators are available for eight of these stars, and all imply a low activity level. The planets have small or zero orbital eccentricities, so tidal effects struggle to explain their large radii. The observed dearth of large planets around small stars may be natural but could also be due to observational biases against deep transits, if these are mistakenly labelled as false positives and so not followed up. PUBLICATION ABSTRACT
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