Classification of stars, by comparing their optical spectra to a few dozen spectral standards, has been a workhorse of observational astronomy for more than a century. Here, we extend this technique ...by compiling a library of optical spectra of 404 touchstone stars observed with Keck/HIRES by the California Planet Search. The spectra have high resolution (R 60,000), high signal-to-noise ratio (S/N 150/pixel), and are registered onto a common wavelength scale. The library stars have properties derived from interferometry, asteroseismology, LTE spectral synthesis, and spectrophotometry. To address a lack of well-characterized late-K dwarfs in the literature, we measure stellar radii and temperatures for 23 nearby K dwarfs, using modeling of the spectral energy distribution and Gaia parallaxes. This library represents a uniform data set spanning the spectral types ∼M5-F1 (Teff 3000-7000 K, R 0.1-16 R ). We also present "Empirical SpecMatch" (SpecMatch-Emp), a tool for parameterizing unknown spectra by comparing them against our spectral library. For FGKM stars, SpecMatch-Emp achieves accuracies of 100 K in effective temperature (Teff), 15% in stellar radius (R ), and 0.09 dex in metallicity (Fe/H). Because the code relies on empirical spectra it performs particularly well for stars ∼K4 and later, which are challenging to model with existing spectral synthesizers, reaching accuracies of 70 K in Teff, 10% in R , and 0.12 dex in Fe/H. We also validate the performance of SpecMatch-Emp, finding it to be robust at lower spectral resolution and S/N, enabling the characterization of faint late-type stars. Both the library and stellar characterization code are publicly available.
Abstract
Transit surveys have revealed a significant population of compact multiplanet systems, containing several sub-Neptune–mass planets on close-in, tightly-packed orbits. These systems are ...thought to have formed through a final phase of giant impacts, which would tend to leave systems close to the edge of stability. Here, we assess this hypothesis, comparing observed eccentricities in systems exhibiting transit-timing variations versus the maximum eccentricities compatible with long-term stability. We use the machine-learning classifier SPOCK (Tamayo et al.) to rapidly classify the stability of numerous initial configurations and hence determine these stability limits. While previous studies have argued that multiplanet systems are often maximally packed, in the sense that they could not host any additional planets, we find that the existing planets in these systems have measured eccentricities below the limits allowed by stability by a factor of 2–10. We compare these results against predictions from the giant-impact theory of planet formation, derived from both
N
-body integrations and theoretical expectations that, in the absence of dissipation, the orbits of such planets should be distributed uniformly throughout the phase space volume allowed by stability. We find that the observed systems have systematically lower eccentricities than this scenario predicts, with a median eccentricity about four times lower than predicted. This suggests that, if these systems formed through giant impacts, then some dissipation must occur to damp their eccentricities. This may occur through interactions with the natal gas disk or a leftover population of planetesimals, or over longer timescales through the coupling of tidal and secular processes.
Abstract
The probability that a Sun-like star has a close-orbiting giant planet (period ≲1 yr) increases with stellar metallicity. Previous work provided evidence that the period distribution of ...close-orbiting giant planets is also linked to metallicity, hinting that there two formation/evolution pathways for such objects, one of which is more probable in high-metallicity environments. Here, we check for differences in the period distribution of hot Jupiters (
P
< 10 days) as a function of host star metallicity, drawing on a sample of 232 transiting hot Jupiters and homogeneously derived metallicities from Gaia Data Release 3. We found no evidence for any metallicity dependence; the period distributions of hot Jupiters around metal-poor and metal-rich stars are indistinguishable. As a byproduct of this study, we provide transformations between metallicities from the Gaia Radial Velocity Spectrograph and from traditional high-resolution optical spectroscopy of main-sequence FGK stars.
HAT-P-11 is a mid-K dwarf that hosts one of the first Neptune-sized planets found outside the solar system. The orbit of HAT-P-11b is misaligned with the star's spin-one of the few known cases of a ...misaligned planet orbiting a star less massive than the Sun. We find an additional planet in the system based on a decade of precision radial velocity (RV) measurements from Keck/High Resolution Echelle Spectrometer. HAT-P-11c is similar to Jupiter in its mass ( MJ) and orbital period ( year), but has a much more eccentric orbit (e = 0.60 0.03). In our joint modeling of RV and stellar activity, we found an activity-induced RV signal of ∼7 , consistent with other active K dwarfs, but significantly smaller than the 31 reflex motion due to HAT-P-11c. We investigated the dynamical coupling between HAT-P-11b and c as a possible explanation for HAT-P-11b's misaligned orbit, finding that planet-planet Kozai interactions cannot tilt planet b's orbit due to general relativistic precession; however, nodal precession operating on million year timescales is a viable mechanism to explain HAT-P-11b's high obliquity. This leaves open the question of why HAT-P-11c may have such a tilted orbit. At a distance of 38 pc, the HAT-P-11 system offers rich opportunities for further exoplanet characterization through astrometry and direct imaging.
The Orbit of WASP-12b Is Decaying Yee, Samuel W.; Winn, Joshua N.; Knutson, Heather A. ...
Astrophysical journal. Letters,
01/2020, Volume:
888, Issue:
1
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
WASP-12b is a transiting hot Jupiter on a 1.09 day orbit around a late-F star. Since the planet's discovery in 2008, the time interval between transits has been decreasing by 29 2 ms yr−1. This is a ...possible sign of orbital decay, although the previously available data left open the possibility that the planet's orbit is slightly eccentric and is undergoing apsidal precession. Here, we present new transit and occultation observations that provide more decisive evidence for orbital decay, which is favored over apsidal precession by a of 22.3 or Bayes factor of 70,000. We also present new radial-velocity data that rule out the Rømer effect as the cause of the period change. This makes WASP-12 the first planetary system for which we can be confident that the orbit is decaying. The decay timescale for the orbit is . Interpreting the decay as the result of tidal dissipation, the modified stellar tidal quality factor is .
We present 151 planet candidates orbiting 141 stars from K2 campaigns 5-8 (C5-C8), identified through a systematic search of K2 photometry. In addition, we identify 16 targets as likely eclipsing ...binaries, based on their light curve morphology. We obtained follow-up optical spectra of 105/141 candidate host stars and 8/16 eclipsing binaries to improve stellar properties and to identify spectroscopic binaries. Importantly, spectroscopy enables measurements of host star radii with 10% precision, compared to 40% precision when only broadband photometry is available. The improved stellar radii enable improved planet radii. Our curated catalog of planet candidates provides a starting point for future efforts to confirm and characterize K2 discoveries.
Abstract
While secondary mass inferences based on single-lined spectroscopic binary (SB1) solutions are subject to
sin
i
degeneracies, this degeneracy can be lifted through the observations of ...eclipses. We combine the subset of Gaia Data Release 3 SB1 solutions consistent with brown dwarf-mass secondaries with the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) Object of Interest (TOI) list to identify three candidate transiting brown dwarf systems. Ground-based precision radial velocity follow-up observations confirm that TOI-2533.01 is a transiting brown dwarf with
M
=
72
−
3
+
3
M
Jup
=
0.069
−
0.003
+
0.003
M
⊙
orbiting TYC 2010-124-1 and that TOI-5427.01 is a transiting very low-mass star with
M
=
93
−
2
+
2
M
Jup
=
0.088
−
0.002
+
0.002
M
⊙
orbiting UCAC4 515-012898. We validate TOI-1712.01 as a very low-mass star with
M
=
82
−
7
+
7
M
Jup
=
0.079
−
0.007
+
0.007
M
⊙
transiting the primary in the hierarchical triple system BD+45 1593. Even after accounting for third light, TOI-1712.01 has a radius nearly a factor of 2 larger than predicted for isolated stars with similar properties. We propose that the intense instellation experienced by TOI-1712.01 diminishes the temperature gradient near its surface, suppresses convection, and leads to its inflated radius. Our analyses verify Gaia DR3 SB1 solutions in the low Doppler semiamplitude limit, thereby providing the foundation for future joint analyses of Gaia radial velocities and Kepler, K2, TESS, and PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations light curves for the characterization of transiting massive brown dwarfs and very low-mass stars.
Abstract
In this study, we performed a homogeneous analysis of the planets around FGK dwarf stars observed by the Kepler and K2 missions, providing spectroscopic parameters for 310 K2 targets ...—including 239 Scaling K2 hosts—observed with Keck/HIRES. For orbital periods less than 40 days, we found that the distribution of planets as a function of orbital period, stellar effective temperature, and metallicity was consistent between K2 and Kepler, reflecting consistent planet formation efficiency across numerous ∼1 kpc sight-lines in the local Milky Way. Additionally, we detected a 3× excess of sub-Saturns relative to warm Jupiters beyond 10 days, suggesting a closer association between sub-Saturn and sub-Neptune formation than between sub-Saturn and Jovian formation. Performing a joint analysis of Kepler and K2 demographics, we observed diminishing super-Earth, sub-Neptune, and sub-Saturn populations at higher stellar effective temperatures, implying an inverse relationship between formation and disk mass. In contrast, no apparent host-star spectral-type dependence was identified for our population of Jupiters, which indicates gas-giant formation saturates within the FGK mass regimes. We present support for stellar metallicity trends reported by previous Kepler analyses. Using Gaia DR3 proper motion and radial velocity measurements, we discovered a galactic location trend; stars that make large vertical excursions from the plane of the Milky Way host fewer super-Earths and sub-Neptunes. While oscillation amplitude is associated with metallicity, metallicity alone cannot explain the observed trend, demonstrating that galactic influences are imprinted on the planet population. Overall, our results provide new insights into the distribution of planets around FGK dwarf stars and the factors that influence their formation and evolution.
Abstract TOI-677 b is part of an emerging class of “tidally detached” gas giants ( a / R ⋆ ≳ 11) that exhibit large orbital eccentricities and yet low stellar obliquities. Such sources pose a ...challenge for models of giant planet formation, which must account for the excitation of high eccentricities without large changes in the orbital inclination. In this work, we present a new Rossiter–McLaughlin measurement of the tidally detached warm Jupiter TOI-677 b, obtained using high-precision radial velocity observations with Magellan’s Planet Finder Spectrograph (PFS). Combined with previously published observations from the Very Large Telescope’s ESPRESSO spectrograph, we derive one of the most precisely constrained sky-projected spin–orbit angle measurements to date for an exoplanet. The combined fit offers a refined set of self-consistent parameters, including a low sky-projected stellar obliquity of λ = 3 .° 2 − 1. ∘ 5 + 1. ∘ 6 and a moderately high eccentricity of e = 0.460 − 0.018 + 0.019 , which further constrain the puzzling architecture of this system. We examine several potential scenarios that may have produced the current TOI-677 orbital configuration, ultimately concluding that TOI-677 b most likely had its eccentricity excited through disk–planet interactions. This system adds to a growing population of aligned warm Jupiters on eccentric orbits around hot ( T eff > 6100 K) stars.
Abstract
Hot Jupiters are a rare and interesting outcome of planet formation. Although more than 500 hot Jupiters (HJs) are known, most of them were discovered by a heterogeneous collection of ...surveys with selection biases that are difficult to quantify. Currently, our best knowledge of HJ demographics around FGK stars comes from the sample of ≈40 objects detected by the Kepler mission, which have a well-quantified selection function. Using the Kepler results, we simulate the characteristics of the population of nearby transiting HJs. A comparison between the known sample of nearby HJs and simulated magnitude-limited samples leads to four conclusions. (1) The known sample of HJs appears to be ≈75% complete for stars brighter than Gaia
G
≤ 10.5, falling to ≲50% for
G
≤ 12. (2) There are probably a few undiscovered HJs with host stars brighter than
G
≈ 10 located within 10° of the Galactic plane. (3) The period and radius distributions of HJs may differ for F-type hosts (which dominate the nearby sample) and
G
-type hosts (which dominate the Kepler sample). (4) To obtain a magnitude-limited sample of HJs that is larger than the Kepler sample by an order of magnitude, the limiting magnitude should be approximately
G
≈ 12.5. This magnitude limit is within the range for which NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite can easily detect HJs, presenting the opportunity to greatly expand our knowledge of hot-Jupiter demographics.
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