We present exoplanet occurrence rates estimated with approximate Bayesian computation for planets with radii between 0.5 and 16 R⊕ and orbital periods between 0.78 and 400 days orbiting FGK dwarf ...stars. We base our results on an independent planet catalog compiled from our search of all ∼200,000 stars observed over the Kepler mission, with precise planetary radii supplemented by Gaia DR2-incorporated stellar radii. We take into account detection and vetting efficiency, planet radius uncertainty, and reliability against transit-like noise signals in the data. By analyzing our FGK occurrence rates as well as those computed after separating F-, G-, and K-type stars, we explore dependencies on stellar effective temperature, planet radius, and orbital period. We reveal new characteristics of the photoevaporation-driven "radius gap" between ∼1.5 and 2 R⊕, indicating that the bimodal distribution previously revealed for P < 100 days exists only over a much narrower range of orbital periods, above which sub-Neptunes dominate and below which super-Earths dominate. Finally, we provide several estimates of the "eta-Earth" value-the frequency of potentially habitable, rocky planets orbiting Sun-like stars. For planets with sizes 0.75-1.5 R⊕ orbiting in a conservatively defined habitable zone (0.99-1.70 au) around G-type stars, we place an upper limit (84.1th percentile) of <0.18 planets per star.
ABSTRACT We present a study of white-light flares from the active M5.5 dwarf Proxima Centauri using the Canadian microsatellite Microvariability and Oscillations of STars. Using 37.6 days of ...monitoring data from 2014 to 2015, we have detected 66 individual flare events, the largest number of white-light flares observed to date on Proxima Cen. Flare energies in our sample range from 1029 to 1031.5 erg. The flare rate is lower than that of other classic flare stars of a similar spectral type, such as UV Ceti, which may indicate Proxima Cen had a higher flare rate in its youth. Proxima Cen does have an unusually high flare rate given its slow rotation period, however. Extending the observed power-law occurrence distribution down to 1028 erg, we show that flares with flux amplitudes of 0.5% occur 63 times per day, while superflares with energies of 1033 erg occur ∼8 times per year. Small flares may therefore pose a great difficulty in searches for transits from the recently announced 1.27 M⊕ Proxima b, while frequent large flares could have significant impact on the planetary atmosphere.
We present revised properties for 196,468 stars observed by the NASA Kepler mission and used in the analysis of Quarter 1-16 (Q1-Q16) data to detect and characterize transiting planets. The catalog ...is based on a compilation of literature values for atmospheric properties (temperature, surface gravity, and metallicity) derived from different observational techniques (photometry, spectroscopy, asteroseismology, and exoplanet transits), which were then homogeneously fitted to a grid of Dartmouth stellar isochrones. We use broadband photometry and asteroseismology to characterize 11,532 Kepler targets which were previously unclassified in the Kepler Input Catalog (KIC). We report the detection of oscillations in 2762 of these targets, classifying them as giant stars and increasing the number of known oscillating giant stars observed by Kepler by ~20% to a total of ~15,500 stars. Typical uncertainties in derived radii and masses are ~40% and ~20%, respectively, for stars with photometric constraints only, and 5%-15% and ~10% for stars based on spectroscopy and/or asteroseismology, although these uncertainties vary strongly with spectral type and luminosity class. A comparison with the Q1-Q12 catalog shows a systematic decrease in radii of M dwarfs, while radii for K dwarfs decrease or increase depending on the Q1-Q12 provenance (KIC or Yonsei-Yale isochrones). Radii of F-G dwarfs are on average unchanged, with the exception of newly identified giants. The Q1-Q16 star properties catalog is a first step toward an improved characterization of all Kepler targets to support planet-occurrence studies.
Light curves from the 4-year Kepler exoplanet hunting mission have been searched for transits by NASA's Kepler team and others, but there are still important discoveries to be made. We have searched ...the light curves of 400 Kepler Objects of Interest (KOIs) to find transit signals down to signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) ∼ 6, which is under the limit of S/N ∼ 7.1 that has been commonly adopted as a strict threshold to distinguish between a transit candidate and false alarm. We detect four new and convincing planet candidates ranging in radius from near-Mercury-size to slightly larger than Neptune. We highlight the discovery of KOI-408.05 (period = 637 days; radius = 4.9 R⊕; incident flux = 0.6 S⊕), a planet candidate within its host star's Habitable Zone. We dub this planet a "warm Neptune," a likely volatile-rich world that deserves closer inspection. KOI-408.05 joins 21 other confirmed and candidate planets in the current Kepler sample with semimajor axes a > 1.4 au. These discoveries are significant as a demonstration that the S/N threshold for detection used by the Kepler project is open to debate.
Abstract
This is the final photometric study of TW Hya based on new MOST satellite observations. During 2014 and 2017, the light curves showed stable 3.75- and 3.69-d quasi-periodic oscillations, ...respectively. Both values appear to be closely related to the stellar rotation period, as they might be created by changing visibility of a hotspot formed near the magnetic pole directed towards the observer. These major light variations were superimposed on a chaotic, flaring-type activity caused by hotspots resulting from unstable accretion – a situation reminiscent of that in 2011, when TW Hya showed signs of a moderately stable accretion state. In 2015, only drifting quasi-periods were observed, similar to those present in 2008–2009 data and typical for magnetized stars accreting in a strongly unstable regime. A rich set of multicolour data was obtained during 2013–2017 with the primary aim of characterizing the basic spectral properties of the mysterious occultations in TW Hya. Although several possible occultation-like events were identified, they are not as well defined as in the 2011 MOST data. The new ground-based and MOST data show a dozen previously unnoticed flares, as well as small-amplitude 11 min–3 h brightness variations, associated with ‘accretion bursts’. We cannot exclude the possibility that the shortest 11–15 min variations could also be caused by thermal instability oscillations in an accretion shock.
ABSTRACT We present simultaneous ground-based radial velocity (RV) measurements and space-based photometric measurements of the young and active K dwarf Epsilon Eridani. These measurements provide a ...data set for exploring methods of identifying and ultimately distinguishing stellar photospheric velocities from Keplerian motion. We compare three methods we have used in exploring this data set: Dalmatian, an MCMC spot modeling code that fits photometric and RV measurements simultaneously; the FF′ method, which uses photometric measurements to predict the stellar activity signal in simultaneous RV measurements; and H analysis. We show that our H measurements are strongly correlated with the Microvariability and Oscillations of STars telescope (MOST) photometry, which led to a promising new method based solely on the spectroscopic observations. This new method, which we refer to as the HH′ method, uses H measurements as input into the FF′ model. While the Dalmatian spot modeling analysis and the FF′ method with MOST space-based photometry are currently more robust, the HH′ method only makes use of one of the thousands of stellar lines in the visible spectrum. By leveraging additional spectral activity indicators, we believe the HH′ method may prove quite useful in disentangling stellar signals.
A significant part of the intrinsic brightness variations in cool stars of low and intermediate mass arises from surface convection (seen as granulation) and acoustic oscillations (p-mode ...pulsations). The characteristics of these phenomena are largely determined by the stars' surface gravity (g). Detailed photometric measurements of either signal can yield an accurate value of g. However, even with ultraprecise photometry from NASA's Kepler mission, many stars are too faint for current methods or only moderate accuracy can be achieved in a limited range of stellar evolutionary stages. This means that many of the stars in the Kepler sample, including exoplanet hosts, are not sufficiently characterized to fully describe the sample and exoplanet properties. We present a novel way to measure surface gravities with accuracies of about 4%. Our technique exploits the tight relation between g and the characteristic time scale of the combined granulation and p-mode oscillation signal. It is applicable to all stars with a convective envelope, including active stars. It can measure g in stars for which no other analysis is now possible. Because it depends on the time scale (and no other properties) of the signal, our technique is largely independent of the type of measurement (for example, photometry or radial velocity measurements) and the calibration of the instrumentation used. However, the oscillation signal must be temporally resolved; thus, it cannot be applied to dwarf stars observed by Kepler in its long-cadence mode.
The analysis of Proxima Centauri's radial velocities recently led Anglada-Escudé et al. to claim the presence of a low-mass planet orbiting the Sun's nearest star once every 11.2 days. Although the a ...priori probability that Proxima b transits its parent star is just 1.5%, the potential impact of such a discovery would be considerable. Independent of recent radial velocity efforts, we observed Proxima Centauri for 12.5 days in 2014 and 31 days in 2015 with the Microwave and Oscillations of Stars space telescope. We report here that we cannot make a compelling case that Proxima b transits in our precise photometric time series. Imposing an informative prior on the period and phase, we do detect a candidate signal with the expected depth. However, perturbing the phase prior across 100 evenly spaced intervals reveals one strong false positive and one weaker instance. We estimate a false-positive rate of at least a few percent and a much higher false-negative rate of 20%-40%, likely caused by the very high flare rate of Proxima Centauri. Comparing our candidate signal to HATSouth ground-based photometry reveals that the signal is somewhat, but not conclusively, disfavored (1 -2 ), leading us to argue that the signal is most likely spurious. We expect that infrared photometric follow-up could more conclusively test the existence of this candidate signal, owing to the suppression of flare activity and the impressive infrared brightness of the parent star.
Through photometric monitoring of the extended transit window of HD 97658b with the MOST space telescope, we have found that this exoplanet transits with an ephemeris consistent with that predicted ...from radial velocity measurements. The mid-transit times are 5.6sigma earlier than those of the unverified transit-like signals reported in 2011, and we find no connection between the two sets of events. The transit depth together with our determined stellar radius (Rlow * = (ProQuest: Formulae and/or non-USASCII text omitted) Rmiddot in circle) indicates a (ProQuest: Formulae and/or non-USASCII text omitted) R+ in circle super-Earth. When combined with the radial velocity determined mass of 7.86 + or - 0.73 M sub(+ in circle), our radius measure allows us to derive a planet density of (ProQuest: Formulae and/or non-USASCII text omitted) g cm super(-3). Models suggest that a planet with our measured density has a rocky core that is enveloped in an atmosphere composed of lighter elements. The star of the HD 97658 system is the second brightest known to host a transiting super-Earth, facilitating follow-up studies of this not easily daunted, warm and likely volatile-rich exoplanet.
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