Aims. We aim at detecting water vapor in the atmosphere of the hot Jupiter HD 209458 b and perform a multi-band study in the near infrared with CARMENES. Methods. The water vapor absorption lines ...from the atmosphere of the planet are Doppler-shifted due to the large change in its radial velocity during transit. This shift is of the order of tens of km s−1, whilst the Earth’s telluric and the stellar lines can be considered quasi-static. We took advantage of this shift to remove the telluric and stellar lines using SYSREM, which performs a principal component analysis including proper error propagation. The residual spectra contain the signal from thousands of planetary molecular lines well below the noise level. We retrieve the information from those lines by cross-correlating the residual spectra with models of the atmospheric absorption of the planet. Results. We find a cross-correlation signal with a signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) of 6.4, revealing H2O in HD 209458 b. We obtain a net blueshift of the signal of –5.2 −1.3+2.6 $^{+2.6}_{-1.3}$ −1.3+2.6 km s−1 that, despite the large error bars, is a firm indication of day- to night-side winds at the terminator of this hot Jupiter. Additionally, we performed a multi-band study for the detection of H2O individually from the three near infrared bands covered by CARMENES. We detect H2O from its 0.96–1.06 μm band with a S/N of 5.8, and also find hints of a detection from the 1.06–1.26 μm band, with a low S/N of 2.8. No clear planetary signal is found from the 1.26–1.62 μm band. Conclusions. Our significant H2O signal at 0.96–1.06 μm in HD 209458 b represents the first detection of H2O from this band individually, the bluest one to date. The unfavorable observational conditions might be the reason for the inconclusive detection from the stronger 1.15 and 1.4 μm bands. H2O is detected from the 0.96–1.06 μm band in HD 209458 b, but hardly in HD 189733 b, which supports a stronger aerosol extinction in the latter, in line with previous studies. Future data gathered at more stable conditions and with larger S/N at both optical and near-infrared wavelengths could help to characterize the presence of aerosols in HD 209458 b and other planets.
We present the first case in which the BEER algorithm identified a hot Jupiter in the Kepler light curve, and its reality was confirmed by orbital solutions based on follow-up spectroscopy. ...Spectroscopic radial velocity follow-up observations with Tillinghast Reflector Echelle Spectrograph and SOPHIE confirmed Kepler-76b as a transiting 2.0 + or - 0.26 M sub(Jup) hot Jupiter. The mass of a transiting planet can be estimated from either the beaming or the ellipsoidal amplitude. We show that a phase shift of 10degrees.3 + or - 2degrees.0 of the planet reflection/emission modulation, due to superrotation, explains the apparently inflated beaming modulation, resolving the ellipsoidal /beaming amplitude discrepancy. Kepler-76b is one of very few confirmed planets in the Kepler light curves that show BEER modulations and the first to show superrotation evidence in the Kepler band. Its discovery illustrates for the first time the ability of the BEER algorithm to detect short-period planets and brown dwarfs.
The BEER algorithm searches stellar light curves for the BEaming, Ellipsoidal, and Reflection photometric modulations that are caused by a short-period companion. These three effects are typically of ...very low amplitude and can mainly be detected in light curves from space-based photometers. Applying the algorithm to wide-field photometric surveys such as CoRoT and Kepler offers an opportunity to better understand the statistical properties of short-period binaries. It also widens the window for detecting intrinsically rare systems, such as short-period brown-dwarf and massive-planetary companions to main-sequence stars. This is the first time non-eclipsing beaming binaries are detected in CoRoT data, and we estimate that ~300 such binaries can be detected in the CoRoT long-run light curves.
Context. M dwarfs are known to generate the strongest magnetic fields among main-sequence stars with convective envelopes, but we are still lacking a consistent picture of the link between the ...magnetic fields and underlying dynamo mechanisms, rotation, and activity. Aims. In this work we aim to measure magnetic fields from the high-resolution near-infrared spectra taken with the CARMENES radial-velocity planet survey in a sample of 29 active M dwarfs and compare our results against stellar parameters. Methods. We used the state-of-the-art radiative transfer code to measure total magnetic flux densities from the Zeeman broadening of spectral lines and filling factors. Results. We detect strong kG magnetic fields in all our targets. In 16 stars the magnetic fields were measured for the first time. Our measurements are consistent with the magnetic field saturation in stars with rotation periods P < 4 d. The analysis of the magnetic filling factors reveal two different patterns of either very smooth distribution or a more patchy one, which can be connected to the dynamo state of the stars and/or stellar mass. Conclusions. Our measurements extend the list of M dwarfs with strong surface magnetic fields. They also allow us to better constrain the interplay between the magnetic energy, stellar rotation, and underlying dynamo action. The high spectral resolution and observations at near-infrared wavelengths are the beneficial capabilities of the CARMENES instrument that allow us to address important questions about the stellar magnetism.
Context.
Relatively large radii of some hot Jupiters observed in the ultraviolet and blue-optical are generally interpreted to be due to Rayleigh scattering by high-altitude haze particles. However, ...the haze composition and its production mechanisms are not fully understood, and observational information is still limited.
Aims.
We aim to study the presence of hazes in the atmospheres of HD 209458 b and HD 189733 b with high spectral resolution spectra by analysing the strength of water vapour cross-correlation signals across the red optical and near-infrared wavelength ranges.
Methods.
A total of seven transits of the two planets were observed with the CARMENES spectrograph at the 3.5 m Calar Alto telescope. Their Doppler-shifted signals were disentangled from the telluric and stellar contributions using the detrending algorithm
SYSREM
. The residual spectra were subsequently cross-correlated with water vapour templates at 0.70–0.96
μ
m to measure the strength of the water vapour absorption bands.
Results.
The optical water vapour bands were detected at 5.2
σ
in HD 209458 b in one transit, whereas no evidence of them was found in four transits of HD 189733 b. Therefore, the relative strength of the optical water bands compared to those in the near-infrared were found to be larger in HD 209458 b than in HD 189733 b.
Conclusions.
We interpret the non-detection of optical water bands in the transmission spectra of HD 189733 b, compared to the detection in HD 209458 b, to be due to the presence of high-altitude hazes in the former planet, which are largely absent in the latter. This is consistent with previous measurements with the
Hubble
Space Telescope. We show that currently available CARMENES observations of hot Jupiters can be used to investigate the presence of haze extinction in their atmospheres.
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 ($\sim 8\, {{\ \rm per\ cent}}$).
Kepler Object of Interest Network von Essen, C.; Ofir, A.; Dreizler, S. ...
Astronomy and astrophysics (Berlin),
07/2018, Volume:
615
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
During its four years of photometric observations, the
Kepler
space telescope detected thousands of exoplanets and exoplanet candidates. One of
Kepler
’s greatest heritages has been the confirmation ...and characterization of hundreds of multi-planet systems via transit timing variations (TTVs). However, there are many interesting candidate systems displaying TTVs on such long timescales that the existing
Kepler
observations are of insufficient length to confirm and characterize them by means of this technique. To continue with
Kepler
’s unique work, we have organized the “
Kepler
Object of Interest Network” (KOINet), a multi-site network formed of several telescopes located throughout America, Europe, and Asia. The goals of KOINet are to complete the TTV curves of systems where
Kepler
did not cover the interaction timescales well, to dynamically prove that some candidates are true planets (or not), to dynamically measure the masses and bulk densities of some planets, to find evidence for non-transiting planets in some of the systems, to extend
Kepler
’s baseline adding new data with the main purpose of improving current models of TTVs, and to build a platform that can observe almost anywhere on the northern hemisphere, at almost any time. KOINet has been operational since March 2014. Here we show some promising first results obtained from analyzing seven primary transits of KOI-0410.01, KOI-0525.01, KOI-0760.01, and KOI-0902.01, in addition to the
Kepler
data acquired during the first and second observing seasons of KOINet. While carefully choosing the targets we set demanding constraints on timing precision (at least 1 min) and photometric precision (as good as one part per thousand) that were achieved by means of our observing strategies and data analysis techniques. For KOI-0410.01, new transit data revealed a turnover of its TTVs. We carried out an in-depth study of the system, which is identified in the NASA Data Validation Report as a false positive. Among others, we investigated a gravitationally bound hierarchical triple star system and a planet–star system. While the simultaneous transit fitting of ground- andspace-based data allowed for a planet solution, we could not fully reject the three-star scenario. New data, already scheduled in the upcoming 2018 observing season, will set tighter constraints on the nature of the system.
We report the discovery of two exoplanets around the M dwarfs GJ 724 and GJ 3988 using the radial velocity (RV) method. We obtained a total of 153 3.5 m Calar Alto/CARMENES spectra for both targets ...and measured their RVs and activity indicators. We also added archival ESO/HARPS data for GJ 724 and infrared RV measurements from Subaru/IRD for GJ 3988. We searched for periodic and stable signals to subsequently construct Keplerian models, considering different numbers of planets, and we selected the best models based on their Bayesian evidence. Gaussian process (GP) regression was included in some models to account for activity signals. For both systems, the best model corresponds to one single planet. The minimum masses are 10.75
−0.87
+0.96
and 3.69
−0.41
+0.42
Earth-masses for GJ 724 b and GJ 3988 b, respectively. Both planets have short periods (
P <
10 d) and, therefore, they orbit their star closely (
a
< 0.05 au). GJ 724 b has an eccentric orbit (
e
= 0.577
−0.052
+0.055
), whereas the orbit of GJ 3988 b is circular. The high eccentricity of GJ 724 b makes it the most eccentric single exoplanet (to this date) around an M dwarf. Thus, we suggest a further analysis to understand its configuration in the context of planetary formation and architecture. In contrast, GJ 3988 b is an example of a common type of planet around mid-M dwarfs.
We report the discovery of HN Lib b, a sub-Neptunian mass planet orbiting the nearby (
d
≈ = 6.25 pc) M4.0 V star HN Lib detected by our CARMENES radial-velocity (RV) survey. We determined a ...planetary minimum mass of
M
b
sin
i
= 5.46 ± 0.75
M
⊕
and an orbital period of
P
b
= 36.116 ± 0.029 d, using ~5 yr of CARMENES data, as well as archival RVs from HARPS and HIRES spanning more than 13 yr. The flux received by the planet equals half the instellation on Earth, which places it in the middle of the conservative habitable zone (HZ) of its host star. The RV data show evidence for another planet candidate with
M
c
sin
i
= 9.7 ± 1.9
M
⊕
and
P
c
= 113.46 ± 0.20 d. The long-term stability of the signal and the fact that the best model for our data is a two-planet model with an independent activity component stand as strong arguments for establishing a planetary origin. However, we cannot rule out stellar activity due to its proximity to the rotation period of HN Lib, which we measured using CARMENES activity indicators and photometric data from a ground-based multi-site campaign as well as archival data. The discovery adds HN Lib b to the shortlist of super-Earth planets in the habitable zone of M dwarfs, but HN Lib c probably cannot be inhabited because, if confirmed, it would most likely be an icy giant.
In anticipation of the Gaia astrometric mission, a large sample of spectroscopic binaries has been observed since 2010 with the Spectrographe pour l'Observation des PHénomènes des Intérieurs ...Stellaires et des Exoplanètes spectrograph at the Haute–Provence Observatory. Our aim is to derive the orbital elements of double-lined spectroscopic binaries (SB2s) with an accuracy sufficient to finally obtain the masses of the components with relative errors as small as 1 per cent when the astrometric measurements of Gaia are taken into account. In this paper, we present the results from five years of observations of 10 SB2 systems with periods ranging from 37 to 881 d. Using the todmor algorithm, we computed radial velocities from the spectra, and then derived the orbital elements of these binary systems. The minimum masses of the components are then obtained with an accuracy better than 1.2 per cent for the 10 binaries. Combining the radial velocities with existing interferometric measurements, we derived the masses of the primary and secondary components of HIP 87895 with an accuracy of 0.98 and 1.2 per cent, respectively.