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Sample records for transiting exoplanet wasp-3b

  1. Observations and modeling of the transiting exoplanets XO-2b, HAT-P-18b, and WASP-80b

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kjurkchieva Diana P.

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available We present photometric observations and transit solutions of the exoplanets XO-2b, HAT-P-18b and WASP 80b. Our solution of the XO-2b transit gave system parameters whose values are close to those of the previous studies. The solutions of the new transits of HAT-P-18b and WASP 80b differ from the previous ones by bigger stellar and planet radii. We obtained new values of the target initial epochs corresponding to slightly different periods. Our investigation reaffirmed that small telescopes can be used successfully for the study of exoplanets orbiting stars brighter than 13 mag.

  2. Exoplanet Transit Spectroscopy Using WFC3: WASP-12 b, WASP-17 b, and WASP-19 b

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    Mandell, Avram Max; Haynes, Korey N.; Sinukoff, Evan; Madhusudhan, Nikku; Burrows, Adam; Deming, Drake

    2013-01-01

    We report an analysis of transit spectroscopy of the extrasolar planets WASP-12 b, WASP-17 b, and WASP-19 b using the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). We analyze the data for a single transit for each planet using a strategy similar, in certain aspects, to the techniques used by Berta et al., but we extend their methodology to allow us to correct for channel- or wavelength-dependent instrumental effects by utilizing the band-integrated time series and measurements of the drift of the spectrum on the detector over time. We achieve almost photon-limited results for individual spectral bins, but the uncertainties in the transit depth for the band-integrated data are exacerbated by the uneven sampling of the light curve imposed by the orbital phasing of HST's observations. Our final transit spectra for all three objects are consistent with the presence of a broad absorption feature at 1.4 nano meter most likely due to water. However, the amplitude of the absorption is less than that expected based on previous observations with Spitzer, possibly due to hazes absorbing in the NIR or non-solar compositions. The degeneracy of models with different compositions and temperature structures combined with the low amplitude of any features in the data preclude our ability to place unambiguous constraints on the atmospheric composition without additional observations with WFC3 to improve the signal-to-noise ratio and/or a comprehensive multi-wavelength analysis.

  3. Exoplanet transit spectroscopy using WFC3: WASP-12 b, WASP-17 b, and WASP-19 b

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    Mandell, Avi M.; Haynes, Korey [Solar System Exploration Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Sinukoff, Evan [Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI 96822 (United States); Madhusudhan, Nikku [Yale Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511 (United States); Burrows, Adam [Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544 (United States); Deming, Drake, E-mail: Avi.Mandell@nasa.gov [Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 (United States)

    2013-12-20

    We report an analysis of transit spectroscopy of the extrasolar planets WASP-12 b, WASP-17 b, and WASP-19 b using the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). We analyze the data for a single transit for each planet using a strategy similar, in certain aspects, to the techniques used by Berta et al., but we extend their methodology to allow us to correct for channel- or wavelength-dependent instrumental effects by utilizing the band-integrated time series and measurements of the drift of the spectrum on the detector over time. We achieve almost photon-limited results for individual spectral bins, but the uncertainties in the transit depth for the band-integrated data are exacerbated by the uneven sampling of the light curve imposed by the orbital phasing of HST's observations. Our final transit spectra for all three objects are consistent with the presence of a broad absorption feature at 1.4 μm most likely due to water. However, the amplitude of the absorption is less than that expected based on previous observations with Spitzer, possibly due to hazes absorbing in the NIR or non-solar compositions. The degeneracy of models with different compositions and temperature structures combined with the low amplitude of any features in the data preclude our ability to place unambiguous constraints on the atmospheric composition without additional observations with WFC3 to improve the signal-to-noise ratio and/or a comprehensive multi-wavelength analysis.

  4. The WASP-South search for transiting exoplanets

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    Queloz D.

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available Since 2006 WASP-South has been scanning the Southern sky for transiting exoplanets. Combined with Geneva Observatory radial velocities we have so far found over 30 transiting exoplanets around relatively bright stars of magnitude 9–13. We present a status report for this ongoing survey.

  5. Community Targets for JWST's Early Release Science Program: Evaluation of Transiting Exoplanet WASP-63b.

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    Kilpatrick, Brian; Cubillos, Patricio; Bruno, Giovanni; Lewis, Nikole K.; Stevenson, Kevin B.; Wakeford, Hannah; Blecic, Jasmina; Burrows, Adam Seth; Deming, Drake; Heng, Kevin; Line, Michael R.; Madhusudhan, Nikku; Morley, Caroline; Waldmann, Ingo P.; Transiting Exoplanet Early Release Science Community

    2017-06-01

    We present observations of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) ``A Preparatory Program to Identify the Single Best Transiting Exoplanet for JWST Early Release Science" for WASP-63b, one of the community targets proposed for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Early Release Science (ERS) program. A large collaboration of transiting exoplanet scientists identified a set of ``community targets" which meet a certain set of criteria for ecliptic latitude, period, host star brightness, well constrained orbital parameters, and strength of spectroscopic features. WASP-63b was one of the targets identified as a potential candidate for the ERS program. It is presented as an inflated planet with a large signal. It will be accessible to JWST approximately six months after the planned start of Cycle 1/ERS in April 2019 making it an ideal candidate should there be any delays in the JWST timetable. Here, we observe WASP-63b to evaluate its suitability as the best target to test the capabilities of JWST. Ideally, a clear atmosphere will be best suited for bench marking the instruments ability to detect spectroscopic features. We can use the strength of the water absorption feature at 1.4 μm as a way to determine the presence of obscuring clouds/hazes. The results of atmospheric retrieval are presented along with a discussion on the suitability of WASP-63b as the best target to be observed during the ERS Program.

  6. WASP-121b: An ultrahot gas-giant exoplanet with a stratosphere

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    Kataria, Tiffany; Evans, Thomas M.; Sing, David; Goyal, Jayesh; Nikolov, Nikolay; Wakeford, Hannah R.; Deming, Drake; Marley, Mark S.; PanCET Team

    2018-01-01

    Stratospheres are ubiquitous in the atmospheres of solar system planets, and provide crucial information about an atmosphere’s chemical composition, vertical temperature structure, and energy budget. While it has been suggested that stratospheres could form in highly irradiated exoplanets, the extent to which this occurs has so far been unresolved both theoretically and observationally. Here we present secondary eclipse observations of the ultra-hot (Teq ~ 2500 K) gas giant exoplanet WASP-121b made using HST/WFC3 in spectroscopic mode across the 1.12-1.64 micron wavelength range. The spectrum is inconsistent with an isothermal atmosphere and has spectrally-resolved water features in emission, providing a detection of an exoplanet stratosphere at 5-sigma confidence. WASP-121b is one of the standout exoplanets available for atmospheric characterization, both in transmission and emission, due to its large radius (1.8 Rjup), high temperature, and bright host star (H=9.4mag). As such, we will also discuss follow-up observations of WASP-121b with HST and JWST to probe the longitudinal extent of its stratosphere, and the molecular absorbers that may produce it.

  7. ON THE ORBIT OF EXOPLANET WASP-12b

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Campo, Christopher J.; Harrington, Joseph; Hardy, Ryan A.; Stevenson, Kevin B.; Nymeyer, Sarah; Lust, Nate B.; Blecic, Jasmina; Britt, Christopher B. T.; Bowman, William C.; Ragozzine, Darin; Anderson, David R.; Hellier, Coel; Maxted, Pierre F. L.; Collier-Cameron, Andrew; Wheatley, Peter J.; Loredo, Thomas J.; Deming, Drake; Hebb, Leslie; Pollaco, Don; West, Richard G.

    2011-01-01

    We observed two secondary eclipses of the exoplanet WASP-12b using the Infrared Array Camera on the Spitzer Space Telescope. The close proximity of WASP-12b to its G-type star results in extreme tidal forces capable of inducing apsidal precession with a period as short as a few decades. This precession would be measurable if the orbit had a significant eccentricity, leading to an estimate of the tidal Love number and an assessment of the degree of central concentration in the planetary interior. An initial ground-based secondary-eclipse phase reported by Lopez-Morales et al. (0.510 ± 0.002) implied eccentricity at the 4.5σ level. The spectroscopic orbit of Hebb et al. has eccentricity 0.049 ± 0.015, a 3σ result, implying an eclipse phase of 0.509 ± 0.007. However, there is a well-documented tendency of spectroscopic data to overestimate small eccentricities. Our eclipse phases are 0.5010 ± 0.0006 (3.6 and 5.8 μm) and 0.5006 ± 0.0007 (4.5 and 8.0 μm). An unlikely orbital precession scenario invoking an alignment of the orbit during the Spitzer observations could have explained this apparent discrepancy, but the final eclipse phase of Lopez-Morales et al. (0.510 ± +0.007 -0.006 ) is consistent with a circular orbit at better than 2σ. An orbit fit to all the available transit, eclipse, and radial-velocity data indicates precession at <1σ; a non-precessing solution fits better. We also comment on analysis and reporting for Spitzer exoplanet data in light of recent re-analyses.

  8. New exoplanets from the SuperWASP-North survey

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    Keenan F.

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available We present the current status of the WASP search for transiting exoplanets, focusing on recent planet discoveries from SuperWASP-North and the joint equatorial region (-20≤Dec≤+20 observed by both WASP telescopes. We report the results of monitoring of WASP planets, and discuss how these contribute to our understanding of planet properties and their diversity.

  9. SPITZER SECONDARY ECLIPSES OF WASP-18b

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nymeyer, Sarah; Harrington, Joseph; Hardy, Ryan A.; Stevenson, Kevin B.; Campo, Christopher J.; Blecic, Jasmina; Bowman, William C.; Britt, Christopher B. T.; Cubillos, Patricio; Madhusudhan, Nikku; Collier-Cameron, Andrew; Maxted, Pierre F. L.; Loredo, Thomas J.; Hellier, Coel; Anderson, David R.; Gillon, Michael; Hebb, Leslie; Wheatley, Peter J.; Pollacco, Don

    2011-01-01

    The transiting exoplanet WASP-18b was discovered in 2008 by the Wide Angle Search for Planets project. The Spitzer Exoplanet Target of Opportunity Program observed secondary eclipses of WASP-18b using Spitzer's Infrared Array Camera in the 3.6 μm and 5.8 μm bands on 2008 December 20, and in the 4.5 μm and 8.0 μm bands on 2008 December 24. We report eclipse depths of 0.30% ± 0.02%, 0.39% ± 0.02%, 0.37% ± 0.03%, 0.41% ± 0.02%, and brightness temperatures of 3100 ± 90, 3310 ± 130, 3080 ± 140, and 3120 ± 110 K in order of increasing wavelength. WASP-18b is one of the hottest planets yet discovered—as hot as an M-class star. The planet's pressure-temperature profile most likely features a thermal inversion. The observations also require WASP-18b to have near-zero albedo and almost no redistribution of energy from the day side to the night side of the planet.

  10. SPIN–ORBIT ALIGNMENT FOR THREE TRANSITING HOT JUPITERS: WASP-103b, WASP-87b, and WASP-66b

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    Addison, B. C.; Tinney, C. G.; Wright, D. J. [Exoplanetary Science Group, School of Physics, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052 (Australia); Bayliss, D., E-mail: baddison2005@gmail.com [Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2611 (Australia)

    2016-05-20

    We have measured the sky-projected spin–orbit alignments for three transiting hot Jupiters, WASP-103b, WASP-87b, and WASP-66b, using spectroscopic measurements of the Rossiter–McLaughlin effect, with the CYCLOPS2 optical fiber bundle system feeding the UCLES spectrograph on the Anglo-Australian Telescope. The resulting sky-projected spin–orbit angles of λ = 3° ± 33°, λ = −8° ± 11°, and λ = −4° ± 22° for WASP-103b, WASP-87b, and WASP-66b, respectively, suggest that these three planets are likely on nearly aligned orbits with respect to their host star’s spin axis. WASP-103 is a particularly interesting system as its orbital distance is only 20% larger than its host star’s Roche radius and the planet likely experiences strong tidal effects. WASP-87 and WASP-66 are hot ( T {sub eff} = 6450 ± 120 K and T {sub eff} = 6600 ± 150 K, respectively) mid-F stars, making them similar to the majority of stars hosting planets on high-obliquity orbits. Moderate spin–orbit misalignments for WASP-103b and WASP-66b are consistent with our data, but polar and retrograde orbits are not favored for these systems.

  11. SPIN–ORBIT ALIGNMENT FOR THREE TRANSITING HOT JUPITERS: WASP-103b, WASP-87b, and WASP-66b

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Addison, B. C.; Tinney, C. G.; Wright, D. J.; Bayliss, D.

    2016-01-01

    We have measured the sky-projected spin–orbit alignments for three transiting hot Jupiters, WASP-103b, WASP-87b, and WASP-66b, using spectroscopic measurements of the Rossiter–McLaughlin effect, with the CYCLOPS2 optical fiber bundle system feeding the UCLES spectrograph on the Anglo-Australian Telescope. The resulting sky-projected spin–orbit angles of λ = 3° ± 33°, λ = −8° ± 11°, and λ = −4° ± 22° for WASP-103b, WASP-87b, and WASP-66b, respectively, suggest that these three planets are likely on nearly aligned orbits with respect to their host star’s spin axis. WASP-103 is a particularly interesting system as its orbital distance is only 20% larger than its host star’s Roche radius and the planet likely experiences strong tidal effects. WASP-87 and WASP-66 are hot ( T eff = 6450 ± 120 K and T eff = 6600 ± 150 K, respectively) mid-F stars, making them similar to the majority of stars hosting planets on high-obliquity orbits. Moderate spin–orbit misalignments for WASP-103b and WASP-66b are consistent with our data, but polar and retrograde orbits are not favored for these systems.

  12. A search for transit timing variations and orbital decay in WASP-46b

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    Petrucci, R.; Jofré, E.; Ferrero, L. V.; Cúneo, V.; Saker, L.; Lovos, F.; Gómez, M.; Mauas, P.

    2018-02-01

    We present 12 new transit observations of the exoplanet WASP-46b obtained with the 1.54-m telescope at Estación Astrofísica de Bosque Alegre (EABA, Argentina) and the 0.40-m Horacio Ghielmetti and 2.15-m Jorge Sahade telescopes at Complejo Astronómico El Leoncito (CASLEO, Argentina). We analyse them together with 37 light curves from the literature to re-determine the physical parameters and search for additional planets via transit timing variations (TTVs). We consider the 31 transits with uncertainties in their mid-transit times (e_T0) activity could be affecting the measured mid-transit times. This value of dispersion allows us to rule out the presence of additional bodies with masses larger than 2.3, 4.6, 7 and 9.3 M_{\\oplus} at the first-order mean-motion resonances 2:1, 3:2, 4:3 and 5:4 with the transiting planet, respectively. Despite the 6 yr baseline and a typical light-curve precision of 2 × 10-3, we find that we cannot significantly demonstrate a slow decrease of the orbital period of WASP-46b. We place a lower limit of Q⋆ > 7 × 103 on the tidal quality factor and determine that an additional 6 yr baseline is required to rule out Q⋆ < 105.

  13. Long-Period Exoplanets from Photometric Transit Surveys

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    Osborn, Hugh

    2017-10-01

    Photometric transit surveys on the ground & in space have detected thousands of transiting exoplanets, typically by analytically combining the signals from multiple transits. This technique of exoplanet detection was exploited in K2 to detect nearly 200 candidate planets, and extensive follow-up was able to confirm the planet K2-110b as a 2.6±0.1R⊕, 16.7±3.2M⊙ planet on a 14d orbit around a K-dwarf. The ability to push beyond the time limit set by transit surveys to detect long-period transiting objects from a single eclipse was also studied. This was performed by developing a search technique to search for planets around bright stars in WASP and NGTS photometry, finding NGTS to be marginally better than WASP at detecting such planets with 4.14±0.16 per year compared to 1.43±0.15, and detecting many planet candidates for which follow-up is on-going. This search was then adapted to search for deep, long-duration eclipses in all WASP targets. The results of this survey are described in this thesis, as well as detailed results for the candidate PDS-110, a young T-Tauri star which exhibited ∼20d-long, 30%-deep eclipses in 2008 and 2011. Space-based photometers such as Kepler have the precision to identify small exoplanets and eclipsing binary candidates from only a single eclipse. K2, with its 75d campaign duration and high-precision photometry, is not only ideally suited to detect significant numbers of single-eclipsing objects, but also to characterise them from a single event. The Bayesian transit-fitting tool ("Namaste: An MCMC Analysis of Single Transit Exoplanets") was developed to extract planetary and orbital information from single transits, and was applied to 71 candidate events detected in K2 photometry. The techniques developed in this thesis are highly applicable to future transit surveys such as TESS & PLATO, which will be able to discover & characterise large numbers of long period planets in this way

  14. Detection of sodium in the atmosphere of WASP-69b

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    Casasayas-Barris, N.; Palle, E.; Nowak, G.; Yan, F.; Nortmann, L.; Murgas, F.

    2017-12-01

    Context. Transit spectroscopy is one of the most commonly used methods to characterize exoplanets' atmospheres. From the ground, these observations are very challenging due to the terrestrial atmosphere and its intrinsic variations, but high-spectral-resolution observations overcome this difficulty by resolving the spectral lines and taking advantage of the different Doppler velocities of the Earth, the host star, and the exoplanet. Aims: We analyze the transmission spectrum around the Na I doublet at 589 nm of the extrasolar planet WASP-69b, a hot Jupiter orbiting a K-type star with a period of 3.868 days, and compare the analysis to that of the well-known hot Jupiter HD 189733b. We also present the analysis of the Rossiter-McLaughlin (RM) effect for WASP-69b. Methods: We observed two transits of WASP-69b with the High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS-North) spectrograph (R = 115 000) at the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo (TNG). We perform a telluric contamination subtraction based on the comparison between the observed spectra and a telluric water model. Then, the common steps of the differential spectroscopy are followed to extract the transmission spectrum. The method is tested with archival transit data of the extensively studied exoplanet HD 189733b, obtained with the HARPS-South spectrograph at ESO 3.6 m telescope, and then applied to WASP-69b data. Results: For HD 189733b, we spectrally resolve the Na I doublet and measure line contrasts of 0.72 ± 0.05% (D2) and 0.51 ± 0.05% (D1), and full width half maximum (FWHM) values of 0.64 ± 0.04 Å (D2) and 0.60 ± 0.06 Å (D1), in agreement with previously published results. For WASP-69b only the contrast of the D2 line can be measured (5.8 ± 0.3%). This corresponds to a detection at the 5σ-level of excess absorption of 0.5 ± 0.1% in a passband of 1.5 Å. A net blueshift of 0.04 Å is measured for HD 189733b and no shift is obtained for WASP-69b. By measuring the RM effect, we get an angular

  15. Atmospheric Retrievals of HAT-P-16b and WASP-11b/HAT-P-10b

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    McIntyre, Kathleen; Harrington, Joseph; Challener, Ryan; Lenius, Maria; Hartman, Joel D.; Bakos, Gaspar A.; Blecic, Jasmina; Cubillos, Patricio E.; Cameron, Andrew

    2018-01-01

    We report Bayesian atmospheric retrievals performed on the exoplanets HAT-P-16b and WASP-11b/HAT-P-10b. HAT-P-16b is a hot (equilibrium temperature 1626 ± 40 K, assuming zero Bond albedo and efficient energy redistribution), 4.19 ± 0.09 Jupiter-mass exoplanet orbiting an F8 star every 2.775960 ± 0.000003 days (Buchhave et al 2010). WASP-11b/HAT-P-10b is a cooler (1020 ± 17 K), 0.487 ± 0.018 Jupiter-mass exoplanet orbiting a K3 star every 3.7224747 ± 0.0000065 days (Bakos et al. 2009, co-discovered by West et al. 2008). We observed secondary eclipses of both planets using the 3.6 μm and 4.5 μm channels of the Spitzer Space Telescope's Infrared Array Camera (program ID 60003). We applied our Photometry for Orbits, Eclipses, and Transits (POET) code to produce normalized eclipse light curves, and our Bayesian Atmospheric Radiative Transfer (BART) code to constrain the temperature-pressure profiles and atmospheric molecular abundances of the two planets. Spitzer is operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with NASA. This work was supported by NASA Planetary Atmospheres grant NNX12AI69G and NASA Astrophysics Data Analysis Program grant NNX13AF38G.

  16. Non-detection of a Helium Exosphere for the Hot Jupiter WASP-12b

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    Kreidberg, Laura; Oklopčić, Antonija

    2018-06-01

    An exosphere was recently detected around the exoplanet WASP-107b, a low-density, warm Neptune, based on an absorption feature from metastable helium (which has a vacuum wavelength of 10833 \\AA). Inspired by the WASP-107b detection, we reanalyzed archival HST observations of another evaporating exoplanet, WASP-12b, to search for signs of helium in its exosphere. We find no significant increase in transit depth at 10833 \\AA. We compare this result to theoretical predictions from a 1D model, and find that the expected helium feature amplitude is small, in agreement with the observed non-detection. We discuss possible explanations for why the helium feature is weaker for WASP-12b than WASP-107b, and conclude that the amplitude of the signal is highly sensitive to the stellar spectrum and the geometry of the evaporating gas cloud. These considerations should be taken into account in the design of future searches for helium exospheres.

  17. HST HOT-JUPITER TRANSMISSION SPECTRAL SURVEY: CLEAR SKIES FOR COOL SATURN WASP-39b

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    Fischer, Patrick D.; Knutson, Heather A. [Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Sing, David K.; Kataria, Tiffany; Nikolov, Nikolay [Astrophysics Group, School of Physics, University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter, EX4 4QL (United Kingdom); Henry, Gregory W.; Williamson, Michael W. [Center of Excellence in Information Systems, Tennessee State University, Nashville, TN 37209 (United States); Fortney, Jonathan J. [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States); Burrows, Adam S. [Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Peyton Hall, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544 (United States); Showman, Adam P.; Ballester, Gilda E. [Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States); Désert, Jean-Michel [CASA, Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado, 389-UCB, Boulder, CO 80309 (United States); Aigrain, Suzanne [Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Denys Wilkinson Building, Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3RH (United Kingdom); Deming, Drake [Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 (United States); Etangs, Alain Lecavelier des; Vidal-Madjar, Alfred [CNRS, Institut dAstrophysique de Paris, UMR 7095, 98bis boulevard Arago, F-75014 Paris (France)

    2016-08-10

    We present the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) optical transmission spectroscopy of the cool Saturn-mass exoplanet WASP-39b from 0.29-1.025 μ m, along with complementary transit observations from Spitzer IRAC at 3.6 and 4.5 μ m. The low density and large atmospheric pressure scale height of WASP-39b make it particularly amenable to atmospheric characterization using this technique. We detect a Rayleigh scattering slope as well as sodium and potassium absorption features; this is the first exoplanet in which both alkali features are clearly detected with the extended wings predicted by cloud-free atmosphere models. The full transmission spectrum is well matched by a clear H{sub 2}-dominated atmosphere, or one containing a weak contribution from haze, in good agreement with the preliminary reduction of these data presented in Sing et al. WASP-39b is predicted to have a pressure-temperature profile comparable to that of HD 189733b and WASP-6b, making it one of the coolest transiting gas giants observed in our HST STIS survey. Despite this similarity, WASP-39b appears to be largely cloud-free, while the transmission spectra of HD 189733b and WASP-6b both indicate the presence of high altitude clouds or hazes. These observations further emphasize the surprising diversity of cloudy and cloud-free gas giant planets in short-period orbits and the corresponding challenges associated with developing predictive cloud models for these atmospheres.

  18. A ground-based optical transmission spectrum of WASP-6b

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jordán, Andrés; Espinoza, Néstor; Rabus, Markus; Eyheramendy, Susana; Sing, David K.; Désert, Jean-Michel; Bakos, Gáspár Á.; Fortney, Jonathan J.; López-Morales, Mercedes; Szentgyorgyi, Andrew; Maxted, Pierre F. L.; Triaud, Amaury H. M. J.

    2013-01-01

    We present a ground-based optical transmission spectrum of the inflated sub-Jupiter-mass planet WASP-6b. The spectrum was measured in 20 spectral channels from 480 nm to 860 nm using a series of 91 spectra over a complete transit event. The observations were carried out using multi-object differential spectrophotometry with the Inamori-Magellan Areal Camera and Spectrograph on the Baade Telescope at Las Campanas Observatory. We model systematic effects on the observed light curves using principal component analysis on the comparison stars and allow for the presence of short and long memory correlation structure in our Monte Carlo Markov Chain analysis of the transit light curves for WASP-6. The measured transmission spectrum presents a general trend of decreasing apparent planetary size with wavelength and lacks evidence for broad spectral features of Na and K predicted by clear atmosphere models. The spectrum is consistent with that expected for scattering that is more efficient in the blue, as could be caused by hazes or condensates in the atmosphere of WASP-6b. WASP-6b therefore appears to be yet another massive exoplanet with evidence for a mostly featureless transmission spectrum, underscoring the importance that hazes and condensates can have in determining the transmission spectra of exoplanets.

  19. HST PanCET Program: A Cloudy Atmosphere for the Promising JWST Target WASP-101b

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wakeford, H. R.; Mandell, A. [Planetary Systems Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Stevenson, K. B.; Lewis, N. K. [Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Sing, D. K.; Evans, T. [Astrophysics Group, Physics Building, University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter EX4 4QL (United Kingdom); López-Morales, M. [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Marley, M. [NASA Ames Research Center, MS 245-5, Moffett Field, CA 94035 (United States); Kataria, T. [NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109 (United States); Ballester, G. E. [Department of Planetary Sciences and Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, 1541 E Univ. Boulevard, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States); Barstow, J. [Physics and Astronomy, University College London, London (United Kingdom); Ben-Jaffel, L. [Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris, CNRS, UMR 7095 and Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Paris 6, 98 bis bd Arago, F-75014 Paris (France); Bourrier, V.; Ehrenreich, D. [Observatoire de l’Université de Genève, 51 chemin des Maillettes, CH-1290 Sauverny (Switzerland); Buchhave, L. A. [Centre for Star and Planet Formation, Niels Bohr Institute and Natural History Museum, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 5-7, DK-1350 Copenhagen K (Denmark); García Muñoz, A., E-mail: hannah.wakeford@nasa.gov [Zentrum für Astronomie und Astrophysik, Technische Universität Berlin, D-10623 Berlin (Germany); and others

    2017-01-20

    We present results from the first observations of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Panchromatic Comparative Exoplanet Treasury program for WASP-101b, a highly inflated hot Jupiter and one of the community targets proposed for the James Webb Space Telescope ( JWST ) Early Release Science (ERS) program. From a single HST Wide Field Camera 3 observation, we find that the near-infrared transmission spectrum of WASP-101b contains no significant H{sub 2}O absorption features and we rule out a clear atmosphere at 13 σ . Therefore, WASP-101b is not an optimum target for a JWST ERS program aimed at observing strong molecular transmission features. We compare WASP-101b to the well-studied and nearly identical hot Jupiter WASP-31b. These twin planets show similar temperature–pressure profiles and atmospheric features in the near-infrared. We suggest exoplanets in the same parameter space as WASP-101b and WASP-31b will also exhibit cloudy transmission spectral features. For future HST exoplanet studies, our analysis also suggests that a lower count limit needs to be exceeded per pixel on the detector in order to avoid unwanted instrumental systematics.

  20. Spitzer Secondary Eclipse Depths with Multiple Intrapixel Sensitivity Correction Methods Observations of WASP-13b, WASP-15b, WASP-16b, WASP-62b, and HAT-P-22b

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kilpatrick, Brian M.; Lewis, Nikole K.; Kataria, Tiffany; Deming, Drake; Ingalls, James G.; Krick, Jessica E.; Tucker, Gregory S.

    2017-01-01

    We measure the 4.5 μm thermal emission of five transiting hot Jupiters, WASP-13b, WASP-15b, WASP-16b, WASP-62b, and HAT-P-22b using channel 2 of the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) on the Spitzer Space Telescope. Significant intrapixel sensitivity variations in Spitzer IRAC data require careful correction in order to achieve precision on the order of several hundred parts per million (ppm) for the measurement of exoplanet secondary eclipses. We determine eclipse depths by first correcting the raw data using three independent data reduction methods. The Pixel Gain Map (PMAP), Nearest Neighbors (NNBR), and Pixel Level Decorrelation (PLD) each correct for the intrapixel sensitivity effect in Spitzer photometric time-series observations. The results from each methodology are compared against each other to establish if they reach a statistically equivalent result in every case and to evaluate their ability to minimize uncertainty in the measurement. We find that all three methods produce reliable results. For every planet examined here NNBR and PLD produce results that are in statistical agreement. However, the PMAP method appears to produce results in slight disagreement in cases where the stellar centroid is not kept consistently on the most well characterized area of the detector. We evaluate the ability of each method to reduce the scatter in the residuals as well as in the correlated noise in the corrected data. The NNBR and PLD methods consistently minimize both white and red noise levels and should be considered reliable and consistent. The planets in this study span equilibrium temperatures from 1100 to 2000 K and have brightness temperatures that require either high albedo or efficient recirculation. However, it is possible that other processes such as clouds or disequilibrium chemistry may also be responsible for producing these brightness temperatures.

  1. SPITZER SECONDARY ECLIPSE DEPTHS WITH MULTIPLE INTRAPIXEL SENSITIVITY CORRECTION METHODS OBSERVATIONS OF WASP-13b, WASP-15b, WASP-16b, WASP-62b, AND HAT-P-22b

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kilpatrick, Brian M.; Tucker, Gregory S. [Department of Physics, Box 1843, Brown University, Providence, RI 02904 (United States); Lewis, Nikole K. [Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Kataria, Tiffany [Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109 (United States); Deming, Drake [Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 (United States); Ingalls, James G.; Krick, Jessica E., E-mail: brian_kilpatrick@brown.edu, E-mail: nlewis@stsci.org, E-mail: tiffany.kataria@jpl.nasa.gov, E-mail: ddeming@astro.umd.edu, E-mail: krick@ipac.caltech.edu [Spitzer Science Center, Infrared Processing and Analysis Center, California Institute of Technology, Mail Code 220-6, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States)

    2017-01-01

    We measure the 4.5 μ m thermal emission of five transiting hot Jupiters, WASP-13b, WASP-15b, WASP-16b, WASP-62b, and HAT-P-22b using channel 2 of the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) on the Spitzer Space Telescope . Significant intrapixel sensitivity variations in Spitzer IRAC data require careful correction in order to achieve precision on the order of several hundred parts per million (ppm) for the measurement of exoplanet secondary eclipses. We determine eclipse depths by first correcting the raw data using three independent data reduction methods. The Pixel Gain Map (PMAP), Nearest Neighbors (NNBR), and Pixel Level Decorrelation (PLD) each correct for the intrapixel sensitivity effect in Spitzer photometric time-series observations. The results from each methodology are compared against each other to establish if they reach a statistically equivalent result in every case and to evaluate their ability to minimize uncertainty in the measurement. We find that all three methods produce reliable results. For every planet examined here NNBR and PLD produce results that are in statistical agreement. However, the PMAP method appears to produce results in slight disagreement in cases where the stellar centroid is not kept consistently on the most well characterized area of the detector. We evaluate the ability of each method to reduce the scatter in the residuals as well as in the correlated noise in the corrected data. The NNBR and PLD methods consistently minimize both white and red noise levels and should be considered reliable and consistent. The planets in this study span equilibrium temperatures from 1100 to 2000 K and have brightness temperatures that require either high albedo or efficient recirculation. However, it is possible that other processes such as clouds or disequilibrium chemistry may also be responsible for producing these brightness temperatures.

  2. THE ATMOSPHERIC CIRCULATION OF THE HOT JUPITER WASP-43b: COMPARING THREE-DIMENSIONAL MODELS TO SPECTROPHOTOMETRIC DATA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kataria, Tiffany; Showman, Adam P. [Department of Planetary Sciences and Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States); Fortney, Jonathan J.; Line, Michael R. [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States); Stevenson, Kevin B.; Kreidberg, Laura; Bean, Jacob L. [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637 (United States); Désert, Jean-Michel, E-mail: tkataria@astro.ex.ac.uk [CASA, Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309 (United States)

    2015-03-10

    The hot Jupiter WASP-43b (2 M{sub J}, 1 R{sub J}, T {sub orb} = 19.5 hr) has now joined the ranks of transiting hot Jupiters HD 189733b and HD 209458b as an exoplanet with a large array of observational constraints. Because WASP-43b receives a similar stellar flux as HD 209458b but has a rotation rate four times faster and a higher gravity, studying WASP-43b probes the effect of rotation rate and gravity on the circulation when stellar irradiation is held approximately constant. Here we present three-dimensional (3D) atmospheric circulation models of WASP-43b, exploring the effects of composition, metallicity, and frictional drag. We find that the circulation regime of WASP-43b is not unlike other hot Jupiters, with equatorial superrotation that yields an eastward-shifted hotspot and large day-night temperature variations (∼600 K at photospheric pressures). We then compare our model results to Hubble Space Telescope (HST)/WFC3 spectrophotometric phase curve measurements of WASP-43b from 1.12 to 1.65 μm. Our results show the 5× solar model light curve provides a good match to the data, with a peak flux phase offset and planet/star flux ratio that is similar to observations; however, the model nightside appears to be brighter. Nevertheless, our 5× solar model provides an excellent match to the WFC3 dayside emission spectrum. This is a major success, as the result is a natural outcome of the 3D dynamics with no model tuning. These results demonstrate that 3D circulation models can help interpret exoplanet atmospheric observations, even at high resolution, and highlight the potential for future observations with HST, James Webb Space Telescope, and other next-generation telescopes.

  3. TRANSIT TIMING VARIATION MEASUREMENTS OF WASP-12b AND QATAR-1b: NO EVIDENCE OF ADDITIONAL PLANETS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Collins, Karen A.; Stassun, Keivan G. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235 (United States); Kielkopf, John F. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292 (United States)

    2017-02-01

    WASP-12b and Qatar-1b are transiting hot Jupiters for which previous works have suggested the presence of transit timing variations (TTVs) indicative of additional bodies in these systems—an Earth-mass planet in WASP-12 and a brown-dwarf mass object in Qatar-1. Here, we present 23 new WASP-12b and 18 new Qatar-1b complete (or nearly complete) transit observations. We perform global system fits to all of our light curves for each system, as well as RV and stellar spectroscopic parameters from the literature. The global fits provide refined system parameters and uncertainties for each system, including precise transit center times for each transit. The transit model residuals of the combined and five minute binned light curves have an rms of 183 and 255 parts per million (ppm) for WASP-12b and Qatar-1b, respectively. Most of the WASP-12b system parameter values from this work are consistent with values from previous studies, but have ∼40%–50% smaller uncertainties. Most of the Qatar-1b system parameter values and uncertainties from this work are consistent with values recently reported in the literature. We find no convincing evidence for sinusoidal TTVs with a semi-amplitude of more than ∼35 and ∼25 s in the WASP-12b and Qatar-1b systems, respectively.

  4. Model-independent Exoplanet Transit Spectroscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aronson, Erik; Piskunov, Nikolai

    2018-05-01

    We propose a new data analysis method for obtaining transmission spectra of exoplanet atmospheres and brightness variation across the stellar disk from transit observations. The new method is capable of recovering exoplanet atmosphere absorption spectra and stellar specific intensities without relying on theoretical models of stars and planets. We simultaneously fit both stellar specific intensity and planetary radius directly to transit light curves. This allows stellar models to be removed from the data analysis. Furthermore, we use a data quality weighted filtering technique to achieve an optimal trade-off between spectral resolution and reconstruction fidelity homogenizing the signal-to-noise ratio across the wavelength range. Such an approach is more efficient than conventional data binning onto a low-resolution wavelength grid. We demonstrate that our analysis is capable of reproducing results achieved by using an explicit quadratic limb-darkening equation and that the filtering technique helps eliminate spurious spectral features in regions with strong telluric absorption. The method is applied to the VLT FORS2 observations of the exoplanets GJ 1214 b and WASP-49 b, and our results are in agreement with previous studies. Comparisons between obtained stellar specific intensity and numerical models indicates that the method is capable of accurately reconstructing the specific intensity. The proposed method enables more robust characterization of exoplanetary atmospheres by separating derivation of planetary transmission and stellar specific intensity spectra (that is model-independent) from chemical and physical interpretation.

  5. The GAPS programme with HARPS-N at TNG. XVI. Measurement of the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect of transiting planetary systems HAT-P-3, HAT-P-12, HAT-P-22, WASP-39, and WASP-60

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mancini, L.; Esposito, M.; Covino, E.; Southworth, J.; Biazzo, K.; Bruni, I.; Ciceri, S.; Evans, D.; Lanza, A. F.; Poretti, E.; Sarkis, P.; Smith, A. M. S.; Brogi, M.; Affer, L.; Benatti, S.; Bignamini, A.; Boccato, C.; Bonomo, A. S.; Borsa, F.; Carleo, I.; Claudi, R.; Cosentino, R.; Damasso, M.; Desidera, S.; Giacobbe, P.; González-Álvarez, E.; Gratton, R.; Harutyunyan, A.; Leto, G.; Maggio, A.; Malavolta, L.; Maldonado, J.; Martinez-Fiorenzano, A.; Masiero, S.; Micela, G.; Molinari, E.; Nascimbeni, V.; Pagano, I.; Pedani, M.; Piotto, G.; Rainer, M.; Scandariato, G.; Smareglia, R.; Sozzetti, A.; Andreuzzi, G.; Henning, Th.

    2018-05-01

    Context. The measurement of the orbital obliquity of hot Jupiters with different physical characteristics can provide clues to the mechanisms of migration and orbital evolution of this particular class of giant exoplanets. Aims: We aim to derive the degree of alignment between planetary orbit and stellar spin angular momentum vectors and look for possible links with other orbital and fundamental physical parameters of the star-planet system. We focus on the characterisation of five transiting planetary systems (HAT-P-3, HAT-P-12, HAT-P-22, WASP-39, and WASP-60) and the determination of their sky-projected planet orbital obliquity through the measurement of the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect. Methods: We used HARPS-N high-precision radial velocity measurements, gathered during transit events, to measure the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect in the target systems and determine the sky-projected angle between the planetary orbital plane and stellar equator. The characterisation of stellar atmospheric parameters was performed by exploiting the HARPS-N spectra, using line equivalent width ratios and spectral synthesis methods. Photometric parameters of the five transiting exoplanets were re-analysed through 17 new light curves, obtained with an array of medium-class telescopes, and other light curves from the literature. Survey-time-series photometric data were analysed for determining the rotation periods of the five stars and their spin inclination. Results: From the analysis of the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect we derived a sky-projected obliquity of λ = 21.2° ± 8.7°, λ = -54°-13°+41°, λ = -2.1° ± 3.0°, λ = 0° ± 11°, and λ = -129° ± 17° for HAT-P-3 b, HAT-P-12 b, HAT-P-22 b, WASP-39 b, and WASP-60 b, respectively. The latter value indicates that WASP-60 b is moving on a retrograde orbit. These values represent the first measurements of λ for the five exoplanetary systems under study. The stellar activity of HAT-P-22 indicates a rotation period of 28.7 ± 0

  6. Signs of strong Na and K absorption in the transmission spectrum of WASP-103b

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lendl, M.; Cubillos, P. E.; Hagelberg, J.; Müller, A.; Juvan, I.; Fossati, L.

    2017-09-01

    Context. Transmission spectroscopy has become a prominent tool for characterizing the atmospheric properties on close-in transiting planets. Recent observations have revealed a remarkable diversity in exoplanet spectra, which show absorption signatures of Na, K and H2O, in some cases partially or fully attenuated by atmospheric aerosols. Aerosols (clouds and hazes) themselves have been detected in the transmission spectra of several planets thanks to wavelength-dependent slopes caused by the particles' scattering properties. Aims: We present an optical 550-960 nm transmission spectrum of the extremely irradiated hot Jupiter WASP-103b, one of the hottest (2500 K) and most massive (1.5 MJ) planets yet to be studied with this technique. WASP-103b orbits its star at a separation of less than 1.2 times the Roche limit and is predicted to be strongly tidally distorted. Methods: We have used Gemini/GMOS to obtain multi-object spectroscopy throughout three transits of WASP-103b. We used relative spectrophotometry and bin sizes between 20 and 2 nm to infer the planet's transmission spectrum. Results: We find that WASP-103b shows increased absorption in the cores of the alkali (Na, K) line features. We do not confirm the presence of any strong scattering slope as previously suggested, pointing towards a clear atmosphere for the highly irradiated, massive exoplanet WASP-103b. We constrain the upper boundary of any potential cloud deck to reside at pressure levels above 0.01 bar. This finding is in line with previous studies on cloud occurrence on exoplanets which find that clouds dominate the transmission spectra of cool, low surface gravity planets while hot, high surface gravity planets are either cloud-free, or possess clouds located below the altitudes probed by transmission spectra. The spectrophotometric time series data are only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (http://130.79.128.5) or via http

  7. NO TIMING VARIATIONS OBSERVED IN THIRD TRANSIT OF SNOW-LINE EXOPLANET KEPLER-421b

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dalba, Paul A.; Muirhead, Philip S.

    2016-01-01

    We observed Kepler-421 during the anticipated third transit of the snow-line exoplanet Kepler-421b in order to constrain the existence and extent of transit timing variations (TTVs). Previously, the Kepler spacecraft only observed two transits of Kepler-421b, leaving the planet’s transit ephemeris unconstrained. Our visible light, time-series observations from the 4.3 m Discovery Channel Telescope were designed to capture pre-transit baseline and the partial transit of Kepler-421b, barring significant TTVs. We use the light curves to assess the probabilities of various transit models using both the posterior odds ratio and the Bayesian Information Criterion, and find that a transit model with no TTVs is favored to 3.6 σ confidence. These observations suggest that Kepler-421b is either alone in its system or is only experiencing minor dynamic interactions with an unseen companion. With the Kepler-421b ephemeris constrained, we calculate future transit times and discuss the opportunity to characterize the atmosphere of this cold, long-period exoplanet via transmission spectroscopy. Our investigation emphasizes the difficulties associated with observing long-period exoplanet transits and the consequences that arise from failing to refine transit ephemerides.

  8. Transmission spectroscopy of the hot Jupiter WASP-12b from 0.7 to 5 μm

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stevenson, Kevin B.; Bean, Jacob L.; Seifahrt, Andreas; Kreidberg, Laura [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Chicago, 5640 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637 (United States); Désert, Jean-Michel [Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, MC 170-25 1200, East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Madhusudhan, Nikku [Department of Physics and Department of Astronomy, Yale University, P.O. Box 208120, New Haven, CT 06520 (United States); Bergmann, Marcel [National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), Tucson, AZ 85719 (United States); Homeier, Derek, E-mail: kbs@uchicago.edu [Centre de Recherche Astrophysique de Lyon, UMR 5574, CNRS, Université de Lyon, École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, 46 Allée d' Italie, F-69364 Lyon Cedex 07 (France)

    2014-06-01

    Since the first report of a potentially non-solar carbon-to-oxygen ratio (C/O) in its dayside atmosphere, the highly irradiated exoplanet WASP-12b has been under intense scrutiny and the subject of many follow-up observations. Additionally, the recent discovery of stellar binary companions ∼1'' from WASP-12 has obfuscated interpretation of the observational data. Here we present new ground-based multi-object transmission-spectroscopy observations of WASP-12b that we acquired over two consecutive nights in the red optical with Gemini-N/GMOS. After correcting for the influence of WASP-12's stellar companions, we find that these data rule out a cloud-free H{sub 2} atmosphere with no additional opacity sources. We detect features in the transmission spectrum that may be attributed to metal oxides (such as TiO and VO) for an O-rich atmosphere or to metal hydrides (such as TiH) for a C-rich atmosphere. We also reanalyzed NIR transit-spectroscopy observations of WASP-12b from HST/WFC3 and broadband transit photometry from Warm Spitzer. We attribute the broad spectral features in the WFC3 data to either H{sub 2}O or CH{sub 4} and HCN for an O-rich or C-rich atmosphere, respectively. The Spitzer data suggest shallower transit depths than the models predict at infrared wavelengths, albeit at low statistical significance. A multi-instrument, broad-wavelength analysis of WASP-12b suggests that the transmission spectrum is well approximated by a simple Rayleigh scattering model with a planet terminator temperature of 1870 ± 130 K. We conclude that additional high-precision data and isolated spectroscopic measurements of the companion stars are required to place definitive constraints on the composition of WASP-12b's atmosphere.

  9. High-precision multiwavelength eclipse photometry of the ultra-hot gas giant exoplanet WASP-103 b

    Science.gov (United States)

    Delrez, L.; Madhusudhan, N.; Lendl, M.; Gillon, M.; Anderson, D. R.; Neveu-VanMalle, M.; Bouchy, F.; Burdanov, A.; Collier-Cameron, A.; Demory, B.-O.; Hellier, C.; Jehin, E.; Magain, P.; Maxted, P. F. L.; Queloz, D.; Smalley, B.; Triaud, A. H. M. J.

    2018-02-01

    We present 16 occultation and three transit light curves for the ultra-short period hot Jupiter WASP-103b, in addition to five new radial velocity measurements. We combine these observations with archival data and perform a global analysis of the resulting extensive data set, accounting for the contamination from a nearby star. We detect the thermal emission of the planet in both the z΄ and KS bands, the measured occultation depths being 699±110 ppm (6.4σ) and 3567_{-350}^{+400} ppm (10.2σ), respectively. We use these two measurements, together with recently published HST/WFC3 data, to derive joint constraints on the properties of WASP-103b's dayside atmosphere. On one hand, we find that the z΄ band and WFC3 data are best fit by an isothermal atmosphere at 2900 K or an atmosphere with a low H2O abundance. On the other hand, we find an unexpected excess in the KS band measured flux compared to these models, which requires confirmation with additional observations before any interpretation can be given. From our global data analysis, we also derive a broad-band optical transmission spectrum that shows a minimum around 700 nm and increasing values towards both shorter and longer wavelengths. This is in agreement with a previous study based on a large fraction of the archival transit light curves used in our analysis. The unusual profile of this transmission spectrum is poorly matched by theoretical spectra and is not confirmed by more recent observations at higher spectral resolution. Additional data, in both emission and transmission, are required to better constrain the atmospheric properties of WASP-103b.

  10. z'-BAND GROUND-BASED DETECTION OF THE SECONDARY ECLIPSE OF WASP-19b

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Burton, J. R.; Watson, C. A.; Pollacco, D. [Astrophysics Research Centre, Queen' s University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN (United Kingdom); Littlefair, S. P.; Dhillon, V. S. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S3 7RH (United Kingdom); Gibson, N. P. [Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3RH (United Kingdom); Marsh, T. R., E-mail: jburton04@qub.ac.uk [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL (United Kingdom)

    2012-08-01

    We present the ground-based detection of the secondary eclipse of the transiting exoplanet WASP-19b. The observations were made in the Sloan z' band using the ULTRACAM triple-beam CCD camera mounted on the New Technology Telescope. The measurement shows a 0.088% {+-} 0.019% eclipse depth, matching previous predictions based on H- and K-band measurements. We discuss in detail our approach to the removal of errors arising due to systematics in the data set, in addition to fitting a model transit to our data. This fit returns an eclipse center, T{sub 0}, of 2455578.7676 HJD, consistent with a circular orbit. Our measurement of the secondary eclipse depth is also compared to model atmospheres of WASP-19b and is found to be consistent with previous measurements at longer wavelengths for the model atmospheres we investigated.

  11. Searching for Rapid Orbital Decay of WASP-18b

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilkins, Ashlee N.; Delrez, Laetitia; Barker, Adrian J.; Deming, Drake; Hamilton, Douglas; Gillon, Michael; Jehin, Emmanuel

    2017-02-01

    The WASP-18 system, with its massive and extremely close-in planet, WASP-18b (M p = 10.3M J , a = 0.02 au, P = 22.6 hr), is one of the best-known exoplanet laboratories to directly measure Q‧, the modified tidal quality factor and proxy for efficiency of tidal dissipation, of the host star. Previous analysis predicted a rapid orbital decay of the planet toward its host star that should be measurable on the timescale of a few years, if the star is as dissipative as is inferred from the circularization of close-in solar-type binary stars. We have compiled published transit and secondary eclipse timing (as observed by WASP, TRAPPIST, and Spitzer) with more recent unpublished light curves (as observed by TRAPPIST and Hubble Space Telescope) with coverage spanning nine years. We find no signature of a rapid decay. We conclude that the absence of rapid orbital decay most likely derives from Q‧ being larger than was inferred from solar-type stars and find that Q‧ ≥ 1 × 106, at 95% confidence; this supports previous work suggesting that F stars, with their convective cores and thin convective envelopes, are significantly less tidally dissipative than solar-type stars, with radiative cores and large convective envelopes.

  12. A new optical transmission spectrum of WASP-43b from ACCESS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weaver, Ian; University of Arizona, Católica, Carnegie

    2018-01-01

    We present a new ground-based optical transmission spectrum of the Hot Jupiter WASP--43b obtained with the Inamori-Magellan Areal Camera and Spectrograph (IMACS) on the Baade Telescope at Las Campanas Observatory. These observations were made as part of the Arizona-CfA-Catolica+Carnegie Exoplanet Spectroscopy Survey (ACCESS), which aims at providing a uniform, large sample of visible transmission spectra of gaseous exoplanets that will become key in the era of JWST and comparative exoplanetology. Using multi-object differential spectrophotometry, we produce a high precision spectrum of this planet between 400 and 900 nm, combining three different transit epochs. In this analysis, we search for signals of Na I, H-alpha, and K I, as well as for the presence of hazes/clouds.

  13. WASP-12b and Its Possible Fiery Demise

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kohler, Susanna

    2017-07-01

    Jupiter-like planets on orbits close to their hosts are predicted to spiral ever closer to their hosts until they meet their eventual demise and yet weve never observed orbital decay. Could WASP-12b provide the first evidence?Undetected PredictionsSince the discovery of the first hot Jupiter more than 20 years ago, weve studied a number of these peculiar exoplanets. Despite our many observations, two phenomena predicted of hot Jupiters have not yet been detected, due to the long timescales needed to identify them:Tidal orbital decayTidal forces should cause a hot Jupiters orbit to shrink over time, causing the planet to eventually spiral into its host star. This phenomenon would explain a number of statistical properties of observed star-planet systems (for instance, the scarcity of gas giants with periods less than a day).An illustration of apsidal precession. [Mpfiz]Apsidal precessionThe orbits of hot Jupiters should be apsidally precessing on timescales of decades, as long as they are at least slightly eccentric. Since the precession rate depends on the planets tidally deformed mass distribution, measuring this would allow us to probe the interior of the planet.A team of scientists led by Kishore Patra (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) think that the hot Jupiter WASP-12b may be our first chance to study one of these two phenomena. The question is, which one?WASP-12bWASP-12b has orbital period of 1.09 days one of the shortest periods observed for a giant planet and weve monitored it for a decade, making it a great target to test for both of these long-term effects.Timing residuals for WASP-12b. Squares show the new data points, circles show previous data from the past decade. The data are better fit by the decay model than the precession model, but both are still consistent. [Patra et al. 2017]Patra and collaborators made transit observations with the 1.2-m telescope at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory in Arizona and occultation observations with the

  14. Ground-based observations of exoplanet atmospheres

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mooij, Ernst Johan Walter de

    2011-01-01

    This thesis focuses on the properties of exoplanet atmospheres. The results for ground-based near-infrared secondary eclipse observations of three different exoplanets, TrES-3b, HAT-P-1b and WASP-33b, are presented which have been obtained with ground-based telescopes as part of the GROUSE project.

  15. A Comparison of BLISS and PLD on Low-SNR WASP-29b Spitzer Observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Challener, Ryan; Harrington, Joseph; Cubillos, Patricio E.; Blecic, Jasmina; Deming, Drake; Hellier, Coel

    2018-01-01

    We present an analysis of Spitzer secondary eclipse observations of exoplanet WASP-29b. WASP-29b is a Saturn-sized, short-period exoplanet with mass 0.24 ± 0.02 Jupiter masses and radius 0.84 ± 0.06 Jupiter radii (Hellier et al., 2010). We measure eclipse depths and midpoints using our Photometry for Orbits, Eclipses, and Transits (POET) code, which does photometry and light-curve modeling with a BiLinearly Interpolated Subpixel Sensitivity (BLISS) map, and our Zen Eliminates Noise (ZEN) code, which takes POET photometry and applies Pixel-Level Decorrelation (PLD). BLISS creates a physical map of pixel gain variations, and is thereby independent of any astrophysical effects. PLD takes a mathematical approach, using relative variations in pixel values near the target to eliminate position-correlated noise. The results are consistent between the methods, except in one outlier observation where neither model could effectively remove correlated noise in the light curve. Using the eclipse timings, along with previous transit observations and radial velocity data, we further refine the orbit of WASP-29b, and, when excluding the outlier, determine an eccentricity between 0.037 and 0.056. We performed atmospheric retrieval with our Bayesian Atmospheric Radiative Transfer (BART) code but find that, when the outlier is discarded, the planet is consistent with a blackbody, and molecular abundances cannot be constrained. This work is based on observations made with the Spitzer Space Telescope, which is operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology under a contract with NASA. This work was supported by NASA Planetary Atmospheres grant NNX12AI69G and NASA Astrophysics Data Analysis Program grant NNX13AF38G.

  16. TRANSIT OBSERVATIONS OF THE WASP-10 SYSTEM

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dittmann, J. A.; Close, L. M.; Scuderi, L. J.; Morris, M. D.

    2010-01-01

    We present here observations of the transit of WASP-10b on 2009 October 14 UT taken from the University of Arizona's 1.55 m Kuiper telescope on Mount Bigelow. Conditions were photometric and accuracies of 2.0 mmag rms were obtained throughout the transit. We have found that the ratio of the planet to host star radii is in agreement with the measurements of Christian et al. instead of the refinements of Johnson et al., suggesting that WASP-10b is indeed inflated beyond what is expected from theoretical modeling. We find no evidence for large (>20 s) transit timing variations in WASP-10b's orbit from the ephemeris of Christian et al. and Johnson et al.

  17. Searching for Rapid Orbital Decay of WASP-18b

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wilkins, Ashlee N.; Deming, Drake; Hamilton, Douglas [Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742-2421 (United States); Delrez, Laetitia [Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, J J Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE (United Kingdom); Barker, Adrian J. [Department of Applied Mathematics, School of Mathematics, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT (United Kingdom); Gillon, Michael; Jehin, Emmanuel, E-mail: awilkins@astro.umd.edu [Space Sciences, Technologies and Astrophysics Research (STAR) Institute, Université de Liège, allée du 6 Août 19C, B-4000 Lige (Belgium)

    2017-02-20

    The WASP-18 system, with its massive and extremely close-in planet, WASP-18b ( M{sub p} = 10.3 M{sub J}, a = 0.02 au, P = 22.6 hr), is one of the best-known exoplanet laboratories to directly measure Q ′, the modified tidal quality factor and proxy for efficiency of tidal dissipation, of the host star. Previous analysis predicted a rapid orbital decay of the planet toward its host star that should be measurable on the timescale of a few years, if the star is as dissipative as is inferred from the circularization of close-in solar-type binary stars. We have compiled published transit and secondary eclipse timing (as observed by WASP, TRAPPIST, and Spitzer ) with more recent unpublished light curves (as observed by TRAPPIST and Hubble Space Telescope ) with coverage spanning nine years. We find no signature of a rapid decay. We conclude that the absence of rapid orbital decay most likely derives from Q ′ being larger than was inferred from solar-type stars and find that Q ′ ≥ 1 × 10{sup 6}, at 95% confidence; this supports previous work suggesting that F stars, with their convective cores and thin convective envelopes, are significantly less tidally dissipative than solar-type stars, with radiative cores and large convective envelopes.

  18. WASP-36b: A NEW TRANSITING PLANET AROUND A METAL-POOR G-DWARF, AND AN INVESTIGATION INTO ANALYSES BASED ON A SINGLE TRANSIT LIGHT CURVE

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Smith, A. M. S.; Anderson, D. R.; Hellier, C.; Maxted, P. F. L.; Smalley, B.; Southworth, J. [Astrophysics Group, Keele University, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG (United Kingdom); Collier Cameron, A. [SUPA, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St Andrews, North Haugh, Fife, KY16 9SS (United Kingdom); Gillon, M.; Jehin, E. [Institut d' Astrophysique et de Geophysique, Universite de Liege, Allee du 6 Aout, 17 Bat. B5C, Liege 1 (Belgium); Lendl, M.; Queloz, D.; Triaud, A. H. M. J.; Pepe, F.; Segransan, D.; Udry, S. [Observatoire de Geneve, Universite de Geneve, 51 Chemin des Maillettes, 1290 Sauverny (Switzerland); West, R. G. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, Leicester, LE1 7RH (United Kingdom); Barros, S. C. C.; Pollacco, D. [Astrophysics Research Centre, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen' s University, University Road, Belfast, BT7 1NN (United Kingdom); Street, R. A., E-mail: amss@astro.keele.ac.uk [Las Cumbres Observatory, 6740 Cortona Drive Suite 102, Goleta, CA 93117 (United States)

    2012-04-15

    We report the discovery, from WASP and CORALIE, of a transiting exoplanet in a 1.54 day orbit. The host star, WASP-36, is a magnitude V = 12.7, metal-poor G2 dwarf (T{sub eff} = 5959 {+-} 134 K), with [Fe/H] =-0.26 {+-} 0.10. We determine the planet to have mass and radius, respectively, 2.30 {+-} 0.07 and 1.28 {+-} 0.03 times that of Jupiter. We have eight partial or complete transit light curves, from four different observatories, which allow us to investigate the potential effects on the fitted system parameters of using only a single light curve. We find that the solutions obtained by analyzing each of these light curves independently are consistent with our global fit to all the data, despite the apparent presence of correlated noise in at least two of the light curves.

  19. A CLOUDINESS INDEX FOR TRANSITING EXOPLANETS BASED ON THE SODIUM AND POTASSIUM LINES: TENTATIVE EVIDENCE FOR HOTTER ATMOSPHERES BEING LESS CLOUDY AT VISIBLE WAVELENGTHS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Heng, Kevin, E-mail: kevin.heng@csh.unibe.ch [University of Bern, Center for Space and Habitability, Sidlerstrasse 5, CH-3012, Bern (Switzerland)

    2016-07-20

    We present a dimensionless index that quantifies the degree of cloudiness of the atmosphere of a transiting exoplanet. Our cloudiness index is based on measuring the transit radii associated with the line center and wing of the sodium or potassium line. In deriving this index, we revisited the algebraic formulae for inferring the isothermal pressure scale height from transit measurements. We demonstrate that the formulae of Lecavelier et al. and Benneke and Seager are identical: the former is inferring the temperature while assuming a value for the mean molecular mass and the latter is inferring the mean molecular mass while assuming a value for the temperature. More importantly, these formulae cannot be used to distinguish between cloudy and cloud-free atmospheres. We derive values of our cloudiness index for a small sample of seven hot Saturns/Jupiters taken from Sing et al. We show that WASP-17b, WASP-31b, and HAT-P-1b are nearly cloud-free at visible wavelengths. We find the tentative trend that more irradiated atmospheres tend to have fewer clouds consisting of sub-micron-sized particles. We also derive absolute sodium and/or potassium abundances ∼10{sup 2} cm{sup −3} for WASP-17b, WASP-31b, and HAT-P-1b (and upper limits for the other objects). Higher-resolution measurements of both the sodium and potassium lines, for a larger sample of exoplanetary atmospheres, are needed to confirm or refute this trend.

  20. VLT FORS2 COMPARATIVE TRANSMISSION SPECTROSCOPY: DETECTION OF Na IN THE ATMOSPHERE OF WASP-39b FROM THE GROUND

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nikolov, Nikolay; Sing, David K.; Evans, Thomas M. [Physics and Astronomy, University of Exeter, EX4 4QL Exeter (United Kingdom); Gibson, Neale P. [Astrophysics Research Centre, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queens University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN (United Kingdom); Fortney, Jonathan J. [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States); Barstow, Joanna K. [Physics and Astronomy, University College London, London (United Kingdom); Kataria, Tiffany [Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA (United States); Wilson, Paul A., E-mail: nikolay@astro.ex.ac.uk [Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris, UMR7095 CNRS, Université Pierre and Marie Curie, 98bis Boulevard Arago, 75014 Paris (France)

    2016-12-01

    We present transmission spectroscopy of the warm Saturn-mass exoplanet WASP-39b made with the Very Large Telescope FOcal Reducer and Spectrograph (FORS2) across the wavelength range 411–810 nm. The transit depth is measured with a typical precision of 240 parts per million (ppm) in wavelength bins of 10 nm on a V  = 12.1 mag star. We detect the sodium absorption feature (3.2 σ ) and find evidence of potassium. The ground-based transmission spectrum is consistent with Hubble Space Telescope ( HST ) optical spectroscopy, supporting the interpretation that WASP-39b has a largely clear atmosphere. Our results demonstrate the great potential of the recently upgraded FORS2 spectrograph for optical transmission spectroscopy, with which we obtained HST -quality light curves from the ground.

  1. Detection of secondary eclipses of WASP-10b and Qatar-1b in the Ks band and the correlation between Ks-band temperature and stellar activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cruz, Patricia; Barrado, David; Lillo-Box, Jorge; Diaz, Marcos; López-Morales, Mercedes; Birkby, Jayne; Fortney, Jonathan J.; Hodgkin, Simon

    2017-10-01

    The Calar Alto Secondary Eclipse study was a program dedicated to observe secondary eclipses in the near-IR of two known close-orbiting exoplanets around K-dwarfs: WASP-10b and Qatar-1b. Such observations reveal hints on the orbital configuration of the system and on the thermal emission of the exoplanet, which allows the study of the brightness temperature of its atmosphere. The observations were performed at the Calar Alto Observatory (Spain). We used the OMEGA2000 instrument (Ks band) at the 3.5m telescope. The data was acquired with the telescope strongly defocused. The differential light curve was corrected from systematic effects using the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) technique. The final light curve was fitted using an occultation model to find the eclipse depth and a possible phase shift by performing a MCMC analysis. The observations have revealed a secondary eclipse of WASP-10b with depth of 0.137%, and a depth of 0.196% for Qatar-1b. The observed phase offset from expected mid-eclipse was of -0.0028 for WASP-10b, and of -0.0079 for Qatar-1b. These measured offsets led to a value for |ecosω| of 0.0044 for the WASP-10b system, leading to a derived eccentricity which was too small to be of any significance. For Qatar-1b, we have derived a |ecosω| of 0.0123, however, this last result needs to be confirmed with more data. The estimated Ks-band brightness temperatures are of 1647 K and 1885 K for WASP-10b and Qatar-1b, respectively. We also found an empirical correlation between the (R'HK) activity index of planet hosts and the Ks-band brightness temperature of exoplanets, considering a small number of systems.

  2. EXAMINING THE BROADBAND EMISSION SPECTRUM OF WASP-19b: A NEW z-BAND ECLIPSE DETECTION

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhou, George; Bayliss, Daniel D. R. [Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Australian National University, Cotter Rd, Weston Creek, ACT 2611 (Australia); Kedziora-Chudczer, Lucyna; Bailey, Jeremy, E-mail: george@mso.anu.edu.au [School of Physics, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052 (Australia)

    2013-09-10

    WASP-19b is one of the most irradiated hot-Jupiters known. Its secondary eclipse is the deepest of all transiting planets and has been measured in multiple optical and infrared bands. We obtained a z-band eclipse observation with a measured depth of 0.080% {+-} 0.029%, using the 2 m Faulkes Telescope South, which is consistent with the results of previous observations. We combined our measurement of the z-band eclipse with previous observations to explore atmosphere models of WASP-19b that are consistent with its broadband spectrum. We use the VSTAR radiative transfer code to examine the effect of varying pressure-temperature profiles and C/O abundance ratios on the emission spectrum of the planet. We find that models with super-solar carbon enrichment best match the observations, which is consistent with previous model retrieval studies. We also include upper atmosphere haze as another dimension in the interpretation of exoplanet emission spectra and find that particles <0.5 {mu}m in size are unlikely to be present in WASP-19b.

  3. Gemini/GMOS Transmission Spectral Survey: Complete Optical Transmission Spectrum of the Hot Jupiter WASP-4b

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Huitson, C. M. [CASA, University of Colorado, 389 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309-0389 (United States); Désert, J.-M. [API, University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 94249, 1090 GE Amsterdam (Netherlands); Bean, J. L. [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637 (United States); Fortney, J. J. [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States); Stevenson, K. B. [Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Bergmann, M., E-mail: catherine.huitson@colorado.edu [NOAO and Gemini Observatory, present address Palo Alto, CA (United States)

    2017-09-01

    We present the complete optical transmission spectrum of the hot Jupiter WASP-4b from 440 to 940 nm at R  ∼ 400–1500 obtained with the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrometers (GMOS); this is the first result from a comparative exoplanetology survey program of close-in gas giants conducted with GMOS. WASP-4b has an equilibrium temperature of 1700 K and is favorable to study in transmission due to its large scale height (370 km). We derive the transmission spectrum of WASP-4b using four transits observed with the MOS technique. We demonstrate repeatable results across multiple epochs with GMOS, and derive a combined transmission spectrum at a precision about twice above photon noise, which is roughly equal to one atmospheric scale height. The transmission spectrum is well fitted with a uniform opacity as a function of wavelength. The uniform opacity and absence of a Rayleigh slope from molecular hydrogen suggest that the atmosphere is dominated by clouds with condensate grain sizes of ∼1  μ m. This result is consistent with previous observations of hot Jupiters since clouds have been seen in planets with similar equilibrium temperatures to WASP-4b. We describe a custom pipeline that we have written to reduce GMOS time-series data of exoplanet transits, and present a thorough analysis of the dominant noise sources in GMOS, which primarily consist of wavelength- and time-dependent displacements of the spectra on the detector, mainly due to a lack of atmospheric dispersion correction.

  4. Gemini/GMOS Transmission Spectral Survey: Complete Optical Transmission Spectrum of the Hot Jupiter WASP-4b

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huitson, C. M.; Désert, J.-M.; Bean, J. L.; Fortney, J. J.; Stevenson, K. B.; Bergmann, M.

    2017-01-01

    We present the complete optical transmission spectrum of the hot Jupiter WASP-4b from 440 to 940 nm at R  ∼ 400–1500 obtained with the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrometers (GMOS); this is the first result from a comparative exoplanetology survey program of close-in gas giants conducted with GMOS. WASP-4b has an equilibrium temperature of 1700 K and is favorable to study in transmission due to its large scale height (370 km). We derive the transmission spectrum of WASP-4b using four transits observed with the MOS technique. We demonstrate repeatable results across multiple epochs with GMOS, and derive a combined transmission spectrum at a precision about twice above photon noise, which is roughly equal to one atmospheric scale height. The transmission spectrum is well fitted with a uniform opacity as a function of wavelength. The uniform opacity and absence of a Rayleigh slope from molecular hydrogen suggest that the atmosphere is dominated by clouds with condensate grain sizes of ∼1  μ m. This result is consistent with previous observations of hot Jupiters since clouds have been seen in planets with similar equilibrium temperatures to WASP-4b. We describe a custom pipeline that we have written to reduce GMOS time-series data of exoplanet transits, and present a thorough analysis of the dominant noise sources in GMOS, which primarily consist of wavelength- and time-dependent displacements of the spectra on the detector, mainly due to a lack of atmospheric dispersion correction.

  5. Gemini/GMOS Transmission Spectral Survey: Complete Optical Transmission Spectrum of the Hot Jupiter WASP-4b

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huitson, C. M.; Désert, J.-M.; Bean, J. L.; Fortney, J. J.; Stevenson, K. B.; Bergmann, M.

    2017-09-01

    We present the complete optical transmission spectrum of the hot Jupiter WASP-4b from 440 to 940 nm at R ˜ 400-1500 obtained with the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrometers (GMOS); this is the first result from a comparative exoplanetology survey program of close-in gas giants conducted with GMOS. WASP-4b has an equilibrium temperature of 1700 K and is favorable to study in transmission due to its large scale height (370 km). We derive the transmission spectrum of WASP-4b using four transits observed with the MOS technique. We demonstrate repeatable results across multiple epochs with GMOS, and derive a combined transmission spectrum at a precision about twice above photon noise, which is roughly equal to one atmospheric scale height. The transmission spectrum is well fitted with a uniform opacity as a function of wavelength. The uniform opacity and absence of a Rayleigh slope from molecular hydrogen suggest that the atmosphere is dominated by clouds with condensate grain sizes of ˜1 μm. This result is consistent with previous observations of hot Jupiters since clouds have been seen in planets with similar equilibrium temperatures to WASP-4b. We describe a custom pipeline that we have written to reduce GMOS time-series data of exoplanet transits, and present a thorough analysis of the dominant noise sources in GMOS, which primarily consist of wavelength- and time-dependent displacements of the spectra on the detector, mainly due to a lack of atmospheric dispersion correction.

  6. OBSERVATIONS OF THE WASP-2 SYSTEM BY THE APOSTLE PROGRAM

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Becker, Andrew C.; Kundurthy, Praveen; Agol, Eric; Barnes, Rory; Williams, Benjamin F.; Rose, Amy E. [Astronomy Department, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195 (United States)

    2013-02-10

    We present transit observations of the WASP-2 exoplanet system by the Apache Point Survey of Transit Lightcurves of Exoplanets (APOSTLE) program. Model fitting to these data allows us to improve measurements of the hot-Jupiter exoplanet WASP-2b and its orbital parameters by a factor of {approx}2 over prior studies; we do not find evidence for transit depth variations. We do find reduced {chi}{sup 2} values greater than 1.0 in the observed minus computed transit times. A sinusoidal fit to the residuals yields a timing semi-amplitude of 32 s and a period of 389 days. However, random rearrangements of the data provide similar quality fits, and we cannot with certainty ascribe the timing variations to mutual exoplanet interactions. This inconclusive result is consistent with the lack of incontrovertible transit timing variations (TTVs) observed in other hot-Jupiter systems. This outcome emphasizes that unique recognition of TTVs requires dense sampling of the libration cycle (e.g., continuous observations from space-based platforms). However, even in systems observed with the Kepler spacecraft, there is a noted lack of transiting companions and TTVs in hot-Jupiter systems. This result is more meaningful, and indicates that hot-Jupiter systems, while they are easily observable from the ground, do not appear to be currently configured in a manner favorable to the detection of TTVs. The future of ground-based TTV studies may reside in resolving secular trends, and/or implementation at extreme quality observing sites to minimize atmospheric red noise.

  7. Characterizing Gaint Exoplanets through Multiwavelength Transit Observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kasper, David; Cole, Jackson L.; Gardner, Cristilyn N.; Garver, Bethany R.; Jarka, Kyla L.; Kar, Aman; McGough, Aylin M.; PeQueen, David J.; Rivera, Daniel Ivan; Jang-Condell, Hannah; Kobulnicky, Henry A.; Dale, Daniel A.

    2018-01-01

    Observing the characteristics of giant exoplanets is possible with ground-based telescopes and modern observational methods. We are performing characterizations of multiple giant exoplanets based on 85 allotted nights of transit observations with the 2.3 m Wyoming Infrared Observatory using Sloan filters. In particular, constraints can be made on the atmospheres of our targets from the wavelength (in)dependence in the depth of the transit observations. We present early multiwavelength photometric results on the exoplanet HD 189733 b with comparison to literature sources to exemplify the methodology employed. In total, 15 exoplanets were observed across multiple wavelengths. The majority of the observing allotted to the project was completed as part of the 2017 Summer REU at the University of Wyoming. This work will significantly contribute to the growing number of observed atmospheres and influence interpretation of future WFIRST, JWST, and TESS targets. This work is supported by the National Science Foundation under REU grant AST 1560461.

  8. Photometric Exoplanet Characterization and Multimedia Astronomy Communication

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cartier, Kimberly M. S.

    The transit method of detecting exoplanets has dominated the search for distant worlds since the success of the Kepler space telescope and will continue to lead the field after the launch of the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite in 2018. But detections are just the beginning. Transit light curves can only reveal a limited amount of information about a planet, and that information is almost entirely dependent on the properties of the host star or stars. This dissertation discusses follow-up techniques to more precisely characterize transiting planets using photometric observations. A high-resolution follow-up imaging program using the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) searched for previously unknown stars nearby the hosts of small and cool Kepler exoplanets and observed a higher-than-expected occurrence rate of stellar multiplicity. The rate of previously unknown stellar multiples has strong implications for the size and habitability of the orbiting planets. Three systems with newly discovered stellar multiplicity, Kepler-296 (2 stars, 5 planets), KOI-2626 (3 stars, 1 planet), and KOI-3049 (2 stars, 1 planet), were characterized in more detail. In the cases of Kepler-296 and KOI-2626, some of the planets lost their previous habitable zone status because of host star ambiguity. Next, the ultra-short period, ultra-hot Jupiter WASP-103b was used as a casestudy to test for the presence of a stratospheric temperature inversion through dayside emission spectroscopy using HST. WASP-103b's near-infrared emission spectrum is consistent with an isothermal or thermally-inverted atmosphere and shows no significant broadband water absorption feature. Detection of an anomalously strong "super- Rayleigh" slope in its optical transmission spectrum prompted follow-up transmission spectroscopy of WASP-103b's atmosphere using the MINiature Radial Velocity Array (MINERVA), which tentatively verified the unexplained "super-Rayleigh" spectral slope. The final follow-up technique for

  9. Multi-band, multi-epoch observations of the transiting warm Jupiter WASP-80b

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fukui, Akihiko; Kuroda, Daisuke [Okayama Astrophysical Observatory, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Asakuchi, Okayama 719-0232 (Japan); Kawashima, Yui; Ikoma, Masahiro; Kurosaki, Kenji [Department of Earth and Planetary Science, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan); Narita, Norio; Nishiyama, Shogo; Takahashi, Yasuhiro H.; Nagayama, Shogo [National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588 (Japan); Onitsuka, Masahiro; Baba, Haruka; Ryu, Tsuguru [The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588 (Japan); Ita, Yoshifusa; Onozato, Hiroki [Astronomical Institute, Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University, 6-3 Aramaki Aoba, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8578 (Japan); Hirano, Teruyuki; Kawauchi, Kiyoe [Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8551 (Japan); Hori, Yasunori [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States); Nagayama, Takahiro [Department of Physics, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8602 (Japan); Tamura, Motohide [Department of Astronomy, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, and National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (Japan); Kawai, Nobuyuki, E-mail: afukui@oao.nao.ac.jp [Department of Physics, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1, Oookayama, Meguro, Tokyo 152-8551 (Japan); and others

    2014-08-01

    WASP-80b is a warm Jupiter transiting a bright late-K/early-M dwarf, providing a good opportunity to extend the atmospheric study of hot Jupiters toward the lower temperature regime. We report multi-band, multi-epoch transit observations of WASP-80b by using three ground-based telescopes covering from optical (g', R{sub c}, and I{sub c} bands) to near-infrared (NIR; J, H, and K{sub s} bands) wavelengths. We observe 5 primary transits, each in 3 or 4 different bands simultaneously, obtaining 17 independent transit light curves. Combining them with results from previous works, we find that the observed transmission spectrum is largely consistent with both a solar abundance and thick cloud atmospheric models at a 1.7σ discrepancy level. On the other hand, we find a marginal spectral rise in the optical region compared to the NIR region at the 2.9σ level, which possibly indicates the existence of haze in the atmosphere. We simulate theoretical transmission spectra for a solar abundance but hazy atmosphere, finding that a model with equilibrium temperature of 600 K can explain the observed data well, having a discrepancy level of 1.0σ. We also search for transit timing variations, but find no timing excess larger than 50 s from a linear ephemeris. In addition, we conduct 43 day long photometric monitoring of the host star in the optical bands, finding no significant variation in the stellar brightness. Combined with the fact that no spot-crossing event is observed in the five transits, our results confirm previous findings that the host star appears quiet for spot activities, despite the indications of strong chromospheric activities.

  10. Preparing for TESS: Precision Ground-based Light-curves of Newly Discovered Transiting Exoplanets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yiting; Stefansson, Gudmundur; Mahadevan, Suvrath; Monson, Andy; Hebb, Leslie; Wisniewski, John; Huehnerhoff, Joseph

    2018-01-01

    NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), to be launched in early 2018, is expected to catalog a myriad of transiting exoplanet candidates ranging from Earth-sized to gas giants, orbiting a diverse range of stellar types in the solar neighborhood. In particular, TESS will find small planets orbiting the closest and brightest stars, and will enable detailed atmospheric characterizations of planets with current and future telescopes. In the TESS era, ground-based follow-up resources will play a critical role in validating and confirming the planetary nature of the candidates TESS will discover. Along with confirming the planetary nature of exoplanet transits, high precision ground-based transit observations allow us to put further constraints on exoplanet orbital parameters and transit timing variations. In this talk, we present new observations of transiting exoplanets recently discovered by the K2 mission, using the optical diffuser on the 3.5m ARC Telescope at Apache Point Observatory. These include observations of the mini-Neptunes K2-28b and K2-104b orbiting early-to-mid M-dwarfs. In addition, other recent transit observations performed using the robotic 30cm telescope at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile will be presented.

  11. A search for transit timing variation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kramm U.

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available Photometric follow-ups of transiting exoplanets (TEPs may lead to discoveries of additional, less massive bodies in extrasolar systems. This is possible by detecting and then analysing variations in transit timing of transiting exoplanets. In 2009 we launched an international observing campaign, the aim of which is to detect and characterise signals of transit timing variation (TTV in selected TEPs. The programme is realised by collecting data from 0.6-2.2-m telescopes spread worldwide at different longitudes. We present our observing strategy and summarise first results for WASP-3b with evidence for a 15 Earth-mass perturber in an outer 2:1 orbital resonance.

  12. Glowing Hot Transiting Exoplanet Discovered

    Science.gov (United States)

    2003-04-01

    VLT Spectra Indicate Shortest-Known-Period Planet Orbiting OGLE-TR-3 Summary More than 100 exoplanets in orbit around stars other than the Sun have been found so far. But while their orbital periods and distances from their central stars are well known, their true masses cannot be determined with certainty, only lower limits. This fundamental limitation is inherent in the common observational method to discover exoplanets - the measurements of small and regular changes in the central star's velocity, caused by the planet's gravitational pull as it orbits the star. However, in two cases so far, it has been found that the exoplanet's orbit happens to be positioned in such a way that the planet moves in front of the stellar disk, as seen from the Earth. This "transit" event causes a small and temporary dip in the star's brightness, as the planet covers a small part of its surface, which can be observed. The additional knowledge of the spatial orientation of the planetary orbit then permits a direct determination of the planet's true mass. Now, a group of German astronomers [1] have found a third star in which a planet, somewhat larger than Jupiter, but only half as massive, moves in front of the central star every 28.5 hours . The crucial observation of this solar-type star, designated OGLE-TR-3 [2] was made with the high-dispersion UVES spectrograph on the Very Large Telescope (VLT) at the ESO Paranal Observatory (Chile). It is the exoplanet with the shortest period found so far and it is very close to the star, only 3.5 million km away. The hemisphere that faces the star must be extremely hot, about 2000 °C and the planet is obviously losing its atmosphere at high rate . PR Photo 10a/03 : The star OGLE-TR-3 . PR Photo 10b/03 : VLT UVES spectrum of OGLE-TR-3. PR Photo 10c/03 : Relation between stellar brightness and velocity (diagram). PR Photo 10d/03 : Observed velocity variation of OGLE-TR-3. PR Photo 10e/03 : Observed brightness variation of OGLE-TR-3. The search

  13. Pulsating stars in SuperWASP

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Holdsworth Daniel L.

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available SuperWASP is one of the largest ground-based surveys for transiting exoplanets. To date, it has observed over 31 million stars. Such an extensive database of time resolved photometry holds the potential for extensive searches of stellar variability, and provide solid candidates for the upcoming TESS mission. Previous work by e.g. [15], [5], [12] has shown that the WASP archive provides a wealth of pulsationally variable stars. In this talk I will provide an overview of the SuperWASP project, present some of the published results from the survey, and some of the on-going work to identify key targets for the TESS mission.

  14. ASTEP: Towards the detection and characterization of exoplanets from Dome C

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rauer H.

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available The ASTEP project (Antarctic Search for Transiting ExoPlanets, aims at testing the quality of the Dome C site in Antarctica for photometry in the visible, as well as detecting and characterizing transiting exoplanets. A dedicated telescope, ASTEP400, has been developped and installed at Concordia. The first campaign took place during the winter 2010, and the telescope functionned nominally during all the winter. A first analysis of the data leads to a precision of 189 and 205 ppm for WASP-19 and WASP-18 respectively, for continuous observations during 1 month. This shows that extremely high precision photometry is achievable from Dome C.

  15. The Optical Transmission Spectrum of the Inflated Hot Jupiter WASP-94Ab

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berta-Thompson, Zachory; Diamond-Lowe, Hannah; Osip, David; McDonald, Michael; Triaud, Amaury; Hellier, Coel; Gillon, Michael; Delrez, Laetitia; Queloz, Didier; Neveu-VanMalle, Marion; Demory, Brice-Olivier

    2018-01-01

    Exoplaneteers study the color of sunset on other planets, by measuring the wavelength-dependence of the fraction of starlight transmitted through the planets' atmospheres during transit. These transmission spectroscopy observations can reveal the molecular composition and aerosol distribution along the planet's day-night terminator. Here, we present new observations of the transmission spectrum of WASP-94Ab, an inflated hot Jupiter in a 3.95 day orbit around a bright 6200K, V=10.1 dwarf star. The star is in a visual binary with a nearly identical star (6100K, V=10.5) located 15" away. We observed three transits of WASP-94Ab with the Magellan/LDSS3C multiobject spectrograph, taking advantage of the nearby companion to correct for temporal variations in Earth's telluric spectrum. Thanks to the Magellan Clay telescope's large 6.5m aperture and WASP-94Ab's low surface gravity, we achieve a spectrophotometric precision (in units of atmospheric scale heights) that rivals Hubble/STIS spectroscopy of the famous and much brighter hot Jupiter system HD209458b. We highlight the valuable role ground-based telescopes can play for exoplanetary characterization in the TESS era.

  16. Qatar Exoplanet Survey : Qatar-3b, Qatar-4b, and Qatar-5b

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alsubai, Khalid; Mislis, Dimitris; Tsvetanov, Zlatan I.; Latham, David W.; Bieryla, Allyson; Buchhave, Lars A.; Esquerdo, Gilbert A.; Bramich, D. M.; Pyrzas, Stylianos; Vilchez, Nicolas P. E.; Mancini, Luigi; Southworth, John; Evans, Daniel F.; Henning, Thomas; Ciceri, Simona

    2017-04-01

    We report the discovery of Qatar-3b, Qatar-4b, and Qatar-5b, three new transiting planets identified by the Qatar Exoplanet Survey. The three planets belong to the hot Jupiter family, with orbital periods of {P}{{Q}3{{b}}} = 2.50792 days, {P}{{Q}4{{b}}} = 1.80539 days, and {P}{{Q}5{{b}}} = 2.87923 days. Follow-up spectroscopic observations reveal the masses of the planets to be {M}{{Q}3{{b}}} = 4.31 ± 0.47 {M}{{J}}, {M}{{Q}4{{b}}} = 6.10 ± 0.54 {M}{{J}}, and {M}{{Q}5{{b}}} = 4.32 ± 0.18 {M}{{J}}, while model fits to the transit light curves yield radii of {R}{{Q}3{{b}}} = 1.096 ± 0.14 {R}{{J}}, {R}{{Q}4{{b}}} = 1.135 ± 0.11 {R}{{J}}, and {R}{{Q}5{{b}}} = 1.107 ± 0.064 {R}{{J}}. The host stars are low-mass main sequence stars with masses and radii M Q3 = 1.145 ± 0.064 M ⊙, M Q4 = 0.896 ± 0.048 M ⊙, M Q5 = 1.128 ± 0.056 M ⊙ and R Q3 = 1.272 ± 0.14 R ⊙, R Q4 = 0.849 ± 0.063 R ⊙, and R Q5 = 1.076 ± 0.051 R ⊙ for Qatar-3, 4, and 5 respectively. The V magnitudes of the three host stars are V Q3 = 12.88, V Q4 = 13.60, and V Q5 = 12.82. All three new planets can be classified as heavy hot Jupiters (M > 4 M J).

  17. The Properties of XO-5b and WASP-82b Redetermined Using New High-Precision Transit Photometry and Global Data Analyses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, A. M. S.

    2015-03-01

    This paper presents new transit photometry from the Isaac Newton Telescope of two transiting exoplanetary systems, XO-5 and WASP-82. In each case the new transit light curve is more precise than any other of that system previously published. The new data are analyzed alongside previously-published photometry and radial velocities, resulting in an improved orbital ephemeris and a refined set of system parameters in each case. The observational baseline of XO-5 is extended by very nearly four years, resulting in a determination of the orbital period of XO-5b to a precision of just 50 ms. The mass and radius of XO-5b are 1.19±0.03 and 1.14±0.03 times those of Jupiter, respectively. The light curve of WASP-82 is only the second published for this system. The planetary mass is 1.25±0.05 MJup, and the radius is 1.71±0.08 RJup.

  18. MASCARA-1 b. A hot Jupiter transiting a bright mV = 8.3 A-star in a misaligned orbit

    Science.gov (United States)

    Talens, G. J. J.; Albrecht, S.; Spronck, J. F. P.; Lesage, A.-L.; Otten, G. P. P. L.; Stuik, R.; Van Eylen, V.; Van Winckel, H.; Pollacco, D.; McCormac, J.; Grundahl, F.; Fredslund Andersen, M.; Antoci, V.; Snellen, I. A. G.

    2017-10-01

    We report the discovery of MASCARA-1 b, which is the first exoplanet discovered with the Multi-site All-Sky CAmeRA (MASCARA). This exoplanet is a hot Jupiter orbiting a bright mV = 8.3, rapidly rotating (vsini⋆ > 100 km s-1) A8 star with a period of 2.148780 ± 8 × 10-6 days. The planet has a mass and radius of 3.7 ± 0.9 MJup and 1.5 ± 0.3 RJup, respectively. As with most hot Jupiters transiting early-type stars, we find a misalignment between the planet orbital axis and the stellar spin axis, which may be a signature of the formation and migration histories of this family of planets. MASCARA-1 b has a mean density of 1.5 ± 0.9 g cm-3 and an equilibrium temperature of 2570+50-30K, that is one of the highest temperatures known for a hot Jupiter to date. The system is reminiscent of WASP-33, but the host star lacks apparent delta-scuti variations, making the planet an ideal target for atmospheric characterization. We expect this to be the first of a series of hot Jupiters transiting bright early-type stars that will be discovered by MASCARA. Tables of the photometry and the reduced spectra as FITS files are only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/606/A73

  19. SPECTROSCOPIC EVIDENCE FOR A TEMPERATURE INVERSION IN THE DAYSIDE ATMOSPHERE OF HOT JUPITER WASP-33b

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Haynes, Korey; Mandell, Avi M. [Solar System Exploration Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Madhusudhan, Nikku [Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0HA (United Kingdom); Deming, Drake [Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 (United States); Knutson, Heather, E-mail: khaynes0112@gmail.com [Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States)

    2015-06-20

    We present observations of two occultations of the extrasolar planet WASP-33b using the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) on the Hubble Space Telescope, which allow us to constrain the temperature structure and composition of its dayside atmosphere. WASP-33b is the most highly irradiated hot Jupiter discovered to date, and the only exoplanet known to orbit a δ-Scuti star. We observed in spatial scan mode to decrease instrument systematic effects in the data, and removed fluctuations in the data due to stellar pulsations. The rms for our final, binned spectrum is 1.05 times the photon noise. We compare our final spectrum, along with previously published photometric data, to atmospheric models of WASP-33b spanning a wide range in temperature profiles and chemical compositions. We find that the data require models with an oxygen-rich chemical composition and a temperature profile that increases at high altitude. We find that our measured spectrum displays an excess in the measured flux toward short wavelengths that is best explained as emission from TiO. If confirmed by additional measurements at shorter wavelengths, this planet would become the first hot Jupiter with a thermal inversion that can be definitively attributed to the presence of TiO in its dayside atmosphere.

  20. Exoplanet Transits of Stellar Active Regions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giampapa, Mark S.; Andretta, Vincenzo; Covino, Elvira; Reiners, Ansgar; Esposito, Massimiliano

    2018-01-01

    We report preliminary results of a program to obtain high spectral- and temporal-resolution observations of the neutral helium triplet line at 1083.0 nm in transiting exoplanet systems. The principal objective of our program is to gain insight on the properties of active regions, analogous to solar plages, on late-type dwarfs by essentially using exoplanet transits as high spatial resolution probes of the stellar surface within the transit chord. The 1083 nm helium line is a particularly appropriate diagnostic of magnetized areas since it is weak in the quiet photosphere of solar-type stars but appears strongly in absorption in active regions. Therefore, during an exoplanet transit over the stellar surface, variations in its absorption equivalent width can arise that are functions of the intrinsic strength of the feature in the active region and the known relative size of the exoplanet. We utilized the Galileo Telescope and the GIANO-B near-IR echelle spectrograph to obtain 1083 nm spectra during transits in bright, well-known systems that include HD 189733, HD 209458, and HD 147506 (HAT-P-2). We also obtained simultaneous auxiliary data on the same telescope with the HARPS-N UV-Visible echelle spectrograph. We will present preliminary results from our analysis of the observed variability of the strength of the He I 1083 nm line during transits.Acknowledgements: Based on observations made with the Italian Telescopio Nazionale Galileo (TNG) operated on the island of La Palma by the Fundación Galileo Galilei of the INAF (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica) at the Spanish Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos of the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias. The NSO is operated by AURA under a cooperative agreement with the NSF.

  1. Generation of a Circumstellar Gas Disk by Hot Jupiter WASP-12b

    Science.gov (United States)

    Debrecht, Alex; Carroll-Nellenback, Jonathan; Frank, Adam; Fossati, Luca; Blackman, Eric G.; Dobbs-Dixon, Ian

    2018-05-01

    Observations of transiting extra-solar planets provide rich sources of data for probing the in-system environment. In the WASP-12 system, a broad depression in the usually-bright MgII h&k lines has been observed, in addition to atmospheric escape from the extremely hot Jupiter WASP-12b. It has been hypothesized that a translucent circumstellar cloud is formed by the outflow from the planet, causing the observed signatures. We perform 3D hydrodynamic simulations of the full system environment of WASP-12, injecting a planetary wind and stellar wind from their respective surfaces. We find that a torus of density high enough to account for the lack of MgII h&k line core emission in WASP-12 can be formed in approximately 13 years. We also perform synthetic observations of the Lyman-alpha spectrum at different points in the planet's orbit, which demonstrate that significant absorption occurs at all points in the orbit, not just during transits, as suggested by the observations.

  2. Transiting Exoplanet Monitoring Project (TEMP). II. Refined System Parameters and Transit Timing Analysis of HAT-P-33b

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yong-Hao; Wang, Songhu; Liu, Hui-Gen; Hinse, Tobias C.; Laughlin, Gregory; Wu, Dong-Hong; Zhang, Xiaojia; Zhou, Xu; Wu, Zhenyu; Zhou, Ji-Lin; Wittenmyer, R. A.; Eastman, Jason; Zhang, Hui; Hori, Yasunori; Narita, Norio; Chen, Yuanyuan; Ma, Jun; Peng, Xiyan; Zhang, Tian-Meng; Zou, Hu; Nie, Jun-Dan; Zhou, Zhi-Min

    2017-08-01

    We present 10 R-band photometric observations of eight different transits of the hot Jupiter HAT-P-33b, which has been targeted by our Transiting Exoplanet Monitoring Project. The data were obtained by two telescopes at the Xinglong Station of National Astronomical Observatories of China (NAOC) from 2013 December through 2016 January, and exhibit photometric scatter of 1.6{--}3.0 {mmag}. After jointly analyzing the previously published photometric data, radial-velocity (RV) measurements, and our new light curves, we revisit the system parameters and orbital ephemeris for the HAT-P-33b system. Our results are consistent with the published values except for the planet to star radius ratio ({R}{{P}}/{R}* ), the ingress/egress duration (τ) and the total duration (T 14), which together indicate a slightly shallower and shorter transit shape. Our results are based on more complete light curves, whereas the previously published work had only one complete transit light curve. No significant anomalies in Transit Timing Variations (TTVs) are found, and we place upper mass limits on potential perturbers, largely supplanting the loose constraints provided by the extant RV data. The TTV limits are stronger near mean-motion resonances, especially for the low-order commensurabilities. We can exclude the existence of a perturber with mass larger than 0.6, 0.3, 0.5, 0.5, and 0.3 {M}\\oplus near the 1:3, 1:2, 2:3, 3:2, and 2:1 resonances, respectively.

  3. Exoplanet Characterization With Spitzer Eclipses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harrington, Joseph

    We will analyze our existing Spitzer eclipse data for 11 exoplanets (GJ 436b, WASP-8b, WASP-29b, WASP-11b, TrES-1, WASP-34b, WASP-43b, HD 209458b, HAT-P-30b, HAT-P-13b, and WASP-12b) along with all other Spitzer eclipse and transit data for these systems (723 hours of total data). In combination with transit results, these measurements reveal the surface fluxes emitted by the planets' atmospheres in the six Spitzer bandpasses (3.6, 4.5, 5.8, 8.0, 16, and 24 1-4m), as well as orbital eccentricity and in a few cases possibly even precession rate. The fluxes, in turn, can constrain atmospheric composition and thermal profiles. We propose here to analyze data for these planets using Monte Carlo-driven, radiative-transfer, model-fitting codes; to conduct aggregate analyses; and to develop and share statistical modeling tools. Secondary eclipses provide us with a unique way to characterize exoplanetary atmospheres. Since other techniques like spectroscopy divide the planetary signal into many channels, they require very high signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) and are only possible for a few planets. Broadband eclipse photometry is thus the only technique that can measure dozens of atmospheres and identify the mechanisms that cause planets at a given irradiation level to behave so differently from one another. Until JWST becomes available, the broad variety of Spitzer data that we already have in hand, along with observations from the Hubble Space Telescope and possibly SOFIA, are our best way to understand the wide diversity of exoplanetary atmospheres. Since 2010, the team has produced six papers from a new, highly modular pipeline that implements optimal methods for analysis of Spitzer photometric time series, and our efficiency is increasing. The sensitivity needed for these measurements is up to 100 times better than Spitzer's design criteria, so careful treatment of systematic error is critically important and first-order approximations rarely work. The new pipeline

  4. Detection of H2O and Evidence for TiO VO in an Ultra Hot Exoplanet Atmosphere.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Evans, Thomas M.; Sing, David K.; Wakeford, Hannah R.; Nikolov, Nikolay; Ballester, Gilda E.; Drummond, Benjamin; Kataria, Tiffany; Gibson, Neale P.; Amundsen, David S.; Spake, Jessica

    2016-01-01

    We present a primary transit observation for the ultra-hot (Teq approx. 2400 K) gas giant expolanet WASP-121b, made using the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 in spectroscopic mode across the 1.12-1.64 micron wavelength range. The 1.4 microns water absorption band is detected at high confidence (5.4(sigma)) in the planetary atmosphere. We also reanalyze ground-based photometric light curves taken in the B, r', and z' filters. Significantly deeper transits are measured in these optical bandpasses relative to the near-infrared wavelengths. We conclude that scattering by high-altitude haze alone is unlikely to account for this difference and instead interpret it as evidence for titanium oxide and vanadium oxide absorption. Enhanced opacity is also inferred across the 1.12-1.3 micron wavelength range, possibly due to iron hydride absorption. If confirmed, WASP-121b will be the first exoplanet with titanium oxide, vanadium oxide, and iron hydride detected in transmission. The latter are important species in M/L dwarfs and their presence is likely to have a significant effect on the overall physics and chemistry of the atmosphere, including the production of a strong thermal inversion.

  5. Helium discovered in the tail of an exoplanet

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deming, Drake

    2018-05-01

    As the exoplanet WASP-107b orbits its host star, its atmosphere escapes to form a comet-like tail. Helium atoms detected in the escaping gases give astronomers a powerful tool for investigating exoplanetary atmospheres.

  6. Qatar Exoplanet Survey: Qatar-6b—A Grazing Transiting Hot Jupiter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alsubai, Khalid; Tsvetanov, Zlatan I.; Latham, David W.; Bieryla, Allyson; Esquerdo, Gilbert A.; Mislis, Dimitris; Pyrzas, Stylianos; Foxell, Emma; McCormac, James; Baranec, Christoph; Vilchez, Nicolas P. E.; West, Richard; Esamdin, Ali; Dang, Zhenwei; Dalee, Hani M.; Al-Rajihi, Amani A.; Al-Harbi, Abeer Kh.

    2018-02-01

    We report the discovery of Qatar-6b, a new transiting planet identified by the Qatar Exoplanet Survey (QES). The planet orbits a relatively bright (V = 11.44), early-K main-sequence star at an orbital period of P ∼ 3.506 days. An SED fit to available multi-band photometry, ranging from the near-UV to the mid-IR, yields a distance of d = 101 ± 6 pc to the system. From a global fit to follow-up photometric and spectroscopic observations, we calculate the mass and radius of the planet to be M P = 0.67 ± 0.07 M J and R P = 1.06 ± 0.07 R J, respectively. We use multi-color photometric light curves to show that the transit is grazing, making Qatar-6b one of the few exoplanets known in a grazing transit configuration. It adds to the short list of targets that offer the best opportunity to look for additional bodies in the host planetary system through variations in the transit impact factor and duration.

  7. Modelling the phase curve and occultation of WASP-43b with SPIDERMAN

    Science.gov (United States)

    Louden, Tom

    2017-06-01

    Presenting SPIDERMAN, a fast code for calculating exoplanet phase curves and secondary eclipses with arbitrary two dimensional surface brightness distributions. SPIDERMAN uses an exact geometric algorithm to calculate the area of sub-regions of the planet that are occulted by the star, with no loss in numerical precision. The speed of this calculation makes it possible to run MCMCs to marginalise effectively over the underlying parameters controlling the brightness distribution of exoplanets. The code is fully open source and available over Github. We apply the code to the phase curve of WASP-43b using an analytical surface brightness distribution, and find an excellent fit to the data. We are able to place direct constraints on the physics of heat transport in the atmosphere, such as the ratio between advective and radiative timescales at different altitudes.

  8. Water, Methane Depletion, and High-Altitude Condensates in the Atmosphere of the Warm Super-Neptune WASP-107b

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kreidberg, Laura; Line, Michael; Thorngren, Daniel; Morley, Caroline; Stevenson, Kevin

    2018-01-01

    The super-Neptune exoplanet WASP-107b is an exciting target for atmosphere characterization. It has an unusually large atmospheric scale height and a small, bright host star, raising the possibility of precise constraints on its current nature and formation history. In this talk, I will present the first atmospheric study of WASP-107b, a Hubble Space Telescope measurement of its near-infrared transmission spectrum. We determined the planet's composition with two techniques: atmospheric retrieval based on the transmission spectrum and interior structure modeling based on the observed mass and radius. The interior structure models set a 3σ upper limit on the atmospheric metallicity of 30x solar. The transmission spectrum shows strong evidence for water absorption (6.5σ confidence), and we infer a water abundance consistent with expectations for a solar abundance pattern. On the other hand, methane is depleted relative to expectations (at 3σ confidence), suggesting a low carbon-to-oxygen ratio or high internal heat flux. The water features are smaller than predicted for a cloudless atmosphere, crossing less than one scale height. A thick condensate layer at high altitudes (0.1 - 3 mbar) is needed to match the observations; however, we find that it is challenging for physically motivated cloud and haze models to produce opaque condensates at these pressures. Taken together, these findings serve as an illustration of the diversity and complexity of exoplanet atmospheres. The community can look forward to more such results with the high precision and wide spectral coverage afforded by future observing facilities.

  9. WASP-12b AND HAT-P-8b are members of triple star systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bechter, Eric B.; Crepp, Justin R.; Matthews, Christopher T. [Department of Physics, University of Notre Dame, 225 Nieuwland Science Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556 (United States); Ngo, Henry; Knutson, Heather A.; Batygin, Konstantin; Johnson, John Asher [Department of Planetary Science, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Hinkley, Sasha; Muirhead, Philip S.; Montet, Benjamin T.; Morton, Timothy D. [Department of Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Howard, Andrew W., E-mail: ebechter@nd.edu [Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822 (United States)

    2014-06-10

    We present high spatial resolution images that demonstrate that WASP-12b and HAT-P-8b orbit the primary stars of hierarchical triple star systems. In each case, two distant companions with colors and brightnesses consistent with M dwarfs co-orbit the hot Jupiter planet host as well as one another. Our adaptive optics images spatially resolve the secondary around WASP-12, previously identified by Bergfors et al. and Crossfield et al. into two distinct sources separated by 84.3 ± 0.6 mas (21 ± 3 AU). We find that the secondary to HAT-P-8, also identified by Bergfors et al., is in fact composed of two stars separated by 65.3 ± 0.5 mas (15 ± 1 AU). Our follow-up observations demonstrate physical association through common proper motion. HAT-P-8 C has a particularly low mass, which we estimate to be 0.18 ± 0.02 M {sub ☉} using photometry. Due to their hierarchy, WASP-12 BC and HAT-P-8 BC will enable the first dynamical mass determination for hot Jupiter stellar companions. These previously well studied planet hosts now represent higher-order multi-star systems with potentially complex dynamics, underscoring the importance of diffraction-limited imaging and providing additional context for understanding the migrant population of transiting hot Jupiters.

  10. WASP-12b and HAT-P-8b are Members of Triple Star Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bechter, Eric B.; Crepp, Justin R.; Ngo, Henry; Knutson, Heather A.; Batygin, Konstantin; Hinkley, Sasha; Muirhead, Philip S.; Johnson, John Asher; Howard, Andrew W.; Montet, Benjamin T.; Matthews, Christopher T.; Morton, Timothy D.

    2014-06-01

    We present high spatial resolution images that demonstrate that WASP-12b and HAT-P-8b orbit the primary stars of hierarchical triple star systems. In each case, two distant companions with colors and brightnesses consistent with M dwarfs co-orbit the hot Jupiter planet host as well as one another. Our adaptive optics images spatially resolve the secondary around WASP-12, previously identified by Bergfors et al. and Crossfield et al. into two distinct sources separated by 84.3 ± 0.6 mas (21 ± 3 AU). We find that the secondary to HAT-P-8, also identified by Bergfors et al., is in fact composed of two stars separated by 65.3 ± 0.5 mas (15 ± 1 AU). Our follow-up observations demonstrate physical association through common proper motion. HAT-P-8 C has a particularly low mass, which we estimate to be 0.18 ± 0.02 M ⊙ using photometry. Due to their hierarchy, WASP-12 BC and HAT-P-8 BC will enable the first dynamical mass determination for hot Jupiter stellar companions. These previously well studied planet hosts now represent higher-order multi-star systems with potentially complex dynamics, underscoring the importance of diffraction-limited imaging and providing additional context for understanding the migrant population of transiting hot Jupiters.

  11. WASP-12b AND HAT-P-8b are members of triple star systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bechter, Eric B.; Crepp, Justin R.; Matthews, Christopher T.; Ngo, Henry; Knutson, Heather A.; Batygin, Konstantin; Johnson, John Asher; Hinkley, Sasha; Muirhead, Philip S.; Montet, Benjamin T.; Morton, Timothy D.; Howard, Andrew W.

    2014-01-01

    We present high spatial resolution images that demonstrate that WASP-12b and HAT-P-8b orbit the primary stars of hierarchical triple star systems. In each case, two distant companions with colors and brightnesses consistent with M dwarfs co-orbit the hot Jupiter planet host as well as one another. Our adaptive optics images spatially resolve the secondary around WASP-12, previously identified by Bergfors et al. and Crossfield et al. into two distinct sources separated by 84.3 ± 0.6 mas (21 ± 3 AU). We find that the secondary to HAT-P-8, also identified by Bergfors et al., is in fact composed of two stars separated by 65.3 ± 0.5 mas (15 ± 1 AU). Our follow-up observations demonstrate physical association through common proper motion. HAT-P-8 C has a particularly low mass, which we estimate to be 0.18 ± 0.02 M ☉ using photometry. Due to their hierarchy, WASP-12 BC and HAT-P-8 BC will enable the first dynamical mass determination for hot Jupiter stellar companions. These previously well studied planet hosts now represent higher-order multi-star systems with potentially complex dynamics, underscoring the importance of diffraction-limited imaging and providing additional context for understanding the migrant population of transiting hot Jupiters.

  12. The LEECH Exoplanet Imaging Survey: Characterization of the Coldest Directly Imaged Exoplanet, GJ 504 b, and Evidence for Superstellar Metallicity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skemer, Andrew J.; Morley, Caroline V.; Zimmerman, Neil T.; Skrutskie, Michael F.; Leisenring, Jarron; Buenzli, Esther; Bonnefoy, Mickael; Bailey, Vanessa; Hinz, Philip; Defrére, Denis; Esposito, Simone; Apai, Dániel; Biller, Beth; Brandner, Wolfgang; Close, Laird; Crepp, Justin R.; De Rosa, Robert J.; Desidera, Silvano; Eisner, Josh; Fortney, Jonathan; Freedman, Richard; Henning, Thomas; Hofmann, Karl-Heinz; Kopytova, Taisiya; Lupu, Roxana; Maire, Anne-Lise; Males, Jared R.; Marley, Mark; Morzinski, Katie; Oza, Apurva; Patience, Jenny; Rajan, Abhijith; Rieke, George; Schertl, Dieter; Schlieder, Joshua; Stone, Jordan; Su, Kate; Vaz, Amali; Visscher, Channon; Ward-Duong, Kimberly; Weigelt, Gerd; Woodward, Charles E.

    2016-02-01

    As gas giant planets and brown dwarfs radiate away the residual heat from their formation, they cool through a spectral type transition from L to T, which encompasses the dissipation of cloud opacity and the appearance of strong methane absorption. While there are hundreds of known T-type brown dwarfs, the first generation of directly imaged exoplanets were all L type. Recently, Kuzuhara et al. announced the discovery of GJ 504 b, the first T dwarf exoplanet. GJ 504 b provides a unique opportunity to study the atmosphere of a new type of exoplanet with a ˜500 K temperature that bridges the gap between the first directly imaged planets (˜1000 K) and our own solar system's Jupiter (˜130 K). We observed GJ 504 b in three narrow L-band filters (3.71, 3.88, and 4.00 μm), spanning the red end of the broad methane fundamental absorption feature (3.3 μm) as part of the LBTI Exozodi Exoplanet Common Hunt (LEECH) exoplanet imaging survey. By comparing our new photometry and literature photometry with a grid of custom model atmospheres, we were able to fit GJ 504 b's unusual spectral energy distribution for the first time. We find that GJ 504 b is well fit by models with the following parameters: Teff = 544 ± 10 K, g Germany. LBT Corporation partners are the University of Arizona on behalf of the Arizona university system; Istituto Nazionale di Astrophisica, Italy; LBT Beteiligungsgesellschaft, Germany, representing the Max-Planck Society, the Astrophysical Institute Potsdam, and Heidelberg University; The Ohio State University, and the Research Corporation, on behalf of the University of Notre Dame, University of Minnesota, and University of Virginia.

  13. SECONDARY ECLIPSE PHOTOMETRY OF THE EXOPLANET WASP-5b WITH WARM SPITZER

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Baskin, Nathaniel J.; Knutson, Heather A.; Desert, Jean-Michel [Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Burrows, Adam [Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 05844 (United States); Fortney, Jonathan J.; Laughlin, Gregory [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States); Lewis, Nikole K. [Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States); Agol, Eric [Department of Astronomy, University of Washington, Box 351580, Seattle, WA 98195 (United States); Charbonneau, David [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Cowan, Nicolas B. [Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208 (United States); Deming, Drake [Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 (United States); Langton, Jonathan [Department of Physics, Principia College, Elsah, IL 62028 (United States); Showman, Adam P. [Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States)

    2013-08-20

    We present secondary eclipse photometry of the extrasolar planet WASP-5b taken in the 3.6 and 4.5 {mu}m bands with the Spitzer Space Telescope's Infrared Array Camera as part of the extended warm mission. By estimating the depth of the secondary eclipse in these two bands we can place constraints on the planet's atmospheric pressure-temperature profile and chemistry. We measure secondary eclipse depths of 0.197% {+-} 0.028% and 0.237% {+-} 0.024% in the 3.6 {mu}m and 4.5 {mu}m bands, respectively. For the case of a solar-composition atmosphere and chemistry in local thermal equilibrium, our observations are best matched by models showing a hot dayside and, depending on our choice of model, a weak thermal inversion or no inversion at all. We measure a mean offset from the predicted center of eclipse of 3.7 {+-} 1.8 minutes, corresponding to ecos {omega} = 0.0025 {+-} 0.0012 and consistent with a circular orbit. We conclude that the planet's orbit is unlikely to have been perturbed by interactions with another body in the system as claimed by Fukui et al.

  14. VizieR Online Data Catalog: WASP-31b:HST/Spitzer transmission spectral survey (Sing+, 2015)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sing, D. K.; Wakeford, H. R.; Showman, A. P.; Nikolov, N.; Fortney, J. J.; Burrows, A. S.; Ballester, G. E.; Deming, D.; Aigrain, S.; Desert, J.-M.; Gibson, N. P.; Henry, G. W.; Knutson, H.; Lecavelier Des Etangs, A.; Pont, F.; Vidal-Madjar, A.; Williamson, M. W.; Wilson, P. A.

    2017-11-01

    We observed two transits of WASP-31b with the HST STIS G430L grating during 2012 June 13 and 26, as well as one transit with the STIS G750L during 2012 July 10. In addition to the STIS data, observations of WASP-31b were also conducted in the infrared with WFC3 on the HST. Observations began on 2012 May 13 at 12:53 using the IR G141 grism in forward spatial scan mode over five HST orbits. We analyse two transit observations obtained using the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) instrument (Programme 90092 with P.I. Desert) on the Spitzer space telescope in the 3.6 μm and 4.5 μm channels in subarray mode (32x32 pixel, or 39 centred on the planets host). The 3.6 μm observation was performed on UT 2013 March 9 (between 06:59 and 11:37) and the 4.5 observation was performed on UT 2013 March 19 (between 12:19 and 16:58). (1 data file).

  15. PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF THE 0.94-DAY PERIOD TRANSITING PLANETARY SYSTEM WASP-18

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Southworth, John; Anderson, D. R.; Maxted, P. F. L.; Hinse, T. C.; Dominik, M.; Mathiasen, M.; Browne, P.; Glitrup, M.; Joergensen, U. G.; Harpsoee, K.; Liebig, C.; Maier, G.; Bozza, V.; Calchi Novati, S.; Mancini, L.; Burgdorf, M.; Dreizler, S.; Hessman, F.; Hundertmark, M.; Finet, F.

    2009-01-01

    We present high-precision photometry of five consecutive transits of WASP-18, an extrasolar planetary system with one of the shortest orbital periods known. Through the use of telescope defocusing we achieve a photometric precision of 0.47-0.83 mmag per observation over complete transit events. The data are analyzed using the JKTEBOP code and three different sets of stellar evolutionary models. We find the mass and radius of the planet to be M b = 10.43 ± 0.30 ± 0.24 M Jup and R b = 1.165 ± 0.055 ± 0.014 R Jup (statistical and systematic errors), respectively. The systematic errors in the orbital separation and the stellar and planetary masses, arising from the use of theoretical predictions, are of a similar size to the statistical errors and set a limit on our understanding of the WASP-18 system. We point out that seven of the nine known massive transiting planets (M b > 3 M Jup ) have eccentric orbits, whereas significant orbital eccentricity has been detected for only four of the 46 less-massive planets. This may indicate that there are two different populations of transiting planets, but could also be explained by observational biases. Further radial velocity observations of low-mass planets will make it possible to choose between these two scenarios.

  16. DETECTION OF H{sub 2}O AND EVIDENCE FOR TiO/VO IN AN ULTRA-HOT EXOPLANET ATMOSPHERE

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Evans, Thomas M.; Sing, David K.; Nikolov, Nikolay; Drummond, Benjamin; Kataria, Tiffany; Spake, Jessica [School of Physics, University of Exeter, EX4 4QL Exeter (United Kingdom); Wakeford, Hannah R. [NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Ballester, Gilda E. [Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721 (United States); Gibson, Neale P. [Astrophysics Research Centre, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queens University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN (United Kingdom); Amundsen, David S., E-mail: tevans@astro.ex.ac.uk [Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10025 (United States)

    2016-05-01

    We present a primary transit observation for the ultra-hot ( T {sub eq} ∼ 2400 K) gas giant expolanet WASP-121b, made using the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 in spectroscopic mode across the 1.12–1.64 μ m wavelength range. The 1.4 μ m water absorption band is detected at high confidence (5.4 σ ) in the planetary atmosphere. We also reanalyze ground-based photometric light curves taken in the B , r ′, and z ′ filters. Significantly deeper transits are measured in these optical bandpasses relative to the near-infrared wavelengths. We conclude that scattering by high-altitude haze alone is unlikely to account for this difference and instead interpret it as evidence for titanium oxide and vanadium oxide absorption. Enhanced opacity is also inferred across the 1.12–1.3 μ m wavelength range, possibly due to iron hydride absorption. If confirmed, WASP-121b will be the first exoplanet with titanium oxide, vanadium oxide, and iron hydride detected in transmission. The latter are important species in M/L dwarfs and their presence is likely to have a significant effect on the overall physics and chemistry of the atmosphere, including the production of a strong thermal inversion.

  17. New Insights on Planet Formation in WASP-47 from a Simultaneous Analysis of Radial Velocities and Transit Timing Variations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weiss, Lauren M.; Deck, Katherine M.; Sinukoff, Evan; Petigura, Erik A.; Agol, Eric; Lee, Eve J.; Becker, Juliette C.; Howard, Andrew W.; Isaacson, Howard; Crossfield, Ian J. M.; Fulton, Benjamin J.; Hirsch, Lea; Benneke, Björn

    2017-06-01

    Measuring precise planet masses, densities, and orbital dynamics in individual planetary systems is an important pathway toward understanding planet formation. The WASP-47 system has an unusual architecture that motivates a complex formation theory. The system includes a hot Jupiter (“b”) neighbored by interior (“e”) and exterior (“d”) sub-Neptunes, and a long-period eccentric giant planet (“c”). We simultaneously modeled transit times from the Kepler K2 mission and 118 radial velocities to determine the precise masses, densities, and Keplerian orbital elements of the WASP-47 planets. Combining RVs and TTVs provides a better estimate of the mass of planet d (13.6+/- 2.0 {M}\\oplus ) than that obtained with only RVs (12.75+/- 2.70 {M}\\oplus ) or TTVs (16.1+/- 3.8 {M}\\oplus ). Planets e and d have high densities for their size, consistent with a history of photoevaporation and/or formation in a volatile-poor environment. Through our RV and TTV analysis, we find that the planetary orbits have eccentricities similar to the solar system planets. The WASP-47 system has three similarities to our own solar system: (1) the planetary orbits are nearly circular and coplanar, (2) the planets are not trapped in mean motion resonances, and (3) the planets have diverse compositions. None of the current single-process exoplanet formation theories adequately reproduce these three characteristics of the WASP-47 system (or our solar system). We propose that WASP-47, like the solar system, formed in two stages: first, the giant planets formed in a gas-rich disk and migrated to their present locations, and second, the high-density sub-Neptunes formed in situ in a gas-poor environment.

  18. Atmospheric Characterization of Five Hot Jupiters with the Wide Field Camera 3 on the Hubble Space Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ranjan, Sukrit; Charbonneau, David; Desert, Jean-Michel; Madhusudhan, Nikku; Deming, Drake; Wilkins, Ashlee; Mandell, Avi M.

    2014-01-01

    We probe the structure and composition of the atmospheres of five hot Jupiter exoplanets using the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) instrument. We use the G141 grism (1.1-1.7 micrometers) to study TrES-2b, TrES-4b, and CoRoT-1b in transit; TrES-3b in secondary eclipse; and WASP-4b in both. This wavelength region includes a predicted absorption feature from water at 1.4 micrometers, which we expect to be nondegenerate with the other molecules that are likely to be abundant for hydrocarbon-poor (e.g., solar composition) hot Jupiter atmospheres. We divide our wavelength regions into 10 bins. For each bin we produce a spectrophotometric light curve spanning the time of transit or eclipse. We correct these light curves for instrumental systematics without reference to an instrument model. For our transmission spectra, our mean 1s precision per bin corresponds to variations of 2.1, 2.8, and 3.0 atmospheric scale heights for TrES-2b, TrES-4b, and CoRoT-1b, respectively. We find featureless spectra for these three planets. We are unable to extract a robust transmission spectrum for WASP-4b. For our dayside emission spectra, our mean 1 sigma precision per bin corresponds to a planet-to-star flux ratio of 1.5 x 10(exp -4) and 2.1 x 10(exp -4) for WASP-4b and TrES-3b, respectively. We combine these estimates with previous broadband measurements and conclude that for both planets isothermal atmospheres are disfavored. We find no signs of features due to water. We confirm that WFC3 is suitable for studies of transiting exoplanets, but in staring mode multivisit campaigns are necessary to place strong constraints on water abundance.

  19. Atmospheric characterization of five hot Jupiters with the wide field Camera 3 on the Hubble space telescope

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ranjan, Sukrit; Charbonneau, David [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Désert, Jean-Michel [Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309 (United States); Madhusudhan, Nikku [Yale Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511 (United States); Deming, Drake; Wilkins, Ashlee [Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 (United States); Mandell, Avi M., E-mail: sranjan@cfa.harvard.edu [NASA' s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States)

    2014-04-20

    We probe the structure and composition of the atmospheres of five hot Jupiter exoplanets using the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) instrument. We use the G141 grism (1.1-1.7 μm) to study TrES-2b, TrES-4b, and CoRoT-1b in transit; TrES-3b in secondary eclipse; and WASP-4b in both. This wavelength region includes a predicted absorption feature from water at 1.4 μm, which we expect to be nondegenerate with the other molecules that are likely to be abundant for hydrocarbon-poor (e.g., solar composition) hot Jupiter atmospheres. We divide our wavelength regions into 10 bins. For each bin we produce a spectrophotometric light curve spanning the time of transit or eclipse. We correct these light curves for instrumental systematics without reference to an instrument model. For our transmission spectra, our mean 1σ precision per bin corresponds to variations of 2.1, 2.8, and 3.0 atmospheric scale heights for TrES-2b, TrES-4b, and CoRoT-1b, respectively. We find featureless spectra for these three planets. We are unable to extract a robust transmission spectrum for WASP-4b. For our dayside emission spectra, our mean 1σ precision per bin corresponds to a planet-to-star flux ratio of 1.5 × 10{sup –4} and 2.1 × 10{sup –4} for WASP-4b and TrES-3b, respectively. We combine these estimates with previous broadband measurements and conclude that for both planets isothermal atmospheres are disfavored. We find no signs of features due to water. We confirm that WFC3 is suitable for studies of transiting exoplanets, but in staring mode multivisit campaigns are necessary to place strong constraints on water abundance.

  20. VizieR Online Data Catalog: Transiting planet WASP-6b (Tregloan-Reed+, 2015)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tregloan-Reed, J.; Southworth, J.; Burgdorf, M.; Calchi Novati, S.; Dominik, M.; Finet, F.; Jorgensen, U. G.; Maier, G.; Mancini, L.; Prof, S.; Ricci, D.; Snodgrass, C.; Bozza, V.; Browne, P.; Dodds, P.; Gerner, T.; Harpsoe, K.; Hinse, T. C.; Hundertmark, M.; Kains, N.; Kerins, E.; Liebig, C.; Penny, M. T.; Rahvar, S.; Sahu, K.; Scarpetta, G.; Schafer, S.; Schonebeck, F.; Skottfelt, J.; Surdej, J.

    2018-05-01

    Four light curves of transits of the extrasolar planetary system WASP-6 are presented. They were obtained using the Danish 1.54m telescope at ESO La Silla, Chile, in the Bessell R passband. The errorbars for each transit have been scaled so the best-fitting model (obtained using the JKTEBOP code and without accounting for the presence of starspots) has a reduced chi-squared value of 1.0. (1 data file).

  1. Water, High-altitude Condensates, and Possible Methane Depletion in the Atmosphere of the Warm Super-Neptune WASP-107b

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kreidberg, Laura; Line, Michael R.; Thorngren, Daniel; Morley, Caroline V.; Stevenson, Kevin B.

    2018-05-01

    The super-Neptune exoplanet WASP-107b is an exciting target for atmosphere characterization. It has an unusually large atmospheric scale height and a small, bright host star, raising the possibility of precise constraints on its current nature and formation history. We report the first atmospheric study of WASP-107b, a Hubble Space Telescope (HST) measurement of its near-infrared transmission spectrum. We determined the planet’s composition with two techniques: atmospheric retrieval based on the transmission spectrum and interior structure modeling based on the observed mass and radius. The interior structure models set a 3σ upper limit on the atmospheric metallicity of 30× solar. The transmission spectrum shows strong evidence for water absorption (6.5σ confidence), and the retrieved water abundance is consistent with expectations for a solar abundance pattern. The inferred carbon-to-oxygen ratio is subsolar at 2.7σ confidence, which we attribute to possible methane depletion in the atmosphere. The spectral features are smaller than predicted for a cloud-free composition, crossing less than one scale height. A thick condensate layer at high altitudes (0.1–3 mbar) is needed to match the observations. We find that physically motivated cloud models with moderate sedimentation efficiency (f sed = 0.3) or hazes with a particle size of 0.3 μm reproduce the observed spectral feature amplitude. Taken together, these findings serve as an illustration of the diversity and complexity of exoplanet atmospheres. The community can look forward to more such results with the high precision and wide spectral coverage afforded by future observing facilities.

  2. Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ricker, G. R.; Clampin, M.; Latham, D. W.; Seager, S.; Vanderspek, R. K.; Villasenor, J. S.; Winn, J. N.

    2012-01-01

    The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) will discover thousands of exoplanets in orbit around the brightest stars in the sky. In a two-year survey, TESS will monitor more than 500,000 stars for temporary drops in brightness caused by planetary transits. This first-ever spaceborne all-sky transit survey will identify planets ranging from Earth-sized to gas giants, around a wide range of stellar types and orbital distances. No ground-based survey can achieve this feat. A large fraction of TESS target stars will be 30-100 times brighter than those observed by Kepler satellite, and therefore TESS . planets will be far easier to characterize with follow-up observations. TESS will make it possible to study the masses, sizes, densities, orbits, and atmospheres of a large cohort of small planets, including a sample of rocky worlds in the habitable zones of their host stars. TESS will provide prime targets for observation with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), as well as other large ground-based and space-based telescopes of the future. TESS data will be released with minimal delay (no proprietary period), inviting immediate community-wide efforts to study the new planets. The TESS legacy will be a catalog of the very nearest and brightest main-sequence stars hosting transiting exoplanets, thus providing future observers with the most favorable targets for detailed investigations.

  3. H‑ Opacity and Water Dissociation in the Dayside Atmosphere of the Very Hot Gas Giant WASP-18b

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arcangeli, Jacob; Désert, Jean-Michel; Line, Michael R.; Bean, Jacob L.; Parmentier, Vivien; Stevenson, Kevin B.; Kreidberg, Laura; Fortney, Jonathan J.; Mansfield, Megan; Showman, Adam P.

    2018-03-01

    We present one of the most precise emission spectra of an exoplanet observed so far. We combine five secondary eclipses of the hot Jupiter WASP-18b (T day ∼ 2900 K) that we secured between 1.1 and 1.7 μm with the Wide Field Camera 3 instrument on board the Hubble Space Telescope. Our extracted spectrum (S/N = 50, R ∼ 40) does not exhibit clearly identifiable molecular features but is poorly matched by a blackbody spectrum. We complement this data with previously published Spitzer/Infrared Array Camera observations of this target and interpret the combined spectrum by computing a grid of self-consistent, 1D forward models, varying the composition and energy budget. At these high temperatures, we find there are important contributions to the overall opacity from H‑ ions, as well as the removal of major molecules by thermal dissociation (including water), and thermal ionization of metals. These effects were omitted in previous spectral retrievals for very hot gas giants, and we argue that they must be included to properly interpret the spectra of these objects. We infer a new metallicity and C/O ratio for WASP-18b, and find them well constrained to be solar ([M/H] = ‑0.01 ± 0.35, C/O < 0.85 at 3σ confidence level), unlike previous work but in line with expectations for giant planets. The best-fitting self-consistent temperature–pressure profiles are inverted, resulting in an emission feature at 4.5 μm seen in the Spitzer photometry. These results further strengthen the evidence that the family of very hot gas giant exoplanets commonly exhibit thermal inversions.

  4. COMPARATIVE HABITABILITY OF TRANSITING EXOPLANETS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Barnes, Rory; Meadows, Victoria S.; Evans, Nicole, E-mail: rory@astro.washington.edu [Astronomy Department, University of Washington, Box 951580, Seattle, WA 98195 (United States)

    2015-12-01

    Exoplanet habitability is traditionally assessed by comparing a planet’s semimajor axis to the location of its host star’s “habitable zone,” the shell around a star for which Earth-like planets can possess liquid surface water. The Kepler space telescope has discovered numerous planet candidates near the habitable zone, and many more are expected from missions such as K2, TESS, and PLATO. These candidates often require significant follow-up observations for validation, so prioritizing planets for habitability from transit data has become an important aspect of the search for life in the universe. We propose a method to compare transiting planets for their potential to support life based on transit data, stellar properties and previously reported limits on planetary emitted flux. For a planet in radiative equilibrium, the emitted flux increases with eccentricity, but decreases with albedo. As these parameters are often unconstrained, there is an “eccentricity-albedo degeneracy” for the habitability of transiting exoplanets. Our method mitigates this degeneracy, includes a penalty for large-radius planets, uses terrestrial mass–radius relationships, and, when available, constraints on eccentricity to compute a number we call the “habitability index for transiting exoplanets” that represents the relative probability that an exoplanet could support liquid surface water. We calculate it for Kepler objects of interest and find that planets that receive between 60% and 90% of the Earth’s incident radiation, assuming circular orbits, are most likely to be habitable. Finally, we make predictions for the upcoming TESS and James Webb Space Telescope missions.

  5. COMPARATIVE HABITABILITY OF TRANSITING EXOPLANETS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barnes, Rory; Meadows, Victoria S.; Evans, Nicole

    2015-01-01

    Exoplanet habitability is traditionally assessed by comparing a planet’s semimajor axis to the location of its host star’s “habitable zone,” the shell around a star for which Earth-like planets can possess liquid surface water. The Kepler space telescope has discovered numerous planet candidates near the habitable zone, and many more are expected from missions such as K2, TESS, and PLATO. These candidates often require significant follow-up observations for validation, so prioritizing planets for habitability from transit data has become an important aspect of the search for life in the universe. We propose a method to compare transiting planets for their potential to support life based on transit data, stellar properties and previously reported limits on planetary emitted flux. For a planet in radiative equilibrium, the emitted flux increases with eccentricity, but decreases with albedo. As these parameters are often unconstrained, there is an “eccentricity-albedo degeneracy” for the habitability of transiting exoplanets. Our method mitigates this degeneracy, includes a penalty for large-radius planets, uses terrestrial mass–radius relationships, and, when available, constraints on eccentricity to compute a number we call the “habitability index for transiting exoplanets” that represents the relative probability that an exoplanet could support liquid surface water. We calculate it for Kepler objects of interest and find that planets that receive between 60% and 90% of the Earth’s incident radiation, assuming circular orbits, are most likely to be habitable. Finally, we make predictions for the upcoming TESS and James Webb Space Telescope missions

  6. High C/O Chemistry and Weak Thermal Inversion in the Extremely Irradiated Atmosphere of Exoplanet WASP-12b

    Science.gov (United States)

    Madhusudhan, Nikku; Harrington, Joseph; Nymeyer, Sarah; Campo, Christopher J.; Wheatley, Peter J.; Deming, Drake; Blecie, Jasmina; Hardy, Ryan A.; Lust, Nate B.; Anderson, David R.; hide

    2010-01-01

    The carbon-to-oxygen ratio (C/O) in a planet provides critical information about its primordial origins and subsequent evolution. A primordial C/O greater than 0.8 causes a carbide-dominated interior as opposed to the silicate-dominated composition as found on Earth; the solar C/O is 0.54. Theory, shows that high C/O leads to a diversity of carbon-rich planets that can have very different interiors and atmospheres from those in the solar system. Here we report the detection of C/O greater than or equal to 1 in a planetary atmosphere. The transiting hot Jupiter WASP-12b has a dayside atmosphere depleted in water vapour and enhanced in methane by over two orders of magnitude compared to a solar-abundance chemical equilibrium model at the expected temperatures. The observed concentrations of the prominent molecules CO, CH4, and H2O are consistent with theoretical expectations for an atmosphere with the observed C/O = 1. The C/O ratios are not known for giant planets in the solar system, although they are expected to equal the solar value. If high C/O ratios are common, then extrasolar planets are likely very different in interior composition, and formed very differently, from expectations based on solar composition, potentially explaining the large diversity in observed radii. We also find that the extremely irradiated atmosphere (greater than 2500 K) of WASP-12b lacks a prominent thermal inversion, or a stratosphere, and has very efficient day-night energy circulation. The absence of a strong thermal inversion is in stark contrast to theoretical predictions for the most highly irradiated hot-Jupiter atmospheres.

  7. VizieR Online Data Catalog: Transiting extrasolar planet WASP-33b (Kovacs+, 2013)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kovacs, G.; Kovacs, T.; Hartman, J. D.; Bakos, G. A.; Bieryla, A.; Latham, D.; Noyes, R. W.; Regaly, Zs.; Esquerdo, G. A.

    2013-03-01

    Light curves (LCs) used in the time series analysis of WASP-33 are presented. All LCs are on magnitude scale. The material constitutes of: (1) the TFA-filtered/reconstructed (see Kovacs, Bakos & Noyes, 2005MNRAS.356..557K) HATNet LC in approximate Ic (Cousins) color; (2) LCs given in Table 1: except for the FLWO data (lc02) all LCs are corrected for linear trends, shifted to zero magnitude at the out-of-transit level. Time is in Heliocentric Julian Date, colors are given in Table 1. (3) Grand-averaged LC, as shown in Fig. 10 of the paper. (4 data files).

  8. VizieR Online Data Catalog: Times of transits and occultations of WASP-12b (Patra+, 2017)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patra, K. C.; Winn, J. N.; Holman, M. J.; Yu, L.; Deming, D.; Dai, F.

    2017-08-01

    Between 2016 October and 2017 February, we observed seven transits of WASP-12 with the 1.2m telescope at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory on Mt. Hopkins, Arizona. Images were obtained with the KeplerCam detector through a Sloan r'-band filter. The typical exposure time was 15s, chosen to give a signal-to-noise ratio of about 200 for WASP-12. The field of view of this camera is 23.1' on a side. We used 2*2 binning, giving a pixel scale of 0.68''. We measured two new occultation times based on hitherto unpublished Spitzer observations in 2013 December (program 90186, P.I. Todorov). Two different transits were observed, one at 3.6μm and one at 4.5μm. The data take the form of a time series of 32*32-pixel subarray images, with an exposure time of 2.0s per image. The data were acquired over a wide range of orbital phases, but for our purpose, we analyzed only the ~14000 images within 4hr of each occultation. (1 data file).

  9. THE LEECH EXOPLANET IMAGING SURVEY: CHARACTERIZATION OF THE COLDEST DIRECTLY IMAGED EXOPLANET, GJ 504 b, AND EVIDENCE FOR SUPERSTELLAR METALLICITY

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Skemer, Andrew J.; Leisenring, Jarron; Bailey, Vanessa; Hinz, Philip; Defrére, Denis; Apai, Dániel; Close, Laird; Eisner, Josh [Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, 933 North Cherry Ave. Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States); Morley, Caroline V.; Fortney, Jonathan [University of California, Santa Cruz, 1156 High St. Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States); Zimmerman, Neil T.; Buenzli, Esther; Bonnefoy, Mickael; Biller, Beth; Brandner, Wolfgang [Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Königstuhl 17, 69117 Heidelberg (Germany); Skrutskie, Michael F. [University of Virginia, 530 McCormick Rd., Charlottesville, VA 22904 (United States); Esposito, Simone [Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica-Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory, Largo Enrico Fermi 5, 50125, Florence (Italy); Crepp, Justin R. [Notre Dame University, 225 Nieuwland Science Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556 (United States); De Rosa, Robert J. [Arizona State University, 781 South Terrace Rd, Tempe, AZ 85281 (United States); Desidera, Silvano [Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica-Padova Astronomical Observatory, Vicolo dell’Osservatorio 5, 35122 Padova (Italy); and others

    2016-02-01

    As gas giant planets and brown dwarfs radiate away the residual heat from their formation, they cool through a spectral type transition from L to T, which encompasses the dissipation of cloud opacity and the appearance of strong methane absorption. While there are hundreds of known T-type brown dwarfs, the first generation of directly imaged exoplanets were all L type. Recently, Kuzuhara et al. announced the discovery of GJ 504 b, the first T dwarf exoplanet. GJ 504 b provides a unique opportunity to study the atmosphere of a new type of exoplanet with a ∼500 K temperature that bridges the gap between the first directly imaged planets (∼1000 K) and our own solar system's Jupiter (∼130 K). We observed GJ 504 b in three narrow L-band filters (3.71, 3.88, and 4.00 μm), spanning the red end of the broad methane fundamental absorption feature (3.3 μm) as part of the LBTI Exozodi Exoplanet Common Hunt (LEECH) exoplanet imaging survey. By comparing our new photometry and literature photometry with a grid of custom model atmospheres, we were able to fit GJ 504 b's unusual spectral energy distribution for the first time. We find that GJ 504 b is well fit by models with the following parameters: T{sub eff} = 544 ± 10 K, g < 600 m s{sup −2}, [M/H] = 0.60 ± 0.12, cloud opacity parameter of f{sub sed} = 2–5, R = 0.96 ± 0.07 R{sub Jup}, and log(L) = −6.13 ± 0.03 L{sub ⊙}, implying a hot start mass of 3–30 M{sub jup} for a conservative age range of 0.1–6.5 Gyr. Of particular interest, our model fits suggest that GJ 504 b has a superstellar metallicity. Since planet formation can create objects with nonstellar metallicities, while binary star formation cannot, this result suggests that GJ 504 b formed like a planet, not like a binary companion.

  10. FINESSE & CASE: Two Proposed Transiting Exoplanet Missions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zellem, Robert Thomas; FINESSE and CASE Science Team

    2018-01-01

    The FINESSE mission concept and the proposed CASE Mission of Opportunity, both recently selected by NASA’s Explorer program to proceed to Step 2, would conduct the first characterizations of exoplanet atmospheres for a statistically significant population. FINESSE would determine whether our Solar System is typical or exceptional, the key characteristics of the planet formation mechanism, and what establishes global planetary climate by spectroscopically surveying 500 exoplanets, ranging from terrestrials with extended atmospheres to sub-Neptunes to gas giants. FINESSE’s broad, instantaneous spectral coverage from 0.5-5 microns and capability to survey hundreds of exoplanets would enable follow-up exploration of TESS discoveries and provide a broader context for interpreting detailed JWST observations. Similarly, CASE, a NASA Mission of Opportunity contribution to ESA’s dedicated transiting exoplanet spectroscopy mission ARIEL, would observe 1000 warm transiting gas giants, Neptunes, and super-Earths, using visible to near-IR photometry and spectroscopy. CASE would quantify the occurrence rate of atmospheric aerosols (clouds and hazes) and measure the geometric albedos of the targets in the ARIEL survey. Thus, with the selection of either of these two missions, NASA would ensure access to critical data for the U.S. exoplanet science community.

  11. WARM SPITZER PHOTOMETRY OF THREE HOT JUPITERS: HAT-P-3b, HAT-P-4b AND HAT-P-12b

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Todorov, Kamen O. [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 (United States); Deming, Drake [Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland at College Park, College Park, MD 20742 (United States); Knutson, Heather A. [Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Burrows, Adam [Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544 (United States); Fortney, Jonathan J.; Laughlin, Gregory [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California at Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States); Lewis, Nikole K. [Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States); Cowan, Nicolas B. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208 (United States); Agol, Eric [Department of Astronomy, University of Washington, Box 351580, Seattle, WA 98195 (United States); Desert, Jean-Michel [Astronomy Department, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Sada, Pedro V. [Department of Physics and Mathematics, University of Monterrey, Monterrey (Mexico); Charbonneau, David [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Langton, Jonathan [Department of Physics, Principia College, Elsah, IL 62028 (United States); Showman, Adam P. [Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States)

    2013-06-20

    We present Warm Spitzer/IRAC secondary eclipse time series photometry of three short-period transiting exoplanets, HAT-P-3b, HAT-P-4b and HAT-P-12b, in both the available 3.6 and 4.5 {mu}m bands. HAT-P-3b and HAT-P-4b are Jupiter-mass objects orbiting an early K and an early G dwarf star, respectively. For HAT-P-3b we find eclipse depths of 0.112%+0.015%-0.030% (3.6 micron) and 0.094%+0.016%-0.009% (4.5 {mu}m). The HAT-P-4b values are 0.142%+0.014%-0.016% (3.6 micron) and 0.122%+0.012%-0.014% 4.5 {mu}m). The two planets' photometry is consistent with inefficient heat redistribution from their day to night sides (and low albedos), but it is inconclusive about possible temperature inversions in their atmospheres. HAT-P-12b is a Saturn-mass planet and is one of the coolest planets ever observed during secondary eclipse, along with the hot Neptune GJ 436b and the hot Saturn WASP-29b. We are able to place 3{sigma} upper limits on the secondary eclipse depth of HAT-P-12b in both wavelengths: <0.042% (3.6 {mu}m) and <0.085% (4.5 {mu}m). We discuss these results in the context of the Spitzer secondary eclipse measurements of GJ 436b and WASP-29b. It is possible that we do not detect the eclipses of HAT-P-12b due to high eccentricity, but find that weak planetary emission in these wavelengths is a more likely explanation. We place 3{sigma} upper limits on the |e cos {omega}| quantity (where e is eccentricity and {omega} is the argument of periapsis) for HAT-P-3b (<0.0081) and HAT-P-4b (<0.0042), based on the secondary eclipse timings.

  12. Simulating the Exoplanet Yield from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barclay, Thomas; Pepper, Joshua; Schlieder, Joshua; Quintana, Elisa

    2018-01-01

    In 2018 NASA will launch the MIT-led Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) which has a goal of detecting terrestrial-mass planets orbiting stars bright enough for mass determination via ground-based radial velocity observations. We inferred how many exoplanets the TESS mission will detect, the physical properties of these detected planets, and the properties of the stars that those planets orbit, subject to certain assumptions about the mission performance. To make these predictions we use samples of stars that are drawn from the TESS Input Catalog Candidate Target List. We place zero or more planets in orbit around these stars with physical properties following known exoplanet occurrence rates, and use the TESS noise model to predict the derived properties of the detected exoplanets. We find that it is feasible to detect around 1000 exoplanets, including 250 smaller than 2 earth-radii using the TESS 2-min cadence data. We examined alternative noise models and detection models and find in our pessimistic model that TESS will detect just 500 exoplanets. When potential detections in the full-frame image data are included, the number of detected planets could increase by a factor of 4. Perhaps most excitingly, TESS will find over 2 dozen planets orbiting in the habitable zone of bright, nearby cool stars. These planets will make ideal candidates for atmospheric characerization by JWST.

  13. A Theory of Exoplanet Transits with Light Scattering

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Robinson, Tyler D., E-mail: tydrobin@ucsc.edu [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States)

    2017-02-20

    Exoplanet transit spectroscopy enables the characterization of distant worlds, and will yield key results for NASA's James Webb Space Telescope . However, transit spectra models are often simplified, omitting potentially important processes like refraction and multiple scattering. While the former process has seen recent development, the effects of light multiple scattering on exoplanet transit spectra have received little attention. Here, we develop a detailed theory of exoplanet transit spectroscopy that extends to the full refracting and multiple scattering case. We explore the importance of scattering for planet-wide cloud layers, where the relevant parameters are the slant scattering optical depth, the scattering asymmetry parameter, and the angular size of the host star. The latter determines the size of the “target” for a photon that is back-mapped from an observer. We provide results that straightforwardly indicate the potential importance of multiple scattering for transit spectra. When the orbital distance is smaller than 10–20 times the stellar radius, multiple scattering effects for aerosols with asymmetry parameters larger than 0.8–0.9 can become significant. We provide examples of the impacts of cloud/haze multiple scattering on transit spectra of a hot Jupiter-like exoplanet. For cases with a forward and conservatively scattering cloud/haze, differences due to multiple scattering effects can exceed 200 ppm, but shrink to zero at wavelength ranges corresponding to strong gas absorption or when the slant optical depth of the cloud exceeds several tens. We conclude with a discussion of types of aerosols for which multiple scattering in transit spectra may be important.

  14. VizieR Online Data Catalog: WASP-22, WASP-41, WASP-42, WASP-55 (Southworth+, 2016)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Southworth, J.; Tregloan-Reed, J.; Andersen, M. I.; Calchi Novati, S.; Ciceri, S.; Colque, J. P.; D'Ago, G.; Dominik, M.; Evans, D. F.; Gu, S.-H.; Herrera-Cordova, A.; Hinse, T. C.; Jorgensen, U. G.; Juncher, D.; Kuffmeier, M.; Mancini, L.; Peixinho, N.; Popovas, A.; Rabus, M.; Skottfelt, J.; Tronsgaard, R.; Unda-Sanzana, E.; Wang, X.-B.; Wertz, O.; Alsubai, K. A.; Andersen, J. M.; Bozza, V.; Bramich, D. M.; Burgdorf, M.; Damerdji, Y.; Diehl, C.; Elyiv, A.; Figuera Jaimes, R.; Haugbolle, T.; Hundertmark, M.; Kains, N.; Kerins, E.; Korhonen, H.; Liebig, C.; Mathiasen, M.; Penny, M. T.; Rahvar, S.; Scarpetta, G.; Schmidt, R. W.; Snodgrass, C.; Starkey, D.; Surdej, J.; Vilela, C.; von Essen, C.; Wang, Y.

    2018-05-01

    17 light curves of transits of the extrasolar planetary systems WASP-22, WASP-41, WASP-42 and WASP-55 are presented. 13 of the light curves were obtained using the Danish 1.54m telescope at ESO La Silla, Chile, in the Bessell R or Bessell I passbands. The other 4 light curves were obtained using the 84cm telescope at Observatorio Cerro Armazones, Chile, using either an R filter or no filter. The errorbars for each transit have been scaled so the best-fitting model (obtained using the JKTEBOP code) has a reduced chi-squared value of 1.0. (4 data files).

  15. High-precision photometry by telescope defocussing - VI. WASP-24, WASP-25 and WASP-26

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Southworth, John; Hinse, T. C.; Burgdorf, M.

    2014-01-01

    We present time series photometric observations of 13 transits in the planetary systems WASP-24, WASP-25 and WASP-26. All three systems have orbital obliquity measurements, WASP-24 and WASP-26 have been observed with Spitzer, and WASP-25 was previously comparatively neglected. Our light curves we...

  16. The Apparently Decaying Orbit of WASP-12b

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patra, Kishore C.; Winn, Joshua N.; Holman, Matthew J.; Yu, Liang; Deming, Drake; Dai, Fei

    2017-07-01

    We present new transit and occultation times for the hot Jupiter WASP-12b. The data are compatible with a constant period derivative: \\dot{P}=-29+/- 3 ms yr-1 and P/\\dot{P}=3.2 {Myr}. However, it is difficult to tell whether we have observed orbital decay or a portion of a 14-year apsidal precession cycle. If interpreted as decay, the star’s tidal quality parameter {Q}\\star is about 2× {10}5. If interpreted as precession, the planet’s Love number is 0.44 ± 0.10. Orbital decay appears to be the more parsimonious model: it is favored by {{Δ }}{χ }2=5.5 despite having two fewer free parameters than the precession model. The decay model implies that WASP-12 was discovered within the final ˜0.2% of its existence, which is an unlikely coincidence but harmonizes with independent evidence that the planet is nearing disruption. Precession does not invoke any temporal coincidence, but it does require some mechanism to maintain an eccentricity of ≈ 0.002 in the face of rapid tidal circularization. To distinguish unequivocally between decay and precession will probably require a few more years of monitoring. Particularly helpful will be occultation timing in 2019 and thereafter.

  17. Extrasolar Planet Transits Observed at Kitt Peak National Observatory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sada, Pedro V.; Jennings, Donald E.; Deming, Drake; Jennings, Donald E.; Jackson, Brian; Hamilton, Catrina M.; Fraine, Jonathan; Peterson, Steven W.; Haase, Flynn; Bays, Kevin; hide

    2012-01-01

    We obtained J-, H-, and JH-band photometry of known extrasolar planet transiting systems at the 2.1 m Kitt Peak National Observatory Telescope using the FLAMINGOS infrared camera between 2008 October and 2011 October. From the derived light curves we have extracted the midtransit times, transit depths and transit durations for these events. The precise midtransit times obtained help improve the orbital periods and also constrain transit-time variations of the systems. For most cases the published system parameters successfully accounted for our observed light curves, but in some instances we derive improved planetary radii and orbital periods. We complemented our 2.1 m infrared observations using CCD z0-band and B-band photometry (plus two H(alpha) filter observations) obtained with the Kitt Peak Visitor Center Telescope, and with four H-band transits observed in 2007 October with the NSO's 1.6 m McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope. The principal highlights of our results are (1) Our ensemble of J-band planetary radii agree with optical radii, with the best-fit relation being RpRJ0:0017 0:979RpRvis. (2) We observe starspot crossings during the transit of WASP-11HAT-P-10. (3) We detect starspot crossings by HAT-P-11b (Kepler-3b), thus confirming that the magnetic evolution of the stellar active regions can be monitored even after the Kepler mission has ended. (4) We confirm a grazing transit for HAT-P-27WASP-40. In total, we present 57 individual transits of 32 known exoplanet systems.

  18. Discovery of KPS-1b, a Transiting Hot-Jupiter, with an Amateur Telescope Setup (Abstract)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benni, P.; Burdanov, A.; Krushinsky, V.; Sokov, E.

    2018-06-01

    (Abstract only) Using readily available amateur equipment, a wide-field telescope (Celestron RASA, 279 mm f/2.2) coupled with a SBIG ST-8300M camera was set up at a private residence in a fairly light polluted suburban town thirty miles outside of Boston, Massachusetts. This telescope participated in the Kourovka Planet Search (KPS) prototype survey, along with a MASTER-II Ural wide field telescope near Yekaterinburg, Russia. One goal was to determine if higher resolution imaging ( 2 arcsec/pixel) with much lower sky coverage can practically detect exoplanet transits compared to the successful very wide-field exoplanet surveys (KELT, XO, WASP, HATnet, TrES, Qatar, etc.) which used an array of small aperture telescopes coupled to CCDs.

  19. THE CURIOUS CASE OF ELEMENTAL ABUNDANCE DIFFERENCES IN THE DUAL HOT JUPITER HOSTS WASP-94A AND B

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Teske, Johanna K. [Carnegie Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, 5241 Broad Branch Road, NW, Washington, DC 20015 (United States); Khanal, Sandhya; Ramírez, Ivan, E-mail: jteske@carnegiescience.edu [McDonald Observatory and Department of Astronomy, University of Texas at Austin, 2515 Speedway, Stop C1402, Austin, TX 78712-1205 (United States)

    2016-03-01

    Binary stars provide an ideal laboratory for investigating the potential effects of planet formation on stellar composition. Assuming that the stars formed in the same environment/from the same material, any compositional anomalies between binary components might indicate differences in how material was sequestered in planets, or accreted by the star in the process of planet formation. We present here a study of the elemental abundance differences between WASP-94A and B, a pair of stars that each host a hot Jupiter exoplanet. The two stars are very similar in spectral type (F8 and F9), and their ∼2700 au separation suggests that their protoplanetary disks were likely not influenced by stellar interactions, but WASP-94Ab’s orbit—misaligned with the host star spin axis and likely retrograde—points toward a dynamically active formation mechanism, perhaps different from that of WASP-94Bb, which is not misaligned and has a nearly circular orbit. Based on our high-quality spectra and strictly relative abundance analysis, we detect a depletion of volatiles (∼−0.02 dex, on average) and enhancement of refractories (∼0.01 dex) in WASP-94A relative to B (standard errors are ∼0.005 dex). This is different from every other published case of binary host star abundances, in which either no significant abundance differences are reported or there is some degree of enhancement in all elements, including volatiles. Several scenarios that may explain the abundance trend are discussed, but none can be definitively accepted or rejected. Additional high-contrast imaging observations to search for companions that may be dynamically affecting the system, as well as a larger sample of binary host star studies, are needed to better understand the curious abundance trends we observe in WASP-94A and B.

  20. Transiting exoplanets: From planet statistics to their physical nature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rauer H.

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available The colloquium "Detection and Dynamics of Transiting Exoplanets" was held at the Observatoire de Haute-Provence and discussed the status of transiting exoplanet investigations in a 4.5 day meeting. Topics addressed ranged from planet detection, a discussion on planet composition and interior structure, atmospheres of hot-Jupiter planets, up to the effect of tides and the dynamical evolution of planetary systems. Here, I give a summary of the recent developments of transiting planet detections and investigations discussed at this meeting.

  1. 3.6 AND 4.5 μm PHASE CURVES OF THE HIGHLY IRRADIATED ECCENTRIC HOT JUPITER WASP-14b

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wong, Ian; Knutson, Heather A. [Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Lewis, Nikole K. [Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Kataria, Tiffany [Astrophysics Group, School of Physics, University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter EX4 4QL (United Kingdom); Burrows, Adam [Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544 (United States); Fortney, Jonathan J.; Laughlin, Gregory [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California at Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95604 (United States); Schwartz, Joel [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208 (United States); Agol, Eric [Department of Astronomy, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195 (United States); Cowan, Nicolas B. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Amherst College, Amherst, MA 01002 (United States); Deming, Drake [Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 (United States); Désert, Jean-Michel [Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Science, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309 (United States); Fulton, Benjamin J.; Howard, Andrew W. [Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI 96822 (United States); Langton, Jonathan [Department of Physics, Principia College, Elsah, IL 62028 (United States); Showman, Adam P. [Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States); Todorov, Kamen, E-mail: iwong@caltech.edu [Institute for Astronomy, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich (Switzerland)

    2015-10-01

    We present full-orbit phase curve observations of the eccentric (e ∼ 0.08) transiting hot Jupiter WASP-14b obtained in the 3.6 and 4.5 μm bands using the Spitzer Space Telescope. We use two different methods for removing the intrapixel sensitivity effect and compare their efficacy in decoupling the instrumental noise. Our measured secondary eclipse depths of 0.1882% ± 0.0048% and 0.2247% ± 0.0086% at 3.6 and 4.5 μm, respectively, are both consistent with a blackbody temperature of 2402 ± 35 K. We place a 2σ upper limit on the nightside flux at 3.6 μm and find it to be 9% ± 1% of the dayside flux, corresponding to a brightness temperature of 1079 K. At 4.5 μm, the minimum planet flux is 30% ± 5% of the maximum flux, corresponding to a brightness temperature of 1380 ± 65 K. We compare our measured phase curves to the predictions of one-dimensional radiative transfer and three-dimensional general circulation models. We find that WASP-14b’s measured dayside emission is consistent with a model atmosphere with equilibrium chemistry and a moderate temperature inversion. These same models tend to overpredict the nightside emission at 3.6 μm, while underpredicting the nightside emission at 4.5 μm. We propose that this discrepancy might be explained by an enhanced global C/O ratio. In addition, we find that the phase curves of WASP-14b (7.8 M{sub Jup}) are consistent with a much lower albedo than those of other Jovian mass planets with thermal phase curve measurements, suggesting that it may be emitting detectable heat from the deep atmosphere or interior processes.

  2. Direct Detection of Polarized, Scattered Light from Exoplanets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laughlin, Gregory

    We propose to radically advance the state of exoplanet characterization, which lags dramatically behind exoplanet discovery. We propose to directly detect scattered light from the atmospheres of close-in, highly eccentric, and extended/non-spherical exoplanets and thereby determine the following: orbital inclination (and therefore masses free of the M sin i mass ambiguity), geometric albedo, presence or lack of hazes and cloud layers, and scattering particle size and composition. Such measurements are crucial to the understanding of exoplanet atmospheres, because observations with NASA s Hubble, Spitzer, and Kepler space telescopes present the following questions: 1) Do exoplanets have highly reflective haze layers? 2) How does the upper atmospheric composition differ between exoplanets with and without thermal inversions? 3) What are the optical manifestations of the extreme heating of highly eccentric exoplanets? 4) Are the atmospheres of certain exoplanets truly escaping their Roche lobes? Using the POLISH2 polarimeter developed by the Postdoctoral Associate (Wiktorowicz) for the Lick 3-m telescope, we propose to monitor the linear polarization state of exoplanet host stars at the part per million level. POLISH2 consistently delivers nearly photon shot noise limited measurements with this precision. In addition, the simultaneous full-Stokes measurements of POLISH2 and the equatorial mount of the Lick 3-m telescope ensure that systematic effects are mitigated to the part per million level. Indeed, we find the accuracy of the POLISH2 polarimeter to be 0.1 parts per million. This instrument and telescope represent the highest precision polarimeter in the world for exoplanet research. We present potential detection of polarized, scattered light from the HD 189733b, Tau Boo b, and WASP-12b exoplanets. We propose to observe hot Jupiters on circular orbits, highly eccentric exoplanets, exoplanets with extended or non-spherical scattering surfaces, and 55 Cnc e, the

  3. Retrieval Analysis of the Emission Spectrum of WASP-12b: Sensitivity of Outcomes to Prior Assumptions and Implications for Formation History

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Oreshenko, Maria; Lavie, Baptiste; Grimm, Simon L.; Tsai, Shang-Min; Malik, Matej; Demory, Brice-Olivier; Mordasini, Christoph; Alibert, Yann; Benz, Willy; Heng, Kevin [University of Bern, Center for Space and Habitability, Gesellschaftsstrasse 6, CH-3012 Bern (Switzerland); Quanz, Sascha P. [ETH Zürich, Department of Physics, Wolfgang-Pauli-Strasse 27, CH-8093 Zürich (Switzerland); Trotta, Roberto, E-mail: maria.oreshenko@csh.unibe.ch, E-mail: kevin.heng@csh.unibe.ch [Astrophysics Group, Imperial College London, Blackett Laboratory, Prince Consort Road, London SW7 2AZ (United Kingdom)

    2017-09-20

    We analyze the emission spectrum of the hot Jupiter WASP-12b using our HELIOS-R retrieval code and HELIOS-K opacity calculator. When interpreting Hubble and Spitzer data, the retrieval outcomes are found to be prior-dominated. When the prior distributions of the molecular abundances are assumed to be log-uniform, the volume mixing ratio of HCN is found to be implausibly high. A VULCAN chemical kinetics model of WASP-12b suggests that chemical equilibrium is a reasonable assumption even when atmospheric mixing is implausibly rigorous. Guided by (exo)planet formation theory, we set Gaussian priors on the elemental abundances of carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen with the Gaussian peaks being centered on the measured C/H, O/H, and N/H values of the star. By enforcing chemical equilibrium, we find substellar O/H and stellar to slightly superstellar C/H for the dayside atmosphere of WASP-12b. The superstellar carbon-to-oxygen ratio is just above unity, regardless of whether clouds are included in the retrieval analysis, consistent with Madhusudhan et al. Furthermore, whether a temperature inversion exists in the atmosphere depends on one’s assumption for the Gaussian width of the priors. Our retrieved posterior distributions are consistent with the formation of WASP-12b in a solar-composition protoplanetary disk, beyond the water iceline, via gravitational instability or pebble accretion (without core erosion) and migration inward to its present orbital location via a disk-free mechanism, and are inconsistent with both in situ formation and core accretion with disk migration, as predicted by Madhusudhan et al. We predict that the interpretation of James Webb Space Telescope WASP-12b data will not be prior-dominated.

  4. PyTranSpot: A tool for multiband light curve modeling of planetary transits and stellar spots

    Science.gov (United States)

    Juvan, Ines G.; Lendl, M.; Cubillos, P. E.; Fossati, L.; Tregloan-Reed, J.; Lammer, H.; Guenther, E. W.; Hanslmeier, A.

    2018-02-01

    Several studies have shown that stellar activity features, such as occulted and non-occulted starspots, can affect the measurement of transit parameters biasing studies of transit timing variations and transmission spectra. We present PyTranSpot, which we designed to model multiband transit light curves showing starspot anomalies, inferring both transit and spot parameters. The code follows a pixellation approach to model the star with its corresponding limb darkening, spots, and transiting planet on a two dimensional Cartesian coordinate grid. We combine PyTranSpot with a Markov chain Monte Carlo framework to study and derive exoplanet transmission spectra, which provides statistically robust values for the physical properties and uncertainties of a transiting star-planet system. We validate PyTranSpot's performance by analyzing eleven synthetic light curves of four different star-planet systems and 20 transit light curves of the well-studied WASP-41b system. We also investigate the impact of starspots on transit parameters and derive wavelength dependent transit depth values for WASP-41b covering a range of 6200-9200 Å, indicating a flat transmission spectrum.

  5. The Transiting Exoplanet Community Early Release Science Program for JWST

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berta-Thompson, Zachory K.; Batalha, Natalie M.; Stevenson, Kevin B.; Bean, Jacob; Sing, David K.; Crossfield, Ian; Knutson, Heather; Line, Michael R.; Kreidberg, Laura; Desert, Jean-Michel; Wakeford, Hannah; Crouzet, Nicolas; Moses, Julianne I.; Benneke, Björn; Kempton, Eliza; Lopez-Morales, Mercedes; Parmentier, Vivien; Gibson, Neale; Schlawin, Everett; Fraine, Jonathan; Kendrew, Sarah; Transiting Exoplanet Community ERS Team

    2018-06-01

    The James Webb Space Telescope offers astronomers the opportunity to observe the composition, structure, and dynamics of transiting exoplanet atmospheres with unprecedented detail. However, such observations require very precise time-series spectroscopic monitoring of bright stars and present unique technical challenges. The Transiting Exoplanet Community Early Release Science Program for JWST aims to help the community understand and overcome these technical challenges as early in the mission as possible, and to enable exciting scientific discoveries through the creation of public exoplanet atmosphere datasets. With observations of three hot Jupiters spanning a range of host star brightnesses, this program will exercise time-series modes with all four JWST instruments and cover a full suite of transiting planet characterization geometries (transits, eclipses, and phase curves). We designed the observational strategy through an open and transparent community effort, with contributions from an international collaboration of over 100 experts in exoplanet observations, theory, and instrumentation. Community engagement with the project will be centered around open Data Challenge activities using both simulated and real ERS data, for exoplanet scientists to cross-validate and improve their analysis tools and theoretical models. Recognizing that the scientific utility of JWST will be determined not only by its hardware and software but also by the community of people who use it, we take an intentional approach toward crafting an inclusive collaboration and encourage new participants to join our efforts.

  6. Toward the detection of exoplanet transits with polarimetry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wiktorowicz, Sloane J. [NASA Sagan Fellow. (United States); Laughlin, Gregory P., E-mail: sloanew@ucolick.org [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States)

    2014-11-01

    In contrast to photometric transits, whose peak signal occurs at mid-transit due to occultation of the brightest region of the disk, polarimetric transits provide a signal upon ingress and egress due to occultation of the polarized stellar limb. Limb polarization, the bright corollary to limb darkening, arises from the 90° scattering angle and low optical depth experienced by photons at the limb. In addition to the ratio R {sub p}/R {sub *}, the amplitude of a polarimetric transit is expected to be controlled by the strength and width of the stellar limb polarization profile, which depend on the scattering-to-total opacity ratio at the stellar limb. We present a short list of the systems providing the highest expected signal-to-noise ratio for detection of this effect, and we draw particular attention to HD 80606b. This planet is spin/orbit misaligned, has a three-hour ingress, and has a bright parent star, which make it an attractive target. We report on test observations of an HD 80606b ingress with the POLISH2 polarimeter at the Lick Observatory Shane 3 m telescope. We conclude that unmodeled telescope systematic effects prevented polarimetric detection of this event. We outline a roadmap for further refinements of exoplanet polarimetry, whose eventual success will require a further factor of ten reduction in systematic noise.

  7. Transiting planetary system WASP-17 (Southworth+, 2012)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Southworth, J.; Hinse, T. C.; Dominik, M.

    2013-01-01

    A light curve of four transits of the extrasolar planetary system WASP-17 is presented. The data were obtained using the Danish 1.5m telescope and DFOSC camera at ESO La Silla in 2012, with substantial telescope defocussing in order to improve the photometric precision of the observations...

  8. Wasp venom proteins: phospholipase A1 and B.

    Science.gov (United States)

    King, T P; Kochoumian, L; Joslyn, A

    1984-04-01

    Three major venom proteins from different species of wasps have been isolated and characterized. They are hyaluronidase, phospholipase, and antigen 5 of as yet unknown biochemical function. These three proteins are allergens in wasp venom-sensitive persons. The species of wasps studied, of the genus Polistes, were annularis, carolina, exclamans, fuscatus, and instabilis. Antigen 5 and phospholipase from wasp venoms were shown to be antigenically distinct from homologous proteins of yellowjacket venoms. The venom phospholipase from wasp, as well as that from yellowjacket (Vespula germanica), appears to have dual enzymatic specificities of the A1 and B types. That is, hydrolysis takes place at the 1-acyl residue of phosphatidylcholine and at the 1- or 2-acyl residue of lysophosphatidylcholine.

  9. Transit Recovery of Kepler-167e: Providing JWST with an Unprecedented Jupiter-analog Exoplanet Target

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dalba, Paul; Muirhead, Philip; Tamburo, Patrick

    2018-05-01

    The Kepler Mission has uncovered a handful of long-period transiting exoplanets that orbit in the cold outer reaches of their systems, despite their low transit probabilities. Recent work suggests that cold gas giant exoplanet atmospheres are amenable to transmission spectroscopy (the analysis of the transit depth versus wavelength) enabling novel tests of planetary formation and evolution theories. Of particular scientific interest is Kepler-167e, a low-eccentricity Jupiter-analog exoplanet with a 1,071-day orbital period residing well beyond the snow-line. Transmission spectroscopy of Kepler-167e from JWST can reveal the composition of this planet's atmosphere, constrain its heavy-element abundance, and identify atmospheric photochemical processes. JWST characterization also enables unprecedented direct comparison with Jupiter and Saturn, which show a striking diversity in physical properties that is best investigated through comparative exoplanetology. Since Kepler only observed two transits of Kepler-167e, it is not known if this exoplanet exhibits transit timing variations (TTVs). About half of Kepler's long-period exoplanets have TTVs of up to 40 hours. Such a large uncertainty jeopardizes attempts to characterize the atmosphere of this unique Jovian exoplanet with JWST. To mitigate this risk, the upcoming third transit of Kepler-167e must be observed to test for TTVs. We propose a simple 10-hour, single-channel observation to capture ingress or egress of the next transit of Kepler-167e in December 2018. In the absence of TTVs, our observation will reduce the ephemeris uncertainty from an unknown value to approximately 3 minutes, thereby removing the risk in future transit observations with JWST. The excellent photometric precision of Spitzer is sufficient to identify the transit of Kepler-167e. Given the timing and nature of this program, Spitzer is the only observatory--on the ground or in space--that can make this pivotal observation.

  10. N-wasp is essential for the negative regulation of B cell receptor signaling.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chaohong Liu

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available Negative regulation of receptor signaling is essential for controlling cell activation and differentiation. In B-lymphocytes, the down-regulation of B-cell antigen receptor (BCR signaling is critical for suppressing the activation of self-reactive B cells; however, the mechanism underlying the negative regulation of signaling remains elusive. Using genetically manipulated mouse models and total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy, we demonstrate that neuronal Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein (N-WASP, which is coexpressed with WASP in all immune cells, is a critical negative regulator of B-cell signaling. B-cell-specific N-WASP gene deletion causes enhanced and prolonged BCR signaling and elevated levels of autoantibodies in the mouse serum. The increased signaling in N-WASP knockout B cells is concurrent with increased accumulation of F-actin at the B-cell surface, enhanced B-cell spreading on the antigen-presenting membrane, delayed B-cell contraction, inhibition in the merger of signaling active BCR microclusters into signaling inactive central clusters, and a blockage of BCR internalization. Upon BCR activation, WASP is activated first, followed by N-WASP in mouse and human primary B cells. The activation of N-WASP is suppressed by Bruton's tyrosine kinase-induced WASP activation, and is restored by the activation of SH2 domain-containing inositol 5-phosphatase that inhibits WASP activation. Our results reveal a new mechanism for the negative regulation of BCR signaling and broadly suggest an actin-mediated mechanism for signaling down-regulation.

  11. Five kepler target stars that show multiple transiting exoplanet candidates

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Steffen..[], Jason H.; Batalha, N. M.; Broucki, W J.

    2010-01-01

    We present and discuss five candidate exoplanetary systems identified with the Kepler spacecraft. These five systems show transits from multiple exoplanet candidates. Should these objects prove to be planetary in nature, then these five systems open new opportunities for the field of exoplanets a...

  12. CoRoT-2b: a Tidally Inflated, Young Exoplanet?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guillot, Tristan; Havel, M.

    2009-09-01

    CoRoT-2b is among the most anomalously large transiting exoplanet known. Due to its large mass (3.3 Mjup), its large radius ( 1.5 Rjup) cannot be explained by standard evolution models. Recipes that work for other anomalously large exoplanets (e.g. HD209458b), such as invoking kinetic energy transport in the planetary interior or increased opacities, clearly fail for CoRoT-2b. Interestingly, the planet's parent star is an active star with a large fraction (7 to 20%) of spots and a rapid rotation (4.5 days). We first model the star's evolution to accurately constrain the planetary parameters. We find that the stellar activity has little influence on the star's evolution and inferred parameters. However, stellar evolution models point towards two kind of solutions for the star-planet system: (i) a very young system (20-40 Ma) with a star still undergoing pre-main sequence contraction, and a planet which could have a radius as low as 1.4 Rjup, or (ii) a young main-sequence star (40 to 500 Ma) with a planet that is slightly more inflated ( 1.5 Rjup). In either case, planetary evolution models require a significant added internal energy to explain the inferred planet size: from a minimum of 3x1028 erg/s in case (i), to up to 1.5x1029 erg/s in case (ii). We find that evolution models consistently including planet/star tides are able to reproduce the inferred radius but only for a short period of time ( 10 Ma). This points towards a young age for the star/planet system and dissipation by tides due to either circularization or synchronization of the planet. Additional observations of the star (infrared excess due to disk?) and of the planet (precise Rossiter effect, IR secondary eclispe) would be highly valuable to understand the early evolution of star-exoplanet systems.

  13. ECLIPSING BINARY SCIENCE VIA THE MERGING OF TRANSIT AND DOPPLER EXOPLANET SURVEY DATA-A CASE STUDY WITH THE MARVELS PILOT PROJECT AND SuperWASP

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fleming, Scott W.; Ge Jian; De Lee, Nathan M.; Zhao Bo; Wan Xiaoke; Guo Pengcheng; Maxted, Pierre F. L.; Anderson, David R.; Hellier, Coel; Hebb, Leslie; Stassun, Keivan G.; Cargile, Phillip A.; Gary, Bruce; Ghezzi, Luan; Wisniewski, John; Porto de Mello, G. F.; Ferreira, Leticia; West, Richard G.; Mahadevan, Suvrath; Pollacco, Don

    2011-01-01

    Exoplanet transit and Doppler surveys discover many binary stars during their operation that can be used to conduct a variety of ancillary science. Specifically, eclipsing binary stars can be used to study the stellar mass-radius relationship and to test predictions of theoretical stellar evolution models. By cross-referencing 24 binary stars found in the MARVELS Pilot Project with SuperWASP photometry, we find two new eclipsing binaries, TYC 0272-00458-1 and TYC 1422-01328-1, which we use as case studies to develop a general approach to eclipsing binaries in survey data. TYC 0272-00458-1 is a single-lined spectroscopic binary for which we calculate a mass of the secondary and radii for both components using reasonable constraints on the primary mass through several different techniques. For a primary mass of M 1 = 0.92 ± 0.1 M sun , we find M 2 = 0.610 ± 0.036 M sun , R 1 = 0.932 ± 0.076 R sun , and R 2 = 0.559 ± 0.102 R sun , and find that both stars have masses and radii consistent with model predictions. TYC 1422-01328-1 is a triple-component system for which we can directly measure the masses and radii of the eclipsing pair. We find that the eclipsing pair consists of an evolved primary star (M 1 = 1.163 ± 0.034 M sun , R 1 = 2.063 ± 0.058 R sun ) and a G-type dwarf secondary (M 2 = 0.905 ± 0.067 M sun , R 2 = 0.887 ± 0.037 R sun ). We provide the framework necessary to apply this analysis to much larger data sets.

  14. Photometric investigation of hot exoplanets: TrES-3b and Qatar-1b

    Science.gov (United States)

    Püsküllü, Ç.; Soydugan, F.; Erdem, A.; Budding, E.

    2017-08-01

    New photometric follow-up observations of transitting 'hot Jupiters' TrES-3b and Qatar-1b are presented. Weighted mean values of the solutions of light curves in R-filter for both planetary systems are reported and compared with the previous results. The transit light curves were analysed using the WINFITTER code. The physical properties of the planets were estimated. The planet radii are found to be Rp = 1.381 ± 0.033RJ for TrES-3b and Rp = 1.142 ± 0.025RJ for Qatar-1b. Transit times and their uncertainties were also determined and a new linear ephemeris was computed for both systems. Analysis of transit times showed that a significant signal could not be determined for TrES-3b, while weak evidence was found for Qatar-1b, which might be tested using more precise future transit times.

  15. THE HOMOGENEOUS STUDY OF TRANSITING SYSTEMS (HoSTS). I. THE PILOT STUDY OF WASP-13

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gomez Maqueo Chew, Yilen; Cargile, Phillip; Hebb, Leslie; Stassun, Keivan G. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235 (United States); Faedi, Francesca; Pollacco, Don [Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL (United Kingdom); Doyle, Amanda P.; Smalley, Barry [Astrophysics Group, Keele University, Staffordshire ST5 5BG (United Kingdom); Ghezzi, Luan; Cunha, Katia; Smith, Verne V. [Observatorio Nacional, Rua Gal. Jose Cristino 77, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 20921-400 (Brazil); Sousa, Sergio; Santos, Nuno C. [Centro de Astrofisica, Universidade do Porto, Rua das Estrelas, 4150-762 Porto (Portugal); Barros, Susana C. C. [LAM (Laboratoire d' Astrophysique de Marseille) UMR 7326, Aix Marseille Universite, CNRS, F-13388 Marseille (France); Schuler, Simon C. [Stewart Observatory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States); Collier Cameron, Andrew, E-mail: yilen.gomez@vanderbilt.edu [School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9SS (United Kingdom)

    2013-05-01

    We present the fundamental stellar and planetary properties of the transiting planetary system WASP-13 within the framework of the Homogeneous Study of Transiting Systems (HoSTS). HoSTS aims to derive the fundamental stellar (T{sub eff}, [Fe/H], M{sub *}, R{sub *}) and planetary (M{sub pl}, R{sub pl}, T{sub eq}) physical properties of known transiting planets using a consistent methodology and homogeneous high-quality data set. Four spectral analysis techniques are independently applied to a Keck+HIRES spectrum of WASP-13 considering two distinct cases: unconstrained parameters and constrained log g from transit light curves. We check the derived stellar temperature against that from a different temperature diagnostic based on an INT+IDS H{alpha} spectrum. The four unconstrained analyses render results that are in good agreement, and provide an improvement of 50% in the precision of T{sub eff}, and of 85% in [Fe/H] with respect to the WASP-13 discovery paper. The planetary parameters are then derived via the Monte Carlo Markov Chain modeling of the radial velocity and light curves, in iteration with stellar evolutionary models to derive realistic uncertainties. WASP-13 (1.187 {+-} 0.065 M{sub Sun }; 1.574 {+-} 0.048 R{sub Sun }) hosts a Saturn-mass, transiting planet (0.500 {+-} 0.037 M{sub Jup}; 1.407 {+-} 0.052 R{sub Jup}), and is at the end of its main-sequence lifetime (4-5.5 Gyr). Our analysis of WASP-13 showcases that both a detailed stellar characterization and transit modeling are necessary to well determine the fundamental properties of planetary systems, which are paramount in identifying and determining empirical relationships between transiting planets and their hosts.

  16. The Automation and Exoplanet Orbital Characterization from the Gemini Planet Imager Exoplanet Survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jinfei Wang, Jason; Graham, James; Perrin, Marshall; Pueyo, Laurent; Savransky, Dmitry; Kalas, Paul; arriaga, Pauline; Chilcote, Jeffrey K.; De Rosa, Robert J.; Ruffio, Jean-Baptiste; Sivaramakrishnan, Anand; Gemini Planet Imager Exoplanet Survey Collaboration

    2018-01-01

    The Gemini Planet Imager (GPI) Exoplanet Survey (GPIES) is a multi-year 600-star survey to discover and characterize young Jovian exoplanets and their planet forming environments. For large surveys like GPIES, it is critical to have a uniform dataset processed with the latest techniques and calibrations. I will describe the GPI Data Cruncher, an automated data processing framework that is able to generate fully reduced data minutes after the data are taken and can also reprocess the entire campaign in a single day on a supercomputer. The Data Cruncher integrates into a larger automated data processing infrastructure which syncs, logs, and displays the data. I will discuss the benefits of the GPIES data infrastructure, including optimizing observing strategies, finding planets, characterizing instrument performance, and constraining giant planet occurrence. I will also discuss my work in characterizing the exoplanets we have imaged in GPIES through monitoring their orbits. Using advanced data processing algorithms and GPI's precise astrometric calibration, I will show that GPI can achieve one milliarcsecond astrometry on the extensively-studied planet Beta Pic b. With GPI, we can confidently rule out a possible transit of Beta Pic b, but have precise timings on a Hill sphere transit, and I will discuss efforts to search for transiting circumplanetary material this year. I will also discuss the orbital monitoring of other exoplanets as part of GPIES.

  17. Directly imaged L-T transition exoplanets in the mid-infrared {sup ,}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Skemer, Andrew J.; Hinz, Philip M.; Morzinski, Katie M.; Leisenring, Jarron M.; Close, Laird M.; Bailey, Vanessa P.; Defrere, Denis; Follette, Katherine B.; Males, Jared R.; Rodigas, Timothy J. [Steward Observatory, Department of Astronomy, University of Arizona, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States); Marley, Mark S. [NASA Ames Research Center, MS-245-3, Moffett Field, CA 94035 (United States); Skrutskie, Michael F. [Department of Astronomy, University of Virginia, 530 McCormick Road, Charlottesville, VA 22904 (United States); Saumon, Didier [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Mail Stop F663, Los Alamos, NM 87545 (United States); Briguglio, Runa; Esposito, Simone; Puglisi, Alfio; Xompero, Marco [Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri Largo E. Fermi 5 50125 Firenze (Italy); Hill, John M. [Large Binocular Telescope Observatory, University of Arizona, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States)

    2014-09-01

    Gas-giant planets emit a large fraction of their light in the mid-infrared (≳3 μm), where photometry and spectroscopy are critical to our understanding of the bulk properties of extrasolar planets. Of particular importance are the L- and M-band atmospheric windows (3-5 μm), which are the longest wavelengths currently accessible to ground-based, high-contrast imagers. We present binocular LBT adaptive optics (AO) images of the HR 8799 planetary system in six narrow-band filters from 3 to 4 μm, and a Magellan AO image of the 2M1207 planetary system in a broader 3.3 μm band. These systems encompass the five known exoplanets with luminosities consistent with L → T transition brown dwarfs. Our results show that the exoplanets are brighter and have shallower spectral slopes than equivalent temperature brown dwarfs in a wavelength range that contains the methane fundamental absorption feature (spanned by the narrow-band filters and encompassed by the broader 3.3 μm filter). For 2M1207 b, we find that thick clouds and non-equilibrium chemistry caused by vertical mixing can explain the object's appearance. For the HR 8799 planets, we present new models that suggest the atmospheres must have patchy clouds, along with non-equilibrium chemistry. Together, the presence of a heterogeneous surface and vertical mixing presents a picture of dynamic planetary atmospheres in which both horizontal and vertical motions influence the chemical and condensate profiles.

  18. POLARIMETRIC DETECTION OF EXOPLANETS TRANSITING T AND L BROWN DWARFS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sengupta, Sujan

    2016-01-01

    While scattering of light by atoms and molecules yields large amounts of polarization at the B-band of both T and L dwarfs, scattering by dust grains in the cloudy atmosphere of L dwarfs gives rise to significant polarization at the far-optical and infrared wavelengths where these objects are much brighter. However, the observable disk-averaged polarization should be zero if the clouds are uniformly distributed and the object is spherically symmetric. Therefore, in order to explain the observed large polarization of several L dwarfs, rotation-induced oblateness or horizontally inhomogeneous cloud distribution in the atmosphere is invoked. On the other hand, when an extra-solar planet of Earth-size or larger transits the brown dwarf along the line of sight, the asymmetry induced during the transit gives rise to a net non-zero, time-dependent polarization. Employing atmospheric models for a range of effective temperature and surface gravity appropriate for T and L dwarfs, I derive the time-dependent polarization profiles of these objects during the transit phase and estimate the peak amplitude of polarization that occurs during the inner contact points of the transit ingress/egress phase. It is found that peak polarization in the range of 0.2%–1.0% at I and J band may arise of cloudy L dwarfs occulted by Earth-size or larger exoplanets. Such an amount of polarization is higher than what can be produced by rotation-induced oblateness of even rapidly rotating L dwarfs. Hence, I suggest that time-resolved imaging polarization could be a potential technique for detecting transiting exoplanets around L dwarfs.

  19. POLARIMETRIC DETECTION OF EXOPLANETS TRANSITING T AND L BROWN DWARFS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sengupta, Sujan, E-mail: sujan@iiap.res.in [Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Koramangala 2nd Block, Bangalore 560 034 (India)

    2016-10-01

    While scattering of light by atoms and molecules yields large amounts of polarization at the B-band of both T and L dwarfs, scattering by dust grains in the cloudy atmosphere of L dwarfs gives rise to significant polarization at the far-optical and infrared wavelengths where these objects are much brighter. However, the observable disk-averaged polarization should be zero if the clouds are uniformly distributed and the object is spherically symmetric. Therefore, in order to explain the observed large polarization of several L dwarfs, rotation-induced oblateness or horizontally inhomogeneous cloud distribution in the atmosphere is invoked. On the other hand, when an extra-solar planet of Earth-size or larger transits the brown dwarf along the line of sight, the asymmetry induced during the transit gives rise to a net non-zero, time-dependent polarization. Employing atmospheric models for a range of effective temperature and surface gravity appropriate for T and L dwarfs, I derive the time-dependent polarization profiles of these objects during the transit phase and estimate the peak amplitude of polarization that occurs during the inner contact points of the transit ingress/egress phase. It is found that peak polarization in the range of 0.2%–1.0% at I and J band may arise of cloudy L dwarfs occulted by Earth-size or larger exoplanets. Such an amount of polarization is higher than what can be produced by rotation-induced oblateness of even rapidly rotating L dwarfs. Hence, I suggest that time-resolved imaging polarization could be a potential technique for detecting transiting exoplanets around L dwarfs.

  20. Pixel-Level Decorrelation and BiLinearly Interpolated Subpixel Sensitivity applied to WASP-29b

    Science.gov (United States)

    Challener, Ryan; Harrington, Joseph; Cubillos, Patricio; Blecic, Jasmina; Deming, Drake

    2017-10-01

    Measured exoplanet transit and eclipse depths can vary significantly depending on the methodology used, especially at the low S/N levels in Spitzer eclipses. BiLinearly Interpolated Subpixel Sensitivity (BLISS) models a physical, spatial effect, which is independent of any astrophysical effects. Pixel-Level Decorrelation (PLD) uses the relative variations in pixels near the target to correct for flux variations due to telescope motion. PLD is being widely applied to all Spitzer data without a thorough understanding of its behavior. It is a mathematical method derived from a Taylor expansion, and many of its parameters do not have a physical basis. PLD also relies heavily on binning the data to remove short time-scale variations, which can artifically smooth the data. We applied both methods to 4 eclipse observations of WASP-29b, a Saturn-sized planet, which was observed twice with the 3.6 µm and twice with the 4.5 µm channels of Spitzer's IRAC in 2010, 2011 and 2014 (programs 60003, 70084, and 10054, respectively). We compare the resulting eclipse depths and midpoints from each model, assess each method's ability to remove correlated noise, and discuss how to choose or combine the best data analysis methods. We also refined the orbit from eclipse timings, detecting a significant nonzero eccentricity, and we used our Bayesian Atmospheric Radiative Transfer (BART) code to retrieve the planet's atmosphere, which is consistent with a blackbody. Spitzer is operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with NASA. This work was supported by NASA Planetary Atmospheres grant NNX12AI69G and NASA Astrophysics Data Analysis Program grant NNX13AF38G.

  1. Warm Spitzer and Palomar near-IR secondary eclipse photometry of two hot Jupiters: WASP-48b and HAT-P-23b

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    O' Rourke, Joseph G.; Knutson, Heather A.; Désert, Jean-Michel [Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Zhao, Ming [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, 525 Davey Laboratory, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 (United States); Fortney, Jonathan J. [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States); Burrows, Adam [Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 05844 (United States); Agol, Eric [Department of Astronomy, University of Washington, Box 351580, Seattle, WA 98195 (United States); Deming, Drake [Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 (United States); Howard, Andrew W. [Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822 (United States); Lewis, Nikole K. [Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States); Showman, Adam P. [Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States); Todorov, Kamen O. [Institute for Astronomy, ETH Zürich, Wolfgang-Pauli-Strasse 27, 8093 Zürich (Switzerland)

    2014-02-01

    We report secondary eclipse photometry of two hot Jupiters, WASP-48b and HAT-P-23b, at 3.6 and 4.5 μm taken with the InfraRed Array Camera aboard the Spitzer Space Telescope during the warm Spitzer mission and in the H and K{sub S} bands with the Wide Field IR Camera at the Palomar 200 inch Hale Telescope. WASP-48b and HAT-P-23b are Jupiter-mass and twice Jupiter-mass objects orbiting an old, slightly evolved F star and an early G dwarf star, respectively. In the H, K{sub S} , 3.6 μm, and 4.5 μm bands, respectively, we measure secondary eclipse depths of 0.047% ± 0.016%, 0.109% ± 0.027%, 0.176% ± 0.013%, and 0.214% ± 0.020% for WASP-48b. In the K{sub S} , 3.6 μm, and 4.5 μm bands, respectively, we measure secondary eclipse depths of 0.234% ± 0.046%, 0.248% ± 0.019%, and 0.309% ± 0.026% for HAT-P-23b. For WASP-48b and HAT-P-23b, respectively, we measure delays of 2.6 ± 3.9 minutes and 4.0 ± 2.4 minutes relative to the predicted times of secondary eclipse for circular orbits, placing 2σ upper limits on |ecos ω| of 0.0053 and 0.0080, both of which are consistent with circular orbits. The dayside emission spectra of these planets are well-described by blackbodies with effective temperatures of 2158 ± 100 K (WASP-48b) and 2154 ± 90 K (HAT-P-23b), corresponding to moderate recirculation in the zero albedo case. Our measured eclipse depths are also consistent with one-dimensional radiative transfer models featuring varying degrees of recirculation and weak thermal inversions or no inversions at all. We discuss how the absence of strong temperature inversions on these planets may be related to the activity levels and metallicities of their host stars.

  2. Orbital misalignment of the Neptune-mass exoplanet GJ 436b with the spin of its cool star

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bourrier, Vincent; Lovis, Christophe; Beust, Hervé; Ehrenreich, David; Henry, Gregory W.; Astudillo-Defru, Nicola; Allart, Romain; Bonfils, Xavier; Ségransan, Damien; Delfosse, Xavier; Cegla, Heather M.; Wyttenbach, Aurélien; Heng, Kevin; Lavie, Baptiste; Pepe, Francesco

    2018-01-01

    The angle between the spin of a star and the orbital planes of its planets traces the history of the planetary system. Exoplanets orbiting close to cool stars are expected to be on circular, aligned orbits because of strong tidal interactions with the stellar convective envelope. Spin–orbit alignment can be measured when the planet transits its star, but such ground-based spectroscopic measurements are challenging for cool, slowly rotating stars. Here we report the three-dimensional characterization of the trajectory of an exoplanet around an M dwarf star, derived by mapping the spectrum of the stellar photosphere along the chord transited by the planet. We find that the eccentric orbit of the Neptune-mass exoplanet GJ 436b is nearly perpendicular to the stellar equator. Both eccentricity and misalignment, surprising around a cool star, can result from dynamical interactions (via Kozai migration) with a yet-undetected outer companion. This inward migration of GJ 436b could have triggered the atmospheric escape that now sustains its giant exosphere.

  3. K2-231 b: A Sub-Neptune Exoplanet Transiting a Solar Twin in Ruprecht 147

    Science.gov (United States)

    Curtis, Jason Lee; Vanderburg, Andrew; Torres, Guillermo; Kraus, Adam L.; Huber, Daniel; Mann, Andrew W.; Rizzuto, Aaron C.; Isaacson, Howard; Howard, Andrew W.; Henze, Christopher E.; Fulton, Benjamin J.; Wright, Jason T.

    2018-04-01

    We identify a sub-Neptune exoplanet (R p = 2.5 ± 0.2 {R}\\oplus ) transiting a solar twin in the Ruprecht 147 star cluster (3 Gyr, 300 pc, [Fe/H] = +0.1 dex). The ∼81 day light curve for EPIC 219800881 (V = 12.71) from K2 Campaign 7 shows six transits with a period of 13.84 days, a depth of ∼0.06%, and a duration of ∼4 hr. Based on our analysis of high-resolution MIKE spectra, broadband optical and NIR photometry, the cluster parallax and interstellar reddening, and isochrone models from PARSEC, Dartmouth, and MIST, we estimate the following properties for the host star: M ⋆ = 1.01 ± 0.03 {M}ȯ , R ⋆ = 0.95 ± 0.03 {R}ȯ , and {T}{{eff}} = 5695 ± 50 K. This star appears to be single based on our modeling of the photometry, the low radial velocity (RV) variability measured over nearly 10 yr, and Keck/NIRC2 adaptive optics imaging and aperture-masking interferometry. Applying a probabilistic mass–radius relation, we estimate that the mass of this planet is M p = 7 + 5 – 3 {M}\\oplus , which would cause an RV semi-amplitude of K = 2 ± 1 {\\text{m s}}-1 that may be measurable with existing precise RV facilities. After statistically validating this planet with BLENDER, we now designate it K2-231b, making it the second substellar object to be discovered in Ruprecht 147 and the first planet; it joins the small but growing ranks of 22 other planets and three candidates found in open clusters.

  4. Direct evidence for an evolving dust cloud in the exoplanet KIC 12557548 b

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bochinski, J. J.; Haswell, C. A.; Dhillon, V. S.; Littlefair, S. P.; Marsh, T. R.

    2014-04-01

    We present simultaneous multi-color optical photometry of the transiting exoplanet KIC 12557548 b which reveals, for the first time, the colour dependence of the transit depth. These depths are consistent with dust extinction as observed in the ISM, but require grain sizes comparable to the largest found in the ISM: 0.25μm - 1μm. This provides direct evidence in favour of the disrupting low-mass rocky planet model for this object. Our light curves also give the the highest-quality coverage of individual transits to date. The smooth low amplitude pre-ingress and post-egress features, and the sharp V-shaped transits noted and modelled in the phase-folded Kepler data are probably artefacts of averaging many transits of variable shape. Our light curves reveal instead a step-like shoulder in the egress. The transit shape overall is not too different from that caused by a circular disc of occulting material, suggesting that the bulk of the extincting dust is not significantly elongated along the orbital path. The changing wavelength-dependent transit depth offers an unprecedented opportunity to determine the composition of the disintegrating rocky body KIC 12557548 b. We detected 3 out-of-transit u' band events consistent with stellar flares. These could be signatures of star-planet interactions.

  5. CHEMICAL CONSEQUENCES OF THE C/O RATIO ON HOT JUPITERS: EXAMPLES FROM WASP-12b, CoRoT-2b, XO-1b, AND HD 189733b

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Moses, J. I. [Space Science Institute, 4750 Walnut Street, Suite 205, Boulder, CO 80301 (United States); Madhusudhan, N. [Department of Physics and Department of Astronomy, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520-8101 (United States); Visscher, C. [Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302 (United States); Freedman, R. S., E-mail: jmoses@spacescience.org [SETI Institute, Mountain View, CA 94043 (United States)

    2013-01-20

    Motivated by recent spectroscopic evidence for carbon-rich atmospheres on some transiting exoplanets, we investigate the influence of the C/O ratio on the chemistry, composition, and spectra of extrasolar giant planets both from a thermochemical equilibrium perspective and from consideration of disequilibrium processes like photochemistry and transport-induced quenching. We find that although CO is predicted to be a major atmospheric constituent on hot Jupiters for all C/O ratios, other oxygen-bearing molecules like H{sub 2}O and CO{sub 2} are much more abundant when C/O < 1, whereas CH{sub 4}, HCN, and C{sub 2}H{sub 2} gain significantly in abundance when C/O > 1. Other notable species like N{sub 2} and NH{sub 3} that do not contain carbon or oxygen are relatively unaffected by the C/O ratio. Disequilibrium processes tend to enhance the abundance of CH{sub 4}, NH{sub 3}, HCN, and C{sub 2}H{sub 2} over a wide range of C/O ratios. We compare the results of our models with secondary-eclipse photometric data from the Spitzer Space Telescope and conclude that (1) disequilibrium models with C/O {approx} 1 are consistent with spectra of WASP-12b, XO-1b, and CoRoT-2b, confirming the possible carbon-rich nature of these planets; (2) spectra from HD 189733b are consistent with C/O {approx}< 1, but as the assumed metallicity is increased above solar, the required C/O ratio must increase toward 1 to prevent too much H{sub 2}O absorption; (3) species like HCN can have a significant influence on spectral behavior in the 3.6 and 8.0 {mu}m Spitzer channels, potentially providing even more opacity than CH{sub 4} when C/O > 1; and (4) the very high CO{sub 2} abundance inferred for HD 189733b from near-infrared observations cannot be explained through equilibrium or disequilibrium chemistry in a hydrogen-dominated atmosphere. We discuss possible formation mechanisms for carbon-rich hot Jupiters, including scenarios in which the accretion of CO-rich, H{sub 2}O-poor gas dominates the

  6. Anti-WASP intrabodies inhibit inflammatory responses induced by Toll-like receptors 3, 7, and 9, in macrophages

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sakuma, Chisato; Sato, Mitsuru; Oshima, Takuma; Takenouchi, Takato; Chiba, Joe; Kitani, Hiroshi

    2015-01-01

    Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein (WASP) is an adaptor molecule in immune cells. Recently, we showed that the WASP N-terminal domain interacted with the SH3 domain of Bruton's tyrosine kinase (Btk), and that the complex formed by WASP and Btk was important for TLR2 and TLR4 signaling in macrophages. Several other studies have shown that Btk played important roles in modulating innate immune responses through TLRs in immune cells. Here, we evaluated the significance of the interaction between WASP and Btk in TLR3, TLR7, and TLR9 signaling. We established bone marrow–derived macrophage cell lines from transgenic (Tg) mice that expressed intracellular antibodies (intrabodies) that specifically targeted the WASP N-terminal domain. One intrabody comprised the single-chain variable fragment and the other comprised the light-chain variable region single domain of an anti-WASP N-terminal monoclonal antibody. Both intrabodies inhibited the specific interaction between WASP and Btk, which impaired the expression of TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β in response to TLR3, TLR7, or TLR9 stimulation. Furthermore, the intrabodies inhibited the phosphorylation of both nuclear factor (NF)-κB and WASP in response to TLR3, TLR7, or TLR9 stimulation, in the Tg bone marrow-derived macrophages. These results suggested that WASP plays important roles in TLR3, TLR7, and TLR9 signaling by associating with Btk in macrophages. - Highlights: • The interaction between WASP and Btk is critical for TLR3, TLR7, and TLR9 signaling. • Anti-WASP intrabodies inhibited several TLR pathways that led to cytokine expression. • Phosphorylation of NF-κB via TLR signaling was inhibited by anti-WASP intrabodies. • WASP phosphorylation via several TLR ligands was inhibited by anti-WASP intrabodies

  7. Anti-WASP intrabodies inhibit inflammatory responses induced by Toll-like receptors 3, 7, and 9, in macrophages

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sakuma, Chisato [Animal Immune and Cell Biology Research Unit, National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, 1-2 Ohwashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8634 (Japan); Sato, Mitsuru, E-mail: mitsuru.sato@affrc.go.jp [Animal Immune and Cell Biology Research Unit, National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, 1-2 Ohwashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8634 (Japan); Oshima, Takuma [Department of Biological Science and Technology, Graduate School of Faculty of Industrial Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science, 2641 Yamazaki, Noda, Chiba, 278-8510 (Japan); Takenouchi, Takato [Animal Immune and Cell Biology Research Unit, National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, 1-2 Ohwashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8634 (Japan); Chiba, Joe [Department of Biological Science and Technology, Graduate School of Faculty of Industrial Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science, 2641 Yamazaki, Noda, Chiba, 278-8510 (Japan); Kitani, Hiroshi [Animal Immune and Cell Biology Research Unit, National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, 1-2 Ohwashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8634 (Japan)

    2015-02-27

    Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein (WASP) is an adaptor molecule in immune cells. Recently, we showed that the WASP N-terminal domain interacted with the SH3 domain of Bruton's tyrosine kinase (Btk), and that the complex formed by WASP and Btk was important for TLR2 and TLR4 signaling in macrophages. Several other studies have shown that Btk played important roles in modulating innate immune responses through TLRs in immune cells. Here, we evaluated the significance of the interaction between WASP and Btk in TLR3, TLR7, and TLR9 signaling. We established bone marrow–derived macrophage cell lines from transgenic (Tg) mice that expressed intracellular antibodies (intrabodies) that specifically targeted the WASP N-terminal domain. One intrabody comprised the single-chain variable fragment and the other comprised the light-chain variable region single domain of an anti-WASP N-terminal monoclonal antibody. Both intrabodies inhibited the specific interaction between WASP and Btk, which impaired the expression of TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β in response to TLR3, TLR7, or TLR9 stimulation. Furthermore, the intrabodies inhibited the phosphorylation of both nuclear factor (NF)-κB and WASP in response to TLR3, TLR7, or TLR9 stimulation, in the Tg bone marrow-derived macrophages. These results suggested that WASP plays important roles in TLR3, TLR7, and TLR9 signaling by associating with Btk in macrophages. - Highlights: • The interaction between WASP and Btk is critical for TLR3, TLR7, and TLR9 signaling. • Anti-WASP intrabodies inhibited several TLR pathways that led to cytokine expression. • Phosphorylation of NF-κB via TLR signaling was inhibited by anti-WASP intrabodies. • WASP phosphorylation via several TLR ligands was inhibited by anti-WASP intrabodies.

  8. A SEMI-ANALYTICAL MODEL OF VISIBLE-WAVELENGTH PHASE CURVES OF EXOPLANETS AND APPLICATIONS TO KEPLER- 7 B AND KEPLER- 10 B

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hu, Renyu [Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109 (United States); Demory, Brice-Olivier [Astrophysics Group, Cavendish Laboratory, J.J. Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE (United Kingdom); Seager, Sara; Lewis, Nikole [Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States); Showman, Adam P., E-mail: renyu.hu@jpl.nasa.gov [Department of Planetary Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States)

    2015-03-20

    Kepler has detected numerous exoplanet transits by measuring stellar light in a single visible-wavelength band. In addition to detection, the precise photometry provides phase curves of exoplanets, which can be used to study the dynamic processes on these planets. However, the interpretation of these observations can be complicated by the fact that visible-wavelength phase curves can represent both thermal emission and scattering from the planets. Here we present a semi-analytical model framework that can be applied to study Kepler and future visible-wavelength phase curve observations of exoplanets. The model efficiently computes reflection and thermal emission components for both rocky and gaseous planets, considering both homogeneous and inhomogeneous surfaces or atmospheres. We analyze the phase curves of the gaseous planet Kepler- 7 b and the rocky planet Kepler- 10 b using the model. In general, we find that a hot exoplanet’s visible-wavelength phase curve having a significant phase offset can usually be explained by two classes of solutions: one class requires a thermal hot spot shifted to one side of the substellar point, and the other class requires reflective clouds concentrated on the same side of the substellar point. Particularly for Kepler- 7 b, reflective clouds located on the west side of the substellar point can best explain its phase curve. The reflectivity of the clear part of the atmosphere should be less than 7% and that of the cloudy part should be greater than 80%, and the cloud boundary should be located at 11° ± 3° to the west of the substellar point. We suggest single-band photometry surveys could yield valuable information on exoplanet atmospheres and surfaces.

  9. RE-EVALUATING WASP-12b: STRONG EMISSION AT 2.315 μm, DEEPER OCCULTATIONS, AND AN ISOTHERMAL ATMOSPHERE

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Crossfield, Ian J. M.; Barman, Travis; Hansen, Brad M. S.; Tanaka, Ichi; Kodama, Tadayuki

    2012-01-01

    We revisit the atmospheric properties of the extremely hot Jupiter WASP-12b in light of several new developments. First, we present new narrowband (2.315 μm) secondary eclipse photometry, which exhibits a planet/star flux ratio of 0.45% ± 0.06%, corresponding to a brightness temperature of 3640 ± 230 K; second, recent Spitzer/Infrared Array Camera and Hubble Space Telescope/Wide Field Camera 3 observations; and third, a recently observed star only 1'' from WASP-12, which has diluted previous observations and which we further characterize here. We correct past WASP-12b eclipse measurements for the presence of this object, and we revisit the interpretation of WASP-12b's dilution-corrected emission spectrum. The resulting planetary emission spectrum is well approximated by a blackbody, and consequently our primary conclusion is that the planet's infrared photosphere is nearly isothermal. Thus, secondary eclipse spectroscopy is relatively ill suited to constrain WASP-12b's atmospheric abundances, and transmission spectroscopy may be necessary to achieve this goal.

  10. Revisiting the Phase Curves of WASP-43b: Confronting Re-analyzed Spitzer Data with Cloudy Atmospheres

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mendonça, João M.; Malik, Matej; Demory, Brice-Olivier; Heng, Kevin

    2018-04-01

    Recently acquired Hubble and Spitzer phase curves of the short-period hot Jupiter WASP-43b make it an ideal target for confronting theory with data. On the observational front, we re-analyze the 3.6 and 4.5 μm Spitzer phase curves and demonstrate that our improved analysis better removes residual red noise due to intra-pixel sensitivity, which leads to greater fluxes emanating from the nightside of WASP-43b, thus reducing the tension between theory and data. On the theoretical front, we construct cloud-free and cloudy atmospheres of WASP-43b using our Global Circulation Model (GCM), THOR, which solves the non-hydrostatic Euler equations (compared to GCMs that typically solve the hydrostatic primitive equations). The cloud-free atmosphere produces a reasonable fit to the dayside emission spectrum. The multi-phase emission spectra constrain the cloud deck to be confined to the nightside and have a finite cloud-top pressure. The multi-wavelength phase curves are naturally consistent with our cloudy atmospheres, except for the 4.5 μm phase curve, which requires the presence of enhanced carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of WASP-43b. Multi-phase emission spectra at higher spectral resolution, as may be obtained using the James Webb Space Telescope, and a reflected-light phase curve at visible wavelengths would further constrain the properties of clouds in WASP-43b.

  11. Qatar Exoplanet Survey

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Alsubai, Khalid; Mislis, Dimitris; Tsvetanov, Zlatan I.

    2017-01-01

    We report the discovery of Qatar-3b, Qatar-4b, and Qatar-5b, three new transiting planets identified by the Qatar Exoplanet Survey. The three planets belong to the hot Jupiter family, with orbital periods of PQ3b=2.50792 days, PQ4b=1.80539 days, and PQ5b=2.87923 days. Follow-up spectroscopic......3= 1.145±0.064 Ṁ, MQ4=0.896±0.048Ṁ, MQ5=1.128±0.056 Ṁ and RQ3=1.272±0.14 RṀ, RQ4=0.849±0.063 R , and RQ5=1.076±0.051 Ṙ for Qatar-3, 4, and 5 respectively. The V magnitudes of the three host stars are VQ3=12.88, VQ4=13.60, and VQ5=12.82. All three new planets can be classified as heavy hot Jupiters...

  12. Probing Into the Atmosphere of the Young Exoplanet K2-25b

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chia Thao, Pa; Mann, Andrew

    2018-01-01

    Planets are most transformative during their early life, yet there remains little research on this developmental stage. In order to construct a more accurate picture of the diversity and evolution of planetary atmospheres, we present Spitzer infrared photometry of five transits both in 3.6 μm and 4.5 μm bands of the young exoplanet, K2-25b (650-800 Myr). To correct for the intra-pixel photometric response, we interpolated high-resolution sensitivity maps. Light curves were then created using a transit model and an MCMC framework to find the planet parameters in each wavelength. In comparison to atmospheric theoretical models, we find K2-25b unlikely to have a solar-metallicity atmosphere. However, observed through a full transmission spectrum, K2-25b is consistent with either a high-metallicity atmosphere or a cloudy/hazy layer. Further HST data would provide significantly more detail on the structure of the atmosphere. In a future project, we plan to apply this same method to a younger planet, K2-33b (11 Myr), to determine if cloudy/hazy atmospheres are primordial.

  13. An Observational Diagnostic for Distinguishing Between Clouds and Haze in Hot Exoplanet Atmospheres

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kempton, Eliza; Bean, Jacob; Parmentier, Vivien

    2018-01-01

    The nature of aerosols in hot exoplanet atmospheres is one of the primary vexing questions facing the exoplanet field. The complex chemistry, multiple formation pathways, and lack of easily identifiable spectral features associated with aerosols make it especially challenging to constrain their key properties. We present a transmission spectroscopy technique to identify the primary aerosol formation mechanism for the most highly irradiated hot Jupiters (HIHJs). The technique is based on the idea that the two key types of aerosols -- photochemically generated hazes and equilibrium condensate clouds -- are expected to form and persist in different regions of a highly irradiated planet's atmosphere. Haze can only be produced on the permanent daysides of tidally-locked hot Jupiters, and will be carried downwind by atmospheric dynamics to the evening terminator (seen as the trailing limb during transit). Clouds can only form in cooler regions on the night side and morning terminator of HIHJs (seen as the leading limb during transit). Because opposite limbs are expected to be impacted by different types of aerosols, ingress and egress spectra, which primarily probe opposing sides of the planet, will reveal the dominant aerosol formation mechanism. We show that the benchmark HIHJ, WASP-121b, has a transmission spectrum consistent with partial aerosol coverage and that ingress-egress spectroscopy would constrain the location and formation mechanism of those aerosols. In general, we find that observations with JWST and potentially with HST should be able to distinguish between clouds and haze for currently known HIHJs.

  14. HELIUM ATMOSPHERES ON WARM NEPTUNE- AND SUB-NEPTUNE-SIZED EXOPLANETS AND APPLICATIONS TO GJ 436b

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hu, Renyu; Yung, Yuk L. [Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109 (United States); Seager, Sara, E-mail: renyu.hu@jpl.nasa.gov [Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States)

    2015-07-01

    Warm Neptune- and sub-Neptune-sized exoplanets in orbits smaller than Mercury’s are thought to have experienced extensive atmospheric evolution. Here we propose that a potential outcome of this atmospheric evolution is the formation of helium-dominated atmospheres. The hydrodynamic escape rates of Neptune- and sub-Neptune-sized exoplanets are comparable to the diffusion-limited escape rate of hydrogen, and therefore the escape is heavily affected by diffusive separation between hydrogen and helium. A helium atmosphere can thus be formed—from a primordial hydrogen–helium atmosphere—via atmospheric hydrodynamic escape from the planet. The helium atmosphere has very different abundances of major carbon and oxygen species from those of a hydrogen atmosphere, leading to distinctive transmission and thermal emission spectral features. In particular, the hypothesis of a helium-dominated atmosphere can explain the thermal emission spectrum of GJ 436b, a warm Neptune-sized exoplanet, while also being consistent with the transmission spectrum. This model atmosphere contains trace amounts of hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen, with the predominance of CO over CH{sub 4} as the main form of carbon. With our atmospheric evolution model, we find that if the mass of the initial atmosphere envelope is 10{sup −3} planetary mass, hydrodynamic escape can reduce the hydrogen abundance in the atmosphere by several orders of magnitude in ∼10 billion years. Observations of exoplanet transits may thus detect signatures of helium atmospheres and probe the evolutionary history of small exoplanets.

  15. HELIUM ATMOSPHERES ON WARM NEPTUNE- AND SUB-NEPTUNE-SIZED EXOPLANETS AND APPLICATIONS TO GJ 436b

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hu, Renyu; Yung, Yuk L.; Seager, Sara

    2015-01-01

    Warm Neptune- and sub-Neptune-sized exoplanets in orbits smaller than Mercury’s are thought to have experienced extensive atmospheric evolution. Here we propose that a potential outcome of this atmospheric evolution is the formation of helium-dominated atmospheres. The hydrodynamic escape rates of Neptune- and sub-Neptune-sized exoplanets are comparable to the diffusion-limited escape rate of hydrogen, and therefore the escape is heavily affected by diffusive separation between hydrogen and helium. A helium atmosphere can thus be formed—from a primordial hydrogen–helium atmosphere—via atmospheric hydrodynamic escape from the planet. The helium atmosphere has very different abundances of major carbon and oxygen species from those of a hydrogen atmosphere, leading to distinctive transmission and thermal emission spectral features. In particular, the hypothesis of a helium-dominated atmosphere can explain the thermal emission spectrum of GJ 436b, a warm Neptune-sized exoplanet, while also being consistent with the transmission spectrum. This model atmosphere contains trace amounts of hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen, with the predominance of CO over CH 4 as the main form of carbon. With our atmospheric evolution model, we find that if the mass of the initial atmosphere envelope is 10 −3 planetary mass, hydrodynamic escape can reduce the hydrogen abundance in the atmosphere by several orders of magnitude in ∼10 billion years. Observations of exoplanet transits may thus detect signatures of helium atmospheres and probe the evolutionary history of small exoplanets

  16. FIVE NEW TRANSIT EPOCHS OF THE EXOPLANET OGLE-TR-111b

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hoyer, S.; Rojo, P.; Lopez-Morales, M.; DIaz, R. F.; Chambers, J.; Minniti, D.

    2011-01-01

    We report five new transit epochs of the extrasolar planet OGLE-TR-111b, observed in the v-HIGH and Bessell I bands with the FORS1 and FORS2 at the ESO Very Large Telescope between 2008 April and May. The new transits have been combined with all previously published transit data for this planet to provide a new transit timing variations (TTVs) analysis of its orbit. We find no TTVs with amplitudes larger than 1.5 minutes over a four-year observation time baseline, in agreement with the recent result by Adams et al. Dynamical simulations fully exclude the presence of additional planets in the system with masses greater than 1.3, 0.4, and 0.5 M + at the 3:2, 1:2, and 2:1 resonances, respectively. We also place an upper limit of about 30 M + on the mass of potential second planets in the region between the 3:2 and 1:2 mean-motion resonances.

  17. Characterizing Rosetta Stone Exoplanets with JWST Transit Spectroscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lewis, Nikole K.; Clampin, Mark; Seager, Sara; Valenti, Jeff A.; Mountain, Matt; JWST Telescope Scientist GTO Team

    2017-06-01

    JWST will for the first time provide for spectroscopic (R > 100) observation of systems hosting transiting exoplanets over the critical wavelength range from 0.6 to 28.5 microns. Our team will take advantage of JWST's spectral coverage and resolution to characterize a small number of exoplanets in exquisite detail. We plan to focus our efforts on single representative members of the hot-Jupiter, warm-Neptune, and temperate-Earth populations in both transmission and emission over the full wavelength range of JWST. Our JWST observations will hopefully become 'Rosetta Stones' that will serve as benchmarks for further observations of planets within each representative population and a lasting legacy of the JWST mission. Here we will describe our observational plan and how we turned our science goals into an implemented Cycle 1 JWST program.

  18. Asteroseismology of the Transiting Exoplanet Host HD 17156 with Hubble Space Telescope Fine Guidance Sensor

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gilliland, Ronald L.; McCullough, Peter R.; Nelan, Edmund P.

    2011-01-01

    light curve. Using the density constraint from asteroseismology, and stellar evolution modeling results in M * = 1.285 ± 0.026 M sun, R * = 1.507 ± 0.012 R sun, and a stellar age of 3.2 ± 0.3 Gyr. Based on observations with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained at the Space Telescope Science......Observations conducted with the Fine Guidance Sensor on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) providing high cadence and precision time-series photometry were obtained over 10 consecutive days in 2008 December on the host star of the transiting exoplanet HD 17156b. During this time, 1.0 × 1012 photons...... Institute, which is operated by AURA, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555....

  19. Five Kepler target stars that show multiple transiting exoplanet candidates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Steffen, Jason H.; /Fermilab; Batalha, Natalie M.; /San Jose State U.; Borucki, William J.; /NASA, Ames; Buchhave, Lars A.; /Harvard-Smithsonian Ctr. Astrophys. /Bohr Inst.; Caldwell, Douglas A.; /NASA, Ames /SETI Inst., Mtn. View; Cochran, William D.; /Texas U.; Endl, Michael; /Texas U.; Fabrycky, Daniel C.; /Harvard-Smithsonian Ctr. Astrophys.; Fressin, Francois; /Harvard-Smithsonian Ctr. Astrophys.; Ford, Eric B.; /Florida U.; Fortney, Jonathan J.; /UC, Santa Cruz, Phys. Dept. /NASA, Ames

    2010-06-01

    We present and discuss five candidate exoplanetary systems identified with the Kepler spacecraft. These five systems show transits from multiple exoplanet candidates. Should these objects prove to be planetary in nature, then these five systems open new opportunities for the field of exoplanets and provide new insights into the formation and dynamical evolution of planetary systems. We discuss the methods used to identify multiple transiting objects from the Kepler photometry as well as the false-positive rejection methods that have been applied to these data. One system shows transits from three distinct objects while the remaining four systems show transits from two objects. Three systems have planet candidates that are near mean motion commensurabilities - two near 2:1 and one just outside 5:2. We discuss the implications that multitransiting systems have on the distribution of orbital inclinations in planetary systems, and hence their dynamical histories; as well as their likely masses and chemical compositions. A Monte Carlo study indicates that, with additional data, most of these systems should exhibit detectable transit timing variations (TTV) due to gravitational interactions - though none are apparent in these data. We also discuss new challenges that arise in TTV analyses due to the presence of more than two planets in a system.

  20. What asteroseismology can do for exoplanets

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Van Eylen Vincent

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available We describe three useful applications of asteroseismology in the context of exoplanet science: (1 the detailed characterisation of exoplanet host stars; (2 the measurement of stellar inclinations; and (3 the determination of orbital eccentricity from transit duration making use of asteroseismic stellar densities. We do so using the example system Kepler-410 [1]. This is one of the brightest (V = 9.4 Kepler exoplanet host stars, containing a small (2.8 R⊕ transiting planet in a long orbit (17.8 days, and one or more additional non-transiting planets as indicated by transit timing variations. The validation of Kepler-410 (KOI-42 was complicated due to the presence of a companion star, and the planetary nature of the system was confirmed after analyzing a Spitzer transit observation as well as ground-based follow-up observations.

  1. Detection limits for close eclipsing and transiting sub-stellar and planetary companions to white dwarfs in the WASP survey

    OpenAIRE

    Faedi, F.; West, R. G.; Burleigh, M. R.; Goad, M. R.; Hebb, L.

    2010-01-01

    We have performed extensive simulations to explore the possibility of detecting eclipses and transits of close, sub-stellar and planetary companions to white dwarfs in WASP light-curves. Our simulations cover companions $\\sim0.3\\Re

  2. A New Window into Escaping Exoplanet Atmospheres: 10830 Å Line of Helium

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oklopčić, Antonija; Hirata, Christopher M.

    2018-03-01

    Observational evidence for escaping exoplanet atmospheres has been obtained for a few exoplanets to date. It comes from strong transit signals detected in the ultraviolet, most notably in the wings of the hydrogen Lyα (Lyα) line. However, the core of the Lyα line is often heavily affected by interstellar absorption and geocoronal emission, limiting the information about the atmosphere that can be extracted from that part of the spectrum. Transit observations in atomic lines that are (a) sensitive enough to trace the rarefied gas in the planetary wind and (b) do not suffer from significant extinction by the interstellar medium could enable more detailed observations, and thus provide better constraints on theoretical models of escaping atmospheres. The absorption line of a metastable state of helium at 10830 Å could satisfy both of these conditions for some exoplanets. We develop a simple 1D model of escaping planetary atmospheres containing hydrogen and helium. We use it to calculate the density profile of helium in the 23S metastable excited state and the expected in-transit absorption at 10830 Å for two exoplanets known to have escaping atmospheres. Our results indicate that exoplanets similar to GJ 436b and HD 209458b should exhibit enhanced transit depths at 10830 Å, with ∼8% and ∼2% excess absorption in the line core, respectively.

  3. Detection of the Secondary Eclipse of Exoplanet HAT P-11b

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barry, R. K.; Deming, L. D.; Bakos, G.; Harrington, J.; Madhusudhan, N.; Noyes, R.; Seager, S.

    2010-01-01

    We have successfully conducted secondary eclipse observations of exoplanet HAT-P-11b using the Spitzer Space Telescope. HAT-P-11b was, until very recently, the smallest transiting extrasolar planet yet found and one of only two known exo-Neptunes. We observed the system at 3.6 microns for a period of 22 hours centered on the anticipated secondary eclipse time, to detect the eclipse and determine its phase. Having detected the secondary eclipse, we are at present making a more focused series of observations in both the 3.6 and 4.5 micron bands to fully characterize it. HAT-P-11b has a period of 4.8878 days, radius of 0.422 RJ, mass of 0.081 MJ and semi-major axis 0.053 AU. Measurements of the secondary eclipse will serve to clarify two key issues; 1) the planetary brightness temperature and the nature of its atmosphere, and 2) the eccentricity of its orbit, with implications for its dynamical evolution. A precise determination of the orbit phase for the secondary eclipse will also be of great utility for Kepler observations of this system at visible wavelengths.

  4. Thermal Phase Variations of WASP-12b: Defying Predictions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cowan, Nicolas B.; Machalek, Pavel; Croll, Bryce; Shekhtman, Louis M.; Burrows, Adam; Deming, Drake; Greene, Tom; Hora, Joseph L.

    2012-01-01

    We report Warm Spitzer full-orbit phase observations of WASP-12b at 3.6 and 4.5 micrometers. This extremely inflated hot Jupiter is thought to be overflowing its Roche lobe, undergoing mass loss and accretion onto its host star, and has been claimed to have a C/O ratio in excess of unity. We are able to measure the transit depths, eclipse depths, thermal and ellipsoidal phase variations at both wavelengths. The large-amplitude phase variations, combined with the planet's previously measured dayside spectral energy distribution, are indicative of non-zero Bond albedo and very poor day-night heat redistribution. The transit depths in the mid-infrared-(R(sub p)/R(sub *))(sup 2) = 0.0123(3) and 0.0111(3) at 3.6 and 4.5 micrometers, respectively-indicate that the atmospheric opacity is greater at 3.6 than at 4.5 micrometers, in disagreement with model predictions, irrespective of C/O ratio. The secondary eclipse depths are consistent with previous studies: F(sub day)/F(sub *) = 0.0038(4) and 0.0039(3) at 3.6 and 4.5 micrometers, respectively. We do not detect ellipsoidal variations at 3.6 micrometers, but our parameter uncertainties-estimated via prayer-bead Monte Carlo-keep this non-detection consistent with model predictions. At 4.5 micrometers, on the other hand, we detect ellipsoidal variations that are much stronger than predicted. If interpreted as a geometric effect due to the planet's elongated shape, these variations imply a 3:2 ratio for the planet's longest:shortest axes and a relatively bright day-night terminator. If we instead presume that the 4.5 micrometer ellipsoidal variations are due to uncorrected systematic noise and we fix the amplitude of the variations to zero, the best-fit 4.5 micrometer transit depth becomes commensurate with the 3.6 micrometer depth, within the uncertainties. The relative transit depths are then consistent with a solar composition and short scale height at the terminator. Assuming zero ellipsoidal variations also yields a much

  5. THERMAL PHASE VARIATIONS OF WASP-12b: DEFYING PREDICTIONS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cowan, Nicolas B.; Shekhtman, Louis M.; Machalek, Pavel; Croll, Bryce; Burrows, Adam; Deming, Drake; Greene, Tom; Hora, Joseph L.

    2012-01-01

    We report Warm Spitzer full-orbit phase observations of WASP-12b at 3.6 and 4.5 μm. This extremely inflated hot Jupiter is thought to be overflowing its Roche lobe, undergoing mass loss and accretion onto its host star, and has been claimed to have a C/O ratio in excess of unity. We are able to measure the transit depths, eclipse depths, thermal and ellipsoidal phase variations at both wavelengths. The large-amplitude phase variations, combined with the planet's previously measured dayside spectral energy distribution, are indicative of non-zero Bond albedo and very poor day-night heat redistribution. The transit depths in the mid-infrared—(R p /R * ) 2 = 0.0123(3) and 0.0111(3) at 3.6 and 4.5 μm, respectively—indicate that the atmospheric opacity is greater at 3.6 than at 4.5 μm, in disagreement with model predictions, irrespective of C/O ratio. The secondary eclipse depths are consistent with previous studies: F day /F * = 0.0038(4) and 0.0039(3) at 3.6 and 4.5 μm, respectively. We do not detect ellipsoidal variations at 3.6 μm, but our parameter uncertainties—estimated via prayer-bead Monte Carlo—keep this non-detection consistent with model predictions. At 4.5 μm, on the other hand, we detect ellipsoidal variations that are much stronger than predicted. If interpreted as a geometric effect due to the planet's elongated shape, these variations imply a 3:2 ratio for the planet's longest:shortest axes and a relatively bright day-night terminator. If we instead presume that the 4.5 μm ellipsoidal variations are due to uncorrected systematic noise and we fix the amplitude of the variations to zero, the best-fit 4.5 μm transit depth becomes commensurate with the 3.6 μm depth, within the uncertainties. The relative transit depths are then consistent with a solar composition and short scale height at the terminator. Assuming zero ellipsoidal variations also yields a much deeper 4.5 μm eclipse depth, consistent with a solar composition and modest

  6. Spitzer observations of the thermal emission from WASP-43b

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Blecic, Jasmina; Harrington, Joseph; Stevenson, Kevin B.; Hardy, Ryan A.; Cubillos, Patricio E.; Hardin, Matthew; Bowman, Oliver; Nymeyer, Sarah [Planetary Sciences Group, Department of Physics, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816-2385 (United States); Madhusudhan, Nikku [Department of Physics and Department of Astronomy, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511 (United States); Anderson, David R.; Hellier, Coel; Smith, Alexis M. S. [Astrophysics Group, Keele University, Keele, Staffordshire ST5 5BG (United Kingdom); Cameron, Andrew Collier, E-mail: jasmina@physics.ucf.edu [SUPA, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St. Andrews, North Haugh, St. Andrews, Fife KY16 9SS (United Kingdom)

    2014-02-01

    WASP-43b is one of the closest-orbiting hot Jupiters, with a semimajor axis of a = 0.01526 ± 0.00018 AU and a period of only 0.81 days. However, it orbits one of the coolest stars with a hot Jupiter (T {sub *} = 4520 ± 120 K), giving the planet a modest equilibrium temperature of T {sub eq} = 1440 ± 40 K, assuming zero Bond albedo and uniform planetary energy redistribution. The eclipse depths and brightness temperatures from our jointly fit model are 0.347% ± 0.013% and 1670 ± 23 K at 3.6 μm and 0.382% ± 0.015% and 1514 ± 25 K at 4.5 μm. The eclipse timings improved the estimate of the orbital period, P, by a factor of three (P = 0.81347436 ± 1.4 × 10{sup –7} days) and put an upper limit on the eccentricity (e=0.010{sub −0.007}{sup +0.010}). We use our Spitzer eclipse depths along with four previously reported ground-based photometric observations in the near-infrared to constrain the atmospheric properties of WASP-43b. The data rule out a strong thermal inversion in the dayside atmosphere of WASP-43b. Model atmospheres with no thermal inversions and fiducial oxygen-rich compositions are able to explain all the available data. However, a wide range of metallicities and C/O ratios can explain the data. The data suggest low day-night energy redistribution in the planet, consistent with previous studies, with a nominal upper limit of about 35% for the fraction of energy incident on the dayside that is redistributed to the nightside.

  7. DAY-SIDE z'-BAND EMISSION AND ECCENTRICITY OF WASP-12b

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lopez-Morales, Mercedes; Rogers, Justin C.; Coughlin, Jeffrey L.; Sing, David K.; Burrows, Adam; Spiegel, David S.; Apai, Daniel; Adams, Elisabeth R.

    2010-01-01

    We report the detection of the eclipse of the very hot Jupiter WASP-12b via z'-band time-series photometry obtained with the 3.5 m Astrophysical Research Consortium telescope at Apache Point Observatory. We measure a decrease in flux of 0.082% ± 0.015% during the passage of the planet behind the star. That planetary flux is equally well reproduced by atmospheric models with and without extra absorbers, and blackbody models with f ≥ 0.585 ± 0.080. It is therefore necessary to measure the planet at other wavelengths to further constrain its atmospheric properties. The eclipse appears centered at phase φ = 0.5100 +0.0072 -0.0061 , consistent with an orbital eccentricity of |ecos ω| = 0.016 +0.011 -0.009 (see note at the end of Section 4). If the orbit of the planet is indeed eccentric, the large radius of WASP-12b can be explained by tidal heating.

  8. An Observational Diagnostic for Distinguishing between Clouds and Haze in Hot Exoplanet Atmospheres

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kempton, Eliza M.-R.; Bean, Jacob L.; Parmentier, Vivien

    2017-01-01

    The nature of aerosols in hot exoplanet atmospheres is one of the primary vexing questions facing the exoplanet field. The complex chemistry, multiple formation pathways, and lack of easily identifiable spectral features associated with aerosols make it especially challenging to constrain their key properties. We propose a transmission spectroscopy technique to identify the primary aerosol formation mechanism for the most highly irradiated hot Jupiters (HIHJs). The technique is based on the expectation that the two key types of aerosols—photochemically generated hazes and equilibrium condensate clouds—are expected to form and persist in different regions of a highly irradiated planet’s atmosphere. Haze can only be produced on the permanent daysides of tidally locked hot Jupiters, and will be carried downwind by atmospheric dynamics to the evening terminator (seen as the trailing limb during transit). Clouds can only form in cooler regions on the nightside and morning terminator of HIHJs (seen as the leading limb during transit). Because opposite limbs are expected to be impacted by different types of aerosols, ingress and egress spectra, which primarily probe opposing sides of the planet, will reveal the dominant aerosol formation mechanism. We show that the benchmark HIHJ, WASP-121b, has a transmission spectrum consistent with partial aerosol coverage and that ingress–egress spectroscopy would constrain the location and formation mechanism of those aerosols. In general, using this diagnostic we find that observations with the James Webb Space Telescope and potentially with the Hubble Space Telescope should be able to distinguish between clouds and haze for currently known HIHJs.

  9. An Observational Diagnostic for Distinguishing between Clouds and Haze in Hot Exoplanet Atmospheres

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kempton, Eliza M.-R. [Department of Physics, Grinnell College, 1116 8th Avenue, Grinnell, IA 50112 (United States); Bean, Jacob L. [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Chicago, 5640 S. Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637 (United States); Parmentier, Vivien, E-mail: kemptone@grinnell.edu [Department of Planetary Sciences and Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States)

    2017-08-20

    The nature of aerosols in hot exoplanet atmospheres is one of the primary vexing questions facing the exoplanet field. The complex chemistry, multiple formation pathways, and lack of easily identifiable spectral features associated with aerosols make it especially challenging to constrain their key properties. We propose a transmission spectroscopy technique to identify the primary aerosol formation mechanism for the most highly irradiated hot Jupiters (HIHJs). The technique is based on the expectation that the two key types of aerosols—photochemically generated hazes and equilibrium condensate clouds—are expected to form and persist in different regions of a highly irradiated planet’s atmosphere. Haze can only be produced on the permanent daysides of tidally locked hot Jupiters, and will be carried downwind by atmospheric dynamics to the evening terminator (seen as the trailing limb during transit). Clouds can only form in cooler regions on the nightside and morning terminator of HIHJs (seen as the leading limb during transit). Because opposite limbs are expected to be impacted by different types of aerosols, ingress and egress spectra, which primarily probe opposing sides of the planet, will reveal the dominant aerosol formation mechanism. We show that the benchmark HIHJ, WASP-121b, has a transmission spectrum consistent with partial aerosol coverage and that ingress–egress spectroscopy would constrain the location and formation mechanism of those aerosols. In general, using this diagnostic we find that observations with the James Webb Space Telescope and potentially with the Hubble Space Telescope should be able to distinguish between clouds and haze for currently known HIHJs.

  10. First Temperate Exoplanet Sized Up

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-03-01

    exoplanets, the planet has a temperate climate. The temperature of its gaseous surface is expected to be between 160 degrees and minus twenty degrees Celsius, with minimal variations between day and night. The exact value depends on the possible presence of a layer of highly reflective clouds. The CoRoT satellite, operated by the French space agency CNES [3], identified the planet after 145 days of observations during the summer of 2008. Observations with the very successful ESO exoplanet hunter - the HARPS instrument attached to the 3.6-metre ESO telescope at La Silla in Chile - allowed the astronomers to measure its mass, confirming that Corot-9b is indeed an exoplanet, with a mass about 80% the mass of Jupiter. This finding is being published in this week's edition of the journal Nature. Notes [1] A planetary transit occurs when a celestial body passes in front of its host star and blocks some of the star's light. This type of eclipse causes changes in the apparent brightness of the star and enables the planet's diameter to be measured. Combined with radial velocity measurements made by the HARPS spectrograph, it is also possible to deduce the mass and, hence, the density of the planet. It is this combination that allows astronomers to study this object in great detail. The fact that it is transiting - but nevertheless not so close to its star to be a "hot Jupiter" - is what makes this object uniquely well suited for further studies. [2] Temperate gas giants are, so far, the largest known group of exoplanets discovered. [3] The CoRoT (Convection, Rotation and Transits) space telescope was constructed by CNES, with contributions from Austria, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Brazil and the European Space Agency (ESA). It was specifically designed to detect transiting exoplanets and carry out seismological studies of stars. Its results are supplemented by observations with several ground-based telescopes, among them the IAC-80 (Teide Observatory), the Canada France Hawaii Telescope

  11. HATS-50b through HATS-53b: Four Transiting Hot Jupiters Orbiting G-type Stars Discovered by the HATSouth Survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henning, Th.; Mancini, L.; Sarkis, P.; Bakos, G. Á.; Hartman, J. D.; Bayliss, D.; Bento, J.; Bhatti, W.; Brahm, R.; Ciceri, S.; Csubry, Z.; de Val-Borro, M.; Espinoza, N.; Fulton, B. J.; Howard, A. W.; Isaacson, H. T.; Jordán, A.; Marcy, G. W.; Penev, K.; Rabus, M.; Suc, V.; Tan, T. G.; Tinney, C. G.; Wright, D. J.; Zhou, G.; Durkan, S.; Lazar, J.; Papp, I.; Sari, P.

    2018-02-01

    We report the discovery of four close-in transiting exoplanets (HATS-50b through HATS-53b), discovered using the HATSouth three-continent network of homogeneous and automated telescopes. These new exoplanets belong to the class of hot Jupiters and orbit G-type dwarf stars, with brightness in the range V = 12.5–14.0 mag. While HATS-53 has many physical characteristics similar to the Sun, the other three stars appear to be metal-rich ([{Fe}/{{H}}]=0.2{--}0.3), larger, and more massive. Three of the new exoplanets, namely HATS-50b, HATS-51b, and HATS-53b, have low density (HATS-50b: 0.39+/- 0.10 {M}{{J}}, 1.130+/- 0.075 {R}{{J}}; HATS-51b: 0.768+/- 0.045 {M}{{J}}, 1.41+/- 0.19 {R}{{J}}; HATS-53b: 0.595+/- 0.089 {M}{{J}}, 1.340+/- 0.056 {R}{{J}}) and similar orbital periods (3.8297 days, 3.3489 days, 3.8538 days, respectively). Instead, HATS-52b is more dense (mass 2.24+/- 0.15 {M}{{J}} and radius 1.382+/- 0.086 {R}{{J}}) and has a shorter orbital period (1.3667 days). It also receives an intensive radiation from its parent star and, consequently, presents a high equilibrium temperature ({T}{eq}=1834+/- 73 K). HATS-50 shows a marginal additional transit feature consistent with an ultra-short-period hot super Neptune (upper mass limit 0.16 {M}{{J}}), which will be able to be confirmed with TESS photometry. The HATSouth network is operated by a collaboration consisting of Princeton University (PU), the Max Planck Institute für Astronomie (MPIA), the Australian National University (ANU), and the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (PUC). The station at Las Campanas Observatory (LCO) of the Carnegie Institute is operated by PU in conjunction with PUC, the station at the High Energy Spectroscopic Survey (H.E.S.S.) site is operated in conjunction with MPIA, and the station at Siding Spring Observatory (SSO) is operated jointly with ANU. Based in part on observations made with the ESO 3.6 m, the NTT, the MPG 2.2 m and Euler 1.2 m Telescopes at the ESO Observatory in

  12. Variability in the pre-transit signal of HD 189733 b

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cauley, Paul W.; Redfield, Seth; Jensen, Adam G.; Barman, Travis; Endl, Michael; Cochran, William D.

    2016-01-01

    Hot planets, i.e., those with orbital periods of a few days, can interact strongly with their host stars via gravitational tides, magnetic interactions, or via collisions between planetary and stellar winds or the planetary magnetosphere and the stellar wind. Recently, pre-transit absorption signals, caused by material orbiting ahead of the planet, have been detected around a handful of exoplanets. Two of these measurements, those for WASP-12 b (Llama et al. 2011) and HD 189733 b (Cauley et al. 2015), were interpreted as being the result of compressed material in a bow shock formed by the planetary magnetosphere plowing through the stellar wind. These signals are expected to be variable at some level as the planet passes through an inhomogenous stellar wind or corona and stellar activity levels change. To investigate this potential variability and confirm the detected signal, we have recently obtained followup observations to the 2013 transit reported in Cauley et al. (2015). The new measurements confirm the existence of the pre- and in-transit absorption detected in the 2013 data. However, the new signal is not consistent with the specific bow shock geometry presented in Cauley et al. (2015). We have performed a more detailed examination of the Ca II H and K line core flux, which is a proxy for the stellar activity level, for the 2013 data. We find a weak correlation between the Hα core flux and the Ca II core flux, suggesting that some, but not all, of the pre-transit absorption signature may be a result of changing stellar activity levels during the observations. Our examination of the Ca II core flux measurements uncover variability that is not seen using the SHK activity index. We are evaluating techniques to calibrate our Hα signal with these more detailed Ca II measurements and suggest that the core flux is a better proxy of low level stellar variability for a single epoch. In addition, the 2015 transit confirms that pre-transit absorption signals are

  13. Precise Masses in the WASP-47 System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vanderburg, Andrew; Becker, Juliette C.; Buchhave, Lars A.; Mortier, Annelies; Lopez, Eric; Malavolta, Luca; Haywood, Raphaëlle D.; Latham, David W.; Charbonneau, David; López-Morales, Mercedes; Adams, Fred C.; Bonomo, Aldo Stefano; Bouchy, François; Collier Cameron, Andrew; Cosentino, Rosario; Di Fabrizio, Luca; Dumusque, Xavier; Fiorenzano, Aldo; Harutyunyan, Avet; Johnson, John Asher; Lorenzi, Vania; Lovis, Christophe; Mayor, Michel; Micela, Giusi; Molinari, Emilio; Pedani, Marco; Pepe, Francesco; Piotto, Giampaolo; Phillips, David; Rice, Ken; Sasselov, Dimitar; Ségransan, Damien; Sozzetti, Alessandro; Udry, Stéphane; Watson, Chris

    2017-12-01

    We present precise radial velocity observations of WASP-47, a star known to host a hot Jupiter, a distant Jovian companion, and, uniquely, two additional transiting planets in short-period orbits: a super-Earth in a ≈19 hr orbit, and a Neptune in a ≈9 day orbit. We analyze our observations from the HARPS-N spectrograph along with previously published data to measure the most precise planet masses yet for this system. When combined with new stellar parameters and reanalyzed transit photometry, our mass measurements place strong constraints on the compositions of the two small planets. We find that, unlike most other ultra-short-period planets, the inner planet, WASP-47 e, has a mass (6.83 ± 0.66 {M}\\oplus ) and a radius (1.810 ± 0.027 {R}\\oplus ) that are inconsistent with an Earth-like composition. Instead, WASP-47 e likely has a volatile-rich envelope surrounding an Earth-like core and mantle. We also perform a dynamical analysis to constrain the orbital inclination of WASP-47 c, the outer Jovian planet. This planet likely orbits close to the plane of the inner three planets, suggesting a quiet dynamical history for the system. Our dynamical constraints also imply that WASP-47 c is much more likely to transit than a geometric calculation would suggest. We calculate a transit probability for WASP-47 c of about 10%, more than an order of magnitude larger than the geometric transit probability of 0.6%.

  14. High-precision photometry by telescope defocusing - I. The transiting planetary system WASP-5

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Southworth, J.; Hinse, T. C.; Jørgensen, U. G.

    2009-01-01

    We present high-precision photometry of two transit events of the extrasolar planetary system WASP-5, obtained with the Danish 1.54-m telescope at European Southern Obseratory La Silla. In order to minimize both random and flat-fielding errors, we defocused the telescope so its point spread...

  15. THERMAL PHASE VARIATIONS OF WASP-12b: DEFYING PREDICTIONS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cowan, Nicolas B.; Shekhtman, Louis M. [Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA) and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northwestern University, 2131 Tech Dr, Evanston, IL 60208 (United States); Machalek, Pavel [SETI Institute, 189 Bernardo Ave., Suite 100, Mountain View, CA 94043 (United States); Croll, Bryce [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Toronto, 50 George St., Toronto, ON, M5S 3H4 (Canada); Burrows, Adam [Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 05844 (United States); Deming, Drake [Planetary Systems Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Greene, Tom [NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035 (United States); Hora, Joseph L., E-mail: n-cowan@northwestern.edu [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)

    2012-03-01

    We report Warm Spitzer full-orbit phase observations of WASP-12b at 3.6 and 4.5 {mu}m. This extremely inflated hot Jupiter is thought to be overflowing its Roche lobe, undergoing mass loss and accretion onto its host star, and has been claimed to have a C/O ratio in excess of unity. We are able to measure the transit depths, eclipse depths, thermal and ellipsoidal phase variations at both wavelengths. The large-amplitude phase variations, combined with the planet's previously measured dayside spectral energy distribution, are indicative of non-zero Bond albedo and very poor day-night heat redistribution. The transit depths in the mid-infrared-(R{sub p} /R{sub *}){sup 2} = 0.0123(3) and 0.0111(3) at 3.6 and 4.5 {mu}m, respectively-indicate that the atmospheric opacity is greater at 3.6 than at 4.5 {mu}m, in disagreement with model predictions, irrespective of C/O ratio. The secondary eclipse depths are consistent with previous studies: F{sub day}/F{sub *} = 0.0038(4) and 0.0039(3) at 3.6 and 4.5 {mu}m, respectively. We do not detect ellipsoidal variations at 3.6 {mu}m, but our parameter uncertainties-estimated via prayer-bead Monte Carlo-keep this non-detection consistent with model predictions. At 4.5 {mu}m, on the other hand, we detect ellipsoidal variations that are much stronger than predicted. If interpreted as a geometric effect due to the planet's elongated shape, these variations imply a 3:2 ratio for the planet's longest:shortest axes and a relatively bright day-night terminator. If we instead presume that the 4.5 {mu}m ellipsoidal variations are due to uncorrected systematic noise and we fix the amplitude of the variations to zero, the best-fit 4.5 {mu}m transit depth becomes commensurate with the 3.6 {mu}m depth, within the uncertainties. The relative transit depths are then consistent with a solar composition and short scale height at the terminator. Assuming zero ellipsoidal variations also yields a much deeper 4.5 {mu}m eclipse depth

  16. A Catalog of Cool Dwarf Targets for the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muirhead, Philip S.; Dressing, Courtney D.; Mann, Andrew W.; Rojas-Ayala, Bárbara; Lépine, Sébastien; Paegert, Martin; De Lee, Nathan; Oelkers, Ryan

    2018-04-01

    We present a catalog of cool dwarf targets (V-J> 2.7, T eff ≲ 4000 K) and their stellar properties for the upcoming Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), for the purpose of determining which cool dwarfs should be observed using two minute observations. TESS has the opportunity to search tens of thousands of nearby, cool, late K- and M-type dwarfs for transiting exoplanets, an order of magnitude more than current or previous transiting exoplanet surveys, such as Kepler, K2, and ground-based programs. This necessitates a new approach to choosing cool dwarf targets. Cool dwarfs are chosen by collating parallax and proper motion catalogs from the literature and subjecting them to a variety of selection criteria. We calculate stellar parameters and TESS magnitudes using the best possible relations from the literature while maintaining uniformity of methods for the sake of reproducibility. We estimate the expected planet yield from TESS observations using statistical results from the Kepler mission, and use these results to choose the best targets for two minute observations, optimizing for small planets for which masses can conceivably be measured using follow-up Doppler spectroscopy by current and future Doppler spectrometers. The catalog is available in machine readable format and is incorporated into the TESS Input Catalog and TESS Candidate Target List until a more complete and accurate cool dwarf catalog identified by ESA’s Gaia mission can be incorporated.

  17. Revisiting the Phase Curves of WASP-43b: Confronting Re-analyzed Spitzer Data with Cloudy Atmospheres

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mendonça, João M.; Malik, Matej; Demory, Brice-Olivier

    2018-01-01

    red noise due to intra-pixel sensitivity, which leads to greater fluxes emanating from the nightside of WASP-43b, thus reducing the tension between theory and data. On the theoretical front, we construct cloud-free and cloudy atmospheres of WASP-43b using our Global Circulation Model (GCM), THOR...

  18. PHOTOMETRIC AND SPECTRAL SIGNATURES OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL MODELS OF TRANSITING GIANT EXOPLANETS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Burrows, A.; Spiegel, D. S.; Rauscher, E.; Menou, K.

    2010-01-01

    Using a three-dimensional general circulation model, we create dynamical model atmospheres of a representative transiting giant exoplanet, HD 209458b. We post-process these atmospheres with an opacity code to obtain transit radius spectra during the primary transit. Using a spectral atmosphere code, we integrate over the face of the planet seen by an observer at various orbital phases and calculate light curves as a function of wavelength and for different photometric bands. The products of this study are generic predictions for the phase variations of a zero-eccentricity giant planet's transit spectrum and of its light curves. We find that for these models the temporal variations in all quantities and the ingress/egress contrasts in the transit radii are small (<1.0%). Moreover, we determine that the day/night contrasts and phase shifts of the brightness peaks relative to the ephemeris are functions of photometric band. The J, H, and K bands are shifted most, while the IRAC bands are shifted least. Therefore, we verify that the magnitude of the downwind shift in the planetary 'hot spot' due to equatorial winds is strongly wavelength dependent. The phase and wavelength dependence of light curves, as well as the associated day/night contrasts, can be used to constrain the circulation regime of irradiated giant planets and to probe different pressure levels of a hot Jupiter atmosphere. We posit that though our calculations focus on models of HD 209458b, similar calculations for other transiting hot Jupiters in low-eccentricity orbits should yield transit spectra and light curves of a similar character.

  19. Non-detection of Previously Reported Transits of HD 97658b with MOST Photometry

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dragomir, Diana; Matthews, Jaymie M.; Howard, Andrew W.

    2012-01-01

    The radial velocity-discovered exoplanet HD 97658b was recently announced to transit, with a derived planetary radius of 2.93 ± 0.28 R ⊕. As a transiting super-Earth orbiting a bright star, this planet would make an attractive candidate for additional observations, including studies of its atmosp...

  20. Discovery of a Transiting Adolescent Sub-Neptune Exoplanet in the Cas-Tau Association With K2

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mamajek, Eric; David, Trevor; Bieryla, Allyson; Bristow, Makennah; Ciardi, David; Cody, Ann Marie; Crossfield, Ian; Fulton, Benjamin; Jasmine Gonzales, Erica; Hillenbrand, Lynne; Hirsch, Lea; Howard, Andrew; Isaacson, Howard; Latham, David W.; Petigura, Erik; Rebull, Luisa; Schlieder, Joshua; Stauffer, John; Vanderburg, Andrew; Vasisht, Gautam

    2018-01-01

    The role of stellar age in the measured properties and occurrence rates of exoplanets is not well understood. This is in part due to a paucity of young planets and the uncertainties in age-dating for most exoplanet host stars. Exoplanets belonging to coeval stellar populations, young or old, are particularly useful as benchmarks for studies aiming to constrain the evolutionary timescales relevant for planets. Such timescales may concern orbital migration, gravitational contraction, or photo-evaporation, among other mechanisms. Here we report the serendipitous discovery of a transiting sub-Neptune from K2 photometry of a K-type star that is a new candidate member of the nearby young Cas-Tau association. The size of the planet (3.0 +/- 0.5 Earth radii) and its age (~50-90 Myr) make it an intriguing test case for photo-evaporation models, which predict enhanced atmospheric mass loss during early evolutionary stages.

  1. Exploring the Diversity of Exoplanet Atmospheres Using Ground-Based Transit Spectroscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bean, Jacob

    This is a proposal to fund an observational study of the atmospheres of exoplanets in order to improve our understanding of the nature and origins of these mysterious worlds. The observations will be performed using our new approach for ground-based transit spectroscopy measurements that yields space-telescope quality data. We will also carry out supporting theoretical calculations with new abundance retrieval codes to interpret the measurements. Our project includes a survey of giant exoplanets, and intensive study of especially compelling exoplanets. For the survey, optical and near-infrared transmission spectra, and near-infrared emission spectra will be measured for giant exoplanets with a wide range of estimated temperatures, heavy element abundance, and mass. This comprehensive characterization of a large sample of these planets is now crucial to investigate such issues for their atmospheres as the carbon-to-oxygen ratios and overall metallicities, cause of thermal inversions, and prevalence and nature of high-altitude hazes. The intensive study of compelling individual planets will focus on low-mass (M spectroscopy, and leveraging its particular sensitivity to the atmospheric scale height. Observations for the project will be carried out with Magellan, Keck, Gemini, and VLT. The team has institutional access to Magellan and Keck, and a demonstrated record of obtaining time on Gemini and VLT for these observations through public channels. This proposal is highly relevant for current and future NASA projects. We are seeking to understand the diversity of exoplanets revealed by planet searches like Kepler and the Eta-Earth survey. Our observations will complement, extend, and provide context for similar observations with HST and Spitzer. We will investigate the fundamental nature of the closest kin to Earth-size exoplanets, and this is an important foundation that must be laid down before studying habitable planets with JWST and a future TPF-like mission.

  2. Automation of processing and photometric data analysis for transiting exoplanets observed with ESO NIR instrument HAWK-I

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blažek, M.; Kabáth, P.; Klocová, T.; Skarka, M.

    2018-04-01

    Nowadays, when amount of data still increases, it is necessary to automatise their processing. State-of-the-art instruments are capable to produce even tens of thousands of images during a single night. One of them is HAWK-I that is a part of Very Large Telescope of European Southern Observatory. This instrument works in near-infrared band. In my Master thesis, I dealt with developing a pipeline to process data obtained by the instrument. It is written in Python programming language using commands of IRAF astronomical software and it is developed directly for "Fast Photometry Mode" of HAWK-I. In this mode, a large number of data has been obtained during secondary eclipses of exoplanets by their host star. The pipeline was tested by a data set from sorting of the images to making a light curve. The data of WASP-18 system contained almost 40 000 images observed by using a filter centered at 2.09 μm wavelength and there is a plan to process other data sets. A goal of processing of WASP-18 and the other data sets is consecutive analysis of exoplanetary atmospheres of the observed systems.

  3. An ultrahot gas-giant exoplanet with a stratosphere.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Evans, Thomas M; Sing, David K; Kataria, Tiffany; Goyal, Jayesh; Nikolov, Nikolay; Wakeford, Hannah R; Deming, Drake; Marley, Mark S; Amundsen, David S; Ballester, Gilda E; Barstow, Joanna K; Ben-Jaffel, Lotfi; Bourrier, Vincent; Buchhave, Lars A; Cohen, Ofer; Ehrenreich, David; García Muñoz, Antonio; Henry, Gregory W; Knutson, Heather; Lavvas, Panayotis; Etangs, Alain Lecavelier des; Lewis, Nikole K; López-Morales, Mercedes; Mandell, Avi M; Sanz-Forcada, Jorge; Tremblin, Pascal; Lupu, Roxana

    2017-08-02

    Infrared radiation emitted from a planet contains information about the chemical composition and vertical temperature profile of its atmosphere. If upper layers are cooler than lower layers, molecular gases will produce absorption features in the planetary thermal spectrum. Conversely, if there is a stratosphere-where temperature increases with altitude-these molecular features will be observed in emission. It has been suggested that stratospheres could form in highly irradiated exoplanets, but the extent to which this occurs is unresolved both theoretically and observationally. A previous claim for the presence of a stratosphere remains open to question, owing to the challenges posed by the highly variable host star and the low spectral resolution of the measurements. Here we report a near-infrared thermal spectrum for the ultrahot gas giant WASP-121b, which has an equilibrium temperature of approximately 2,500 kelvin. Water is resolved in emission, providing a detection of an exoplanet stratosphere at 5σ confidence. These observations imply that a substantial fraction of incident stellar radiation is retained at high altitudes in the atmosphere, possibly by absorbing chemical species such as gaseous vanadium oxide and titanium oxide.

  4. Erratum: "A Smaller Radius for the Transiting Exoplanet WASP-10b" (2009, ApJ, 692, L100)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, John Asher; Winn, Joshua N.; Cabrera, Nicole E.; Carter, Joshua A.

    2010-03-01

    We have identified an error in our Heliocentric Julian Dates (HJDs) of observation caused by incorrect input to the code used to convert from JD to HJD. The times in Table 1 have been corrected by adding 0.006382 day to each entry in the original Column 1. Similarly, the measured mid-transit time in Table 2 has been changed to Tc = 2454664.037295. We also note that the header in Column 1 of Table 1 is incorrect. The label should read HJD, rather than BJD. The updated Tables 1 and 2 have been included herein. This error has no impact on our main conclusions. We thank Pedro Valdes Sada and Gracjan Maciejewski for pointing out the incorrect mid-transit time.

  5. APOSTLE: LONGTERM TRANSIT MONITORING AND STABILITY ANALYSIS OF XO-2b

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kundurthy, P.; Barnes, R.; Becker, A. C.; Agol, E.; Williams, B. F.; Rose, A. [Astronomy Department, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195 (United States); Gorelick, N. [Google Inc., Mountain View, CA 94043 (United States)

    2013-06-10

    The Apache Point Survey of Transit Lightcurves of Exoplanets (APOSTLE) observed 10 transits of XO-2b over a period of 3 yr. We present measurements that confirm previous estimates of system parameters like the normalized semi-major axis (a/R{sub *}), stellar density ({rho}{sub *}), impact parameter (b), and orbital inclination (i{sub orb}). Our errors on system parameters like a/R{sub *} and {rho}{sub *} have improved by {approx}40% compared to previous best ground-based measurements. Our study of the transit times show no evidence for transit timing variations (TTVs) and we are able to rule out co-planar companions with masses {>=}0.20 M{sub Circled-Plus} in low order mean motion resonance with XO-2b. We also explored the stability of the XO-2 system given various orbital configurations of a hypothetical planet near the 2:1 mean motion resonance. We find that a wide range of orbits (including Earth-mass perturbers) are both dynamically stable and produce observable TTVs. We find that up to 51% of our stable simulations show TTVs that are smaller than the typical transit timing errors ({approx}20 s) measured for XO-2b, and hence remain undetectable.

  6. PLANET HUNTERS. VIII. CHARACTERIZATION OF 41 LONG-PERIOD EXOPLANET CANDIDATES FROM KEPLER ARCHIVAL DATA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Ji; Fischer, Debra A.; Picard, Alyssa; Schmitt, Joseph R.; Boyajian, Tabetha S.; Barclay, Thomas; Ma, Bo; Bowler, Brendan P.; Riddle, Reed; Jek, Kian J.; LaCourse, Daryll; Simister, Dean Joseph; Grégoire, Boscher; Babin, Sean P.; Poile, Trevor; Jacobs, Thomas Lee; Baranec, Christoph; Law, Nicholas M.; Lintott, Chris; Schawinski, Kevin

    2015-01-01

    The census of exoplanets is incomplete for orbital distances larger than 1 AU. Here, we present 41 long-period planet candidates in 38 systems identified by Planet Hunters based on Kepler archival data (Q0–Q17). Among them, 17 exhibit only one transit, 14 have two visible transits, and 10 have more than three visible transits. For planet candidates with only one visible transit, we estimate their orbital periods based on transit duration and host star properties. The majority of the planet candidates in this work (75%) have orbital periods that correspond to distances of 1–3 AU from their host stars. We conduct follow-up imaging and spectroscopic observations to validate and characterize planet host stars. In total, we obtain adaptive optics images for 33 stars to search for possible blending sources. Six stars have stellar companions within 4″. We obtain high-resolution spectra for 6 stars to determine their physical properties. Stellar properties for other stars are obtained from the NASA Exoplanet Archive and the Kepler Stellar Catalog by Huber et al. We validate 7 planet candidates that have planet confidence over 0.997 (3σ level). These validated planets include 3 single-transit planets (KIC-3558849b, KIC-5951458b, and KIC-8540376c), 3 planets with double transits (KIC-8540376b, KIC-9663113b, and KIC-10525077b), and 1 planet with four transits (KIC-5437945b). This work provides assessment regarding the existence of planets at wide separations and the associated false positive rate for transiting observation (17%–33%). More than half of the long-period planets with at least three transits in this paper exhibit transit timing variations up to 41 hr, which suggest additional components that dynamically interact with the transiting planet candidates. The nature of these components can be determined by follow-up radial velocity and transit observations

  7. PLANET HUNTERS. VIII. CHARACTERIZATION OF 41 LONG-PERIOD EXOPLANET CANDIDATES FROM KEPLER ARCHIVAL DATA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Ji; Fischer, Debra A.; Picard, Alyssa; Schmitt, Joseph R.; Boyajian, Tabetha S. [Department of Astronomy, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511 (United States); Barclay, Thomas [NASA Ames Research Center, M/S 244-30, Moffett Field, CA 94035 (United States); Ma, Bo [Department of Astronomy, University of Florida, 211 Bryant Space Science Center, Gainesville, FL 32611-2055 (United States); Bowler, Brendan P.; Riddle, Reed [California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91101 (United States); Jek, Kian J.; LaCourse, Daryll; Simister, Dean Joseph; Grégoire, Boscher; Babin, Sean P.; Poile, Trevor; Jacobs, Thomas Lee; Baranec, Christoph [Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Hilo, HI 96720-2700 (United States); Law, Nicholas M. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3255 (United States); Lintott, Chris [Oxford Astrophysics, Denys Wilkinson Building, Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3RH (United Kingdom); Schawinski, Kevin [Institute for Astronomy, Department of Physics, ETH Zurich, Wolfgang-Pauli-Strasse 27, CH-8093 Zurich (Switzerland); and others

    2015-12-20

    The census of exoplanets is incomplete for orbital distances larger than 1 AU. Here, we present 41 long-period planet candidates in 38 systems identified by Planet Hunters based on Kepler archival data (Q0–Q17). Among them, 17 exhibit only one transit, 14 have two visible transits, and 10 have more than three visible transits. For planet candidates with only one visible transit, we estimate their orbital periods based on transit duration and host star properties. The majority of the planet candidates in this work (75%) have orbital periods that correspond to distances of 1–3 AU from their host stars. We conduct follow-up imaging and spectroscopic observations to validate and characterize planet host stars. In total, we obtain adaptive optics images for 33 stars to search for possible blending sources. Six stars have stellar companions within 4″. We obtain high-resolution spectra for 6 stars to determine their physical properties. Stellar properties for other stars are obtained from the NASA Exoplanet Archive and the Kepler Stellar Catalog by Huber et al. We validate 7 planet candidates that have planet confidence over 0.997 (3σ level). These validated planets include 3 single-transit planets (KIC-3558849b, KIC-5951458b, and KIC-8540376c), 3 planets with double transits (KIC-8540376b, KIC-9663113b, and KIC-10525077b), and 1 planet with four transits (KIC-5437945b). This work provides assessment regarding the existence of planets at wide separations and the associated false positive rate for transiting observation (17%–33%). More than half of the long-period planets with at least three transits in this paper exhibit transit timing variations up to 41 hr, which suggest additional components that dynamically interact with the transiting planet candidates. The nature of these components can be determined by follow-up radial velocity and transit observations.

  8. Revisiting the Energy Budget of WASP-43b: Enhanced Day–Night Heat Transport

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Keating, Dylan; Cowan, Nicolas B. [Department of Physics, McGill University, 3600 rue University, Montréal, QC H3A 2T8 (Canada)

    2017-11-01

    The large day–night temperature contrast of WASP-43b has so far eluded explanation. We revisit the energy budget of this planet by considering the impact of reflected light on dayside measurements and the physicality of implied nightside temperatures. Previous analyses of the infrared eclipses of WASP-43b have assumed reflected light from the planet is negligible and can be ignored. We develop a phenomenological eclipse model including reflected light, thermal emission, and water absorption, and we use it to fit published Hubble and Spitzer eclipse data. We infer a near-infrared geometric albedo of 24% ± 1% and a cooler dayside temperature of 1483 ± 10 K. Additionally, we perform light curve inversion on the three published orbital phase curves of WASP-43b and find that each suggests unphysical, negative flux on the nightside. By requiring non-negative brightnesses at all longitudes, we correct the unphysical parts of the maps and obtain a much hotter nightside effective temperature of 1076 ± 11 K. The cooler dayside and hotter nightside suggest a heat recirculation efficiency of 51% for WASP-43b, essentially the same as for HD 209458b, another hot Jupiter with nearly the same temperature. Our analysis therefore reaffirms the trend that planets with lower irradiation temperatures have more efficient day–night heat transport. Moreover, we note that (1) reflected light may be significant for many near-IR eclipse measurements of hot Jupiters, and (2) phase curves should be fit with physically possible longitudinal brightness profiles—it is insufficient to only require that the disk-integrated light curve be non-negative.

  9. The effects of refraction on transit transmission spectroscopy: application to Earth-like exoplanets

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Misra, Amit; Meadows, Victoria [Astronomy Department, University of Washington, Box 351580, Seattle, WA 98195 (United States); Crisp, Dave, E-mail: amit0@astro.washington.edu [NAI Virtual Planetary Laboratory, Seattle, WA (United States)

    2014-09-01

    We quantify the effects of refraction in transit transmission spectroscopy on spectral absorption features and on temporal variations that could be used to obtain altitude-dependent spectra for planets orbiting stars of different stellar types. We validate our model against altitude-dependent transmission spectra of the Earth from ATMOS and against lunar eclipse spectra from Pallé et al. We perform detectability studies to show the potential effects of refraction on hypothetical observations of Earth analogs with the James Webb Space Telescope NIRSPEC. Due to refraction, there will be a maximum tangent pressure level that can be probed during transit for each given planet-star system. We show that because of refraction, for an Earth-analog planet orbiting in the habitable zone of a Sun-like star only the top 0.3 bars of the atmosphere can be probed, leading to a decrease in the signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) of absorption features by 60%, while for an Earth-analog planet orbiting in the habitable zone of an M5V star it is possible to probe almost the entire atmosphere with minimal decreases in S/N. We also show that refraction can result in temporal variations in the transit transmission spectrum which may provide a way to obtain altitude-dependent spectra of exoplanet atmospheres. Additionally, the variations prior to ingress and subsequent to egress provide a way to probe pressures greater than the maximum tangent pressure that can be probed during transit. Therefore, probing the maximum range of atmospheric altitudes, and in particular the near-surface environment of an Earth-analog exoplanet, will require looking at out-of-transit refracted light in addition to the in-transit spectrum.

  10. The effects of refraction on transit transmission spectroscopy: application to Earth-like exoplanets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Misra, Amit; Meadows, Victoria; Crisp, Dave

    2014-01-01

    We quantify the effects of refraction in transit transmission spectroscopy on spectral absorption features and on temporal variations that could be used to obtain altitude-dependent spectra for planets orbiting stars of different stellar types. We validate our model against altitude-dependent transmission spectra of the Earth from ATMOS and against lunar eclipse spectra from Pallé et al. We perform detectability studies to show the potential effects of refraction on hypothetical observations of Earth analogs with the James Webb Space Telescope NIRSPEC. Due to refraction, there will be a maximum tangent pressure level that can be probed during transit for each given planet-star system. We show that because of refraction, for an Earth-analog planet orbiting in the habitable zone of a Sun-like star only the top 0.3 bars of the atmosphere can be probed, leading to a decrease in the signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) of absorption features by 60%, while for an Earth-analog planet orbiting in the habitable zone of an M5V star it is possible to probe almost the entire atmosphere with minimal decreases in S/N. We also show that refraction can result in temporal variations in the transit transmission spectrum which may provide a way to obtain altitude-dependent spectra of exoplanet atmospheres. Additionally, the variations prior to ingress and subsequent to egress provide a way to probe pressures greater than the maximum tangent pressure that can be probed during transit. Therefore, probing the maximum range of atmospheric altitudes, and in particular the near-surface environment of an Earth-analog exoplanet, will require looking at out-of-transit refracted light in addition to the in-transit spectrum.

  11. INFRARED TRANSMISSION SPECTROSCOPY OF THE EXOPLANETS HD 209458b AND XO-1b USING THE WIDE FIELD CAMERA-3 ON THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Deming, Drake; Wilkins, Ashlee [Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 (United States); McCullough, Peter; Crouzet, Nicolas [Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Burrows, Adam [Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544-1001 (United States); Fortney, Jonathan J. [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States); Agol, Eric; Dobbs-Dixon, Ian [NASA Astrobiology Institute' s Virtual Planetary Laboratory (United States); Madhusudhan, Nikku [Yale Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511 (United States); Desert, Jean-Michel; Knutson, Heather A.; Line, Michael [Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Gilliland, Ronald L. [Center for Exoplanets and Habitable Worlds, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 (United States); Haynes, Korey [Department of Physics and Astronomy, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030 (United States); Magic, Zazralt [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Astrophysik, D-85741 Garching (Germany); Mandell, Avi M.; Clampin, Mark [NASA' s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Ranjan, Sukrit; Charbonneau, David [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Seager, Sara, E-mail: ddeming@astro.umd.edu [Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States); and others

    2013-09-10

    Exoplanetary transmission spectroscopy in the near-infrared using the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) NICMOS is currently ambiguous because different observational groups claim different results from the same data, depending on their analysis methodologies. Spatial scanning with HST/WFC3 provides an opportunity to resolve this ambiguity. We here report WFC3 spectroscopy of the giant planets HD 209458b and XO-1b in transit, using spatial scanning mode for maximum photon-collecting efficiency. We introduce an analysis technique that derives the exoplanetary transmission spectrum without the necessity of explicitly decorrelating instrumental effects, and achieves nearly photon-limited precision even at the high flux levels collected in spatial scan mode. Our errors are within 6% (XO-1) and 26% (HD 209458b) of the photon-limit at a resolving power of {lambda}/{delta}{lambda} {approx} 70, and are better than 0.01% per spectral channel. Both planets exhibit water absorption of approximately 200 ppm at the water peak near 1.38 {mu}m. Our result for XO-1b contradicts the much larger absorption derived from NICMOS spectroscopy. The weak water absorption we measure for HD 209458b is reminiscent of the weakness of sodium absorption in the first transmission spectroscopy of an exoplanet atmosphere by Charbonneau et al. Model atmospheres having uniformly distributed extra opacity of 0.012 cm{sup 2} g{sup -1} account approximately for both our water measurement and the sodium absorption. Our results for HD 209458b support the picture advocated by Pont et al. in which weak molecular absorptions are superposed on a transmission spectrum that is dominated by continuous opacity due to haze and/or dust. However, the extra opacity needed for HD 209458b is grayer than for HD 189733b, with a weaker Rayleigh component.

  12. Open-source Software for Exoplanet Atmospheric Modeling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cubillos, Patricio; Blecic, Jasmina; Harrington, Joseph

    2018-01-01

    I will present a suite of self-standing open-source tools to model and retrieve exoplanet spectra implemented for Python. These include: (1) a Bayesian-statistical package to run Levenberg-Marquardt optimization and Markov-chain Monte Carlo posterior sampling, (2) a package to compress line-transition data from HITRAN or Exomol without loss of information, (3) a package to compute partition functions for HITRAN molecules, (4) a package to compute collision-induced absorption, and (5) a package to produce radiative-transfer spectra of transit and eclipse exoplanet observations and atmospheric retrievals.

  13. New tools and improvements in the Exoplanet Transit Database

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pejcha O.

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available Comprehensive collection of the available light curves, prediction possibilities and the online model fitting procedure, that are available via Exoplanet Transit Database became very popular in the community. In this paper we summarized the changes, that we made in the ETD during last year (including the Kepler candidates into the prediction section, modeling of an unknown planet in the model-fit section and some other small improvements. All this new tools cannot be found in the main ETD paper.

  14. Evidence for a Dayside Thermal Inversion and High Metallicity for the Hot Jupiter WASP-18b

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheppard, Kyle; Mandell, Avi M.; Tamburo, Patrick; Gandhi, Siddarth; Pinhas, Arazi; Madhusudhan, Nikku; Deming, Drake

    2018-01-01

    Hot Jupiters have been vital in revealing the structural and atmospheric diversity of gas-rich planets. Since they are exposed to extreme conditions and relatively easy to observe through transit and eclipse spectroscopy, hot Jupiters provide a window into a unique part of parameter space, allowing us to better understand both atmospheric physics and planetary structure. Additionally, constraints on the structure and composition of exoplanetary atmospheres allow us to test and generalize planetary formation models. We find evidence for a strong thermal inversion in the dayside atmosphere of the highly irradiated hot Jupiter WASP-18b (Teq=2400K, M=10MJ) based on Hubble Space Telescope secondary eclipse observations and Spitzer eclipse photometry. We report a 4.7σ detection of CO, and a non-detection of water vapor as well as all other relevant species (e.g., TiO, VO). The most probable atmospheric retrieval solution indicates a C/O ratio of 1 and an extremely high metallicity (C/H=~283x solar). If confirmed with future observations, WASP-18b would be the first example of a planet with a non-oxide driven thermal inversion and an atmospheric metallicity inconsistent with that predicted for Jupiter-mass planets.

  15. ASTEP South: An Antarctic Search for Transiting ExoPlanets around the celestial South pole

    OpenAIRE

    Crouzet , Nicolas; Guillot , Tristan; Agabi , Karim; Rivet , Jean-Pierre; Bondoux , Erick; Challita , Zalpha; Fanteï-Caujolle , Yan; Fressin , François; Mékarnia , Djamel; Schmider , François-Xavier; Valbousquet , Franck; Blazit , Alain; Bonhomme , Serge; Abe , Lyu; Daban , Jean-Baptiste

    2009-01-01

    ASTEP South is the first phase of the ASTEP project (Antarctic Search for Transiting ExoPlanets). The instrument is a fixed 10 cm refractor with a 4kx4k CCD camera in a thermalized box, pointing continuously a 3.88 degree x 3.88 degree field of view centered on the celestial South pole. ASTEP South became fully functional in June 2008 and obtained 1592 hours of data during the 2008 Antarctic winter. The data are of good quality but the analysis has to account for changes in the point spread f...

  16. Transit Timing Variation analysis with Kepler light curves of KOI 227 and Kepler 93b

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dulz, Shannon; Reed, Mike

    2017-01-01

    By searching for transit signals in approximately 150,000 stars, NASA’s Kepler Space telescope found thousands of exoplanets over its primary mission from 2009 to 2013 (Tenenbaum et al. 2014, ApJS, 211, 6). Yet, a detailed follow-up examination of Kepler light curves may contribute more evidence on system dynamics and planetary atmospheres of these objects. Kepler’s continuous observing of these systems over the mission duration produced light curves of sufficient duration to allow for the search for transit timing variations. Transit timing variations over the course of many orbits may indicate a precessing orbit or the existence of a non-transiting third body such as another exoplanet. Flux contributions of the planet just prior to secondary eclipse may provide a measurement of bond albedo from the day-side of the transiting planet. Any asymmetries of the transit shape may indicate thermal asymmetries which can measure upper atmosphere motion of the planet. These two factors can constrain atmospheric models of close orbiting exoplanets. We first establish our procedure with the well-documented TTV system, KOI 227 (Nesvorny et al. 2014, ApJ, 790, 31). Using the test case of KOI 227, we analyze Kepler-93b for TTVs and day-side flux contributions. Kepler-93b is likely a rocky planet with R = 1.50 ± 0.03 Earth Radii and M = 2.59 ± 2.0 Earth Masses (Marcy et al. 2014, ApJS, 210, 20). This research is funded by a NASA EPSCoR grant.

  17. Computation of the Transmitted and Polarized Scattered Fluxes by the Exoplanet HD 189733b in X-Rays

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Marin, Frédéric [Astronomical Institute of the Academy of Sciences, Boční II 1401, CZ-14100 Prague (Czech Republic); Grosso, Nicolas, E-mail: frederic.marin@astro.unistra.fr [Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Observatoire astronomique de Strasbourg, UMR 7550, F-67000 Strasbourg (France)

    2017-02-01

    Thousands of exoplanets have been detected, but only one exoplanetary transit was potentially observed in X-rays from HD 189733A. What makes the detection of exoplanets so difficult in this band? To answer this question, we run Monte-Carlo radiative transfer simulations to estimate the amount of X-ray flux reprocessed by HD 189733b. Despite its extended evaporating atmosphere, we find that the X-ray absorption radius of HD 189733b at 0.7 keV, which is the mean energy of the photons detected in the 0.25–2 keV energy band by XMM-Newton , is ∼1.01 times the planetary radius for an atmosphere of atomic hydrogen and helium (including ions), and produces a maximum depth of ∼2.1% at ∼±46 minutes from the center of the planetary transit on the geometrically thick and optically thin corona. We compute numerically in the 0.25–2 keV energy band that this maximum depth is only of ∼1.6% at ∼±47 minutes from the transit center, and not very sensitive to the metal abundance, assuming that adding metals in the atmosphere would not dramatically change the density–temperature profile. Regarding a direct detection of HD 189733b in X-rays, we find that the amount of flux reprocessed by the exoplanetary atmosphere varies with the orbital phase, spanning between three and five orders of magnitude fainter than the flux of the primary star. Additionally, the degree of linear polarization emerging from HD 189733b is <0.003%, with maximums detected near planetary greatest elongations. This implies that both the modulation of the X-ray flux with the orbital phase and the scatter-induced continuum polarization cannot be observed with current X-ray facilities.

  18. Physical properties of the WASP-67 planetary system from multi-colour photometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mancini, L.; Southworth, J.; Ciceri, S.; Calchi Novati, S.; Dominik, M.; Henning, Th.; Jørgensen, U. G.; Korhonen, H.; Nikolov, N.; Alsubai, K. A.; Bozza, V.; Bramich, D. M.; D'Ago, G.; Figuera Jaimes, R.; Galianni, P.; Gu, S.-H.; Harpsøe, K.; Hinse, T. C.; Hundertmark, M.; Juncher, D.; Kains, N.; Popovas, A.; Rabus, M.; Rahvar, S.; Skottfelt, J.; Snodgrass, C.; Street, R.; Surdej, J.; Tsapras, Y.; Vilela, C.; Wang, X.-B.; Wertz, O.

    2014-08-01

    Context. The extrasolar planet WASP-67 b is the first hot Jupiter definitively known to undergo only partial eclipses. The lack of the second and third contact points in this planetary system makes it difficult to obtain accurate measurements of its physical parameters. Aims: By using new high-precision photometric data, we confirm that WASP-67 b shows grazing eclipses and compute accurate estimates of the physical properties of the planet and its parent star. Methods: We present high-quality, multi-colour, broad-band photometric observations comprising five light curves covering two transit events, obtained using two medium-class telescopes and the telescope-defocusing technique. One transit was observed through a Bessel-R filter and the other simultaneously through filters similar to Sloan g'r'i'z'. We modelled these data using jktebop. The physical parameters of the system were obtained from the analysis of these light curves and from published spectroscopic measurements. Results: All five of our light curves satisfy the criterion for being grazing eclipses. We revise the physical parameters of the whole WASP-67 system and, in particular, significantly improve the measurements of the planet's radius (Rb = 1.091 ± 0.046 RJup) and density (ρb = 0.292 ± 0.036 ρJup), as compared to the values in the discovery paper (Rb = 1.4 -0.2+0.3 RJup and ρb = 0.16 ± 0.08 ρJup). The transit ephemeris was also substantially refined. We investigated the variation of the planet's radius as a function of the wavelength, using the simultaneous multi-band data, finding that our measurements are consistent with a flat spectrum to within the experimental uncertainties. Based on data collected with GROND at the MPG 2.2 m telescope and DFOSC at the Danish 1.54 m telescope.Full Table 2 is only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (ftp://130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/568/A127

  19. Theoretical study of B3-to-B1 phase transition in ZnS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Qiang; Zhang, Rui; Lv, Tianquan; Cao, Qilong

    2016-01-01

    The pressure-induced phase transformation from B3 to B1 structures in ZnS using first-principle projector-augmented wave method is studied. To understand the nature and driving force behind the transition, the interesting properties in both phases, including enthalpy, phonon dispersion curves and elastic constants, are systematically investigated. The results show that the calculated transition pressure is within the range of 16.33 GPa to 19.04 GPa, which is in good agreement with the available experimental and theoretical data. The transition process can be viewed as the appearance and disappearance of very slight lattice distortion accompanied by the movement of Zn and S atoms along the [111] crystallographic axis. The physical driving force of the B3B1 phase transition is confirmed to be a coupling effect between the mechanical instability of B3 phase under pressure and the softening acoustic phonon mode resulting from the pressure-induced lattice deformation. For B1 phase, it is further predicted that a new phase transition takes place at about 59.9 GPa. - Highlights: • The phase transformation from B3 to B1 structures in ZnS is studied using first-principle method. • The predicted transition pressure is within the range of 16.33 to 19.04 GPa. • The transition process can be viewed as the appearance and disappearance of very slight lattice distortion. • Physical driving force of the transition is a coupling effect between the mechanical instability and softening phonon. • For B1 phase, it is further predicted that a new phase transition takes place at about 59.9 GPa.

  20. K2-29 b/WASP-152 b: AN ALIGNED AND INFLATED HOT JUPITER IN A YOUNG VISUAL BINARY

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Santerne, A.; Barros, S. C. C.; Mena, E. Delgado; Montalto, M.; Sousa, S. G.; Adibekyan, V.; Hébrard, G.; Lillo-Box, J.; Barrado, D.; Armstrong, D. J.; Pollacco, D.; Osborn, H. P.; Demangeon, O.; Deleuil, M.; Debackere, A.; Arlic, G.; Barthe, G.; Abe, L.; Almenara, J.-M.; André, P.

    2016-01-01

    In the present paper we report the discovery of a new hot Jupiter, K2-29 b, first detected by the Super-WASP observatory and then by the K2 space mission during its campaign 4. The planet has a period of 3.25 days, a mass of 0.73 ± 0.04 M ♃ , and a radius of 1.19 ± 0.02 R ♃ . The host star is a relatively bright ( V = 12.5) G7 dwarf with a nearby K5V companion. Based on stellar rotation and the abundance of lithium, we find that the system might be as young as ∼450 Myr. The observation of the Rossiter–McLaughlin effect shows that the planet is aligned with respect to the stellar spin. Given the deep transit (20 mmag), the magnitude of the star and the presence of a nearby stellar companion, the planet is a good target for both space- and ground-based transmission spectroscopy, in particular in the near-infrared where both stars are relatively bright.

  1. K2-29 b/WASP-152 b: AN ALIGNED AND INFLATED HOT JUPITER IN A YOUNG VISUAL BINARY

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Santerne, A.; Barros, S. C. C.; Mena, E. Delgado; Montalto, M.; Sousa, S. G.; Adibekyan, V. [Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço, Universidade do Porto, CAUP, Rua das Estrelas, 4150-762 Porto (Portugal); Hébrard, G. [Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris, UMR7095 CNRS, Université Pierre and Marie Curie, 98bis boulevard Arago, F-75014 Paris (France); Lillo-Box, J.; Barrado, D. [Departamento de Astrofsica, Centro de Astrobiologa (CSIC-INTA), ESAC campus E-28692 Villanueva de la Caada (Madrid) (Spain); Armstrong, D. J.; Pollacco, D.; Osborn, H. P. [Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Gibbet Hill Road, Coventry CV4 7AL (United Kingdom); Demangeon, O.; Deleuil, M. [Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Marseille UMR 7326, F-13388, Marseille (France); Debackere, A.; Arlic, G.; Barthe, G. [European Pro/Am Network of Exoplanetary Transit Observers (France); Abe, L. [Laboratoire Lagrange, UMR7239, Université de Nice Sophia-Antipolis, CNRS, Observatoire de la Cote d’Azur, F-06300 Nice (France); Almenara, J.-M. [Université Grenoble Alpes, IPAG, F-38000 Grenoble (France); André, P., E-mail: alexandre.santerne@astro.up.pt [Observatoire de Belesta-en-Lauragais-Assoc. Astronomie Adagio 30 Route de Revel, F-31450 Varennes (France); and others

    2016-06-10

    In the present paper we report the discovery of a new hot Jupiter, K2-29 b, first detected by the Super-WASP observatory and then by the K2 space mission during its campaign 4. The planet has a period of 3.25 days, a mass of 0.73 ± 0.04 M {sub ♃}, and a radius of 1.19 ± 0.02 R {sub ♃}. The host star is a relatively bright ( V = 12.5) G7 dwarf with a nearby K5V companion. Based on stellar rotation and the abundance of lithium, we find that the system might be as young as ∼450 Myr. The observation of the Rossiter–McLaughlin effect shows that the planet is aligned with respect to the stellar spin. Given the deep transit (20 mmag), the magnitude of the star and the presence of a nearby stellar companion, the planet is a good target for both space- and ground-based transmission spectroscopy, in particular in the near-infrared where both stars are relatively bright.

  2. First Solid Evidence for a Rocky Exoplanet - Mass and density of smallest exoplanet finally measured

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-09-01

    "starspots" (just like sunspots on our Sun), which are cooler regions on the surface of the star. Therefore, the main signal is linked to the rotation of the star, with makes one complete revolution in about 23 days. To get an answer, astronomers had to call upon the best exoplanet-hunting device in the world, the High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS) spectrograph attached to the ESO 3.6-metre telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile. "Even though HARPS is certainly unbeaten when it comes to detecting small exoplanets, the measurements of CoRoT-7b proved to be so demanding that we had to gather 70 hours of observations on the star," says co-author François Bouchy. HARPS delivered, allowing the astronomers to tease out the 20.4-hour signal in the data. This figure led them to infer that CoRoT-7b has a mass of about five Earth masses, placing it in rare company as one of the lightest exoplanets yet found. "Since the planet's orbit is aligned so that we see it crossing the face of its parent star - it is said to be transiting - we can actually measure, and not simply infer, the mass of the exoplanet, which is the smallest that has been precisely measured for an exoplanet [3]," says team member Claire Moutou. "Moreover, as we have both the radius and the mass, we can determine the density and get a better idea of the internal structure of this planet." With a mass much closer to that of Earth than, for example, ice giant Neptune's 17 Earth masses, CoRoT-7b belongs to the category of "super-Earth" exoplanets. About a dozen of these bodies have been detected, though in the case of CoRoT-7b, this is the first time that the density has been measured for such a small exoplanet. The calculated density is close to Earth's, suggesting that the planet's composition is similarly rocky. "CoRoT-7b resulted in a 'tour de force' of astronomical measurements. The superb light curves of the space telescope CoRoT gave us the best radius measurement, and HARPS the best mass

  3. Zodiacal Exoplanets in Time (ZEIT). V. A Uniform Search for Transiting Planets in Young Clusters Observed by K2

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rizzuto, Aaron C.; Mann, Andrew W.; Vanderburg, Andrew; Kraus, Adam L.; Covey, Kevin R.

    2017-12-01

    Detection of transiting exoplanets around young stars is more difficult than for older systems owing to increased stellar variability. Nine young open cluster planets have been found in the K2 data, but no single analysis pipeline identified all planets. We have developed a transit search pipeline for young stars that uses a transit-shaped notch and quadratic continuum in a 12 or 24 hr window to fit both the stellar variability and the presence of a transit. In addition, for the most rapid rotators ({P}{rot}Pleiades, Hyades, Praesepe) and conduct a uniform search of the members. We identify all known transiting exoplanets in the clusters, 17 eclipsing binaries, one transiting planet candidate orbiting a potential Pleiades member, and three orbiting unlikely members of the young clusters. Limited injection recovery testing on the known planet hosts indicates that for the older Praesepe systems we are sensitive to additional exoplanets as small as 1-2 R ⊕, and for the larger Upper Scorpius planet host (K2-33) our pipeline is sensitive to ˜4 R ⊕ transiting planets. The lack of detected multiple systems in the young clusters is consistent with the expected frequency from the original Kepler sample, within our detection limits. With a robust pipeline that detects all known planets in the young clusters, occurrence rate testing at young ages is now possible.

  4. Ultraviolet anomalies of the WASP-12 and HD 189733 systems: Trojan satellites as a plasma source

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kislyakova, Kristina; Pilat-Lohinger, Elke; Funk, Barbara; Lammer, Helmut; Fossati, Luca; Eggl, Siegfried; Schwarz, Richard; Boudyada, Mohammed; Erkaev, Nikolai

    2017-04-01

    We suggest an additional possible plasma source in the WASP-12 and HD189733b systems to explain part of the phenomena observed in ultraviolet (UV) light curves during planetary transits. In the proposed scenario, material originates from the molten surface of Trojan satellites on orbits near the Lagrange points L4 and L5. We show that the temperature at the orbital location of WASP-12b is high enough to melt the surface of rocky Trojans and to form shallow lava oceans on them. At the orbital distance of WASP-12b, this leads to the release of elements such as Mg and Ca, which are expected to surround the system. The predicted Mg and Ca outgassing rates from two Io-sized WASP-12b Trojans are ≈ 2.2 × 1027 s-1 and ≈ 2.2 × 1026 s-1, respectively. Trojan outgassing can lead to the observed lack of emission in MgII h&k and CaII H&K line cores of WASP-12. For HD 189733b, the mechanism is only marginally possible due to the lower temperature. The early ingress of HD 189733b observed in the far-UV (FUV) CII doublet couldn't be explained by this mechanism due to absence of carbon within elements outgassed by molten lava. We investigate the long-term stability region of WASP-12b and HD 189733b in case of planar and inclined motion of these satellites and show that unlike the classical exomoons orbiting the planet, Io-sized Trojans can be stable for the whole systems life time.

  5. Trajectory Design to Mitigate Risk on the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) Mission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dichmann, Donald

    2016-01-01

    The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) will employ a highly eccentric Earth orbit, in 2:1 lunar resonance, reached with a lunar flyby preceded by 3.5 phasing loops. The TESS mission has limited propellant and several orbit constraints. Based on analysis and simulation, we have designed the phasing loops to reduce delta-V and to mitigate risk due to maneuver execution errors. We have automated the trajectory design process and use distributed processing to generate and to optimize nominal trajectories, check constraint satisfaction, and finally model the effects of maneuver errors to identify trajectories that best meet the mission requirements.

  6. THE REFLECTION EFFECT IN INTERACTING BINARIES OR IN PLANET-STAR SYSTEMS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Budaj, J.

    2011-01-01

    There are many similarities between interacting binary stars and stars with a close-in giant extrasolar planet. The reflection effect is a well-known example. Although the generally accepted treatment of this effect in interacting binaries is successful in fitting light curves of eclipsing binaries, it is not very suitable for studying cold objects irradiated by hot objects or extrasolar planets. The aim of this paper is to develop a model of the reflection effect which could be easily incorporated into the present codes for modeling of interacting binaries so that these can be used to study the aforementioned objects. Our model of the reflection effect takes into account the reflection (scattering), heating, and heat redistribution over the surface of the irradiated object. The shape of the object is described by the non-spherical Roche potential expected for close objects. Limb and gravity darkening are included in the calculations of the light output from the system. The model also accounts for the orbital revolution and rotation of the exoplanet with appropriate Doppler shifts for the scattered and thermal radiation. Subsequently, light curves and/or spectra of several exoplanets have been modeled and the effects of the heat redistribution, limb darkening/brightening, (non-)gray albedo, and non-spherical shape have been studied. Recent observations of planet-to-star flux ratio of HD189733b, WASP12b, and WASP-19b at various phases were reproduced with very good accuracy. It was found that HD189733b has a low Bond albedo and intense heat redistribution, while WASP-19b has a low Bond albedo and low heat redistribution. The exact Roche geometries and temperature distributions over the surface of all 78 transiting extrasolar planets have been determined. Departures from the spherical shape may vary considerably but departures of about 1% in the radius are common within the sample. In some cases, these departures can reach 8%, 12%, or 14%, for WASP-33b, WASP-19b, and

  7. Exoplanets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seager, S.

    2010-12-01

    This is a unique time in human history - for the first time, we are on the technological brink of being able to answer questions that have been around for thousands of years: Are there other planets like Earth? Are they common? Do any have signs of life? The field of exoplanets is rapidly moving toward answering these questions with the discovery of hundreds of exoplanets now pushing toward lower and lower masses; the Kepler Space Telescope with its yield of small planets; plans to use the James Webb Space Telescope (launch date 2014) to study atmospheres of a subset of super Earths; and ongoing development for technology to directly image true Earth analogs. Theoretical studies in dynamics, planet formation, and physical characteristics provide the needed framework for prediction and interpretation. People working outside of exoplanets often ask if the field of exoplanets is like a dot.com bubble that will burst, deflating excitement and progress. In my opinion, exciting discoveries and theoretical advances will continue indefinitely in the years ahead, albeit at a slower pace than in the first decade. The reason is that observations uncover new kinds and new populations of exoplanets -- and these observations rely on technological development that usually takes over a decade to mature. For example, in the early 2000s all but one exoplanet was discovered by the radial velocity technique. At that time, many groups around the world were working on wide-field transit surveys. But it was not until recently, a decade into the twenty-first century, that the transit technique is responsible for almost one-quarter of known exoplanets. The planet discovery techniques astrometry (as yet to find a planet) and direct imaging have not yet matured; when they do, they will uncover planets within a new parameter space of planet mass and orbital characteristics. In addition, people are working hard to improve the precision for existing planet discovery techniques to detect lower

  8. Characterising exoplanet atmospheres as part of the LRG-BEASTS survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kirk, James; Wheatley, Peter; LRG-BEASTS Collaboration

    2018-01-01

    I will present the latest results from the Low Resolution Ground-Based Exoplanet Atmosphere Survey using Transmission Spectroscopy (LRG-BEASTS, ‘large beasts’). This programme has demonstrated the capabilities of 4-metre class telescopes to produce transmission spectra with precision comparable to HST and 8- and 10-metre class telescopes. LRG-BEASTS has so far revealed a Rayleigh scattering haze in the atmosphere of HAT-P-18b, clouds in the atmosphere of WASP-52b, and ruled out a previously claimed detection of potassium in the atmosphere of WASP-80b. Studies of hot Jupiter atmospheres have revealed a startling diversity between systems, with many showing thick clouds and hazes which mask pressure-broadened absorption features. In the small sample of studied planets to date, no strong correlation has emerged between key planetary parameters and the presence, or absence, of clouds and hazes, although there has been a suggestion that temperature might play a role. In order to characterise this diversity and unravel the underlying physical processes, it is essential that we expand the current sample of studied planets. This is the focus of LRG-BEASTS and my dissertation. Clouds and hazes are not just prominent in giant planet atmospheres but also in the handful of smaller planets characterised in transmission. The knowledge and expertise we will gain from the study of giant planets with surveys such as LRG-BEASTS will inform our understanding of analogous processes in the exciting new generation of planets that will be discovered with TESS.

  9. CHARACTERIZING TRANSITING EXOPLANET ATMOSPHERES WITH JWST

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Greene, Thomas P. [NASA Ames Research Center, Space Science and Astrobiology Division, M.S. 245-6, Moffett Field, CA 94035 (United States); Line, Michael R.; Montero, Cezar; Fortney, Jonathan J. [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States); Lustig-Yaeger, Jacob [Department of Astronomy, Box 351580, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195 (United States); Luther, Kyle, E-mail: tom.greene@nasa.gov [Department of Physics, University of California, 366 LeConte Hall MC 7300, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States)

    2016-01-20

    We explore how well spectra from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will likely constrain bulk atmospheric properties of transiting exoplanets. We start by modeling the atmospheres of archetypal hot Jupiter, warm Neptune, warm sub-Neptune, and cool super-Earth planets with atmospheres that are clear, cloudy, or of high mean molecular weight (HMMW). Next we simulate the λ = 1–11 μm transmission and emission spectra of these systems for several JWST instrument modes for single-transit or single-eclipse events. We then perform retrievals to determine how well temperatures and molecular mixing ratios (CH{sub 4}, CO, CO{sub 2}, H{sub 2}O, NH{sub 3}) can be constrained. We find that λ = 1–2.5 μm transmission spectra will often constrain the major molecular constituents of clear solar-composition atmospheres well. Cloudy or HMMW atmospheres will often require full 1–11 μm spectra for good constraints, and emission data may be more useful in cases of sufficiently high F{sub p} and high F{sub p}/F{sub *}. Strong temperature inversions in the solar-composition hot-Jupiter atmosphere should be detectable with 1–2.5+ μm emission spectra, and 1–5+ μm emission spectra will constrain the temperature–pressure profiles of warm planets. Transmission spectra over 1–5+ μm will constrain [Fe/H] values to better than 0.5 dex for the clear atmospheres of the hot and warm planets studied. Carbon-to-oxygen ratios can be constrained to better than a factor of 2 in some systems. We expect that these results will provide useful predictions of the scientific value of single-event JWST spectra until its on-orbit performance is known.

  10. The XUV environments of exoplanets from Jupiter-size to super-Earth

    Science.gov (United States)

    King, George W.; Wheatley, Peter J.; Salz, Michael; Bourrier, Vincent; Czesla, Stefan; Ehrenreich, David; Kirk, James; Lecavelier des Etangs, Alain; Louden, Tom; Schmitt, Jürgen; Schneider, P. Christian

    2018-05-01

    Planets that reside close-in to their host star are subject to intense high-energy irradiation. Extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) and X-ray radiation (together, XUV) is thought to drive mass loss from planets with volatile envelopes. We present XMM-Newton observations of six nearby stars hosting transiting planets in tight orbits (with orbital period, Porb < 10 d), wherein we characterise the XUV emission from the stars and subsequent irradiation levels at the planets. In order to reconstruct the unobservable EUV emission, we derive a new set of relations from Solar TIMED/SEE data that are applicable to the standard bands of the current generation of X-ray instruments. From our sample, WASP-80b and HD 149026b experience the highest irradiation level, but HAT-P-11b is probably the best candidate for Ly α evaporation investigations because of the system's proximity to the Solar System. The four smallest planets have likely lost a greater percentage of their mass over their lives than their larger counterparts. We also detect the transit of WASP-80b in the near ultraviolet with the Optical Monitor on XMM-Newton

  11. THE FLAT TRANSMISSION SPECTRUM OF THE SUPER-EARTH GJ1214b FROM WIDE FIELD CAMERA 3 ON THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berta, Zachory K.; Charbonneau, David; Désert, Jean-Michel; Irwin, Jonathan; Miller-Ricci Kempton, Eliza; Fortney, Jonathan J.; Nutzman, Philip; McCullough, Peter R.; Burke, Christopher J.; Homeier, Derek

    2012-01-01

    Capitalizing on the observational advantage offered by its tiny M dwarf host, we present Hubble Space Telescope/Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) grism measurements of the transmission spectrum of the super-Earth exoplanet GJ1214b. These are the first published WFC3 observations of a transiting exoplanet atmosphere. After correcting for a ramp-like instrumental systematic, we achieve nearly photon-limited precision in these observations, finding the transmission spectrum of GJ1214b to be flat between 1.1 and 1.7 μm. Inconsistent with a cloud-free solar composition atmosphere at 8.2σ, the measured achromatic transit depth most likely implies a large mean molecular weight for GJ1214b's outer envelope. A dense atmosphere rules out bulk compositions for GJ1214b that explain its large radius by the presence of a very low density gas layer surrounding the planet. High-altitude clouds can alternatively explain the flat transmission spectrum, but they would need to be optically thick up to 10 mbar or consist of particles with a range of sizes approaching 1 μm in diameter.

  12. A LOW STELLAR OBLIQUITY FOR WASP-47, A COMPACT MULTIPLANET SYSTEM WITH A HOT JUPITER AND AN ULTRA-SHORT PERIOD PLANET

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sanchis-Ojeda, Roberto; Isaacson, Howard; Marcy, Geoffrey W.; Weiss, Lauren [Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States); Winn, Joshua N.; Dai, Fei [Department of Physics, and Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States); Howard, Andrew W.; Sinukoff, Evan [Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822 (United States); Petigura, Erik; Rogers, Leslie [Department of Astronomy and Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Albrecht, Simon [Stellar Astrophysics Centre, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 120, DK-8000 Aarhus C (Denmark); Hirano, Teruyuki, E-mail: sanchisojeda@berkeley.edu [Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8551 (Japan)

    2015-10-10

    We have detected the Rossiter–Mclaughlin effect during a transit of WASP-47b, the only known hot Jupiter with close planetary companions. By combining our spectroscopic observations with Kepler photometry, we show that the projected stellar obliquity is λ = 0° ± 24°. We can firmly exclude a retrograde orbit for WASP-47b, and rule out strongly misaligned prograde orbits. Low obliquities have also been found for most of the other compact multiplanet systems that have been investigated. The Kepler-56 system, with two close-in gas giants transiting their subgiant host star with an obliquity of at least 45{sup ◦}, remains the only clear counterexample.

  13. Lyman-alpha transit observations of the warm rocky exoplanet GJ1132b

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waalkes, William; Berta-Thompson, Zachory K.; Charbonneau, David; Irwin, Jonathan; Newton, Elisabeth; Dittmann, Jason; Bourrier, Vincent; Ehrenreich, David; Kempton, Eliza; Will

    2018-06-01

    GJ1132b is one of the few known Earth-sized planets, and at 12pc away it is also one of the closest known transiting planets. With an equilibrium temperature of 500 K, this planet is too hot to be habitable but we can use it to learn about the presence and volatile content of rocky planet atmospheres around M dwarf stars. Using Hubble STIS spectra obtained during primary transit, we search for a Lyman-α transit. If we were to observe a deep Lyman-α transit, that would indicate the presence of a neutral hydrogen envelope flowing from GJ1132b. On the other hand, ruling out deep absorption from neutral hydrogen may indicate that this planet has either retained its volatiles or lost them very early in the star’s life. We carry out this analysis by extracting 1D spectra from the STIS pipeline, splitting the time-tagged spectra into higher resolution samples, and producing light curves of the red and blue wings of the Lyman-α line. We fit for the baseline stellar flux and transit depths in order to constrain the characteristics of the cloud of neutral hydrogen gas that may surround the planet. We do not conclusively detect a transit but the results provide an upper limit for the transit depth. We also analyze the stellar variability and Lyman-α spectrum of GJ1132, a slowly-rotating 0.18 solar mass M dwarf with previously uncharacterized UV activity. Understanding the role that UV variability plays in planetary atmospheres and volatile retention is crucial to assess atmospheric evolution and the habitability of cooler rocky planets.

  14. Role and structural mechanism of WASP-triggered conformational changes in branched actin filament nucleation by Arp2/3 complex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodnick-Smith, Max; Luan, Qing; Liu, Su-Ling; Nolen, Brad J

    2016-07-05

    The Arp2/3 (Actin-related proteins 2/3) complex is activated by WASP (Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein) family proteins to nucleate branched actin filaments that are important for cellular motility. WASP recruits actin monomers to the complex and stimulates movement of Arp2 and Arp3 into a "short-pitch" conformation that mimics the arrangement of actin subunits within filaments. The relative contribution of these functions in Arp2/3 complex activation and the mechanism by which WASP stimulates the conformational change have been unknown. We purified budding yeast Arp2/3 complex held in or near the short-pitch conformation by an engineered covalent cross-link to determine if the WASP-induced conformational change is sufficient for activity. Remarkably, cross-linked Arp2/3 complex bypasses the need for WASP in activation and is more active than WASP-activated Arp2/3 complex. These data indicate that stimulation of the short-pitch conformation is the critical activating function of WASP and that monomer delivery is not a fundamental requirement for nucleation but is a specific requirement for WASP-mediated activation. During activation, WASP limits nucleation rates by releasing slowly from nascent branches. The cross-linked complex is inhibited by WASP's CA region, even though CA potently stimulates cross-linking, suggesting that slow WASP detachment masks the activating potential of the short-pitch conformational switch. We use structure-based mutations and WASP-Arp fusion chimeras to determine how WASP stimulates movement toward the short-pitch conformation. Our data indicate that WASP displaces the autoinhibitory Arp3 C-terminal tail from a hydrophobic groove at Arp3's barbed end to destabilize the inactive state, providing a mechanism by which WASP stimulates the short-pitch conformation and activates Arp2/3 complex.

  15. Dusty tails of evaporating exoplanets. I. Constraints on the dust composition

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Lieshout, R.; Min, M.; Dominik, C.

    2014-01-01

    Context. Recently, two exoplanet candidates have been discovered, KIC 12557548b and KOI-2700b, whose transit profiles show evidence of a comet-like tail of dust trailing the planet, thought to be fed by the evaporation of the planet’s surface. Aims. We aim to put constraints on the composition of

  16. Results and lessons from the GMOS survey of transiting exoplanet atmospheres

    Science.gov (United States)

    Todorov, Kamen; Desert, Jean-Michel; Huitson, Catherine; Bean, Jacob; Fortney, Jonathan; Bergmann, Marcel; Stevenson, Kevin

    2018-01-01

    We present results from the first comprehensive survey program dedicated to probing transiting exoplanet atmospheres using transmission spectroscopy with a multi-object spectrograph (MOS). Our four-years survey focussed on ten close-in giant planets for which the wavelength dependent transit depths in the visible were measured with Gemini/GMOS. We present the complete analysis of all the targets observed (50 transits, 300 hours), and the challenges to overcome to achieve the best spectrophotometric precision (200-500 ppm / 10 nm). We also present the main results and conclusions from this survey. We show that the precision achieved by this survey permits to distinguish hazy atmospheres from cloud-free ones. We discuss the challenges faced by such an experiment, and the lessons learnt for future MOS survey. We lay out the challenges facing future ground based MOS transit surveys aiming for the atmospheric characterization of habitable worlds, and utilizing the next generation of multi-object spectrographs mounted on extremely large ground based telescopes (ELT, TMT).

  17. SPITZER TRANSITS OF THE SUPER-EARTH GJ1214b AND IMPLICATIONS FOR ITS ATMOSPHERE

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fraine, Jonathan D.; Deming, Drake [Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 (United States); Gillon, Michaeel; Jehin, Emmanueel [Institute d' Astrophysique et de Geophysique, Universite de Liege, Liege (Belgium); Demory, Brice-Olivier; Benneke, Bjoern; Seager, Sara [Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, and Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States); Lewis, Nikole K. [Department of Planetary Sciences and Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States); Knutson, Heather [Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Desert, Jean-Michel, E-mail: jfraine@astro.umd.edu [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden St., Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)

    2013-03-10

    We observed the transiting super-Earth exoplanet GJ1214b using warm Spitzer at 4.5 {mu}m wavelength during a 20 day quasi-continuous sequence in 2011 May. The goals of our long observation were to accurately define the infrared transit radius of this nearby super-Earth, to search for the secondary eclipse, and to search for other transiting planets in the habitable zone of GJ1214. We here report results from the transit monitoring of GJ1214b, including a reanalysis of previous transit observations by Desert et al. In total, we analyze 14 transits of GJ1214b at 4.5 {mu}m, 3 transits at 3.6 {mu}m, and 7 new ground-based transits in the I+z band. Our new Spitzer data by themselves eliminate cloudless solar composition atmospheres for GJ1214b, and methane-rich models from Howe and Burrows. Using our new Spitzer measurements to anchor the observed transit radii of GJ1214b at long wavelengths, and adding new measurements in I+z, we evaluate models from Benneke and Seager and Howe and Burrows using a {chi}{sup 2} analysis. We find that the best-fit model exhibits an increase in transit radius at short wavelengths due to Rayleigh scattering. Pure water atmospheres are also possible. However, a flat line (no atmosphere detected) remains among the best of the statistically acceptable models, and better than pure water atmospheres. We explore the effect of systematic differences among results from different observational groups, and we find that the Howe and Burrows tholin-haze model remains the best fit, even when systematic differences among observers are considered.

  18. Leveraging Ensemble Dynamical Properties to Prioritize Exoplanet Follow-Up Observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ballard, Sarah

    2017-01-01

    The number of transiting exoplanets now exceeds several thousand, enabling ensemble studies of the dynamical properties of exoplanetary systems. We require a mixture model of dynamical conditions (whether frozen in from formation or sculpted by planet-planet interactions) to recover Kepler's yield of transiting planets. Around M dwarfs, which will be predominate sites of exoplanet follow-up atmospheric study in the next decade, even a modest orbital eccentricity can sterilize a planet. I will describe efforts to link cheap observables, such as number of transiting planets and presence of transit timing variations, to eccentricity and mutual inclination in exoplanet systems. The addition of a second transiting planet, for example, halves the expected orbital eccentricity. For the vast majority of TESS targets, the light curve alone will furnish the sum total of data about the exoplanet. Extracting information about orbital properties from these light curves will help prioritize precious follow-up resources.

  19. Impact of clouds in the JWST and LUVOIR simulated transmission spectra of TRAPPIST-1 planets in the habitable zone

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fauchez, Thomas; Turbet, Martin; Mandell, Avi; Kopparapu, Ravi Kumar; Arney, Giada; Domagal-Goldman, Shawn

    2018-06-01

    M-dwarfs are the most common type of stars in our galaxy. Ultra-cool dwarfs (T Earth and frequent planetary transits.Atmospheric properties are major components of planet habitability. However, the detectability of gaseous features on rocky planets in the HZ may be severely impacted by the presence of clouds and/or hazes in their atmosphere. We have already seen this phenomenon in the “flat” transit transmission spectra of larger exoplanets such as GJ 1214b, WASP-31b, WASP-12b and HATP-12b.In this work, we use the LMDG global climate model to simulate several possibilities of atmospheres for TRAPPIST-1 e, f and 1g: 1) Archean Earth, 2) modern Earth and 3) CO2-dominated atmospheres. We also calculate synthetic transit spectra using the GSFC Planetary Spectrum Generator (PSG), and determine the number of transits needed to observe key spectral features for both JWST and future telescopes (ARIEL, LUVOIR, HabEx). We will identify differences in the spectra of cloudy vs non-cloudy, and determine how much information on spatial variability in atmosphere characteristics can be extracted from time-resolved transit and eclipse mapping. A particular attention will be given to the impact of the atmospheric variability when adding transit spectra, and how this may affect atmospheric parameter retrievals.

  20. Searching for exoplanets using artificial intelligence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pearson, Kyle A.; Palafox, Leon; Griffith, Caitlin A.

    2018-02-01

    In the last decade, over a million stars were monitored to detect transiting planets. Manual interpretation of potential exoplanet candidates is labor intensive and subject to human error, the results of which are difficult to quantify. Here we present a new method of detecting exoplanet candidates in large planetary search projects which, unlike current methods uses a neural network. Neural networks, also called "deep learning" or "deep nets" are designed to give a computer perception into a specific problem by training it to recognize patterns. Unlike past transit detection algorithms deep nets learn to recognize planet features instead of relying on hand-coded metrics that humans perceive as the most representative. Our convolutional neural network is capable of detecting Earth-like exoplanets in noisy time-series data with a greater accuracy than a least-squares method. Deep nets are highly generalizable allowing data to be evaluated from different time series after interpolation without compromising performance. As validated by our deep net analysis of Kepler light curves, we detect periodic transits consistent with the true period without any model fitting. Our study indicates that machine learning will facilitate the characterization of exoplanets in future analysis of large astronomy data sets.

  1. CHEOPS: a space telescope for ultra-high precision photometry of exoplanet transits

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cessa, V.; Beck, T.; Benz, W.; Broeg, C.; Ehrenreich, D.; Fortier, A.; Peter, G.; Magrin, D.; Pagano, I.; Plesseria, J.-Y.; Steller, M.; Szoke, J.; Thomas, N.; Ragazzoni, R.; Wildi, F.

    2017-11-01

    The CHaracterising ExOPlanet Satellite (CHEOPS) is a joint ESA-Switzerland space mission dedicated to search for exoplanet transits by means of ultra-high precision photometry whose launch readiness is expected end 2017. The CHEOPS instrument will be the first space telescope dedicated to search for transits on bright stars already known to host planets. By being able to point at nearly any location on the sky, it will provide the unique capability of determining accurate radii for a subset of those planets for which the mass has already been estimated from ground-based spectroscopic surveys. CHEOPS will also provide precision radii for new planets discovered by the next generation ground-based transits surveys (Neptune-size and smaller). The main science goals of the CHEOPS mission will be to study the structure of exoplanets with radii typically ranging from 1 to 6 Earth radii orbiting bright stars. With an accurate knowledge of masses and radii for an unprecedented sample of planets, CHEOPS will set new constraints on the structure and hence on the formation and evolution of planets in this mass range. To reach its goals CHEOPS will measure photometric signals with a precision of 20 ppm in 6 hours of integration time for a 9th magnitude star. This corresponds to a signal to noise of 5 for a transit of an Earth-sized planet orbiting a solar-sized star (0.9 solar radii). This precision will be achieved by using a single frame-transfer backside illuminated CCD detector cool down at 233K and stabilized within {10 mK . The CHEOPS optical design is based on a Ritchey-Chretien style telescope with 300 mm effective aperture diameter, which provides a defocussed image of the target star while minimizing straylight using a dedicated field stop and baffle system. As CHEOPS will be in a LEO orbit, straylight suppression is a key point to allow the observation of faint stars. The telescope will be the only payload on a spacecraft platform providing pointing stability of

  2. A Model of the Pulsating Extremely Low-mass White Dwarf Precursor WASP 0247-25B

    Science.gov (United States)

    Istrate, A. G.; Fontaine, G.; Heuser, C.

    2017-10-01

    We present an analysis of the evolutionary and pulsation properties of the extremely low-mass white dwarf precursor (B) component of the double-lined eclipsing system WASP 0247-25. Given that the fundamental parameters of that star have been obtained previously at a unique level of precision, WASP 0247-25B represents the ideal case for testing evolutionary models of this newly found category of pulsators. Taking into account the known constraints on the mass, orbital period, effective temperature, surface gravity, and atmospheric composition, we present a model that is compatible with these constraints and show pulsation modes that have periods very close to the observed values. Importantly, these modes are predicted to be excited. Although the overall consistency remains perfectible, the observable properties of WASP 0247-25B are closely reproduced. A key ingredient of our binary evolutionary models is represented by rotational mixing as the main competitor against gravitational settling. Depending on assumptions made about the values of the degree index ℓ for the observed pulsation modes, we found three possible seismic solutions. We discuss two tests, rotational splitting and multicolor photometry, that should readily identify the modes and discriminate between these solutions. However, this will require improved temporal resolution and higher S/N observations, which are currently unavailable.

  3. A Test of the Fundamental Physics Underlying Exoplanet Climate Models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beatty, Thomas; Keating, Dylan; Cowan, Nick; Gaudi, Scott; Kataria, Tiffany; Fortney, Jonathan; Stassun, Keivan; Collins, Karen; Deming, Drake; Bell, Taylor; Dang, Lisa; Rogers, Tamara; Colon, Knicole

    2018-05-01

    A fundamental issue in how we understand exoplanet atmospheres is the assumed physical behavior underlying 3D global circulation models (GCMs). Modeling an entire 3D atmosphere is a Herculean task, and so in exoplanet GCMs we generally assume that there are no clouds, no magnetic effects, and chemical equilibrium (e.g., Kataria et al 2016). These simplifying assumptions are computationally necessary, but at the same time their exclusion allows for a large theoretical lee-way when comparing to data. Thus, though significant discrepancies exist between almost all a priori GCM predictions and their corresponding observations, these are assumed to be due to the lack of clouds, or atmospheric drag, or chemical disequilibrium, in the models (e.g., Wong et al. 2016, Stevenson et al. 2017, Lewis et al. 2017, Zhang et al. 2018). Since these effects compete with one another and have large uncertainties, this makes tests of the fundamental physics in GCMs extremely difficult. To rectify this, we propose to use 88.4 hours of Spitzer time to observe 3.6um and 4.5um phase curves of the transiting giant planet KELT-9b. KELT-9b has an observed dayside temperature of 4600K (Gaudi et al. 2017), which means that there will very likely be no clouds on the day- or nightside, and is hot enough that the atmosphere should be close to local chemical equilibrium. Additionally, we plan to leverage KELT-9b's high temperature to make the first measurement of global wind speed on an exoplanet (Bell & Cowan 2018), giving a constraint on atmospheric drag and magnetic effects. Combined, this means KELT-9b is close to a real-world GCM, without most of the effects present on lower temperature planets. Additionally, since KELT-9b orbits an extremely bright host star these will be the highest signal-to-noise ratio phase curves taken with Spitzer by more than a factor of two. This gives us a unique opportunity to make the first precise and direct investigation into the fundamental physics that are the

  4. A Physical Model-based Correction for Charge Traps in the Hubble Space Telescope ’s Wide Field Camera 3 Near-IR Detector and Its Applications to Transiting Exoplanets and Brown Dwarfs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhou, Yifan; Apai, Dániel; Schneider, Glenn [Department of Astronomy/Steward Observatory, The University of Arizona, 933 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States); Lew, Ben W. P., E-mail: yzhou@as.arizona.edu [Department of Planetary Science/Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, The University of Arizona, 1640 E. University Boulevard, Tucson, AZ 85718 (United States)

    2017-06-01

    The Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) near-IR channel is extensively used in time-resolved observations, especially for transiting exoplanet spectroscopy as well as brown dwarf and directly imaged exoplanet rotational phase mapping. The ramp effect is the dominant source of systematics in the WFC3 for time-resolved observations, which limits its photometric precision. Current mitigation strategies are based on empirical fits and require additional orbits to help the telescope reach a thermal equilibrium . We show that the ramp-effect profiles can be explained and corrected with high fidelity using charge trapping theories. We also present a model for this process that can be used to predict and to correct charge trap systematics. Our model is based on a very small number of parameters that are intrinsic to the detector. We find that these parameters are very stable between the different data sets, and we provide best-fit values. Our model is tested with more than 120 orbits (∼40 visits) of WFC3 observations and is proved to be able to provide near photon noise limited corrections for observations made with both staring and scanning modes of transiting exoplanets as well as for starting-mode observations of brown dwarfs. After our model correction, the light curve of the first orbit in each visit has the same photometric precision as subsequent orbits, so data from the first orbit no longer need to be discarded. Near-IR arrays with the same physical characteristics (e.g., JWST/NIRCam ) may also benefit from the extension of this model if similar systematic profiles are observed.

  5. Deciphering the atmospheric composition of WASP-12b: A comprehensive analysis of its dayside emission

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stevenson, Kevin B.; Bean, Jacob L. [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Chicago, 5640 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637 (United States); Madhusudhan, Nikku [Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0HA (United Kingdom); Harrington, Joseph, E-mail: kbs@uchicago.edu [Planetary Sciences Group, Department of Physics, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816-2385 (United States)

    2014-08-10

    WASP-12b was the first planet reported to have a carbon-to-oxygen ratio (C/O) greater than one in its dayside atmosphere. However, recent work to further characterize its atmosphere and confirm its composition has led to incompatible measurements and divergent conclusions. Additionally, the recent discovery of stellar binary companions ∼1'' from WASP-12 further complicates the analyses and subsequent interpretations. We present a uniform analysis of all available Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescope secondary-eclipse data, including previously unpublished Spitzer measurements at 3.6 and 4.5 μm. The primary controversy in the literature has centered on the value and interpretation of the eclipse depth at 4.5 μm. Our new measurements and analyses confirm the shallow eclipse depth in this channel, as first reported by Campo and collaborators and used by Madhusudhan and collaborators to infer a carbon-rich composition. To explain WASP-12b's observed dayside emission spectrum, we implemented several recent retrieval approaches. We find that when we exclude absorption due to C{sub 2}H{sub 2} and HCN, which are not universally considered in the literature, our models require implausibly large atmospheric CO{sub 2} abundances, regardless of the C/O. By including C{sub 2}H{sub 2} and HCN in our models, we find that a physically plausible carbon-rich solution achieves the best fit to the available photometric and spectroscopic data. In comparison, the best-fit oxygen-rich models have abundances that are inconsistent with the chemical equilibrium expectations for hydrogen-dominated atmospheres and are 670 times less probable. Our best-fit solution is also 7.3 × 10{sup 6} times more probable than an isothermal blackbody model.

  6. Safety with Wasps and Bees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hackett, Erla

    This guide is designed to provide elementary school teachers with safe learning activities concerning bees and wasps. The following topics are included: (1) the importance of a positive teacher attitude towards bees and wasps; (2) special problems posed by paper wasps; (3) what to do when a child is bothered by a wasp; (4) what to do if a wasp…

  7. TRANSMISSION SPECTRUM OF EARTH AS A TRANSITING EXOPLANET FROM THE ULTRAVIOLET TO THE NEAR-INFRARED

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Betremieux, Y. [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Astronomie, Koenigstuhl 17, D-69117 Heidelberg (Germany); Kaltenegger, L., E-mail: betremieux@mpia.de, E-mail: kaltenegger@mpia.de [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden street, Cambridge MA 02138 (United States)

    2013-08-01

    Transmission spectroscopy of exoplanets is a tool to characterize rocky planets and explore their habitability. Using the Earth itself as a proxy, we model the atmospheric cross section as a function of wavelength, and show the effect of each atmospheric species, Rayleigh scattering, and refraction from 115 to 1000 nm. Clouds do not significantly affect this picture because refraction prevents the lowest 12.75 km of the atmosphere, in a transiting geometry for an Earth-Sun analog, to be sampled by a distant observer. We calculate the effective planetary radius for the primary eclipse spectrum of an Earth-like exoplanet around a Sun-like star. Below 200 nm, ultraviolet (UV) O{sub 2} absorption increases the effective planetary radius by about 180 km, versus 27 km at 760.3 nm, and 14 km in the near-infrared (NIR) due predominantly to refraction. This translates into a 2.6% change in effective planetary radius over the UV-NIR wavelength range, showing that the UV is an interesting wavelength range for future space missions.

  8. Trajectory Design Enhancements to Mitigate Risk for the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dichmann, Donald; Parker, Joel; Nickel, Craig; Lutz, Stephen

    2016-01-01

    The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) will employ a highly eccentric Earth orbit, in 2:1 lunar resonance, which will be reached with a lunar flyby preceded by 3.5 phasing loops. The TESS mission has limited propellant and several constraints on the science orbit and on the phasing loops. Based on analysis and simulation, we have designed the phasing loops to reduce delta-V (DV) and to mitigate risk due to maneuver execution errors. We have automated the trajectory design process and use distributed processing to generate and optimal nominal trajectories; to check constraint satisfaction; and finally to model the effects of maneuver errors to identify trajectories that best meet the mission requirements.

  9. Glimpses of far away places: Intensive atmosphere characterization of extrasolar planets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kreidberg, Laura

    Exoplanet atmosphere characterization has the potential to reveal the origins, nature, and even habitability of distant worlds. This thesis represents a step towards realizing that potential for a diverse group of four extrasolar planets. Here, I present the results of intensive observational campaigns with the Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes to study the atmospheres of the super-Earth GJ 1214b and the hot Jupiters WASP-43b, WASP-12b, and WASP-103b. I measured an unprecedentedly precise near-infrared transmission spectrum for GJ 1214b that definitively reveals the presence of clouds in the planet's atmosphere. For WASP-43b and WASP-12b, I also measured very precise spectra that exhibit water features at high confidence (>7 sigma). The retrieved water abundance for WASP-43b extends the well-known Solar System trend of decreasing atmospheric metallicity with increasing planet mass. The detection of water for WASP-12b marks the first spectroscopic identification of a molecule in the planet's atmosphere and implies that it has solar composition, ruling out carbon-to-oxygen ratios greater than unity. For WASP-103b, I present preliminary results from the new technique of phase-resolved spectroscopy to determine the planet's temperature structure, dynamics, and energy budget. In addition to these observations, I also describe the BATMAN code, an open-source Python package for fast and flexible modeling of transit light curves. Taken together, these results provide a foundation for comparative planetology beyond the Solar System and the investigation of Earth-like, potentially habitable planets with future observing facilities.

  10. HAT-P-26b: A Neptune-mass exoplanet with a well-constrained heavy element abundance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wakeford, Hannah R; Sing, David K; Kataria, Tiffany; Deming, Drake; Nikolov, Nikolay; Lopez, Eric D; Tremblin, Pascal; Amundsen, David S; Lewis, Nikole K; Mandell, Avi M; Fortney, Jonathan J; Knutson, Heather; Benneke, Björn; Evans, Thomas M

    2017-05-12

    A correlation between giant-planet mass and atmospheric heavy elemental abundance was first noted in the past century from observations of planets in our own Solar System and has served as a cornerstone of planet-formation theory. Using data from the Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes from 0.5 to 5 micrometers, we conducted a detailed atmospheric study of the transiting Neptune-mass exoplanet HAT-P-26b. We detected prominent H 2 O absorption bands with a maximum base-to-peak amplitude of 525 parts per million in the transmission spectrum. Using the water abundance as a proxy for metallicity, we measured HAT-P-26b's atmospheric heavy element content ([Formula: see text] times solar). This likely indicates that HAT-P-26b's atmosphere is primordial and obtained its gaseous envelope late in its disk lifetime, with little contamination from metal-rich planetesimals. Copyright © 2017, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

  11. The Colorado Ultraviolet Transit Experiment (CUTE): Observing Mass Loss on Short-Period Exoplanets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Egan, Arika; Fleming, Brian; France, Kevin

    2018-06-01

    The Colorado Ultraviolet Transit Experiment (CUTE) is an NUV spectrograph packaged into a 6U CubeSat, designed to characterize the interaction between exoplanetary atmospheres and their host stars. CUTE will conduct a transit spectroscopy survey, gathering data over multiple transits on more than 12 short-period exoplanets with a range of masses and radii. The instrument will characterize the spectral properties of the transit light curves to atomic and molecular absorption features predicted to exist in the upper atmospheres of these planets, including Mg I, Mg II, Fe II, and OH. The shape and evolution of these spectral light curves will be used to quantify mass loss rates, the stellar drives of that mass loss, and the possible existence of exoplanetary magnetic fiends. This poster presents the science motivation for CUTE, planned observation and data analysis methods, and expected results.

  12. A Model of the Pulsating Extremely Low-mass White Dwarf Precursor WASP 0247–25B

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Istrate, A. G. [Center for Gravitation, Cosmology, and Astrophysics, Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, P.O. Box 413, Milwaukee, WI 53201 (United States); Fontaine, G. [Département de Physique, Université de Montréal, C.P. 6128, Succursale Centre-Ville, Montréal, QC H3C 3J7 (Canada); Heuser, C., E-mail: istrate@uwm.edu [Dr. Karl Remeis-Observatory and ECAP, Astronomical Institute, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Sternwartstr. 7, D-96049 Bamberg (Germany)

    2017-10-01

    We present an analysis of the evolutionary and pulsation properties of the extremely low-mass white dwarf precursor (B) component of the double-lined eclipsing system WASP 0247−25. Given that the fundamental parameters of that star have been obtained previously at a unique level of precision, WASP 0247−25B represents the ideal case for testing evolutionary models of this newly found category of pulsators. Taking into account the known constraints on the mass, orbital period, effective temperature, surface gravity, and atmospheric composition, we present a model that is compatible with these constraints and show pulsation modes that have periods very close to the observed values. Importantly, these modes are predicted to be excited. Although the overall consistency remains perfectible, the observable properties of WASP 0247−25B are closely reproduced. A key ingredient of our binary evolutionary models is represented by rotational mixing as the main competitor against gravitational settling. Depending on assumptions made about the values of the degree index ℓ for the observed pulsation modes, we found three possible seismic solutions. We discuss two tests, rotational splitting and multicolor photometry, that should readily identify the modes and discriminate between these solutions. However, this will require improved temporal resolution and higher S/N observations, which are currently unavailable.

  13. KEPLER OBSERVATIONS OF THREE PRE-LAUNCH EXOPLANET CANDIDATES: DISCOVERY OF TWO ECLIPSING BINARIES AND A NEW EXOPLANET

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Howell, Steve B.; Rowe, Jason F.; Bryson, Stephen T.; Sherry, William; Von Braun, Kaspar; Ciardi, David R.; Feldmeier, John J.; Horch, Elliott; Van Belle, Gerard T.

    2010-01-01

    Three transiting exoplanet candidate stars were discovered in a ground-based photometric survey prior to the launch of NASA's Kepler mission. Kepler observations of them were obtained during Quarter 1 of the Kepler mission. All three stars are faint by radial velocity follow-up standards, so we have examined these candidates with regard to eliminating false positives and providing high confidence exoplanet selection. We present a first attempt to exclude false positives for this set of faint stars without high-resolution radial velocity analysis. This method of exoplanet confirmation will form a large part of the Kepler mission follow-up for Jupiter-sized exoplanet candidates orbiting faint stars. Using the Kepler light curves and pixel data, as well as medium-resolution reconnaissance spectroscopy and speckle imaging, we find that two of our candidates are binary stars. One consists of a late-F star with an early M companion, while the other is a K0 star plus a late M-dwarf/brown dwarf in a 19 day elliptical orbit. The third candidate (BOKS-1) is an r = 15 G8V star hosting a newly discovered exoplanet with a radius of 1.12 R Jupiter in a 3.9 day orbit.

  14. Reigniting the Debate: First Spectroscopic Evidence for Stratospheres In Hot Jupiters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mandell, Avi M.; Haynes, Korey; Madhusudhan, Nikku; Deming, Drake; Knutson, Heather

    2015-12-01

    Hot Jupiters represent an extreme end of the exoplanet distribution: they orbit very close to their host stars, which subjects them to an intense heating from stellar radiation. An inverted temperature structure (i.e. a stratosphere) was an early observable prediction from atmospheric models of these planets, which demonstrated that high-temperature absorbers such as TiO and VO could reprocess incident UV/visible irradiation to heat the upper layers of the atmosphere.Evidence for such thermal inversions began with the first secondary eclipse measurements of transiting hot Jupiters taken with the IRAC camera on Spitzer, offering the chance to physical processe at work in the atmospheres of hot exoplanets. However, these efforts have been stymied by recent revelations of significant systematic biases and uncertainties buried within older Spitzer results, calling into question whether or not temperature inversions are actually present in hot Jupiters.We have recently published spectroscopy of secondary eclipses of the extrasolar planet WASP-33b using the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) on the Hubble Space Telescope, which allow us to constrain the temperature structure and composition of its dayside atmosphere. WASP-33b is one of the most highly irradiated hot Jupiters discovered to date and orbits a relatively inactive A star, making it an excellent candidate for eclipse spectroscopy at NIR wavelengths (1.1 - 1.7 µm). We find that a fit to combined data from HST, Spitzer and ground-based photometry can rule out models without a temperature inversion; additionally, we find that our measured spectrum displays excess in the measured flux toward short wavelengths that is best explained as emission from TiO.This discovery re-opens the debate on the presence and origin of stratospheres in hot Jupiters, but it also confirms that the combination of HST spectroscopy and a robust analysis of Spitzer and ground-based photometry can conclusively detect thermally inverted atmospheres

  15. The Transit Light Curve Project. VIII. Six Occultations of the Exoplanet TrES-3

    OpenAIRE

    Winn, Joshua N.; Holman, Matthew J.; Shporer, Avi; Fernandez, Jose; Mazeh, Tsevi; Latham, David W.; Charbonneau, David; Everett, Mark E.

    2008-01-01

    We present photometry of the exoplanet host star TrES-3 spanning six occultations (secondary eclipses) of its giant planet. No flux decrements were detected, leading to 99%-confidence upper limits on the planet-to-star flux ratio of 0.00024, 0.0005, and 0.00086 in the i, z, and R bands respectively. The corresponding upper limits on the planet's geometric albedo are 0.30, 0.62, and 1.07. The upper limit in the i band rules out the presence of highly reflective clouds, and is only a factor of ...

  16. Using multi-disciplinary optimization and numerical simulation on the transiting exoplanet survey satellite

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stoeckel, Gerhard P.; Doyle, Keith B.

    2017-08-01

    The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is an instrument consisting of four, wide fieldof- view CCD cameras dedicated to the discovery of exoplanets around the brightest stars, and understanding the diversity of planets and planetary systems in our galaxy. Each camera utilizes a seven-element lens assembly with low-power and low-noise CCD electronics. Advanced multivariable optimization and numerical simulation capabilities accommodating arbitrarily complex objective functions have been added to the internally developed Lincoln Laboratory Integrated Modeling and Analysis Software (LLIMAS) and used to assess system performance. Various optical phenomena are accounted for in these analyses including full dn/dT spatial distributions in lenses and charge diffusion in the CCD electronics. These capabilities are utilized to design CCD shims for thermal vacuum chamber testing and flight, and verify comparable performance in both environments across a range of wavelengths, field points and temperature distributions. Additionally, optimizations and simulations are used for model correlation and robustness optimizations.

  17. Exoplanet Peer-Learning Exercises for Introductory Astronomy Courses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wisniewski, John P.; Larson, A.

    2010-01-01

    While exoplanet research has witnessed explosive growth over the past decade with over 350 exoplanets identified to date (http://exoplanet.eu), few education and public outreach tools capable of bringing the techniques and results of exoplanet science into the classroom have been developed. To help reduce this shortcoming, we have been developing and implementing a series of exoplanet-related active-learning exercises to be used in non-astronomy major introductory settings, including think-pair-share questions and peer-learning activities. We discuss some of these activities which we have field tested in undergraduate classes at the University of Washington. We also discuss our efforts to engage students in these classes in obtaining and analyzing astronomical observations of exoplanet host stars to identify and characterize exoplanet transit events. JPW acknowledges support from NSF Astronomy & Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship AST 08-02230.

  18. Transiting exoplanets from the CoRoT space mission . VI. CoRoT-Exo-3b: the first secure inhabitant of the brown-dwarf desert

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deleuil, M.; Deeg, H. J.; Alonso, R.; Bouchy, F.; Rouan, D.; Auvergne, M.; Baglin, A.; Aigrain, S.; Almenara, J. M.; Barbieri, M.; Barge, P.; Bruntt, H.; Bordé, P.; Collier Cameron, A.; Csizmadia, Sz.; de La Reza, R.; Dvorak, R.; Erikson, A.; Fridlund, M.; Gandolfi, D.; Gillon, M.; Guenther, E.; Guillot, T.; Hatzes, A.; Hébrard, G.; Jorda, L.; Lammer, H.; Léger, A.; Llebaria, A.; Loeillet, B.; Mayor, M.; Mazeh, T.; Moutou, C.; Ollivier, M.; Pätzold, M.; Pont, F.; Queloz, D.; Rauer, H.; Schneider, J.; Shporer, A.; Wuchterl, G.; Zucker, S.

    2008-12-01

    Context: The CoRoT space mission routinely provides high-precision photometric measurements of thousands of stars that have been continuously observed for months. Aims: The discovery and characterization of the first very massive transiting planetary companion with a short orbital period is reported. Methods: A series of 34 transits was detected in the CoRoT light curve of an F3V star, observed from May to October 2007 for 152 days. The radius was accurately determined and the mass derived for this new transiting, thanks to the combined analysis of the light curve and complementary ground-based observations: high-precision radial-velocity measurements, on-off photometry, and high signal-to-noise spectroscopic observations. Results: CoRoT-Exo-3b has a radius of 1.01 ± 0.07 R_Jup and transits around its F3-type primary every 4.26 days in a synchronous orbit. Its mass of 21.66 ± 1.0 M_Jup, density of 26.4 ± 5.6 g cm-3, and surface gravity of logg = 4.72 clearly distinguish it from the regular close-in planet population, making it the most intriguing transiting substellar object discovered so far. Conclusions: With the current data, the nature of CoRoT-Exo-3b is ambiguous, as it could either be a low-mass brown-dwarf or a member of a new class of “superplanets”. Its discovery may help constrain the evolution of close-in planets and brown-dwarfs better. Finally, CoRoT-Exo-3b confirms the trend that massive transiting giant planets (M ≥ 4 M_Jup) are found preferentially around more massive stars than the Sun. The CoRoT space mission, launched on December 27th 2006, has been developed and is operating by CNES, with the contribution of Austria, Belgium, Brasil, ESA, Germany and Spain. The first CoRoT data will be available to the public in February 2009 from the CoRoT archive: http://idoc-corot.ias.u-psud.fr/ Table of the COROT photometry is only available in electronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via http

  19. Searching for the Transit of the Earth-mass Exoplanet Proxima Centauri b in Antarctica: Preliminary Result

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Hui-Gen; Jiang, Peng; Huang, Xingxing; Yu, Zhou-Yi; Yang, Ming; Jia, Minghao; Awiphan, Supachai; Pan, Xiang; Liu, Bo; Zhang, Hongfei; Wang, Jian; Li, Zhengyang; Du, Fujia; Li, Xiaoyan; Lu, Haiping; Zhang, Zhiyong; Tian, Qi-Guo; Li, Bin; Ji, Tuo; Zhang, Shaohua; Shi, Xiheng; Wang, Ji; Zhou, Ji-Lin; Zhou, Hongyan

    2018-01-01

    Proxima Centauri is known as the closest star to the Sun. Recently, radial velocity (RV) observations revealed the existence of an Earth-mass planet around it. With an orbital period of ∼11 days, Proxima Centauri b is probably in the habitable zone of its host star. We undertook a photometric monitoring campaign to search for its transit, using the Bright Star Survey Telescope at the Zhongshan Station in Antarctica. A transit-like signal appearing on 2016 September 8 has been tentatively identified. Its midtime, T C = 2,457,640.1990 ± 0.0017 HJD, is consistent with the predicted ephemeris based on the RV orbit in a 1σ confidence interval. Time-correlated noise is pronounced in the light curve of Proxima Centauri, affecting the detection of transits. We develop a technique, in a Gaussian process framework, to gauge the statistical significance of a potential transit detection. The tentative transit signal reported here has a confidence level of 2.5σ. Further detection of its periodic signals is necessary to confirm the planetary transit of Proxima Centauri b. We plan to monitor Proxima Centauri in the next polar night at Dome A in Antarctica, taking advantage of continuous darkness. Kipping et al. reported two tentative transit-like signals of Proxima Centauri b observed by the Microvariability and Oscillation of Stars space telescope in 2014 and 2015. The midtransit time of our detection is 138 minutes later than that predicted by their transit ephemeris. If all of the signals are real transits, the misalignment of the epochs plausibly suggests transit timing variations of Proxima Centauri b induced by an outer planet in this system.

  20. TRANSIT OF EXOMOON PLASMA TORI: NEW DIAGNOSIS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ben-Jaffel, Lotfi [UPMC, University of Paris 06, UMR 7095, Institut d' Astrophysique de Paris, F-75014 Paris (France); Ballester, Gilda E., E-mail: bjaffel@iap.fr, E-mail: gilda@pirl.lpl.arizona.edu [Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, 1541 E. University Blvd, Tucson, AZ 85721-0063 (United States)

    2014-04-20

    In the solar system, moons largely exceed planets in number. The Kepler database has been shown to be sensitive to exomoon detection down to the mass of Mars, but the first search has been unsuccessful. Here, we use a particles-in-cell code to predict the transit of the plasma torus produced by a satellite. Despite the small size of a moon, the spatial extent of its plasma torus can be large enough to produce substantial transit absorptions. The model is used for the interpretation of Hubble Space Telescope early ingress absorptions apparently observed during the WASP-12 b and HD 189733 b UV transits for which no consistent explanation exists. For HD 189733 b an exomoon transiting ∼16 R{sub p} ahead of the planet and loading ∼10{sup 29} C II ions s{sup –1} into space is required to explain the tentative early ingress absorption observed for C II. For WASP-12b, a moon transiting ∼6 R{sub p} ahead from the planet and ejecting ∼10{sup 28} Mg II ions per second is required to explain the NUV early ingress absorption feature. Interestingly, both HD 189733 b and WASP-12b predicted satellites are outside the Hill sphere of their planets, an indication that the moons, if present, were not formed in situ but probably captured later. Finally, our simulations show a strong electromagnetic coupling between the polar regions of planets and the orbital position of the moons, an expected outcome of the unipolar induction DC circuit model. Future observations should test our predictions with a potential opportunity to unambiguously detect the first exomoon plasma torus.

  1. Amateur observations of exoplanets in Finland: History and recent activities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mäkelä, V.; Haukka, H.; Oksanen, A.; Kehusmaa, P.; Hentunen, V.-P.

    2017-09-01

    Exoplanet have been observed by Finnish amateur astronomers already 17 years. Recently there are two active observers, but the interest to photometric observations on exoplanet transits is increasing in Finland.

  2. The Next Generation Transit Survey (NGTS)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wheatley, Peter J.; West, Richard G.; Goad, Michael R.; Jenkins, James S.; Pollacco, Don L.; Queloz, Didier; Rauer, Heike; Udry, Stéphane; Watson, Christopher A.; Chazelas, Bruno; Eigmüller, Philipp; Lambert, Gregory; Genolet, Ludovic; McCormac, James; Walker, Simon; Armstrong, David J.; Bayliss, Daniel; Bento, Joao; Bouchy, François; Burleigh, Matthew R.; Cabrera, Juan; Casewell, Sarah L.; Chaushev, Alexander; Chote, Paul; Csizmadia, Szilárd; Erikson, Anders; Faedi, Francesca; Foxell, Emma; Gänsicke, Boris T.; Gillen, Edward; Grange, Andrew; Günther, Maximilian N.; Hodgkin, Simon T.; Jackman, James; Jordán, Andrés; Louden, Tom; Metrailler, Lionel; Moyano, Maximiliano; Nielsen, Louise D.; Osborn, Hugh P.; Poppenhaeger, Katja; Raddi, Roberto; Raynard, Liam; Smith, Alexis M. S.; Soto, Maritza; Titz-Weider, Ruth

    2018-04-01

    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.

  3. VizieR Online Data Catalog: K2-19b light curve (Armstrong+, 2015)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Armstrong, D. J.; Santerne, A.; Veras, D.; Barros, S. C. C.; Demangeon, O.; Lillo-Box, J.; McCormac, J.; Osborn, H. P.; Tsantaki, M.; Almenara, J.-M.; Barrado, D.; Boisse, I.; Bonomo, A. S.; Brown, D. J. A.; Bruno, G.; Rey Cerda, J.; Courcol, B.; Deleuil, M.; Diaz, R. F.; Doyle, A. P.; Hebrard, G.; Kirk, J.; Lam, K. W. F.; Pollacco, D. L.; Rajpurohit, A.; Spake, J.; Walker, S. R.

    2015-08-01

    The Near Infrared Transiting ExoplanetS (NITES) Telescope is a semi-robotic 0.4m (f/10) Meade LX200GPS Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope installed at the ORM, La Palma. One transit of K2-19b was observed on 2015 Feb 28. The telescope was defocused slightly to 3.3 FWHM and 814 images of 20s exposure time were obtained with 5s dead time between each. Observations were obtained without a filter. The table presents data taken with the NITES telescope shown in Figure 1 of the publication. (1 data file).

  4. A ground-based near-infrared emission spectrum of the exoplanet HD 189733b.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swain, Mark R; Deroo, Pieter; Griffith, Caitlin A; Tinetti, Giovanna; Thatte, Azam; Vasisht, Gautam; Chen, Pin; Bouwman, Jeroen; Crossfield, Ian J; Angerhausen, Daniel; Afonso, Cristina; Henning, Thomas

    2010-02-04

    Detection of molecules using infrared spectroscopy probes the conditions and compositions of exoplanet atmospheres. Water (H(2)O), methane (CH(4)), carbon dioxide (CO(2)), and carbon monoxide (CO) have been detected in two hot Jupiters. These previous results relied on space-based telescopes that do not provide spectroscopic capability in the 2.4-5.2 microm spectral region. Here we report ground-based observations of the dayside emission spectrum for HD 189733b between 2.0-2.4 microm and 3.1-4.1 microm, where we find a bright emission feature. Where overlap with space-based instruments exists, our results are in excellent agreement with previous measurements. A feature at approximately 3.25 microm is unexpected and difficult to explain with models that assume local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) conditions at the 1 bar to 1 x 10(-6) bar pressures typically sampled by infrared measurements. The most likely explanation for this feature is that it arises from non-LTE emission from CH(4), similar to what is seen in the atmospheres of planets in our own Solar System. These results suggest that non-LTE effects may need to be considered when interpreting measurements of strongly irradiated exoplanets.

  5. Standardizing Exoplanet Analysis with the Exoplanet Characterization Tool Kit (ExoCTK)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fowler, Julia; Stevenson, Kevin B.; Lewis, Nikole K.; Fraine, Jonathan D.; Pueyo, Laurent; Bruno, Giovanni; Filippazzo, Joe; Hill, Matthew; Batalha, Natasha; Wakeford, Hannah; Bushra, Rafia

    2018-06-01

    Exoplanet characterization depends critically on analysis tools, models, and spectral libraries that are constantly under development and have no single source nor sense of unified style or methods. The complexity of spectroscopic analysis and initial time commitment required to become competitive is prohibitive to new researchers entering the field, as well as a remaining obstacle for established groups hoping to contribute in a comparable manner to their peers. As a solution, we are developing an open-source, modular data analysis package in Python and a publicly facing web interface including tools that address atmospheric characterization, transit observation planning with JWST, JWST corongraphy simulations, limb darkening, forward modeling, and data reduction, as well as libraries of stellar, planet, and opacity models. The foundation of these software tools and libraries exist within pockets of the exoplanet community, but our project will gather these seedling tools and grow a robust, uniform, and well-maintained exoplanet characterization toolkit.

  6. Searching for Exoplanets using Artificial Intelligence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pearson, Kyle Alexander; Palafox, Leon; Griffith, Caitlin Ann

    2017-10-01

    In the last decade, over a million stars were monitored to detect transiting planets. The large volume of data obtained from current and future missions (e.g. Kepler, K2, TESS and LSST) requires automated methods to detect the signature of a planet. Manual interpretation of potential exoplanet candidates is labor intensive and subject to human error, the results of which are difficult to quantify. Here we present a new method of detecting exoplanet candidates in large planetary search projects which, unlike current methods uses a neural network. Neural networks, also called ``deep learning'' or ``deep nets'', are a state of the art machine learning technique designed to give a computer perception into a specific problem by training it to recognize patterns. Unlike past transit detection algorithms, the deep net learns to characterize the data instead of relying on hand-coded metrics that humans perceive as the most representative. Exoplanet transits have different shapes, as a result of, e.g. the planet's and stellar atmosphere and transit geometry. Thus, a simple template does not suffice to capture the subtle details, especially if the signal is below the noise or strong systematics are present. Current false-positive rates from the Kepler data are estimated around 12.3% for Earth-like planets and there has been no study of the false negative rates. It is therefore important to ask how the properties of current algorithms exactly affect the results of the Kepler mission and, future missions such as TESS, which flies next year. These uncertainties affect the fundamental research derived from missions, such as the discovery of habitable planets, estimates of their occurrence rates and our understanding about the nature and evolution of planetary systems.

  7. Implications of the Secondary Eclipse of Exoplanet HAT-P-11b

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barry, Richard K.; Deming, L. D.; Bakos, G.; Harrington, J.; Madhusudhan, N.; Noyes, R.; Seager, S.

    2010-01-01

    We observed exoplanet HAT-P-11b and have successfully detected its secondary eclipse. We conducted observations using the Spitzer Space Telescope in the post-cryo mission at 3.6 microns for a period of 22 hours centered on the anticipated secondary eclipse time, to detect the eclipse and determine its phase. Having detected the secondary eclipse, we are at present making a more focused series of observations in both the 3.6 and 4.5 micron bands to fully characterize it. HAT-P-11b is one of only two known exo-Neptunes and has a period of 4.8878 days, radius of 0.422 RJ, mass of 0.081 MJ and semi-major axis 0.053 AU. Measurements of the secondary eclipse will serve to clarify two key issues; 1) the planetary brightness temperature and the nature of its atmosphere, and 2) the eccentricity of its orbit, with implications for its dynamical evolution. We discuss implications of these observations.

  8. Trajectory Design for the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dichmann, Donald J.; Parker, Joel; Williams, Trevor; Mendelsohn, Chad

    2014-01-01

    The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) mission launching in 2017. TESS will travel in a highly eccentric orbit around Earth, with initial perigee radius near 17 Earth radii (Re) and apogee radius near 59 Re. The orbit period is near 2:1 resonance with the Moon, with apogee nearly 90 degrees out-of-phase with the Moon, in a configuration that has been shown to be operationally stable. TESS will execute phasing loops followed by a lunar flyby, with a final maneuver to achieve 2:1 resonance with the Moon. The goals of a resonant orbit with long-term stability, short eclipses and limited oscillations of perigee present significant challenges to the trajectory design. To rapidly assess launch opportunities, we adapted the SWM76 launch window tool to assess the TESS mission constraints. To understand the long-term dynamics of such a resonant orbit in the Earth-Moon system we employed Dynamical Systems Theory in the Circular Restricted 3-Body Problem (CR3BP). For precise trajectory analysis we use a high-fidelity model and multiple shooting in the General Mission Analysis Tool (GMAT) to optimize the maneuver delta-V and meet mission constraints. Finally we describe how the techniques we have developed can be applied to missions with similar requirements.

  9. Spectroscopy of Exoplanet Atmospheres with the FINESSE Explorer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deroo, Pieter; Swain, Mark R.; Green, Robert O.

    2012-01-01

    FINESSE (Fast INfrared Exoplanet Spectroscopic Survey Explorer) will provide uniquely detailed information on the growing number of newly discovered planets by characterizing their atmospheric composition and temperature structure. This NASA Explorer mission, selected for a competitive Phase A study, is unique in its breath and scope thanks to broad instantaneous spectroscopy from the optical to the mid-IR (0.7 - 5 micron), with a survey of exoplanets measured in a consistent, uniform way. For 200 transiting exoplanets ranging from Terrestrial to Jovians, FINESSE will measure the chemical composition and temperature structure of their atmospheres and trace changes over time with exoplanet longitude. The mission will do so by measuring the spectroscopic time series for a primary and secondary eclipse over the exoplanet orbital phase curve. With spectrophotometric precision being a key enabling aspect for combined light exoplanet characterization, FINESSE is designed to produce spectrophotometric precision of better than 100 parts-per-million per spectral channel without the need for decorrelation. The exceptional stability of FINESSE will even allow the mission to characterize non-transiting planets, potentially as part of FINESSE's Participating Scientist Program. In this paper, we discuss the flow down from the target availability to observations and scheduling to the analysis and calibration of the data and how it enables FINESSE to be the mission that will truly expand the new field of comparative exoplanetology.

  10. Transit confirmation and improved stellar and planet parameters for the super-Earth HD 97658 b and its host star

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Van Grootel, V.; Gillon, M.; Scuflaire, R. [Institut d' Astrophysique et de Géophysique, Université de Liège, 17 Allée du 6 Août, B-4000 Liège (Belgium); Valencia, D. [Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, University of Toronto, 1265 Military Trail, Toronto, ON, M1C 1A4 (Canada); Madhusudhan, N.; Demory, B.-O.; Queloz, D. [Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0HA (United Kingdom); Dragomir, D. [Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network, 6740 Cortona Dr. Suite 102, Goleta, CA 93117 (United States); Howe, A. R.; Burrows, A. S. [Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544 (United States); Deming, D. [Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742-2421 (United States); Ehrenreich, D.; Lovis, C.; Mayor, M.; Pepe, F.; Segransan, D.; Udry, S. [Observatoire de Genève, Université de Genève, 51 Chemin des Maillettes, CH-1290 Sauverny (Switzerland); Seager, S., E-mail: valerie.vangrootel@ulg.ac.be [Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States)

    2014-05-01

    Super-Earths transiting nearby bright stars are key objects that simultaneously allow for accurate measurements of both their mass and radius, providing essential constraints on their internal composition. We present here the confirmation, based on Spitzer transit observations, that the super-Earth HD 97658 b transits its host star. HD 97658 is a low-mass (M {sub *} = 0.77 ± 0.05 M {sub ☉}) K1 dwarf, as determined from the Hipparcos parallax and stellar evolution modeling. To constrain the planet parameters, we carry out Bayesian global analyses of Keck-High Resolution Echelle Spectrometer (Keck-HIRES) radial velocities and Microvariability and Oscillations of STars (MOST) and Spitzer photometry. HD 97658 b is a massive (M{sub P}=7.55{sub −0.79}{sup +0.83} M{sub ⊕}) and large (R{sub P}=2.247{sub −0.095}{sup +0.098}R{sub ⊕} at 4.5 μm) super-Earth. We investigate the possible internal compositions for HD 97658 b. Our results indicate a large rocky component, of at least 60% by mass, and very little H-He components, at most 2% by mass. We also discuss how future asteroseismic observations can improve the knowledge of the HD 97658 system, in particular by constraining its age. Orbiting a bright host star, HD 97658 b will be a key target for upcoming space missions such as the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), the Characterizing Exoplanet Satellite (CHEOPS), the Planetary Transits and Oscillations of stars (PLATO), and the James Webb Space Telescope to characterize thoroughly its structure and atmosphere.

  11. Characterizing Exoplanet Habitability with Emission Spectroscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robinson, Tyler

    2018-01-01

    Results from NASA’s Kepler mission and other recent exoplanet surveys have demonstrated that potentially habitable exoplanets are relatively common, especially in the case of low-mass stellar hosts. The next key question that must be addressed for such planets is whether or not these worlds are actually habitable, implying they could sustain surface liquid water. Only through investigations of the potential habitability of exoplanets and through searches for biosignatures from these planets will we be able to understand if the emergence of life is a common phenomenon in our galaxy. Emission spectroscopy for transiting exoplanets (sometimes called secondary eclipse spectroscopy) is a powerful technique that future missions will use to study the atmospheres and surfaces of worlds orbiting in the habitable zones of nearby, low-mass stars. Emission observations that span the mid-infrared wavelength range for potentially habitable exoplanets provide opportunities to detect key habitability and life signatures, and also allow observers to probe atmospheric and surface temperatures. This presentation will outline the case for using emission spectroscopy to understand if an exoplanet can sustain surface liquid water, which is believed to be a critical precursor to the origin of life.

  12. The Exoplanet Characterization ToolKit (ExoCTK)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stevenson, Kevin; Fowler, Julia; Lewis, Nikole K.; Fraine, Jonathan; Pueyo, Laurent; Valenti, Jeff; Bruno, Giovanni; Filippazzo, Joseph; Hill, Matthew; Batalha, Natasha E.; Bushra, Rafia

    2018-01-01

    The success of exoplanet characterization depends critically on a patchwork of analysis tools and spectroscopic libraries that currently require extensive development and lack a centralized support system. Due to the complexity of spectroscopic analyses and initial time commitment required to become productive, there are currently a limited number of teams that are actively advancing the field. New teams with significant expertise, but without the proper tools, face prohibitively steep hills to climb before they can contribute. As a solution, we are developing an open-source, modular data analysis package in Python and a publicly facing web interface focused primarily on atmospheric characterization of exoplanets and exoplanet transit observation planning with JWST. The foundation of these software tools and libraries exist within pockets of the exoplanet community. Our project will gather these seedling tools and grow a robust, uniform, and well maintained exoplanet characterization toolkit.

  13. Marginalizing Instrument Systematics in HST WFC3 Transit Light Curves

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wakeford, H. R.; Sing, D. K.; Evans, T.; Deming, D.; Mandell, A.

    2016-03-01

    Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) infrared observations at 1.1-1.7 μm probe primarily the H2O absorption band at 1.4 μm, and have provided low-resolution transmission spectra for a wide range of exoplanets. We present the application of marginalization based on Gibson to analyze exoplanet transit light curves obtained from HST WFC3 to better determine important transit parameters such as Rp/R*, which are important for accurate detections of H2O. We approximate the evidence, often referred to as the marginal likelihood, for a grid of systematic models using the Akaike Information Criterion. We then calculate the evidence-based weight assigned to each systematic model and use the information from all tested models to calculate the final marginalized transit parameters for both the band-integrated and spectroscopic light curves to construct the transmission spectrum. We find that a majority of the highest weight models contain a correction for a linear trend in time as well as corrections related to HST orbital phase. We additionally test the dependence on the shift in spectral wavelength position over the course of the observations and find that spectroscopic wavelength shifts {δ }λ (λ ) best describe the associated systematic in the spectroscopic light curves for most targets while fast scan rate observations of bright targets require an additional level of processing to produce a robust transmission spectrum. The use of marginalization allows for transparent interpretation and understanding of the instrument and the impact of each systematic evaluated statistically for each data set, expanding the ability to make true and comprehensive comparisons between exoplanet atmospheres.

  14. Engaging Undergraduate Students in Transiting Exoplanet Research with Small Telescopes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stephens, Denise C.; Stoker, E.; Gaillard, C.; Ranquist, E.; Lara, P.; Wright, K.

    2013-10-01

    Brigham Young University has a relatively large undergraduate physics program with 300 to 360 physics majors. Each of these students is required to be engaged in a research group and to produce a senior thesis before graduating. For the astronomy professors, this means that each of us is mentoring at least 4-6 undergraduate students at any given time. For the past few years I have been searching for meaningful research projects that make use of our telescope resources and are exciting for both myself and my students. We first started following up Kepler Objects of Interest with our 0.9 meter telescope, but quickly realized that most of the transits we could observe were better analyzed with Kepler data and were false positive objects. So now we have joined a team that is searching for transiting planets, and my students are using our 16" telescope to do ground based follow-up on the hundreds of possible transiting planet candidates produced by this survey. In this presentation I will describe our current telescopes, the observational setup, and how we use our telescopes to search for transiting planets. I'll describe some of the software the students have written. I'll also explain how to use the NASA Exoplanet Archive to gather data on known transiting planets and Kepler Objects of Interests. These databases are useful for determining the observational limits of your small telescopes and teaching your students how to reduce and report data on transiting planets. Once that is in place, you are potentially ready to join existing transiting planet missions by doing ground-based follow-up. I will explain how easy it can be to implement this type of research at any high school, college, or university with a small telescope and CCD camera.

  15. Discovery, Characterization, and Dynamics of Transiting Exoplanets

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Van Eylen, Vincent

    2015-01-01

    of the planet Kepler-410A~b, a Neptune-sized planet in a 17 day orbit. Kepler-410 is composed of two stars, one of which hosts a transiting planet, and an additional non-transiting planet. The latter was discovered due to its gravitational influence on Kepler-410A~b, which causes a variation in the timing...

  16. INFRARED ECLIPSES OF THE STRONGLY IRRADIATED PLANET WASP-33b, AND OSCILLATIONS OF ITS HOST STAR

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Deming, Drake; Fraine, Jonathan D. [Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 (United States); Sada, Pedro V. [Department of Mathematics and Physics, Universidad de Monterrey, Monterrey (Mexico); Madhusudhan, Nikku [Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544-1001 (United States); Knutson, Heather A. [Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Harrington, Joseph; Blecic, Jasmina; Nymeyer, Sarah [Planetary Sciences Group, Department of Physics, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816-2385 (United States); Smith, Alexis M. S. [Astrophysics Group, Keele University, Staffordshire ST5 5BG (United Kingdom); Jackson, Brian, E-mail: ddeming@astro.umd.edu [Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, DC 20015 (United States)

    2012-08-01

    We observe two secondary eclipses of the strongly irradiated transiting planet WASP-33b, in the K{sub s} band at 2.15 {mu}m, and one secondary eclipse each at 3.6 {mu}m and 4.5 {mu}m using Warm Spitzer. This planet orbits an A5V {delta}-Scuti star that is known to exhibit low-amplitude non-radial p-mode oscillations at about 0.1% semi-amplitude. We detect stellar oscillations in all of our infrared eclipse data, and also in one night of observations at J band (1.25 {mu}m) out of eclipse. The oscillation amplitude, in all infrared bands except K{sub s} , is about the same as in the optical. However, the stellar oscillations in K{sub s} band (2.15 {mu}m) have about twice the amplitude (0.2%) as seen in the optical, possibly because the Brackett-{gamma} line falls in this bandpass. As regards the exoplanetary eclipse, we use our best-fit values for the eclipse depth, as well as the 0.9 {mu}m eclipse observed by Smith et al., to explore possible states of the exoplanetary atmosphere, based on the method of Madhusudhan and Seager. On this basis we find two possible states for the atmospheric structure of WASP-33b. One possibility is a non-inverted temperature structure in spite of the strong irradiance, but this model requires an enhanced carbon abundance (C/O > 1). The alternative model has solar composition, but an inverted temperature structure. Spectroscopy of the planet at secondary eclipse, using a spectral resolution that can resolve the water vapor band structure, should be able to break the degeneracy between these very different possible states of the exoplanetary atmosphere. However, both of those model atmospheres absorb nearly all of the stellar irradiance with minimal longitudinal re-distribution of energy, strengthening the hypothesis of Cowan and Agol that the most strongly irradiated planets circulate energy poorly. Our measurement of the central phase of the eclipse yields ecos {omega} = 0.0003 {+-} 0.00013, which we regard as being consistent with a

  17. The detectability of radio emission from exoplanets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lynch, C. R.; Murphy, Tara; Lenc, E.; Kaplan, D. L.

    2018-05-01

    Like the magnetised planets in our Solar System, magnetised exoplanets should emit strongly at radio wavelengths. Radio emission directly traces the planetary magnetic fields and radio detections can place constraints on the physical parameters of these features. Large comparative studies of predicted radio emission characteristics for the known population of exoplanets help to identify what physical parameters could be key for producing bright, observable radio emission. Since the last comparative study, many thousands of exoplanets have been discovered. We report new estimates for the radio flux densities and maximum emission frequencies for the current population of known exoplanets orbiting pre-main sequence and main-sequence stars with spectral types F-M. The set of exoplanets predicted to produce observable radio emission are Hot Jupiters orbiting young stars. The youth of these system predicts strong stellar magnetic fields and/or dense winds, which are key for producing bright, observable radio emission. We use a new all-sky circular polarisation Murchison Widefield Array survey to place sensitive limits on 200 MHz emission from exoplanets, with 3σ values ranging from 4.0 - 45.0 mJy. Using a targeted Giant Metre Wave Radio Telescope observing campaign, we also report a 3σ upper limit of 4.5 mJy on the radio emission from V830 Tau b, the first Hot Jupiter to be discovered orbiting a pre-main sequence star. Our limit is the first to be reported for the low-frequency radio emission from this source.

  18. Towards Automatic Classification of Exoplanet-Transit-Like Signals: A Case Study on Kepler Mission Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valizadegan, Hamed; Martin, Rodney; McCauliff, Sean D.; Jenkins, Jon Michael; Catanzarite, Joseph; Oza, Nikunj C.

    2015-08-01

    Building new catalogues of planetary candidates, astrophysical false alarms, and non-transiting phenomena is a challenging task that currently requires a reviewing team of astrophysicists and astronomers. These scientists need to examine more than 100 diagnostic metrics and associated graphics for each candidate exoplanet-transit-like signal to classify it into one of the three classes. Considering that the NASA Explorer Program's TESS mission and ESA's PLATO mission survey even a larger area of space, the classification of their transit-like signals is more time-consuming for human agents and a bottleneck to successfully construct the new catalogues in a timely manner. This encourages building automatic classification tools that can quickly and reliably classify the new signal data from these missions. The standard tool for building automatic classification systems is the supervised machine learning that requires a large set of highly accurate labeled examples in order to build an effective classifier. This requirement cannot be easily met for classifying transit-like signals because not only are existing labeled signals very limited, but also the current labels may not be reliable (because the labeling process is a subjective task). Our experiments with using different supervised classifiers to categorize transit-like signals verifies that the labeled signals are not rich enough to provide the classifier with enough power to generalize well beyond the observed cases (e.g. to unseen or test signals). That motivated us to utilize a new category of learning techniques, so-called semi-supervised learning, that combines the label information from the costly labeled signals, and distribution information from the cheaply available unlabeled signals in order to construct more effective classifiers. Our study on the Kepler Mission data shows that semi-supervised learning can significantly improve the result of multiple base classifiers (e.g. Support Vector Machines, Ada

  19. Examining the Potential of LSST to Contribute to Exoplanet Discovery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lund, Michael B.; Pepper, Joshua; Jacklin, Savannah; Stassun, Keivan G.

    2018-01-01

    The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), currently under construction in Chile with scheduled first light in 2019, will be one of the major sources of data in the next decade and is one of the top priorities expressed in the last Decadal Survey. As LSST is intended to cover a range of science questions, and so the LSST community is still working on optimizing the observing strategy of the survey. With a survey area that will cover half the sky in 6 bands providing photometric data on billions of stars from 16th to 24th magnitude, LSST has the ability to be leveraged to help contribute to exoplanet science. In particular, LSST has the potential to detect exoplanets around stellar populations that are not normally usually included in transiting exoplanet searches. This includes searching for exoplanets around red and white dwarfs and stars in the galactic plane and bulge, stellar clusters, and potentially even the Magellanic Clouds. In probing these varied stellar populations, relative exoplanet frequency can be examined, and in turn, LSST may be able to provide fresh insight into how stellar environment can play a role in planetary formation rates.Our initial work on this project has been to demonstrate that even with the limitations of the LSST cadence, exoplanets would be recoverable and detectable in the LSST photometry, and to show that exoplanets indeed worth including in discussions of variable sources that LSST can contribute to. We have continued to expand this work to examine exoplanets around stars in belonging to various stellar populations, both to show the types of systems that LSST is capable of discovering, and to determine the potential exoplanet yields using standard algorithms that have already been implemented in transiting exoplanet searches, as well as how changes to LSST's observing schedule may impact both of these results.

  20. Light from Exoplanets: Present and Future

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deming, Leo

    2010-01-01

    Measurements using the Spitzer Space Telescope have revealed thermal emission from planets orbiting very close to solar-type stars, primarily transiting "hot Jupiter" exoplanets. The thermal emission spectrum of these worlds has been measured by exploiting their secondary eclipse. Also, during transit of the planet, absorption signatures from atoms and molecules in the planet's atmosphere are imprinted onto the spectrum of the star. Results to date from transit and eclipse studies show that the hot Jupiters often have significant haze and cloud components in their atmospheres, and the temperature structure can often be inverted, i.e. temperature is rising with height. New and very strongly irradiated examples of hot Jupiters have been found that are being stripped of their atmospheres by tidal forces from the star. In parallel, transiting superEarth exoplanets are being discovered, and their atmospheres should also be amenable to study using transit techniques. The 2014 launch of the James Webb Space Telescope will clarify the physical nature of hot Jupiters, and will extend transit and eclipse studies to superEarths orbiting in the habitable zones of lower main sequence stars.

  1. Exploring exoplanet populations with NASA's Kepler Mission.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Batalha, Natalie M

    2014-09-02

    The Kepler Mission is exploring the diversity of planets and planetary systems. Its legacy will be a catalog of discoveries sufficient for computing planet occurrence rates as a function of size, orbital period, star type, and insolation flux. The mission has made significant progress toward achieving that goal. Over 3,500 transiting exoplanets have been identified from the analysis of the first 3 y of data, 100 planets of which are in the habitable zone. The catalog has a high reliability rate (85-90% averaged over the period/radius plane), which is improving as follow-up observations continue. Dynamical (e.g., velocimetry and transit timing) and statistical methods have confirmed and characterized hundreds of planets over a large range of sizes and compositions for both single- and multiple-star systems. Population studies suggest that planets abound in our galaxy and that small planets are particularly frequent. Here, I report on the progress Kepler has made measuring the prevalence of exoplanets orbiting within one astronomical unit of their host stars in support of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's long-term goal of finding habitable environments beyond the solar system.

  2. A Cubesat Payload for Exoplanet Detection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcella Iuzzolino

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The search for undiscovered planets outside the solar system is a scientific topic that is rapidly spreading into the astrophysical and engineering communities. In this framework, the design of an innovative payload to detect exoplanets from a nano-sized space platform, like a 3U cubesat, is presented. The selected detection method is photometric transit, and the payload aims to detect flux decrements down to ~0.01% with a precision of 12 ppm. The payload design is also aimed at false positive recognition. The solution consists of a four-facets pyramid on the top of the payload, to allow for measurement redundancy and low-resolution spectral dispersion of the star images. The innovative concept is the use of a small and cheap platform for a relevant astronomical mission. The faintest observable target star has V-magnitude equal to 3.38. Despite missions aimed at ultra-precise photometry from microsatellites (e.g., MOST, BRITE, the transit of exoplanets orbiting very bright stars has not yet been surveyed photometrically from space, since any observation from a small/medium sized (30 cm optical aperture telescope would saturate the detector. This cubesat mission can provide these missing measurements. This work is set up as a demonstrative project to verify the feasibility of the payload concept.

  3. De-Trending K2 Exoplanet Targets for High Spacecraft Motion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saunders, Nicholas; Luger, Rodrigo; Barnes, Rory

    2018-01-01

    After the failure of two reaction wheels, the Kepler space telescope lost its fine pointing ability and entered a new phase of observation, K2. Targets observed by K2 have high motion relative to the detector and K2 light curves have higher noise than Kepler observations. Despite the increased noise, systematics removal pipelines such as K2SFF and EVEREST have enabled continued high-precision transiting planet science with the telescope, resulting in the detection of hundreds of new exoplanets. However, as the spacecraft begins to run out of fuel, sputtering will drive large and random variations in pointing that can prevent detection of exoplanets during the remaining 5 campaigns. In general, higher motion will spread the stellar point spread function (PSF) across more pixels during a campaign, which increases the number of degrees of freedom in the noise component and significantly reduces the de-trending power of traditional systematics removal methods. We use a model of the Kepler CCD combined with pixel-level information of a large number of stars across the detector to improve the performance of the EVEREST pipeline at high motion. We also consider the problem of increased crowding for static apertures in the high-motion regime and develop pixel response function (PRF)-fitting techniques to mitigate contamination and maximize the de-trending power. We assess the performance of our code by simulating sputtering events and assessing exoplanet detection efficiency with transit injection/recovery tests. We find that targets with roll amplitudes of up to 8 pixels, approximately 15 times K2 roll, can be de-trended within 2 to 3 factors of current K2 photometric precision for stars up to 14th magnitude. Achieved recovery precision allows detection of small planets around 11th and 12th magnitude stars. These methods can be applied to the light curves of K2 targets for existing and future campaigns to ensure that precision exoplanet science can still be performed

  4. Exoplanets: A New Era of Comparative Planetology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meadows, Victoria

    2014-11-01

    We now know of over 1700 planets orbiting other stars, and several thousand additional planetary candidates. These discoveries have the potential to revolutionize our understanding of planet formation and evolution, while providing targets for the search for life beyond the Solar System. Exoplanets display a larger diversity of planetary types than those seen in our Solar System - including low-density, low-mass objects. They are also found in planetary system architectures very different from our own, even for stars similar to our Sun. Over 20 potentially habitable planets are now known, and half of the M dwarfs stars in our Galaxy may harbor a habitable planet. M dwarfs are plentiful, and they are therefore the most likely habitable planet hosts, but their planets will have radiative and gravitational interactions with their star and sibling planets that are unlike those in our Solar System. Observations to characterize the atmospheres and surfaces of exoplanets are extremely challenging, and transit transmission spectroscopy has been used to measure atmospheric composition for a handful of candidates. Frustratingly, many of the smaller exoplanets have flat, featureless spectra indicative of planet-wide haze or clouds. The James Webb Space Telescope and future ground-based telescopes will improve transit transmission characterization, and enable the first search for signs of life in terrestrial exoplanet atmospheres. Beyond JWST, planned next-generation space telescopes will directly image terrestrial exoplanets, allowing surface and atmospheric characterization that is more robust to haze. Until these observations become available, there is a lot that we can do as planetary scientists to inform required measurements and future data interpretation. Solar System planets can be used as validation targets for extrasolar planet observations and models. The rich heritage of planetary science models can also be used to explore the potential diversity of exoplanet

  5. ANALYSIS OF SPIN-ORBIT ALIGNMENT IN THE WASP-32, WASP-38, AND HAT-P-27/WASP-40 SYSTEMS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brown, D. J. A.; Collier Cameron, A.; Enoch, B.; Miller, G. R. M. [SUPA, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St Andrews, North Haugh, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9SS (United Kingdom); Diaz, R. F. [LAM (Laboratoire d' Astrophysique de Marseille), Aix Marseille Universite, CNRS, UMR 7326, F-13388 Marseille (France); Doyle, A. P.; Smalley, B.; Anderson, D. R.; Hellier, C.; Maxted, P. F. L. [Astrophysics Group, School of Physical and Geographical Sciences, Lennard-Jones Building, Keele University, Staffordshire ST5 5BG (United Kingdom); Gillon, M. [Institut d' Astrophysique et de Geophysique, Universite de Liege, Allee du 6 Aout, 17 (Bat. B5C) Sart Tilman, B-4000 Liege (Belgium); Lendl, M.; Triaud, A. H. M. J.; Queloz, D. [Observatoire Astronomique de l' Universite de Geneve, 51 Chemin des Maillettes, CH-1290 Sauverny (Switzerland); Pollacco, D. [Astrophysics Research Centre, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen' s University, University Road, Belfast BT7 1NN (United Kingdom); Boisse, I. [Centro de Astrofisica, Universidade do Porto, Rua das Estrelas, 4150-762 Porto (Portugal); Hebrard, G., E-mail: djab@st-andrews.ac.uk [Institut dAstrophysique de Paris, UMR7095 CNRS, Universite Pierre and Marie Curie, 98bis boulevard Arago, F-75014 Paris (France)

    2012-12-01

    We present measurements of the spin-orbit alignment angle, {lambda}, for the hot Jupiter systems WASP-32, WASP-38, and HAT-P-27/WASP-40, based on data obtained using the HARPS spectrograph. We analyze the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect for all three systems and also carry out Doppler tomography for WASP-32 and WASP-38. We find that WASP-32 (T {sub eff} = 6140{sup +90} {sub -100} K) is aligned, with an alignment angle of {lambda} = 10.{sup 0}5{sup +6.4} {sub -6.5} obtained through tomography, and that WASP-38 (T {sub eff} = 6180{sup +40} {sub -60} K) is also aligned, with tomographic analysis yielding {lambda} = 7.{sup 0}5{sup +4.7} {sub -6.1}. The latter result provides an order-of-magnitude improvement in the uncertainty in {lambda} compared to the previous analysis of Simpson et al. We are only able to loosely constrain the angle for HAT-P-27/WASP-40 (T{sub eff} = 5190{sup +160} {sub -170} K) to {lambda} = 24.{sup 0}2{sup +76.0}{sub -44.5}, owing to the poor signal-to-noise ratio of our data. We consider this result a non-detection under a slightly updated version of the alignment test of Brown et al. We place our results in the context of the full sample of spin-orbit alignment measurements, finding that they provide further support for previously established trends.

  6. The origin of a selfish B chromosome triggering paternal sex ratio in the parasitoid wasp Trichogramma kaykai

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vugt, van J.J.F.A.; Jong, de J.H.S.G.M.; Stouthamer, R.

    2009-01-01

    This study uses molecular and cytogenetic methods to determine the origin of a B chromosome in some males of the wasp Trichogramma kaykai. This so-called paternal sex ratio (PSR) chromosome transmits only through sperm and shortly after fertilization triggers degeneration of the paternal genome,

  7. THE INFLUENCE OF THE EXTREME ULTRAVIOLET SPECTRAL ENERGY DISTRIBUTION ON THE STRUCTURE AND COMPOSITION OF THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE OF EXOPLANETS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Guo, J. H. [Yunnan Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 110, Kunming 650011 (China); Ben-Jaffel, Lotfi, E-mail: guojh@ynao.ac.cn, E-mail: bjaffel@iap.fr [Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ. Paris 6 et CNRS, UMR 7095, Institut Astrophysique de Paris, F-75014 Paris (France)

    2016-02-20

    By varying the profiles of stellar extreme ultraviolet (EUV) spectral energy distributions (SEDs), we tested the influences of stellar EUV SEDs on the physical and chemical properties of an escaping atmosphere. We apply our model to study four exoplanets: HD 189733b, HD 209458b, GJ 436b, and Kepler-11b. We find that the total mass loss rates of an exoplanet, which are determined mainly by the integrated fluxes, are moderately affected by the profiles of the EUV SED, but the composition and species distributions in the atmosphere can be dramatically modified by the different profiles of the EUV SED. For exoplanets with a high hydrodynamic escape parameter (λ), the amount of atomic hydrogen produced by photoionization at different altitudes can vary by one to two orders of magnitude with the variation of stellar EUV SEDs. The effect of photoionization of H is prominent when the EUV SED is dominated by the low-energy spectral region (400–900 Å), which pushes the transition of H/H{sup +} to low altitudes. In contrast, the transition of H/H{sup +} moves to higher altitudes when most photons are concentrated in the high-energy spectral region (50–400 Å). For exoplanets with a low λ, the lower temperatures of the atmosphere make many chemical reactions so important that photoionization alone can no longer determine the composition of the escaping atmosphere. For HD 189733b, it is possible to explain the time variability of Lyα between 2010 and 2011 by a change in the EUV SED of the host K-type star, yet invoking only thermal H i in the atmosphere.

  8. Monte Carlo Analysis as a Trajectory Design Driver for the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) Mission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nickel, Craig; Parker, Joel; Dichmann, Don; Lebois, Ryan; Lutz, Stephen

    2016-01-01

    The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) will be injected into a highly eccentric Earth orbit and fly 3.5 phasing loops followed by a lunar flyby to enter a mission orbit with lunar 2:1 resonance. Through the phasing loops and mission orbit, the trajectory is significantly affected by lunar and solar gravity. We have developed a trajectory design to achieve the mission orbit and meet mission constraints, including eclipse avoidance and a 30-year geostationary orbit avoidance requirement. A parallelized Monte Carlo simulation was performed to validate the trajectory after injecting common perturbations, including launch dispersions, orbit determination errors, and maneuver execution errors. The Monte Carlo analysis helped identify mission risks and is used in the trajectory selection process.

  9. THE FREQUENCY OF LOW-MASS EXOPLANETS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    O'Toole, S. J.; Jones, H. R. A.; Tinney, C. G.; Bailey, J.; Wittenmyer, R. A.; Butler, R. P.; Marcy, G. W.; Carter, B.

    2009-01-01

    We report first results from the Anglo-Australian Telescope Rocky Planet Search-an intensive, high-precision Doppler planet search targeting low-mass exoplanets in contiguous 48 night observing blocks. On this run, we targeted 24 bright, nearby and intrinsically stable Sun-like stars selected from the Anglo-Australian Planet Search's main sample. These observations have already detected one low-mass planet reported elsewhere (HD 16417b), and here we reconfirm the detection of HD 4308b. Further, we have Monte Carlo simulated data from this run on a star-by-star basis to produce robust detection constraints. These simulations demonstrate clear differences in the exoplanet detectability functions from star to star due to differences in sampling, data quality and intrinsic stellar stability. They reinforce the importance of star-by-star simulation when interpreting the data from Doppler planet searches. These simulations indicate that for some of our target stars we are sensitive to close-orbiting planets as small as a few Earth masses. The two low-mass planets present in our 24-star sample indicate that the exoplanet minimum mass function at low masses is likely to be a flat α ∼ -1 (for dN/dM ∝ M α ) and that between 15% ± 10% (at α = -0.3) and 48% ± 34% (at α = -1.3) of stars host planets with orbital periods of less than 16 days and minimum masses greater than 3 M + .

  10. The Frequency of Low-Mass Exoplanets

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Toole, S. J.; Jones, H. R. A.; Tinney, C. G.; Butler, R. P.; Marcy, G. W.; Carter, B.; Bailey, J.; Wittenmyer, R. A.

    2009-08-01

    We report first results from the Anglo-Australian Telescope Rocky Planet Search—an intensive, high-precision Doppler planet search targeting low-mass exoplanets in contiguous 48 night observing blocks. On this run, we targeted 24 bright, nearby and intrinsically stable Sun-like stars selected from the Anglo-Australian Planet Search's main sample. These observations have already detected one low-mass planet reported elsewhere (HD 16417b), and here we reconfirm the detection of HD 4308b. Further, we have Monte Carlo simulated data from this run on a star-by-star basis to produce robust detection constraints. These simulations demonstrate clear differences in the exoplanet detectability functions from star to star due to differences in sampling, data quality and intrinsic stellar stability. They reinforce the importance of star-by-star simulation when interpreting the data from Doppler planet searches. These simulations indicate that for some of our target stars we are sensitive to close-orbiting planets as small as a few Earth masses. The two low-mass planets present in our 24-star sample indicate that the exoplanet minimum mass function at low masses is likely to be a flat α ~ -1 (for dN/dM vprop M α) and that between 15% ± 10% (at α = -0.3) and 48% ± 34% (at α = -1.3) of stars host planets with orbital periods of less than 16 days and minimum masses greater than 3 M ⊕.

  11. Exploring exoplanet populations with NASA’s Kepler Mission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Batalha, Natalie M.

    2014-01-01

    The Kepler Mission is exploring the diversity of planets and planetary systems. Its legacy will be a catalog of discoveries sufficient for computing planet occurrence rates as a function of size, orbital period, star type, and insolation flux. The mission has made significant progress toward achieving that goal. Over 3,500 transiting exoplanets have been identified from the analysis of the first 3 y of data, 100 planets of which are in the habitable zone. The catalog has a high reliability rate (85–90% averaged over the period/radius plane), which is improving as follow-up observations continue. Dynamical (e.g., velocimetry and transit timing) and statistical methods have confirmed and characterized hundreds of planets over a large range of sizes and compositions for both single- and multiple-star systems. Population studies suggest that planets abound in our galaxy and that small planets are particularly frequent. Here, I report on the progress Kepler has made measuring the prevalence of exoplanets orbiting within one astronomical unit of their host stars in support of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s long-term goal of finding habitable environments beyond the solar system. PMID:25049406

  12. A CONSISTENT RETRIEVAL ANALYSIS OF 10 HOT JUPITERS OBSERVED IN TRANSMISSION

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Barstow, J. K. [Physics and Astronomy, University College London, London (United Kingdom); Aigrain, S.; Irwin, P. G. J. [Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford (United Kingdom); Sing, D. K., E-mail: j.eberhardt@ucl.ac.uk [School of Physics, University of Exeter, Exeter (United Kingdom)

    2017-01-01

    We present a consistent optimal estimation retrieval analysis of 10 hot Jupiter exoplanets, each with transmission spectral data spanning the visible to near-infrared wavelength range. Using the NEMESIS radiative transfer and retrieval tool, we calculate a range of possible atmospheric states for WASP-6b, WASP-12b, WASP-17b, WASP-19b, WASP-31b, WASP-39b, HD 189733b, HD 209458b, HAT-P-1b, and HAT-P-12b. We find that the spectra of all 10 planets are consistent with the presence of some atmospheric aerosol; WASP-6b, WASP-12b, WASP-17b, WASP-19b, HD 189733b, and HAT-P-12b are all fit best by Rayleigh scattering aerosols, whereas WASP-31b, WASP-39b and HD 209458b are better represented by a gray cloud model. HAT-P-1b has solutions that fall into both categories. WASP-6b, HAT-P-12b, HD 189733b, and WASP-12b must have aerosol extending to low atmospheric pressures (below 0.1 mbar). In general, planets with equilibrium temperatures between 1300 and 1700 K are best represented by deeper, gray cloud layers, whereas cooler or hotter planets are better fit using high Rayleigh scattering aerosol. We find little evidence for the presence of molecular absorbers other than H{sub 2}O. Retrieval methods can provide a consistent picture across a range of hot Jupiter atmospheres with existing data, and will be a powerful tool for the interpretation of James Webb Space Telescope observations.

  13. HATS-36b and 24 Other Transiting/Eclipsing Systems from the HATSouth-K2 Campaign 7 Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bayliss, D.; Hartman, J. D.; Zhou, G.; Bakos, G. Á.; Vanderburg, A.; Bento, J.; Mancini, L.; Ciceri, S.; Brahm, R.; Jordán, A.; Espinoza, N.; Rabus, M.; Tan, T. G.; Penev, K.; Bhatti, W.; de Val-Borro, M.; Suc, V.; Csubry, Z.; Henning, Th.; Sarkis, P.; Lázár, J.; Papp, I.; Sári, P.

    2018-03-01

    We report on the result of a campaign to monitor 25 HATSouth candidates using the Kepler space telescope during Campaign 7 of the K2 mission. We discover HATS-36b (EPIC 215969174b, K2-145b), an eccentric (e=0.105+/- 0.028) hot Jupiter with a mass of 3.216+/- 0.062 {M}{{J}} and a radius of 1.235+/- 0.043 {R}{{J}}, which transits a solar-type G0V star (V = 14.386) in a 4.1752-day period. We also refine the properties of three previously discovered HATSouth transiting planets (HATS-9b, HATS-11b, and HATS-12b) and search the K2 data for TTVs and additional transiting planets in these systems. In addition, we also report on a further three systems that remain as Jupiter-radius transiting exoplanet candidates. These candidates do not have determined masses, however pass all of our other vetting observations. Finally, we report on the 18 candidates that we are now able to classify as eclipsing binary or blended eclipsing binary systems based on a combination of the HATSouth data, the K2 data, and follow-up ground-based photometry and spectroscopy. These range in periods from 0.7 day to 16.7 days, and down to 1.5 mmag in eclipse depths. Our results show the power of combining ground-based imaging and spectroscopy with higher precision space-based photometry, and serve as an illustration as to what will be possible when combining ground-based observations with TESS data.

  14. Beyond Kepler: Direct Imaging of Exoplanets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Belikov, Ruslan

    2018-01-01

    The exoplanets field has been revolutionizing astronomy over the past 20+ years and shows no signs of stopping. The next big wave of exoplanet science may come from direct imaging of exoplanets. Several (non-habitable) exoplanets have already been imaged from the ground and NASA is planning an instrument for its 2020s flagship mission (WFIRST) to directly image large exoplanets. One of the key goals of the field is the detection and characterization of "Earth 2.0", i.e. a rocky planet with an atmosphere capable of supporting life. This appears possible with several potential instruments in the late 2020s such as WFIRST with a starshade, Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs) from the ground, or one of NASA possible flagship missions in the 2030s (HabEx or LUVOIR). Also, if an Earth-like planet exists around Alpha Centauri (A or B), it may be possible to directly image it in the next approx. 5 years with a small space mission such as the Alpha Centauri Exoplanet Satellite (ACESat). I will describe the current challenges and opportunities in this exciting field, as well as the work we are doing at the Exoplanet Technologies group to enable this exciting science.

  15. Extending and Characterizing an Exoplanet System in a Pristine Chain of Resonances

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christiansen, Jessie; Gorjian, Varoujan; Hardegree-Ullman, Kevin; Livingston, John; Dressing, Courtney; Barclay, Thomas; Lintott, Chris; Ciardi, David; Barentson, Geert; Kristiansen, Martti; Crossfield, Ian; Benneke, Bjorn; Howard, Andrew

    2018-01-01

    The K2-138 (EPIC 245950175; 2MASS J23154776-1050590) exoplanet system was recently identified in the K2 mission campaign 12 data (Christiansen et al. 2018). The moderately bright (K=10.3) K1V star hosts at least five sub-Neptune planets (1.6-3.3 Re) in a compact configuration, all with periods shorter than 13 days. The five confirmed planets in the system form an unbroken chain of near first-order mean motion resonances, with each successive pair of planets having close to a 3:2 commensurability; this is the longest such chain as yet discovered. The K2 data contain two additional transits which, if confirmed as due to a sixth planet, could extend the chain even further. Due to the proximity of the K2-138 planets to mean motion resonances, it is an ideal target to search for transit timing variations (TTVs). In order to further both of these time-critical and important science cases, we propose for DDT time to capture a third transit of the candidate sixth planet, and also observe a chance nearby cluster of three transits of planets b, c, and d. (12hr for the 6th planet was approved.)

  16. A Search for Exoplanets in Short-Period Binary Star Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ronald Kaitchuck

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available This paper reports the progress of a search for exoplanets with S-type orbits in short-period binary star systems. The selected targets have stellar orbital periods of just a few days. These systems are eclipsing binaries so that exoplanet transits, if planets exist, will be highly likely. We report the results for seven binary star systems.

  17. Development of a regional capacity expansion plan in the Russian Federation. Application of the WASP Model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chernilin, Yu.; Kononov, S.; Zakharova, E.; Kagramanyan, V.; Malenkov, A.

    1997-01-01

    The Wien Automatic System Planning Package (WASP) is used for the development of optimal capacity expansion plans in Russia. The object of the WASP study is the Central power pool, which is the largest power pool in Russia and has an essential share of nuclear power in electricity generation. The objective of the study is to assess the long-term competitiveness of nuclear power in the region. The major features of the power system analyzed with WASP are the following: 1) four types of electricity generators are considered: condensity fossil fuel plants, cogeneration fossil fuel plants, nuclear power plants and hydraulic plants; 2) nine fuel categories are considered: gas/fuel oil fuel, several types of coal and several nuclear fuels; 3) escalation of capital, operation and maintenance, and fuel costs as a result of economic transition is explicitly modeled. Under these assumptions, a regional optimal capacity expansion plan is developed that showed the following: (a) Until 2004 there is no need for new electricity generation capacities due to the drop in demand in the 90s, certain lifetime margin of existing capacities, committed additions of co-generators and planned refurbishment/repowering measures; (b) The structure of the optimal capacity mix confirms that nuclear power can retain its role as one of the major electricity generation sources in the region. The most important factor with a positive of effect upon the competitiveness of nuclear power plants is the projected escalation of the prices of fossil fuels; (c) The application of WASP has proved that the model can serve as a valuable planning tool at the power pool level in Russia. (author). 14 refs, 8 figs, 10 tabs

  18. Development of a regional capacity expansion plan in the Russian Federation. Application of the WASP Model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chernilin, Yu; Kononov, S; Zakharova, E [Russian Research Inst. ` ` Kurchatov Inst.` ` , Moscow (Russian Federation); Kagramanyan, V; Malenkov, A [Institute of Physics and Power Engineering, Obninsk (Russian Federation)

    1997-09-01

    The Wien Automatic System Planning Package (WASP) is used for the development of optimal capacity expansion plans in Russia. The object of the WASP study is the Central power pool, which is the largest power pool in Russia and has an essential share of nuclear power in electricity generation. The objective of the study is to assess the long-term competitiveness of nuclear power in the region. The major features of the power system analyzed with WASP are the following: 1) four types of electricity generators are considered: condensity fossil fuel plants, cogeneration fossil fuel plants, nuclear power plants and hydraulic plants; 2) nine fuel categories are considered: gas/fuel oil fuel, several types of coal and several nuclear fuels; 3) escalation of capital, operation and maintenance, and fuel costs as a result of economic transition is explicitly modeled. Under these assumptions, a regional optimal capacity expansion plan is developed that showed the following: (a) Until 2004 there is no need for new electricity generation capacities due to the drop in demand in the 90s, certain lifetime margin of existing capacities, committed additions of co-generators and planned refurbishment/repowering measures; (b) The structure of the optimal capacity mix confirms that nuclear power can retain its role as one of the major electricity generation sources in the region. The most important factor with a positive of effect upon the competitiveness of nuclear power plants is the projected escalation of the prices of fossil fuels; (c) The application of WASP has proved that the model can serve as a valuable planning tool at the power pool level in Russia. (author). 14 refs, 8 figs, 10 tabs.

  19. Exploring the Effects of Clouds on Hot Jupiter Atmospheres

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robinson, Jenna; Line, Michael

    2018-01-01

    Secondary eclipse spectroscopy of transiting exoplanets allows us to probe the atmospheric properties on the daysides of tidally locked planets. Specifically, eclipse spectra combined with atmospheric retrieval models permit constraints on the molecular abundances and vertical thermal profiles of the planetary dayside. Eclipse spectra from HST WFC3 are typically interpreted assuming that all of the near infrared light is due solely to the thermal emission of the planet. However, recent evidence suggests that reflected stellar light from clouds on the planetary daysides might contaminate the near-IR spectrum. Here, we aim to explore how reflected light from clouds within in a simplified cloud framework will alter the shape of the near infrared spectra and how they will influence our determinations of dayside temperatures and abundances. Specifically, we will use atmospheric retrieval tools to determine the biases in abundances and temperature profiles if reflected light is not taken into account. We will explore the influence of reflected light on interpretation of WFC3 spectra of the well-observed exoplanets, HD209458b and WASP-43b. We will then investigate how reflected light in the near-IR will influence our interpretation of JWST spectra.

  20. WASP (Write a Scientific Paper) using Excel - 3: Plotting data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grech, Victor

    2018-02-01

    The plotting of data into graphs should be a mandatory step in all data analysis as part of a descriptive statistics exercise, since it gives the researcher an overview of the shape and nature of the data. Moreover, outlier values may be identified, which may be incorrect data, or true outliers, from which important findings (and publications) may arise. This exercise should always precede inferential statistics, when possible, and this paper in the Early Human Development WASP series provides some pointers for doing so in Microsoft Excel™. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Reactive oxygen species-dependent Toll/NF-κB activation in the Drosophila hematopoietic niche confers resistance to wasp parasitism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Louradour, Isabelle; Sharma, Anurag; Morin-Poulard, Ismael; Letourneau, Manon; Vincent, Alain; Crozatier, Michèle; Vanzo, Nathalie

    2017-11-01

    Hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells in the adult mammalian bone marrow ensure blood cell renewal. Their cellular microenvironment, called 'niche', regulates hematopoiesis both under homeostatic and immune stress conditions. In the Drosophila hematopoietic organ, the lymph gland, the posterior signaling center (PSC) acts as a niche to regulate the hematopoietic response to immune stress such as wasp parasitism. This response relies on the differentiation of lamellocytes, a cryptic cell type, dedicated to pathogen encapsulation and killing. Here, we establish that Toll/NF-κB pathway activation in the PSC in response to wasp parasitism non-cell autonomously induces the lymph gland immune response. Our data further establish a regulatory network where co-activation of Toll/NF-κB and EGFR signaling by ROS levels in the PSC/niche controls lymph gland hematopoiesis under parasitism. Whether a similar regulatory network operates in mammals to control emergency hematopoiesis is an open question.

  2. Worlds Beyond: Follow-up Observations and Confirmation of K2 Exoplanet Candidates

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Connor, Rachel; Lowenthal, James; Lowenthal, James D.; Cooper, Olivia; Helou, Elana; Papineau, Emily; Peck, Annie; Stephens, Loren; Walker, Kerry

    2018-06-01

    We present the results of an 8-month follow-up transit photometry campaign focused on exoplanet candidates produced by the K2 mission. Observations were conducted at the McConnell Rooftop Observatory at Smith College in Northampton, MA, with a 16” telescope and CCD. Targets were observed through a 400-700 nm broadband filter at a 1 minute cadence. We attempted to observe the complete duration of the transit plus a minimum one-hour baseline before and after the transit event whenever possible. Our observations typically reach an RMS of 2 millimags for an 11th-magnitude star. Candidates were selected based on a number of factors, including a transit depth of around 10 millimags, a host star magnitude between 10-13, a duration that is observable over the span of a night, and a period shorter than 30 days. There are currently around 700 unconfirmed exoplanets from K2, and these criteria shortened that list to around 20 ideal candidates, many of which were flagged as possible false positives. Our results showcase the capability of small observatories to conduct precise follow-up observations of exoplanet transits.

  3. A SEARCH FOR ADDITIONAL PLANETS IN THE NASA EPOXI OBSERVATIONS OF THE EXOPLANET SYSTEM GJ 436

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ballard, Sarah; Christiansen, Jessie L.; Charbonneau, David; Holman, Matthew J.; Fabrycky, Daniel; Deming, Drake; Barry, Richard K.; Kuchner, Marc J.; Livengood, Timothy A.; Hewagama, Tilak; A'Hearn, Michael F.; Wellnitz, Dennis D.; Sunshine, Jessica M.; Hampton, Don L.; Lisse, Carey M.; Seager, Sara; Veverka, Joseph F.

    2010-01-01

    We present time series photometry of the M dwarf transiting exoplanet system GJ 436 obtained with the Extrasolar Planet Observation and Characterization (EPOCh) component of the NASA EPOXI mission. We conduct a search of the high-precision time series for additional planets around GJ 436, which could be revealed either directly through their photometric transits or indirectly through the variations these second planets induce on the transits of the previously known planet. In the case of GJ 436, the presence of a second planet is perhaps indicated by the residual orbital eccentricity of the known hot Neptune companion. We find no candidate transits with significance higher than our detection limit. From Monte Carlo tests of the time series, we rule out transiting planets larger than 1.5 R + interior to GJ 436b with 95% confidence and larger than 1.25 R + with 80% confidence. Assuming coplanarity of additional planets with the orbit of GJ 436b, we cannot expect that putative planets with orbital periods longer than about 3.4 days will transit. However, if such a planet were to transit, we would rule out planets larger than 2.0 R + with orbital periods less than 8.5 days with 95% confidence. We also place dynamical constraints on additional bodies in the GJ 436 system, independent of radial velocity measurements. Our analysis should serve as a useful guide for similar analyses of transiting exoplanets for which radial velocity measurements are not available, such as those discovered by the Kepler mission. From the lack of observed secular perturbations, we set upper limits on the mass of a second planet as small as 10 M + in coplanar orbits and 1 M + in non-coplanar orbits close to GJ 436b. We present refined estimates of the system parameters for GJ 436. We find P = 2.64389579 ± 0.00000080 d, R * = 0.437 ± 0.016 R sun , and R p = 3.880 ± 0.147 R + . We also report a sinusoidal modulation in the GJ 436 light curve that we attribute to star spots. This signal is

  4. Advances in Telescope and Detector Technologies - Impacts on the Study and Understanding of Binary Star and Exoplanet Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guinan, Edward F.; Engle, Scott; Devinney, Edward J.

    2012-04-01

    Current and planned telescope systems (both on the ground and in space) as well as new technologies will be discussed with emphasis on their impact on the studies of binary star and exoplanet systems. Although no telescopes or space missions are primarily designed to study binary stars (what a pity!), several are available (or will be shortly) to study exoplanet systems. Nonetheless those telescopes and instruments can also be powerful tools for studying binary and variable stars. For example, early microlensing missions (mid-1990s) such as EROS, MACHO and OGLE were initially designed for probing dark matter in the halos of galaxies but, serendipitously, these programs turned out to be a bonanza for the studies of eclipsing binaries and variable stars in the Magellanic Clouds and in the Galactic Bulge. A more recent example of this kind of serendipity is the Kepler Mission. Although Kepler was designed to discover exoplanet transits (and so far has been very successful, returning many planetary candidates), Kepler is turning out to be a ``stealth'' stellar astrophysics mission returning fundamentally important and new information on eclipsing binaries, variable stars and, in particular, providing a treasure trove of data of all types of pulsating stars suitable for detailed Asteroseismology studies. With this in mind, current and planned telescopes and networks, new instruments and techniques (including interferometers) are discussed that can play important roles in our understanding of both binary star and exoplanet systems. Recent advances in detectors (e.g. laser frequency comb spectrographs), telescope networks (both small and large - e.g. Super-WASP, HAT-net, RoboNet, Las Combres Observatory Global Telescope (LCOGT) Network), wide field (panoramic) telescope systems (e.g. Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) and Pan-Starrs), huge telescopes (e.g. the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT), the Overwhelming Large Telescope (OWL) and the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT

  5. KEPLER-21b: A 1.6 R{sub Earth} PLANET TRANSITING THE BRIGHT OSCILLATING F SUBGIANT STAR HD 179070

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Howell, Steve B. [National Optical Astronomy Observatory, Tucson, AZ 85719 (United States); Rowe, Jason F.; Bryson, Stephen T. [NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035 (United States); Quinn, Samuel N. [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Marcy, Geoffrey W.; Isaacson, Howard [Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States); Ciardi, David R. [NASA Exoplanet Science Institute/Caltech, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Chaplin, William J.; Elsworth, Yvonne [School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT (United Kingdom); Metcalfe, Travis S. [High Altitude Observatory and Scientific Computing Division, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO 80307 (United States); Monteiro, Mario J. P. F. G. [Centro de Astrofisica, Universidade do Porto, Rua das Estrelas, 4150-762 Porto (Portugal); Appourchaux, Thierry [Institut d' Astrophysique Spatiale, Universite Paris XI-CNRS (UMR8617), Batiment 121, 91405 Orsay Cedex (France); Basu, Sarbani [Department of Astronomy, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520-8101 (United States); Creevey, Orlagh L. [Departamento de Astrofisica, Universidad de La Laguna, E-38206 La Laguna, Tenerife (Spain); Gilliland, Ronald L. [Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Quirion, Pierre-Olivier [Canadian Space Agency, 6767 Boulevard de l' Aeroport, Saint-Hubert, QC, J3Y 8Y9 (Canada); Stello, Denis [Sydney Institute for Astronomy (SIfA), School of Physics, University of Sydney, NSW 2006 (Australia); Kjeldsen, Hans; Christensen-Dalsgaard, Joergen [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, DK-8000 Aarhus C (Denmark); Garcia, Rafael A. [Laboratoire AIM, CEA/DSM-CNRS-Universite Paris Diderot-IRFU/SAp, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex (France); and others

    2012-02-20

    We present Kepler observations of the bright (V = 8.3), oscillating star HD 179070. The observations show transit-like events which reveal that the star is orbited every 2.8 days by a small, 1.6 R{sub Earth} object. Seismic studies of HD 179070 using short cadence Kepler observations show that HD 179070 has a frequency-power spectrum consistent with solar-like oscillations that are acoustic p-modes. Asteroseismic analysis provides robust values for the mass and radius of HD 179070, 1.34 {+-} 0.06 M{sub Sun} and 1.86 {+-} 0.04 R{sub Sun }, respectively, as well as yielding an age of 2.84 {+-} 0.34 Gyr for this F5 subgiant. Together with ground-based follow-up observations, analysis of the Kepler light curves and image data, and blend scenario models, we conservatively show at the >99.7% confidence level (3{sigma}) that the transit event is caused by a 1.64 {+-} 0.04 R{sub Earth} exoplanet in a 2.785755 {+-} 0.000032 day orbit. The exoplanet is only 0.04 AU away from the star and our spectroscopic observations provide an upper limit to its mass of {approx}10 M{sub Earth} (2{sigma}). HD 179070 is the brightest exoplanet host star yet discovered by Kepler.

  6. The Kepler and K2 Near-Infrared Transit Survey (KNITS)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Colon, Knicole; Rodriguez, Joseph E.; Barentsen, Geert; Cardoso, Jose Vinicius de Miranda; Vanderburg, Andrew

    2018-01-01

    NASA's Kepler mission discovered a plethora of transiting exoplanets after observing a single region of the Galaxy for four years. After a second reaction wheel failed, NASA's Kepler spacecraft was repurposed as K2 to observe different fields along the ecliptic in ~80 day campaigns. To date, K2 has discovered ~130 exoplanets along with another ~400 candidates. The exoplanets that have been confirmed or validated from Kepler and K2 have been primarily subject to spectroscopic observations, high-resolution imaging, or statistical methods. However, most of these, along with all the remaining candidate exoplanets, have had no follow-up transit photometry. In addition, recent studies have shown that for single-planet systems, statistical validation alone can be unreliable and additional follow-up observations are required to reveal the true nature of the system. I will present the latest results from an ongoing program to use the 3.5-meter WIYN telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory for near-infrared transit photometry of Kepler and K2 exoplanets and candidates. Our program of high-precision, high-cadence, high-spatial-resolution near-infrared transit photometry is providing new measurements of the transit ephemerides and planetary radii as well as weeding out false positives lurking within the candidate lists. To date, 25 K2 and 5 Kepler targets have been observed with WIYN. I will also describe upcoming observations with WIYN that will take place in January 2018 as part of a campaign to observe exoplanet transits in the near-infrared simultaneously with the Kepler spacecraft during K2 Campaign 16. Our program ultimately provides a vetted sample of exoplanets that could be targeted in the future by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and also demonstrates WIYN’s capabilities for observations of exoplanets to be discovered by NASA's all-sky Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS).Data presented herein were obtained at the WIYN Observatory from

  7. Wien Automatic System Package (WASP). A computer code for power generating system expansion planning. Version WASP-III Plus. User's manual. Volume 2: Appendices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1995-01-01

    With several Member States, the IAEA has completed a new version of the WASP program, which has been called WASP-Ill Plus since it follows quite closely the methodology of the WASP-Ill model. The major enhancements in WASP-Ill Plus with respect to the WASP-Ill version are: increase in the number of thermal fuel types (from 5 to 10); verification of which configurations generated by CONGEN have already been simulated in previous iterations with MERSIM; direct calculation of combined Loading Order of FIXSYS and VARSYS plants; simulation of system operation includes consideration of physical constraints imposed on some fuel types (i.e., fuel availability for electricity generation); extended output of the resimulation of the optimal solution; generation of a file that can be used for graphical representation of the results of the resimulation of the optimal solution and cash flows of the investment costs; calculation of cash flows allows to include the capital costs of plants firmly committed or in construction (FIXSYS plants); user control of the distribution of capital cost expenditures during the construction period (if required to be different from the general 'S' curve distribution used as default). This second volume of the document to support use of the WASP-Ill Plus computer code consists of 5 appendices giving some additional information about the WASP-Ill Plus program. Appendix A is mainly addressed to the WASP-Ill Plus system analyst and supplies some information which could help in the implementation of the program on the user computer facilities. This appendix also includes some aspects about WASP-Ill Plus that could not be treated in detail in Chapters 1 to 11. Appendix B identifies all error and warning messages that may appear in the WASP printouts and advises the user how to overcome the problem. Appendix C presents the flow charts of the programs along with a brief description of the objectives and structure of each module. Appendix D describes the

  8. High-Cadence Transit Timing Variation Monitoring of Extrasolar Planets

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Naef D.

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available We report ground-based high-cadence transit timing observations of the extrasolar planet WASP-2b. We achieve a typical timing error of 15-30 sec. The data show no significant deviations from the predicted ephemeris.

  9. Absorbing Gas around the WASP-12 Planetary System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fossati, L.; Ayres, T. R.; Haswell, C. A.; Bohlender, D.; Kochukhov, O.; Flöer, L.

    2013-04-01

    Near-UV observations of the planet host star WASP-12 uncovered the apparent absence of the normally conspicuous core emission of the Mg II h and k resonance lines. This anomaly could be due either to (1) a lack of stellar activity, which would be unprecedented for a solar-like star of the imputed age of WASP-12 or (2) extrinsic absorption, from the intervening interstellar medium (ISM) or from material within the WASP-12 system itself, presumably ablated from the extreme hot Jupiter WASP-12 b. HIRES archival spectra of the Ca II H and K lines of WASP-12 show broad depressions in the line cores, deeper than those of other inactive and similarly distant stars and similar to WASP-12's Mg II h and k line profiles. We took high-resolution ESPaDOnS and FIES spectra of three early-type stars within 20' of WASP-12 and at similar distances, which show the ISM column is insufficient to produce the broad Ca II depression observed in WASP-12. The EBHIS H I column density map supports and strengthens this conclusion. Extrinsic absorption by material local to the WASP-12 system is therefore the most likely cause of the line core anomalies. Gas escaping from the heavily irradiated planet could form a stable and thick circumstellar disk/cloud. The anomalously low stellar activity index (log R^{{\\prime }}_{HK}) of WASP-12 is evidently a direct consequence of the extra core absorption, so similar HK index deficiencies might signal the presence of translucent circumstellar gas around other stars hosting evaporating planets. Based on observations obtained at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT), which is operated by the National Research Council of Canada, the Institut National des Sciences de l'Univers of the Centre National de la Rechereche Scientifique of France, and the University of Hawaii. Based on observations made with the Nordic Optical Telescope, operated on the island of La Palma jointly by Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, in the Spanish Observatorio del

  10. VLT Detects First Superstorm on Exoplanet

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-06-01

    Astronomers have measured a superstorm for the first time in the atmosphere of an exoplanet, the well-studied "hot Jupiter" HD209458b. The very high-precision observations of carbon monoxide gas show that it is streaming at enormous speed from the extremely hot day side to the cooler night side of the planet. The observations also allow another exciting "first" - measuring the orbital speed of the exoplanet itself, providing a direct determination of its mass. The results appear this week in the journal Nature. "HD209458b is definitely not a place for the faint-hearted. By studying the poisonous carbon monoxide gas with great accuracy we found evidence for a super wind, blowing at a speed of 5000 to 10 000 km per hour" says Ignas Snellen, who led the team of astronomers. HD209458b is an exoplanet of about 60% the mass of Jupiter orbiting a solar-like star located 150 light-years from Earth towards the constellation of Pegasus (the Winged Horse). Circling at a distance of only one twentieth the Sun-Earth distance, the planet is heated intensely by its parent star, and has a surface temperature of about 1000 degrees Celsius on the hot side. But as the planet always has the same side to its star, one side is very hot, while the other is much cooler. "On Earth, big temperature differences inevitably lead to fierce winds, and as our new measurements reveal, the situation is no different on HD209458b," says team member Simon Albrecht. HD209458b was the first exoplanet to be found transiting: every 3.5 days the planet moves in front of its host star, blocking a small portion of the starlight during a three-hour period. During such an event a tiny fraction of the starlight filters through the planet's atmosphere, leaving an imprint. A team of astronomers from the Leiden University, the Netherlands Institute for Space Research (SRON), and MIT in the United States, have used ESO's Very Large Telescope and its powerful CRIRES spectrograph to detect and analyse these faint

  11. The Effect of Stellar Contamination on Transmission Spectra of Low-mass Exoplanets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rackham, Benjamin V.; Apai, Daniel; Giampapa, Mark S.

    2017-10-01

    Transmission spectroscopy offers the exciting possibility of studying terrestrial exoplanet atmospheres in the near-term future. The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), scheduled for launch next year, is expected to discover thousands of transiting exoplanets around bright host stars, including an estimated twenty habitable zone super-Earths. The brightness of the TESS host stars, combined with refined observational strategies and near-future facilities, will enable searches for atmospheric signatures from smaller and cooler exoplanets. These observations, however, will be increasingly subject to noise introduced by heterogeneities in the host star photospheres, such as star spots and faculae. In short, the transmission spectroscopy method relies on the assumption that the spectrum of the transit chord does not differ from that of the integrated stellar disk or, if it does, the contribution of photospheric heterogeneities to the transmission spectrum can be constrained by variability monitoring. However, any axisymmetric populations of spots and faculae will strongly affect transmission spectra, and their presence cannot be deduced from monitoring efforts. A clear need exists for a more robust understanding of stellar contamination on transmission spectra. Here we summarize our work on the impact of heterogeneous stellar photospheres on transmission spectra and detail implications for atmospheric characterization efforts. By modeling spot and faculae distributions in stellar photospheres, we find that spot-covering fractions extrapolated from observed variability amplitudes are significantly underestimated. Likewise, corrections based on variability monitoring likely fall short of the actual stellar spectral contamination. We provide examples of contamination spectra for typical levels of stellar activity across a range of spectral types. For M dwarfs, molecular absorption features in spots and faculae can imprint apparent features in transmission spectra

  12. A Research-Informed Approach to Teaching About Exoplanet Detection in STEM Classrooms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brissenden, Gina; Wallace, C. S.; Prather, E. E.; Traub, W. A.; Greene, W. M.; Biferno, A. A.

    2014-01-01

    JPL’s NASA Exoplanet Exploration Program’s (ExEP) Public Engagement Program, in collaboration with the Center for Astronomy Education (CAE), is engaged in a research and curriculum development program to bring the science of exoplanet detection into STEM classrooms. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of astronomers pursuing research related to exoplanets, along with a significant increase in interest amongst students and the general public regarding the topic of exoplanets. CAE has previously developed a curriculum unit (including Think-Pair-Share questions and a Lecture-Tutorial) to help students develop a deeper understanding of the Doppler method for detecting extrasolar planets. To date, there is a nearly nonexistent research base on students’ conceptual and reasoning difficulties related to the science of the transit and gravitational microlensing methods for detecting extrasolar planets. Appropriate for physical science classrooms from middle school to the introductory college level, the learner-centered active engagement activities we are developing are going through an iterative research and assessment process to ensure that they enable students to achieve increased conceptual understandings and reasoning skills in these areas. In this talk, we will report on our development process for two new Lecture-Tutorials that help students learn about the transit and gravitational microlensing methods for finding exoplanets.

  13. Gemini Planet Imager Exoplanet Survey: Key Results Two Years Into The Survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marchis, Franck; Rameau, Julien; Nielsen, Eric L.; De Rosa, Robert J.; Esposito, Thomas; Draper, Zachary H.; Macintosh, Bruce; Graham, James R.; GPIES

    2016-10-01

    The Gemini Planet Imager Exoplanet Survey (GPIES) is targeting 600 young, nearby stars using the GPI instrument. We report here on recent results obtained with this instrument from our team.Rameau et al. (ApJL, 822 2, L2, 2016) presented astrometric monitoring of the young exoplanet HD 95086 b obtained with GPI between 2013 and 2016. Efficient Monte Carlo techniques place preliminary constraints on the orbital parameters of HD 95086 b. Under the assumption of a coplanar planet-disk system, the periastron of HD 95086 b is beyond 51 AU. Therefore, HD 95086 b cannot carve the entire gap inferred from the measured infrared excess in the SED of HD 95086. Additional photometric and spectroscopic measurements reported by de Rosa et al. (2016, apJ, in press) showed that the spectral energy distribution of HD 95086 b is best fit by low temperature (T~800-1300 K), low surface gravity spectra from models which simulate high photospheric dust content. Its temperature is typical to L/T transition objects, but the spectral type is poorly constrained. HD 95086 b is an important exoplanet to test our models of atmospheric properties of young extrasolar planets.Direct detections of debris disk are keys to infer the collisional past and understand the formation of planetary systems. Two debris disks were recently studied with GPI:- Draper et al. (submitted to ApJ, 2016) show the resolved circumstellar debris disk around HD 111520 at a projected range of ~30-100 AU using both total and polarized H-band intensity. Structures in the disks such as a large brightness asymmetry and symmetric polarization fraction are seen. Additional data would confirm if a large disruption event from a stellar fly-by or planetary perturbations altered the disk density- Esposito et al. (submitted to ApJ, 2016) combined Keck NIRC2 data taken at 1.2-2.3 microns and GPI 1.6 micron total intensity and polarized light detections that probes down to projected separations less than 10 AU to show that the HD

  14. Exoplanet atmospheres physical processes

    CERN Document Server

    Seager, Sara

    2010-01-01

    Over the past twenty years, astronomers have identified hundreds of extrasolar planets--planets orbiting stars other than the sun. Recent research in this burgeoning field has made it possible to observe and measure the atmospheres of these exoplanets. This is the first textbook to describe the basic physical processes--including radiative transfer, molecular absorption, and chemical processes--common to all planetary atmospheres, as well as the transit, eclipse, and thermal phase variation observations that are unique to exoplanets. In each chapter, Sara Seager offers a conceptual introduction, examples that combine the relevant physics equations with real data, and exercises. Topics range from foundational knowledge, such as the origin of atmospheric composition and planetary spectra, to more advanced concepts, such as solutions to the radiative transfer equation, polarization, and molecular and condensate opacities. Since planets vary widely in their atmospheric properties, Seager emphasizes the major p...

  15. Ovarian development in a primitively eusocial wasp: social interactions affect behaviorally dominant and subordinate wasps in opposite directions relative to solitary females.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shukla, Shantanu; Pareek, Vidhi; Gadagkar, Raghavendra

    2014-07-01

    In many primitively eusocial wasp species new nests are founded either by a single female or by a small group of females. In the single foundress nests, the lone female develops her ovaries, lays eggs as well as tends her brood. In multiple foundress nests social interactions, especially dominance-subordinate interactions, result in only one 'dominant' female developing her ovaries and laying eggs. Ovaries of the remaining 'subordinate' cofoundresses remain suppressed and these individuals function as workers and tend the dominant's brood. Using the tropical, primitively eusocial polistine wasp Ropalidia marginata and by comparing wasps held in isolation and those kept as pairs in the laboratory, we demonstrate that social interactions affect ovarian development of dominant and subordinate wasps among the pairs in opposite directions, suppressing the ovaries of the subordinate member of the pair below that of solitary wasps and boosting the ovaries of dominant member of the pair above that of solitary females. In addition to being of physiological interest, such mirror image effects of aggression on the ovaries of the aggressors and their victims, suggest yet another mechanism by which subordinates can enhance their indirect fitness and facilitate the evolution of worker behavior by kin selection. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Prospects for Ground-Based Detection and Follow-up of TESS-Discovered Exoplanets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Varakian, Matthew; Deming, Drake

    2018-01-01

    The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) will monitor over 200,000 main sequence dwarf stars for exoplanetary transits, with the goal of discovering small planets orbiting stars that are bright enough for follow-up observations. We here evaluate the prospects for ground-based transit detection and follow-up of the TESS-discovered planets. We focus particularly on the TESS planets that only transit once during each 27.4 day TESS observing window per region, and we calculate to what extent ground-based recovery of additional transits will be possible. Using simulated exoplanet systems from Sullivan et al. and assuming the use of a 60-cm telescope at a high quality observing site, we project the S/N ratios for transits of such planets. We use Phoenix stellar models for stars with surface temperatures from 2500K to 12000K, and we account for limb darkening, red atmospheric noise, and missed transits due to the day-night cycle and poor weather.

  17. WASP in Nuclear Power Planning

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cao Chi; Vuong Minh Quang; Nguyen Tri Ho

    1993-03-01

    The main modules of WASP are presented in details in the introduction paragraph. The authors have emphasized on the probabilistic simulation used in WASP for evaluating different costs of the objective function and the Bellman principle for finding the optimal trajectory in dynamic programming. In the second paragraph the principal results obtained by the Nuclear Power Dept. of VINATOM are enumerated: a/the most cost-effective solution for Vietnam is to introduce a nuclear power capacity of 800-1200 MW by around the year 2010; b/ different types of reactors for the first NPP are ranked according to their economic criteria; c/ the sensitivity analysis is also carried out with respect to discount rates, LOLP (loss of load probability), ENS (energy non served), construction cost. (author). 4 figs, 7 tabs

  18. Expression of N-WASP is regulated by HiF1α through the hypoxia response element in the N-WASP promoter

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amrita Salvi

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Cancer cell migration and invasion involves temporal and spatial regulation of actin cytoskeleton reorganization, which is regulated by the WASP family of proteins such as N-WASP (Neural- Wiskott Aldrich Syndrome Protein. We have previously shown that expression of N-WASP was increased under hypoxic conditions. In order to characterize the regulation of N-WASP expression, we constructed an N-WASP promoter driven GFP reporter construct, N-WASPpro-GFP. Transfection of N-WASPpro-GFP construct and plasmid expressing HiF1α (Hypoxia Inducible factor 1α enhanced the expression of GFP suggesting that increased expression of N-WASP under hypoxic conditions is mediated by HiF1α. Sequence analysis of the N-WASP promoter revealed the presence of two hypoxia response elements (HREs characterized by the consensus sequence 5′-GCGTG-3′ at -132 bp(HRE1 and at -662 bp(HRE2 relative to transcription start site (TSS. Site-directed mutagenesis of HRE1(-132 but not HRE2(-662 abolished the HiF1α induced activation of N-WASP promoter. Similarly ChIP assay demonstrated that HiF1α bound to HRE1(-132 but not HRE2(-662 under hypoxic condition. MDA-MB-231 cells but not MDA-MB-231KD cells treated with hypoxia mimicking agent, DMOG showed enhanced gelatin degradation. Similarly MDA-MB-231KD(N-WASPpro-N-WASPR cells expressing N-WASPR under the transcriptional regulation of WT N-WASPpro but not MDA-MB-231KD(N-WASPproHRE1-N-WASPR cells expressing N-WASPR under the transcriptional regulation of N-WASPproHRE1 showed enhanced gelatin degradation when treated with DMOG. Thus indicating the importance of N-WASP in hypoxia induced invadopodia formation. Thus, our data demonstrates that hypoxia-induced activation of N-WASP expression is mediated by interaction of HiF1α with the HRE1(-132 and explains the role of N-WASP in hypoxia induced invadopodia formation.

  19. Transit detections of extrasolar planets around main-sequence stars. I. Sky maps for hot Jupiters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heller, R.; Mislis, D.; Antoniadis, J.

    2009-12-01

    Context: The findings of more than 350 extrasolar planets, most of them nontransiting Hot Jupiters, have revealed correlations between the metallicity of the main-sequence (MS) host stars and planetary incidence. This connection can be used to calculate the planet formation probability around other stars, not yet known to have planetary companions. Numerous wide-field surveys have recently been initiated, aiming at the transit detection of extrasolar planets in front of their host stars. Depending on instrumental properties and the planetary distribution probability, the promising transit locations on the celestial plane will differ among these surveys. Aims: We want to locate the promising spots for transit surveys on the celestial plane and strive for absolute values of the expected number of transits in general. Our study will also clarify the impact of instrumental properties such as pixel size, field of view (FOV), and magnitude range on the detection probability. Methods: We used data of the Tycho catalog for ≈1 million objects to locate all the stars with 0^m~≲~m_V~≲~11.5m on the celestial plane. We took several empirical relations between the parameters listed in the Tycho catalog, such as distance to Earth, m_V, and (B-V), and those parameters needed to account for the probability of a star to host an observable, transiting exoplanet. The empirical relations between stellar metallicity and planet occurrence combined with geometrical considerations were used to yield transit probabilities for the MS stars in the Tycho catalog. Magnitude variations in the FOV were simulated to test whether this fluctuations would be detected by BEST, XO, SuperWASP and HATNet. Results: We present a sky map of the expected number of Hot Jupiter transit events on the basis of the Tycho catalog. Conditioned by the accumulation of stars towards the galactic plane, the zone of the highest number of transits follows the same trace, interrupted by spots of very low and high

  20. Simulated JWST/NIRISS Transit Spectroscopy of Anticipated Tess Planets Compared to Select Discoveries from Space-based and Ground-based Surveys

    Science.gov (United States)

    Louie, Dana R.; Deming, Drake; Albert, Loic; Bouma, L. G.; Bean, Jacob; Lopez-Morales, Mercedes

    2018-04-01

    The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) will embark in 2018 on a 2 year wide-field survey mission, discovering over a thousand terrestrial, super-Earth and sub-Neptune-sized exoplanets ({R}pl}≤slant 4 {R}\\oplus ) potentially suitable for follow-up observations using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). This work aims to understand the suitability of anticipated TESS planet discoveries for atmospheric characterization by JWST’s Near InfraRed Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS) by employing a simulation tool to estimate the signal-to-noise (S/N) achievable in transmission spectroscopy. We applied this tool to Monte Carlo predictions of the TESS expected planet yield and then compared the S/N for anticipated TESS discoveries to our estimates of S/N for 18 known exoplanets. We analyzed the sensitivity of our results to planetary composition, cloud cover, and presence of an observational noise floor. We find that several hundred anticipated TESS discoveries with radii 1.5 {R}\\oplus R}pl}≤slant 2.5 {R}\\oplus will produce S/N higher than currently known exoplanets in this radius regime, such as K2-3b or K2-3c. In the terrestrial planet regime, we find that only a few anticipated TESS discoveries will result in higher S/N than currently known exoplanets, such as the TRAPPIST-1 planets, GJ1132b, and LHS1140b. However, we emphasize that this outcome is based upon Kepler-derived occurrence rates, and that co-planar compact multi-planet systems (e.g., TRAPPIST-1) may be under-represented in the predicted TESS planet yield. Finally, we apply our calculations to estimate the required magnitude of a JWST follow-up program devoted to mapping the transition region between hydrogen-dominated and high molecular weight atmospheres. We find that a modest observing program of between 60 and 100 hr of charged JWST time can define the nature of that transition (e.g., step function versus a power law).

  1. A TEMPERATURE AND ABUNDANCE RETRIEVAL METHOD FOR EXOPLANET ATMOSPHERES

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Madhusudhan, N.; Seager, S.

    2009-01-01

    We present a new method to retrieve molecular abundances and temperature profiles from exoplanet atmosphere photometry and spectroscopy. We run millions of one-dimensional (1D) atmosphere models in order to cover the large range of allowed parameter space. In order to run such a large number of models, we have developed a parametric pressure-temperature (P-T) profile coupled with line-by-line radiative transfer, hydrostatic equilibrium, and energy balance, along with prescriptions for non-equilibrium molecular composition and energy redistribution. The major difference from traditional 1D radiative transfer models is the parametric P-T profile, which essentially means adopting energy balance only at the top of the atmosphere and not in each layer. We see the parametric P-T model as a parallel approach to the traditional exoplanet atmosphere models that rely on several free parameters to encompass unknown absorbers and energy redistribution. The parametric P-T profile captures the basic physical features of temperature structures in planetary atmospheres (including temperature inversions), and fits a wide range of published P-T profiles, including those of solar system planets. We apply our temperature and abundance retrieval method to the atmospheres of two transiting exoplanets, HD 189733b and HD 209458b, which have the best Spitzer and Hubble Space Telescope data available. For HD 189733b, we find efficient day-night redistribution of energy in the atmosphere, and molecular abundance constraints confirming the presence of H 2 O, CO, CH 4 , and CO 2 . For HD 209458b, we confirm and constrain the dayside thermal inversion in an average 1D temperature profile. We also report independent detections of H 2 O, CO, CH 4 , and CO 2 on the dayside of HD 209458b, based on six-channel Spitzer photometry. We report constraints for HD 189733b due to individual data sets separately; a few key observations are variable in different data sets at similar wavelengths. Moreover, a

  2. Chasing Small Exoplanets with Ground-Based Near-Infrared Transit Photometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Colon, K. D.; Barentsen, G.; Vinicius, Z.; Vanderburg, A.; Coughlin, J.; Thompson, S.; Mullally, F.; Barclay, T.; Quintana, E.

    2017-11-01

    I will present results from a ground-based survey to measure the infrared radius and other properties of small K2 exoplanets and candidates. The survey is preparation for upcoming discoveries from TESS and characterization with JWST.

  3. Post-perovskite transitions in CaB4+O3 at high pressure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Akaogi, M; Shirako, Y; Kojitani, H; Takamori, S; Yamaura, K; Takayama-Muromachi, E

    2010-01-01

    High-pressure phase transitions in CaRhO 3 were examined using a multianvil apparatus up to 27 GPa and 1930 o C. CaRhO 3 perovskite transforms to post-perovskite via a monoclinic intermediate phase with increasing pressure. Volume changes for the transitions of perovskite - intermediate phase and of intermediate phase - post-perovskite are -1.1 and -0.7 %, respectively. CaRhO 3 post-perovskite is the fourth quenchable post-perovskite oxide found so far. By high-temperature calorimetric experiments, enthalpy of the perovskite - post-perovskite transition in CaRuO 3 was measured as 15.2±3.3 kJ/mol. Combining the datum with those of CaIrO 3 , it is shown that CaIrO 3 perovskite is energetically less stable than CaRuO 3 perovskite. This is consistent with the fact that orthorhombic distortion of CaIrO 3 perovskite is larger than CaRuO 3 , as indicated with the tilt-angle of octahedral framework of perovskite structure. The transition pressure from perovskite to post-perovskite in CaBO 3 (B = Ru, Rh, Ir) increases almost linearly with decreasing the tilt-angle, suggesting that the perovskite - post-perovskite transition may result from instability of the perovskite structure with pressure.

  4. Pressure-induced irreversible metallization accompanying the phase transitions in S b2S3

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dai, Lidong; Liu, Kaixiang; Li, Heping; Wu, Lei; Hu, Haiying; Zhuang, Yukai; Yang, Linfei; Pu, Chang; Liu, Pengfei

    2018-01-01

    We have revealed S b2S3 to have two phase transitions and to undergo metallization using a diamond anvil cell at around 5.0, 15.0, and 34.0 GPa, respectively. These results were obtained on the basis of high-pressure Raman spectroscopy, temperature-dependent conductivity measurements, atomic force microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and first-principles calculations. The first phase transition at ˜5.0 GPa is an isostructural phase transition, which is manifested in noticeable changes in five Raman-active modes and the slope of the conductivity because of a change in the electronic structure. The second pressure-induced phase transition was characterized by a discontinuous change in the slope of conductivity and a new low-intensity Raman mode at ˜15.0 GPa . Furthermore, a semiconductor-to-metal transition was found at ˜34.0 GPa , which was accompanied by irreversible metallization, and it could be attributed to the permanently plastic deformation of the interlayer spacing. This high-pressure behavior of S b2S3 will help us to understand the universal crystal structure evolution and electrical characteristics for A2B3 -type compounds, and to facilitate their application in electronic devices.

  5. The Gemini Planet Imager Exoplanet Survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nielsen, Eric L.; Macintosh, Bruce; Graham, James R.; Barman, Travis S.; Doyon, Rene; Fabrycky, Daniel; Fitzgerald, Michael P.; Kalas, Paul; Konopacky, Quinn M.; Marchis, Franck; Marley, Mark S.; Marois, Christian; Patience, Jenny; Perrin, Marshall D.; Oppenheimer, Rebecca; Song, Inseok; GPIES Team

    2017-01-01

    The Gemini Planet Imager Exoplanet Survey (GPIES) is one of the largest most sensitive direct imaging searches for exoplanets conducted to date, and having observed more than 300 stars the survey is halfway complete. We present highlights from the first half of the survey, including the discovery and characterization of the young exoplanet 51 Eri b and the brown dwarf HR 2562 B, new imaging of multiple disks, and resolving the young stellar binary V343 Nor for the first time. GPI has also provided new spectra and orbits of previous known planets and brown dwarfs and polarization measurements of a wide range of disks. Finally, we discuss the constraints placed by the first half of the GPIES campaign on the population of giant planets at orbital separations beyond that of Jupiter. Supported by NSF grants AST-0909188 and AST-1313718, AST-1411868, AST 141378, NNX11AF74G, and DGE-1232825, and by NASA grants NNX15AD95G/NEXSS and NNX11AD21G.

  6. EXOPLANET CHARACTERIZATION BY PROXY: A TRANSITING 2.15 R⊕ PLANET NEAR THE HABITABLE ZONE OF THE LATE K DWARF KEPLER-61

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ballard, Sarah; Charbonneau, David; Fressin, Francois; Torres, Guillermo; Irwin, Jonathan; Newton, Elisabeth; Desert, Jean-Michel; Crepp, Justin R.; Shporer, Avi; Mann, Andrew W.; Ciardi, David R.; Henze, Christopher E.; Bryson, Stephen T.; Howell, Steven B.; Horch, Elliott P.; Everett, Mark E.

    2013-01-01

    We present the validation and characterization of Kepler-61b: a 2.15 R ⊕ planet orbiting near the inner edge of the habitable zone of a low-mass star. Our characterization of the host star Kepler-61 is based upon a comparison with a set of spectroscopically similar stars with directly measured radii and temperatures. We apply a stellar prior drawn from the weighted mean of these properties, in tandem with the Kepler photometry, to infer a planetary radius for Kepler-61b of 2.15 ± 0.13 R ⊕ and an equilibrium temperature of 273 ± 13 K (given its period of 59.87756 ± 0.00020 days and assuming a planetary albedo of 0.3). The technique of leveraging the physical properties of nearby ''proxy'' stars allows for an independent check on stellar characterization via the traditional measurements with stellar spectra and evolutionary models. In this case, such a check had implications for the putative habitability of Kepler-61b: the planet is 10% warmer and larger than inferred from K-band spectral characterization. From the Kepler photometry, we estimate a stellar rotation period of 36 days, which implies a stellar age of >1 Gyr. We summarize the evidence for the planetary nature of the Kepler-61 transit signal, which we conclude is 30,000 times more likely to be due to a planet than a blend scenario. Finally, we discuss possible compositions for Kepler-61b with a comparison to theoretical models as well as to known exoplanets with similar radii and dynamically measured masses

  7. High Contrast Imaging of Exoplanets and Exoplanetary Systems with JWST

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hinkley, Sasha; Skemer, Andrew; Biller, Beth; Baraffe, I.; Bonnefoy, M.; Bowler, B.; Carter, A.; Chen, C.; Choquet, E.; Currie, T.; Danielski, C.; Fortney, J.; Grady, C.; Greenbaum, A.; Hines, D.; Janson, M.; Kalas, P.; Kennedy, G.; Kraus, A.; Lagrange, A.; Liu, M.; Marley, M.; Marois, C.; Matthews, B.; Mawet, D.; Metchev, S.; Meyer, M.; Millar-Blanchaer, M.; Perrin, M.; Pueyo, L.; Quanz, S.; Rameau, J.; Rodigas, T.; Sallum, S.; Sargent, B.; Schlieder, J.; Schneider, G.; Stapelfeldt, K.; Tremblin, P.; Vigan, A.; Ygouf, M.

    2017-11-01

    JWST will transform our ability to characterize directly imaged planets and circumstellar debris disks, including the first spectroscopic characterization of directly imaged exoplanets at wavelengths beyond 5 microns, providing a powerful diagnostic of cloud particle properties, atmospheric structure, and composition. To lay the groundwork for these science goals, we propose a 39-hour ERS program to rapidly establish optimal strategies for JWST high contrast imaging. We will acquire: a) coronagraphic imaging of a newly discovered exoplanet companion, and a well-studied circumstellar debris disk with NIRCam & MIRI; b) spectroscopy of a wide separation planetary mass companion with NIRSPEC & MIRI; and c) deep aperture masking interferometry with NIRISS. Our primary goals are to: 1) generate representative datasets in modes to be commonly used by the exoplanet and disk imaging communities; 2) deliver science enabling products to empower a broad user base to develop successful future investigations; and 3) carry out breakthrough science by characterizing exoplanets for the first time over their full spectral range from 2-28 microns, and debris disk spectrophotometry out to 15 microns sampling the 3 micron water ice feature. Our team represents the majority of the community dedicated to exoplanet and disk imaging and has decades of experience with high contrast imaging algorithms and pipelines. We have developed a collaboration management plan and several organized working groups to ensure we can rapidly and effectively deliver high quality Science Enabling Products to the community.

  8. Simulated JWST/NIRISS Transit Spectroscopy of Anticipated TESS Planets Compared to Select Discoveries from Space-Based and Ground-Based Surveys

    Science.gov (United States)

    Louie, Dana; Deming, Drake; Albert, Loic; Bouma, Luke; Bean, Jacob; Lopez-Morales, Mercedes

    2018-01-01

    The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) will embark in 2018 on a 2-year wide-field survey mission of most of the celestial sky, discovering over a thousand super-Earth and sub-Neptune-sized exoplanets potentially suitable for follow-up observations using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Bouma et al. (2017) and Sullivan et al. (2015) used Monte Carlo simulations to predict the properties of the planetary systems that TESS is likely to detect, basing their simulations upon Kepler-derived planet occurrence rates and photometric performance models for the TESS cameras. We employed a JWST Near InfraRed Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS) simulation tool to estimate the signal-to-noise (S/N) that JWST/NIRISS will attain in transmission spectroscopy of these anticipated TESS discoveries, and we then compared the S/N for anticipated TESS discoveries to our estimates of S/N for 18 known exoplanets. We analyzed the sensitivity of our results to planetary composition, cloud cover, and presence of an observational noise floor. We find that only a few anticipated TESS discoveries in the terrestrial planet regime will result in better JWST/NIRISS S/N than currently known exoplanets, such as the TRAPPIST-1 planets, GJ1132b, or LHS1140b. However, we emphasize that this outcome is based upon Kepler-derived occurrence rates, and that co-planar compact systems (e.g. TRAPPIST-1) were not included in predicting the anticipated TESS planet yield. Furthermore, our results show that several hundred anticipated TESS discoveries in the super-Earth and sub-Neptune regime will produce S/N higher than currently known exoplanets such as K2-3b or K2-3c. We apply our results to estimate the scope of a JWST follow-up observation program devoted to mapping the transition region between high molecular weight and primordial planetary atmospheres.

  9. Interference competition and high temperatures reduce the virulence of fig wasps and stabilize a fig-wasp mutualism.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rui-Wu Wang

    2009-11-01

    Full Text Available Fig trees are pollinated by fig wasps, which also oviposit in female flowers. The wasp larvae gall and eat developing seeds. Although fig trees benefit from allowing wasps to oviposit, because the wasp offspring disperse pollen, figs must prevent wasps from ovipositing in all flowers, or seed production would cease, and the mutualism would go extinct. In Ficus racemosa, we find that syconia ('figs' that have few foundresses (ovipositing wasps are underexploited in the summer (few seeds, few galls, many empty ovules and are overexploited in the winter (few seeds, many galls, few empty ovules. Conversely, syconia with many foundresses produce intermediate numbers of galls and seeds, regardless of season. We use experiments to explain these patterns, and thus, to explain how this mutualism is maintained. In the hot summer, wasps suffer short lifespans and therefore fail to oviposit in many flowers. In contrast, cooler temperatures in the winter permit longer wasp lifespans, which in turn allows most flowers to be exploited by the wasps. However, even in winter, only in syconia that happen to have few foundresses are most flowers turned into galls. In syconia with higher numbers of foundresses, interference competition reduces foundress lifespans, which reduces the proportion of flowers that are galled. We further show that syconia encourage the entry of multiple foundresses by delaying ostiole closure. Taken together, these factors allow fig trees to reduce galling in the wasp-benign winter and boost galling (and pollination in the wasp-stressing summer. Interference competition has been shown to reduce virulence in pathogenic bacteria. Our results show that interference also maintains cooperation in a classic, cooperative symbiosis, thus linking theories of virulence and mutualism. More generally, our results reveal how frequency-dependent population regulation can occur in the fig-wasp mutualism, and how a host species can 'set the rules of the

  10. Volatile emissions from an epiphytic fungus are semiochemicals for eusocial wasps.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davis, Thomas Seth; Boundy-Mills, Kyria; Landolt, Peter J

    2012-11-01

    Microbes are ubiquitous on plant surfaces. However, interactions between epiphytic microbes and arthropods are rarely considered as a factor that affects arthropod behaviors. Here, volatile emissions from an epiphytic fungus were investigated as semiochemical attractants for two eusocial wasps. The fungus Aureobasidium pullulans was isolated from apples, and the volatile compounds emitted by fungal colonies were quantified. The attractiveness of fungal colonies and fungal volatiles to social wasps (Vespula spp.) were experimentally tested in the field. Three important findings emerged: (1) traps baited with A. pullulans caught 2750 % more wasps on average than unbaited control traps; (2) the major headspace volatiles emitted by A. pullulans were 2-methyl-1-butanol, 3-methyl-1-butanol, and 2-phenylethyl alcohol; and (3) a synthetic blend of fungal volatiles attracted 4,933 % more wasps on average than unbaited controls. Wasps were most attracted to 2-methyl-1-butanol. The primary wasp species attracted to fungal volatiles were the western yellowjacket (Vespula pensylvanica) and the German yellowjacket (V. germanica), and both species externally vectored A. pullulans. This is the first study to link microbial volatile emissions with eusocial wasp behaviors, and these experiments indicate that volatile compounds emitted by an epiphytic fungus can be responsible for wasp attraction. This work implicates epiphytic microbes as important components in the community ecology of some eusocial hymenopterans, and fungal emissions may signal suitable nutrient sources to foraging wasps. Our experiments are suggestive of a potential symbiosis, but additional studies are needed to determine if eusocial wasp-fungal associations are widespread, and whether these associations are incidental, facultative, or obligate.

  11. Stellar Companions of Exoplanet Host Stars in K2

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matson, Rachel; Howell, Steve; Horch, Elliott; Everett, Mark

    2018-01-01

    Stellar multiplicity has significant implications for the detection and characterization of exoplanets. A stellar companion can mimic the signal of a transiting planet or distort the true planetary radii, leading to improper density estimates and over-predicting the occurrence rates of Earth-sized planets. Determining the fraction of exoplanet host stars that are also binaries allows us to better determine planetary characteristics as well as establish the relationship between binarity and planet formation. Using high-resolution speckle imaging to obtain diffraction limited images of K2 planet candidate host stars we detect stellar companions within one arcsec and up to six magnitudes fainter than the host star. By comparing our observed companion fraction to TRILEGAL star count simulations, and using the known detection limits of speckle imaging, we find the binary fraction of K2 planet host stars to be similar to that of Kepler host stars and solar-type field stars. Accounting for stellar companions in exoplanet studies is therefore essential for deriving true stellar and planetary properties as well as maximizing the returns for TESS and future exoplanet missions.

  12. A Cloudy View of Exoplanets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deming, Drake

    2010-01-01

    The lack of absorption features in the transmission spectrum of exoplanet GJ1214b rules out a hydrogen-rich atmosphere for the planet. It is consistent with an atmosphere rich in water vapour or abundant in clouds.

  13. WAsP engineering DK

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mann, Jakob; Astrup, Poul; Kristensen, Leif

    2000-01-01

    This report summarizes the findings of the EFP project WAsP Engineering Version 1.0 DK - Vindforhold for vindmølledesign. WAsP Engineering is a series of experimental and theoretical activities concerning properties of the winds in moderately complexterrain with relevance for loads on wind turbines...... and other large structures. These properties include extreme winds, wind shear and turbulence. Most of the models have been integrated in a windows program prototype, also called WAsP Engineering. Thebasic mean flow model LINCOM has been changed in several respects to accommodate the demands from load...

  14. WAsP engineering 2000

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mann, J.; Ott, Søren; Jørgensen, B.H.

    2002-01-01

    This report summarizes the findings of the EFP project WAsP Engineering Version 2000. The main product of this project is the computer program WAsP Engineering which is used for the estimation of extreme wind speeds, wind shears, profiles, and turbulencein complex terrain. At the web page http......://www.waspengineering.dk more information of the program can be obtained and a copy of the manual can be downloaded. The reports contains a complete description of the turbulence modelling in moderately complexterrain, implemented in WAsP Engineering. Also experimental validation of the model together with comparison...... with spectra from engineering codes is done. Some shortcomings of the linear flow model LINCOM, which is at the core of WAsP Engineering, ispointed out and modifications to eliminate the problem are presented. The global database of meteorological "reanalysis" data from NCAP/NCEP are used to estimate...

  15. High-precision ground-based photometry of exoplanets

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    de Mooij Ernst J.W.

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available High-precision photometry of transiting exoplanet systems has contributed significantly to our understanding of the properties of their atmospheres. The best targets are the bright exoplanet systems, for which the high number of photons allow very high signal-to-noise ratios. Most of the current instruments are not optimised for these high-precision measurements, either they have a large read-out overhead to reduce the readnoise and/or their field-of-view is limited, preventing simultaneous observations of both the target and a reference star. Recently we have proposed a new wide-field imager for the Observatoir de Mont-Megantic optimised for these bright systems (PI: Jayawardhana. The instruments has a dual beam design and a field-of-view of 17' by 17'. The cameras have a read-out time of 2 seconds, significantly reducing read-out overheads. Over the past years we have obtained significant experience with how to reach the high precision required for the characterisation of exoplanet atmospheres. Based on our experience we provide the following advice: Get the best calibrations possible. In the case of bad weather, characterise the instrument (e.g. non-linearity, dome flats, bias level, this is vital for better understanding of the science data. Observe the target for as long as possible, the out-of-transit baseline is as important as the transit/eclipse itself. A short baseline can lead to improperly corrected systematic and mis-estimation of the red-noise. Keep everything (e.g. position on detector, exposure time as stable as possible. Take care that the defocus is not too strong. For a large defocus, the contribution of the total flux from the sky-background in the aperture could well exceed that of the target, resulting in very strict requirements on the precision at which the background is measured.

  16. A Decade of H α Transits for HD 189733 b: Stellar Activity versus Absorption in the Extended Atmosphere

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cauley, P. Wilson; Redfield, Seth [Wesleyan University, Astronomy Department, Van Vleck Observatory, 96 Foss Hill Drive, Middletown, CT 06459 (United States); Jensen, Adam G., E-mail: pcauley@wesleyan.edu [University of Nebraska-Kearney, Department of Physics and Astronomy, 24011 11th Avenue, Kearney, NE 68849 (United States)

    2017-05-01

    HD 189733 b is one of the most well studied exoplanets due to its large transit depth and host star brightness. The focus on this object has produced a number of high-cadence transit observations using high-resolution optical spectrographs. Here we present an analysis of seven full H α transits of HD 189733 b using HARPS on the 3.6 meter La Silla telescope and HIRES on Keck I, taken over the course of nine years from 2006 to 2015. H α transmission signals are analyzed as a function of the stellar activity level, as measured using the normalized core flux of the Ca ii H and K lines. We find strong variations in the strength of the H α transmission spectrum from epoch to epoch. However, there is no clear trend between the Ca ii core emission and the strength of the in-transit H α signal, although the transit showing the largest absorption value also occurs when the star is the most active. We present simulations of the in-transit contrast effect and find that the planet must consistently transit active latitudes with very strong facular and plage emission regions in order to reproduce the observed line strengths. We also investigate the measured velocity centroids with models of planetary rotation and show that the small line profile velocities could be due to large velocities in the upper atmosphere of the planet. Overall, we find it more likely that the measured H α signals arise in the extended planetary atmosphere, although a better understanding of active region emission for active stars such as HD 189733 is needed.

  17. Illusion and reality in the atmospheres of exoplanets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deming, L. Drake; Seager, Sara

    2017-01-01

    The atmospheres of exoplanets reveal all their properties beyond mass, radius, and orbit. Based on bulk densities, we know that exoplanets larger than 1.5 Earth radii must have gaseous envelopes and, hence, atmospheres. We discuss contemporary techniques for characterization of exoplanetary atmospheres. The measurements are difficult, because—even in current favorable cases—the signals can be as small as 0.001% of the host star's flux. Consequently, some early results have been illusory and not confirmed by subsequent investigations. Prominent illusions to date include polarized scattered light, temperature inversions, and the existence of carbon planets. The field moves from the first tentative and often incorrect conclusions, converging to the reality of exoplanetary atmospheres. That reality is revealed using transits for close-in exoplanets and direct imaging for young or massive exoplanets in distant orbits. Several atomic and molecular constituents have now been robustly detected in exoplanets as small as Neptune. In our current observations, the effects of clouds and haze appear ubiquitous. Topics at the current frontier include the measurement of heavy element abundances in giant planets, detection of carbon-based molecules, measurement of atmospheric temperature profiles, definition of heat circulation efficiencies for tidally locked planets, and the push to detect and characterize the atmospheres of super-Earths. Future observatories for this quest include the James Webb Space Telescope and the new generation of extremely large telescopes on the ground. On a more distant horizon, NASA's study concepts for the Habitable Exoplanet Imaging Mission (HabEx) and the Large UV/Optical/Infrared Surveyor (LUVOIR) missions could extend the study of exoplanetary atmospheres to true twins of Earth.

  18. Exoplanets search and characterization with the SOPHIE spectrograph at OHP

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hébrard G.

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available Several programs of exoplanets search and characterization have been started with SOPHIE at the 1.93-m telescope of Haute-Provence Observatory, France. SOPHIE is an environmentally stabilized echelle spectrograph dedicated to high-precision radial velocity measurements. The objectives of these programs include systematic searches for exoplanets around different types of stars, characterizations of planet-host stars, studies of transiting planets through RossiterMcLaughlin effect, follow-up observations of photometric surveys. The instrument SOPHIE and a review of its latest results are presented here.

  19. Thermal Structure and Mantle Dynamics of Rocky Exoplanets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wagner, F. W.; Tosi, N.; Hussmann, H.; Sohl, F.

    2011-12-01

    The confirmed detections of CoRoT-7b and Kepler-10b reveal that rocky exoplanets exist. Moreover, recent theoretical studies suggest that small planets beyond the Solar System are indeed common and many of them will be discovered by increasingly precise observational surveys in the years ahead. The knowledge about the interior structure and thermal state of exoplanet interiors provides crucial theoretical input not only for classification and characterization of individual planetary bodies, but also to better understand the origin and evolution of the Solar System and the Earth in general. These developments and considerations have motivated us to address several questions concerning thermal structure and interior dynamics of terrestrial exoplanets. In the present study, depth-dependent structural models of solid exoplanet interiors have been constructed in conjunction with a mixing length approach to calculate self-consistently the radial distribution of temperature and heat flux. Furthermore, 2-D convection simulations using the compressible anelastic approximation have been carried through to examine the effect of thermodynamic quantities (e.g., thermal expansivity) on mantle convection pattern within rocky planets more massive than the Earth. In comparison to parameterized convection models, our calculated results predict generally hotter planetary interiors, which are mainly attributed to a viscosity-regulating feedback mechanism involving temperature and pressure. We find that density and thermal conductivity increase with depth by a factor of two to three, however, thermal expansivity decreases by more than an order of magnitude across the mantle for planets as massive as CoRoT-7b or Kepler-10b. The specific heat capacity is observed to stay almost constant over an extended region of the lower mantle. The planform of mantle convection is strongly modified in the presence of depth-dependent thermodynamic quantities with hot upwellings (plumes) rising across

  20. Exoplanets Galore!

    Science.gov (United States)

    2000-05-01

    interestingly, a small change with time (a "drift") of the mean velocity variation of HD 83443 has been detected. This drift suggests the possible existence of an additional low-mass companion; earlier measurements show that it cannot be due to a more distant stellar companion. As for all other short-period exoplanets, this "Hot Saturn" offers good chances for future observations of a planetary transit across the disk of the central star, seen when the planetary orbit is (nearly) perpendicular to the sky plane. Precise photometric monitoring of the star has been conducted by a team of Danish astronomers with their 50-cm telescope at La Silla, but has so far failed to reveal any drop of the stellar luminosity. The mass of HD 108147 (of type F9-G0V) is slightly above that of the Sun (1.05 solar mass). The orbit of its low-mass companion is surprisingly eccentric (e = 0.56), despite of its fairly short period of 10.88 days. This star seems to be rather "young" (about 2,000 million years old); this is also corroborated by a comparatively high rotational velocity and a moderate chromospheric activity level. Three Jovian planets with longer periods around HD 52265 [3], HD 82943 and HD 169830 The deduced minimum masses, 1.07, 2.2 and 2.96 times the mass of Jupiter, of the planetary companions to HD 52265 (6.3 mag; G0V; Monoceros constellation - the Unicorn), HD 82943 (6.5 mag; G0; Hydra - the Water-Snake), and HD 169830 (5.9 mag; F8V; Sagittarius - the Archer), respectively, together with the orbital eccentricities (0.38, 0.61 and 0.34) and periods (119, 443 and 230 days) for these systems are rather typical for exoplanets with intermediate periods. Whereas all giant planets in our own solar system (Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, Uranus) have nearly circular orbits, most of the extra-solar planets that have been discovered with periods of months to years are elongated. The origin of the elongated shape of those planetary orbits is still under debate. Two very low-mass brown

  1. DISEQUILIBRIUM CARBON, OXYGEN, AND NITROGEN CHEMISTRY IN THE ATMOSPHERES OF HD 189733b AND HD 209458b

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moses, Julianne I.; Visscher, C.; Fortney, J. J.; Showman, A. P.; Lewis, N. K.; Griffith, C. A.; Klippenstein, S. J.; Shabram, M.; Friedson, A. J.; Marley, M. S.; Freedman, R. S.

    2011-01-01

    We have developed a one-dimensional photochemical and thermochemical kinetics and diffusion model to study the effects of disequilibrium chemistry on the atmospheric composition of 'hot-Jupiter' exoplanets. Here we investigate the coupled chemistry of neutral carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen species on HD 189733b and HD 209458b and we compare the model results with existing transit and eclipse observations. We find that the vertical profiles of molecular constituents are significantly affected by transport-induced quenching and photochemistry, particularly on the cooler HD 189733b; however, the warmer stratospheric temperatures on HD 209458b help maintain thermochemical equilibrium and reduce the effects of disequilibrium chemistry. For both planets, the methane and ammonia mole fractions are found to be enhanced over their equilibrium values at pressures of a few bar to less than an mbar due to transport-induced quenching, but CH 4 and NH 3 are photochemically removed at higher altitudes. Disequilibrium chemistry also enhances atomic species, unsaturated hydrocarbons (particularly C 2 H 2 ), some nitriles (particularly HCN), and radicals like OH, CH 3 , and NH 2 . In contrast, CO, H 2 O, N 2 , and CO 2 more closely follow their equilibrium profiles, except at pressures ∼ 2 O, and N 2 are photochemically destroyed and CO 2 is produced before its eventual high-altitude destruction. The enhanced abundances of CH 4 , NH 3 , and HCN are expected to affect the spectral signatures and thermal profiles of HD 189733b and other relatively cool, transiting exoplanets. We examine the sensitivity of our results to the assumed temperature structure and eddy diffusion coefficients and discuss further observational consequences of these models.

  2. NON-DETECTION OF L-BAND LINE EMISSION FROM THE EXOPLANET HD189733b

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mandell, Avi M.; Deming, L. Drake; Mumma, Michael J.; Villanueva, Geronimo L.; Blake, Geoffrey A.; Knutson, Heather A.; Salyk, Colette

    2011-01-01

    We attempt to confirm bright non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (non-LTE) emission from the exoplanet HD 189733b at 3.25 μm, as recently reported by Swain et al. based on observations at low spectral resolving power (λ/δλ ∼ 30). Non-LTE emission lines from gas in an exoplanet atmosphere will not be significantly broadened by collisions, so the measured emission intensity per resolution element must be substantially brighter when observed at high spectral resolving power. We observed the planet before, during, and after a secondary eclipse event at a resolving power λ/δλ = 27, 000 using the NIRSPEC spectrometer on the Keck II telescope. Our spectra cover a spectral window near the peak found by Swain et al., and we compare emission cases that could account for the magnitude and wavelength dependence of the Swain et al. result with our final spectral residuals. To model the expected line emission, we use a general non-equilibrium formulation to synthesize emission features from all plausible molecules that emit in this spectral region. In every case, we detect no line emission to a high degree of confidence. After considering possible explanations for the Swain et al. results and the disparity with our own data, we conclude that an astrophysical source for the putative non-LTE emission is unlikely. We note that the wavelength dependence of the signal seen by Swain et al. closely matches the 2ν 2 band of water vapor at 300 K, and we suggest that an imperfect correction for telluric water is the source of the feature claimed by Swain et al.

  3. REVISED STREAM CODE AND WASP5 BENCHMARK

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, K

    2005-01-01

    STREAM is an emergency response code that predicts downstream pollutant concentrations for releases from the SRS area to the Savannah River. The STREAM code uses an algebraic equation to approximate the solution of the one dimensional advective transport differential equation. This approach generates spurious oscillations in the concentration profile when modeling long duration releases. To improve the capability of the STREAM code to model long-term releases, its calculation module was replaced by the WASP5 code. WASP5 is a US EPA water quality analysis program that simulates one-dimensional pollutant transport through surface water. Test cases were performed to compare the revised version of STREAM with the existing version. For continuous releases, results predicted by the revised STREAM code agree with physical expectations. The WASP5 code was benchmarked with the US EPA 1990 and 1991 dye tracer studies, in which the transport of the dye was measured from its release at the New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam downstream to Savannah. The peak concentrations predicted by the WASP5 agreed with the measurements within ±20.0%. The transport times of the dye concentration peak predicted by the WASP5 agreed with the measurements within ±3.6%. These benchmarking results demonstrate that STREAM should be capable of accurately modeling releases from SRS outfalls

  4. Exoplanets Detection, Formation, Properties, Habitability

    CERN Document Server

    Mason, John W

    2008-01-01

    This edited, multi-author volume will be an invaluable introduction and reference to all key aspects in the field of exoplanet research. The reviews cover: Detection methods and properties of known exoplanets, Detection of extrasolar planets by gravitational microlensing. The formation and evolution of terrestrial planets in protoplanetary and debris disks. The brown dwarf-exoplanet connection. Formation, migration mechanisms and properties of hot Jupiters. Dynamics of multiple exoplanet systems. Doppler exoplanet surveys. Searching for exoplanets in the stellar graveyard. Formation and habitability of extra solar planets in multiple star systems. Exoplanet habitats and the possibilities for life. Moons of exoplanets: habitats for life. Contributing authors: •Rory Barnes •David P. Bennett •Jian Ge •Nader Haghighipour •Patrick Irwin •Hugh Jones •Victoria Meadows •Stanimir Metchev •I. Neill Reid •George Rieke •Caleb Scharf •Steinn Sigurdsson

  5. Atmospheric retrieval analysis of the directly imaged exoplanet HR 8799b

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Jae-Min [University of Zürich, Institute for Theoretical Physics, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zürich (Switzerland); Heng, Kevin [University of Bern, Center for Space and Habitability, Sidlerstrasse 5, CH-3012 Bern (Switzerland); Irwin, Patrick G. J., E-mail: lee@physik.uzh.ch, E-mail: kevin.heng@csh.unibe.ch, E-mail: irwin@atm.ox.ac.uk [University of Oxford, Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics, Clarendon Laboratory, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PU (United Kingdom)

    2013-12-01

    Directly imaged exoplanets are unexplored laboratories for the application of the spectral and temperature retrieval method, where the chemistry and composition of their atmospheres are inferred from inverse modeling of the available data. As a pilot study, we focus on the extrasolar gas giant HR 8799b, for which more than 50 data points are available. We upgrade our non-linear optimal estimation retrieval method to include a phenomenological model of clouds that requires the cloud optical depth and monodisperse particle size to be specified. Previous studies have focused on forward models with assumed values of the exoplanetary properties; there is no consensus on the best-fit values of the radius, mass, surface gravity, and effective temperature of HR 8799b. We show that cloud-free models produce reasonable fits to the data if the atmosphere is of super-solar metallicity and non-solar elemental abundances. Intermediate cloudy models with moderate values of the cloud optical depth and micron-sized particles provide an equally reasonable fit to the data and require a lower mean molecular weight. We report our best-fit values for the radius, mass, surface gravity, and effective temperature of HR 8799b. The mean molecular weight is about 3.8, while the carbon-to-oxygen ratio is about unity due to the prevalence of carbon monoxide. Our study emphasizes the need for robust claims about the nature of an exoplanetary atmosphere to be based on analyses involving both photometry and spectroscopy and inferred from beyond a few photometric data points, such as are typically reported for hot Jupiters.

  6. Are "Habitable" Exoplanets Really Habitable? -A perspective from atmospheric loss

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dong, C.; Huang, Z.; Jin, M.; Lingam, M.; Ma, Y. J.; Toth, G.; van der Holst, B.; Airapetian, V.; Cohen, O.; Gombosi, T. I.

    2017-12-01

    In the last two decades, the field of exoplanets has witnessed a tremendous creative surge. Research in exoplanets now encompasses a wide range of fields ranging from astrophysics to heliophysics and atmospheric science. One of the primary objectives of studying exoplanets is to determine the criteria for habitability, and whether certain exoplanets meet these requirements. The classical definition of the Habitable Zone (HZ) is the region around a star where liquid water can exist on the planetary surface given sufficient atmospheric pressure. However, this definition largely ignores the impact of the stellar wind and stellar magnetic activity on the erosion of an exoplanet's atmosphere. Amongst the many factors that determine habitability, understanding the mechanisms of atmospheric loss is of paramount importance. We will discuss the impact of exoplanetary space weather on climate and habitability, which offers fresh insights concerning the habitability of exoplanets, especially those orbiting M-dwarfs, such as Proxima b and the TRAPPIST-1 system. For each case, we will demonstrate the importance of the exoplanetary space weather on atmospheric ion loss and habitability.

  7. Transiting Exoplanet Monitoring Project (TEMP). IV. Refined System Parameters, Transit Timing Variations, and Orbital Stability of the Transiting Planetary System HAT-P-25

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xian-Yu; Wang, Songhu; Hinse, Tobias C.; Li, Kai; Wang, Yong-Hao; Laughlin, Gregory; Liu, Hui-Gen; Zhang, Hui; Wu, Zhen-Yu; Zhou, Xu; Zhou, Ji-Lin; Hu, Shao-Ming; Wu, Dong-Hong; Peng, Xi-Yan; Chen, Yuan-Yuan

    2018-06-01

    We present eight new light curves of the transiting extra-solar planet HAT-P-25b obtained from 2013 to 2016 with three telescopes at two observatories. We use the new light curves, along with recent literature material, to estimate the physical and orbital parameters of the transiting planet. Specifically, we determine the mid-transit times (T C ) and update the linear ephemeris, T C[0] = 2456418.80996 ± 0.00025 [BJDTDB] and P = 3.65281572 ± 0.00000095 days. We carry out a search for transit timing variations (TTVs), and find no significant TTV signal at the ΔT = 80 s-level, placing a limit on the possible strength of planet–planet interactions (TTVG). In the course of our analysis, we calculate the upper mass-limits of the potential nearby perturbers. Near the 1:2, 2:1, and 3:1 resonances with HAT-P-25b, perturbers with masses greater than 0.5, 0.3, and 0.5 M ⊕ respectively, can be excluded. Furthermore, based on the analysis of TTVs caused by light travel time effect (LTTE) we also eliminate the possibility that a long-period perturber exists with M p > 3000 MJ within a = 11.2 au of the parent star.

  8. Peak shifts due to B(*)-B(*) rescattering in Υ(5S) dipion transitions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Meng Ce; Chao Kuangta

    2008-01-01

    We study the energy distributions of dipion transitions Υ(5S) to Υ(1S,2S,3S)π + π - in the final-state rescattering model. Since the Υ(5S) is well above the open bottom thresholds, the dipion transitions are expected to mainly proceed through the real processes Υ(5S)→B ( * ) B ( * ) and B ( * ) B ( * ) →Υ(1S,2S,3S)π + π - . We find that the energy distributions of Υ(1S,2S,3S)π + π - markedly differ from that of Υ(5S)→B ( * ) B ( * ) . In particular, the resonance peak will be pushed up by about 7-20 MeV for these dipion transitions relative to the main hadronic decay modes. These predictions can be used to test the final-state rescattering mechanism in hadronic transitions for heavy quarkonia above the open flavor thresholds.

  9. DISCRIMINATING BETWEEN CLOUDY, HAZY, AND CLEAR SKY EXOPLANETS USING REFRACTION

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Misra, Amit K.; Meadows, Victoria S. [Astronomy Department, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195 (United States)

    2014-11-01

    We propose a method to distinguish between cloudy, hazy, and clear sky (free of clouds and hazes) exoplanet atmospheres that could be applicable to upcoming large aperture space- and ground-based telescopes such as the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT). These facilities will be powerful tools for characterizing transiting exoplanets, but only after a considerable amount of telescope time is devoted to a single planet. A technique that could provide a relatively rapid means of identifying haze-free targets (which may be more valuable targets for characterization) could potentially increase the science return for these telescopes. Our proposed method utilizes broadband observations of refracted light in the out-of-transit spectrum. Light refracted through an exoplanet atmosphere can lead to an increase of flux prior to ingress and subsequent to egress. Because this light is transmitted at pressures greater than those for typical cloud and haze layers, the detection of refracted light could indicate a cloud- or haze-free atmosphere. A detection of refracted light could be accomplished in <10 hr for Jovian exoplanets with JWST and <5 hr for super-Earths/mini-Neptunes with E-ELT. We find that this technique is most effective for planets with equilibrium temperatures between 200 and 500 K, which may include potentially habitable planets. A detection of refracted light for a potentially habitable planet would strongly suggest the planet was free of a global cloud or haze layer, and therefore a promising candidate for follow-up observations.

  10. DISCRIMINATING BETWEEN CLOUDY, HAZY, AND CLEAR SKY EXOPLANETS USING REFRACTION

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Misra, Amit K.; Meadows, Victoria S.

    2014-01-01

    We propose a method to distinguish between cloudy, hazy, and clear sky (free of clouds and hazes) exoplanet atmospheres that could be applicable to upcoming large aperture space- and ground-based telescopes such as the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT). These facilities will be powerful tools for characterizing transiting exoplanets, but only after a considerable amount of telescope time is devoted to a single planet. A technique that could provide a relatively rapid means of identifying haze-free targets (which may be more valuable targets for characterization) could potentially increase the science return for these telescopes. Our proposed method utilizes broadband observations of refracted light in the out-of-transit spectrum. Light refracted through an exoplanet atmosphere can lead to an increase of flux prior to ingress and subsequent to egress. Because this light is transmitted at pressures greater than those for typical cloud and haze layers, the detection of refracted light could indicate a cloud- or haze-free atmosphere. A detection of refracted light could be accomplished in <10 hr for Jovian exoplanets with JWST and <5 hr for super-Earths/mini-Neptunes with E-ELT. We find that this technique is most effective for planets with equilibrium temperatures between 200 and 500 K, which may include potentially habitable planets. A detection of refracted light for a potentially habitable planet would strongly suggest the planet was free of a global cloud or haze layer, and therefore a promising candidate for follow-up observations

  11. Temporal polyethism and worker specialization in the wasp, Vespula germanica.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hurd, Christine R; Jeanne, Robert L; Nordheim, Erik V

    2007-01-01

    Temporal polyethism is a common mechanism of worker specialization observed in social insect species with large colony sizes, Vespula wasp colonies consist of thousands of monomorphic workers, yet studies based on small cohorts of workers report that temporal polyethism is either weak or completely absent in different Vespula species. Concerned that the small sample size of these studies precluded detection of temporal polyethism, several hundred, known-age Vespula germanica (F.) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) workers were studied. High variability was found in the sequence and diversity of tasks workers perform, suggesting that V. germanica colonies exhibit weak temporal polyethism. The most common order in which tasks were taken up was 1) nest work, 2) pulp foraging, 3) carbohydrate foraging, and 4) protein foraging. However, only 61% of the wasps performed more than two of the tasks during their lives. Thorax size had a significant negative effect on the age at first foraging, but the magnitude of the effect was small. The daily ratio of task generalists to specialists was relatively constant despite the high turnover of workers, growth of the colony, and the colony's transition from rearing worker larvae to rearing reproductives. Over the course of their lives, 43% of the workers averaged more than one kind of task performed per day. Life history traits are identified that may explain why vespines with large colonies use a generalist strategy of labor division rather than the specialist strategy observed in honey bees (Apis mellifera) and large colonies of wasps (Polybia occidentalis).

  12. RAYLEIGH SCATTERING IN THE ATMOSPHERE OF THE WARM EXO-NEPTUNE GJ 3470B

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dragomir, Diana; Benneke, Björn; Pearson, Kyle A.; Crossfield, Ian J. M.; Barman, Travis; Eastman, Jason; Biddle, Lauren I.

    2015-01-01

    GJ 3470b is a warm Neptune-size planet transiting an M dwarf star. Like the handful of other small exoplanets for which transmission spectroscopy has been obtained, GJ 3470b exhibits a flat spectrum in the near- and mid-infrared. Recently, a tentative detection of Rayleigh scattering in its atmosphere has been reported. This signal manifests itself as an observed increase of the planetary radius as a function of decreasing wavelength in the visible. We set out to verify this detection and observed several transits of this planet with the LCOGT network and the Kuiper telescope in four different bands (Sloan g, Sloan i, Harris B, and Harris V). Our analysis reveals a strong Rayleigh scattering slope, thus confirming previous results. This makes GJ 3470b the smallest known exoplanet with a detection of Rayleigh scattering. We find that the most plausible scenario is a hydrogen/helium-dominated atmosphere covered by clouds which obscure absorption features in the infrared and hazes which give rise to scattering in the visible. Our results demonstrate the feasibility of exoplanet atmospheric characterization from the ground, even with meter-class telescopes

  13. RAYLEIGH SCATTERING IN THE ATMOSPHERE OF THE WARM EXO-NEPTUNE GJ 3470B

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dragomir, Diana [Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network, 6740 Cortona Drive Suite 102, Goleta, CA 93117 (United States); Benneke, Björn [Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Pearson, Kyle A. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86001 (United States); Crossfield, Ian J. M.; Barman, Travis [Department of Planetary Sciences, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States); Eastman, Jason [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Biddle, Lauren I., E-mail: diana@oddjob.uchicago.edu [Gemini Observatory, Northern Operations Center, 670 N. Aohoku Place, Hilo, HI 96720 (United States)

    2015-12-01

    GJ 3470b is a warm Neptune-size planet transiting an M dwarf star. Like the handful of other small exoplanets for which transmission spectroscopy has been obtained, GJ 3470b exhibits a flat spectrum in the near- and mid-infrared. Recently, a tentative detection of Rayleigh scattering in its atmosphere has been reported. This signal manifests itself as an observed increase of the planetary radius as a function of decreasing wavelength in the visible. We set out to verify this detection and observed several transits of this planet with the LCOGT network and the Kuiper telescope in four different bands (Sloan g, Sloan i, Harris B, and Harris V). Our analysis reveals a strong Rayleigh scattering slope, thus confirming previous results. This makes GJ 3470b the smallest known exoplanet with a detection of Rayleigh scattering. We find that the most plausible scenario is a hydrogen/helium-dominated atmosphere covered by clouds which obscure absorption features in the infrared and hazes which give rise to scattering in the visible. Our results demonstrate the feasibility of exoplanet atmospheric characterization from the ground, even with meter-class telescopes.

  14. The emergent 1.1-1.7 μm spectrum of the exoplanet COROT-2B as measured using the Hubble space telescope

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wilkins, Ashlee N.; Deming, Drake; Madhusudhan, Nikku; Burrows, Adam; Knutson, Heather; McCullough, Peter; Ranjan, Sukrit

    2014-01-01

    We have used Hubble/WFC3 and the G141 grism to measure the secondary eclipse of the transiting, very hot Jupiter CoRoT-2b in the 1.1-1.7 μm spectral region. We find an eclipse depth averaged over this band equal to 395 −45 +69 parts per million, equivalent to a blackbody temperature of 1788 ± 18 K. We study and characterize several WFC3 instrumental effects, especially the 'hook' phenomenon described by Deming et al. We use data from several transiting exoplanet systems to find a quantitative relation between the amplitude of the hook and the exposure level of a given pixel. Although the uncertainties in this relation are too large to allow us to develop an empirical correction for our data, our study provides a useful guide for optimizing exposure levels in future WFC3 observations. We derive the planet's spectrum using a differential method. The planet-to-star contrast increases to longer wavelength within the WFC3 bandpass, but without water absorption or emission to a 3σ limit of 85 ppm. The slope of the WFC3 spectrum is significantly less than the slope of the best-fit blackbody. We compare all existing eclipse data for this planet to a blackbody spectrum, and to spectra from both solar abundance and carbon-rich (C/O = 1) models. A blackbody spectrum is an acceptable fit to the full data set. Extra continuous opacity due to clouds or haze, and flattened temperature profiles, are strong candidates to produce quasi-blackbody spectra, and to account for the amplitude of the optical eclipses. Our results show ambiguous evidence for a temperature inversion in this planet.

  15. The emergent 1.1-1.7 μm spectrum of the exoplanet COROT-2B as measured using the Hubble space telescope

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wilkins, Ashlee N.; Deming, Drake [Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 (United States); Madhusudhan, Nikku [Yale Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511 (United States); Burrows, Adam [Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544-1001 (United States); Knutson, Heather [Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); McCullough, Peter [Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Ranjan, Sukrit, E-mail: awilkins@astro.umd.edu [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)

    2014-03-10

    We have used Hubble/WFC3 and the G141 grism to measure the secondary eclipse of the transiting, very hot Jupiter CoRoT-2b in the 1.1-1.7 μm spectral region. We find an eclipse depth averaged over this band equal to 395{sub −45}{sup +69} parts per million, equivalent to a blackbody temperature of 1788 ± 18 K. We study and characterize several WFC3 instrumental effects, especially the 'hook' phenomenon described by Deming et al. We use data from several transiting exoplanet systems to find a quantitative relation between the amplitude of the hook and the exposure level of a given pixel. Although the uncertainties in this relation are too large to allow us to develop an empirical correction for our data, our study provides a useful guide for optimizing exposure levels in future WFC3 observations. We derive the planet's spectrum using a differential method. The planet-to-star contrast increases to longer wavelength within the WFC3 bandpass, but without water absorption or emission to a 3σ limit of 85 ppm. The slope of the WFC3 spectrum is significantly less than the slope of the best-fit blackbody. We compare all existing eclipse data for this planet to a blackbody spectrum, and to spectra from both solar abundance and carbon-rich (C/O = 1) models. A blackbody spectrum is an acceptable fit to the full data set. Extra continuous opacity due to clouds or haze, and flattened temperature profiles, are strong candidates to produce quasi-blackbody spectra, and to account for the amplitude of the optical eclipses. Our results show ambiguous evidence for a temperature inversion in this planet.

  16. Magnetic ordering and spin-reorientation transitions in TbCo3B2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dubman, Moshe; Caspi, El'ad N.; Ettedgui, Hanania; Keller, Lukas; Melamud, Mordechai; Shaked, Hagai

    2005-01-01

    The magnetic structure of the compound TbCo 3 B 2 has been studied in the temperature range 1.5 K≤T≤300 K by means of neutron powder diffraction, magnetization, magnetic ac susceptibility, and heat capacity measurements. The compound is of hexagonal symmetry and is paramagnetic at 300 K, undergoes a magnetic Co-Co ordering transition at ∼170 K, and a second magnetic Tb-Tb ordering transition at ∼30 K. The latter induces a spin-reorientation transition, in which the magnetic axis rotates from the c axis toward the basal plane. Below this transition a symmetry decrease (γ magnetostriction) sets in, leading to an orthorhombic distortion of the crystal lattice. The crystal and magnetic structures and interactions and their evolution with temperature are discussed using a microscopic physical model

  17. Biology and behavior of the seed borer wasp Bephratelloides cubensis Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Eurytomidae)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hernandez-Fuentes, Luis M.; Urias-Lopez, Mario A.; Bautista-Martinez, Nestor

    2010-01-01

    The sour sop Annona muricata is an important fruit for national market, and for exportation, but the crop is affected by pests and diseases. The seed borer wasp Bephratelloides cubensis Ashmead is the pest that produces the highest damage to the crop in Mexico. Sixty percent of damaged fruits and 5-50 seeds per fruit have been registered, with 25% reduction in yield. In Nayarit, Mexico, 100% of damaged fruits were recorded. In this State, an experiment with sour sop was conducted to study the life cycle under fi eld conditions and to determine diurnal behavior of the female of B. cubensis. The highest activity of the wasp was observed between 12:00 h and 13:00 h (35 degree C, 54% RH and 409.34 luxes). Females oviposited in fruits with a diameter of 3.1-7.6 cm. Larvae of B. cubensis developed five instars, adults survived no longer than 22 days, and female survived longer than males; they lived 22 and 15 days, respectively. Life cycle of B. cubensis varied from 69 to 122 days. (author)

  18. Discovery of a transiting planet near the snow-line

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kipping, D. M.; Torres, G.; Buchhave, L. A.; Kenyon, S. J.; Henze, C.; Bryson, S. T.; Isaacson, H.; Kolbl, R.; Marcy, G. W.; Stassun, K.; Bastien, F.

    2014-01-01

    In most theories of planet formation, the snow-line represents a boundary between the emergence of the interior rocky planets and the exterior ice giants. The wide separation of the snow-line makes the discovery of transiting worlds challenging, yet transits would allow for detailed subsequent characterization. We present the discovery of Kepler-421b, a Uranus-sized exoplanet transiting a G9/K0 dwarf once every 704.2 days in a near-circular orbit. Using public Kepler photometry, we demonstrate that the two observed transits can be uniquely attributed to the 704.2 day period. Detailed light curve analysis with BLENDER validates the planetary nature of Kepler-421b to >4σ confidence. Kepler-421b receives the same insolation as a body at ∼2 AU in the solar system, as well as a Uranian albedo, which would have an effective temperature of ∼180 K. Using a time-dependent model for the protoplanetary disk, we estimate that Kepler-421b's present semi-major axis was beyond the snow-line after ∼3 Myr, indicating that Kepler-421b may have formed at its observed location.

  19. Discovery of a transiting planet near the snow-line

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kipping, D. M.; Torres, G.; Buchhave, L. A.; Kenyon, S. J. [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Henze, C.; Bryson, S. T. [NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035 (United States); Isaacson, H.; Kolbl, R.; Marcy, G. W. [University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States); Stassun, K. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vanderbilt University, 1807 Station B, Nashville, TN 37235 (United States); Bastien, F., E-mail: dkipping@cfa.harvard.edu [Physics Department, Fisk University, 1000 17th Ave. N, Nashville, TN 37208 (United States)

    2014-11-01

    In most theories of planet formation, the snow-line represents a boundary between the emergence of the interior rocky planets and the exterior ice giants. The wide separation of the snow-line makes the discovery of transiting worlds challenging, yet transits would allow for detailed subsequent characterization. We present the discovery of Kepler-421b, a Uranus-sized exoplanet transiting a G9/K0 dwarf once every 704.2 days in a near-circular orbit. Using public Kepler photometry, we demonstrate that the two observed transits can be uniquely attributed to the 704.2 day period. Detailed light curve analysis with BLENDER validates the planetary nature of Kepler-421b to >4σ confidence. Kepler-421b receives the same insolation as a body at ∼2 AU in the solar system, as well as a Uranian albedo, which would have an effective temperature of ∼180 K. Using a time-dependent model for the protoplanetary disk, we estimate that Kepler-421b's present semi-major axis was beyond the snow-line after ∼3 Myr, indicating that Kepler-421b may have formed at its observed location.

  20. Information Content Analysis for Selection of Optimal JWST  Observing Modes for Transiting Exoplanet Atmospheres

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Batalha, Natasha E. [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA 16802 (United States); Line, M. R., E-mail: neb149@psu.edu [School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ 85282 (United States)

    2017-04-01

    The James Webb Space Telescope ( JWST ) is nearing its launch date of 2018, and is expected to revolutionize our knowledge of exoplanet atmospheres. In order to specifically identify which observing modes will be most useful for characterizing a diverse range of exoplanetary atmospheres, we use an information content (IC) based approach commonly used in the studies of solar system atmospheres. We develop a system based upon these IC methods to trace the instrumental and atmospheric model phase space in order to identify which observing modes are best suited for particular classes of planets, focusing on transmission spectra. Specifically, the atmospheric parameter space we cover is T  = 600–1800 K, C/O = 0.55–1, [M/H] = 1–100 × Solar for an R  = 1.39 R{sub J}, M  = 0.59 M{sub J} planet orbiting a WASP-62-like star. We also explore the influence of a simplified opaque gray cloud on the IC. We find that obtaining broader wavelength coverage over multiple modes is preferred over higher precision in a single mode given the same amount of observing time. Regardless of the planet temperature and composition, the best modes for constraining terminator temperatures, C/O ratios, and metallicity are NIRISS SOSS+NIRSpec G395. If the target’s host star is dim enough such that the NIRSpec prism is applicable, then it can be used instead of NIRISS SOSS+NIRSpec G395. Lastly, observations that use more than two modes should be carefully analyzed because sometimes the addition of a third mode results in no gain of information. In these cases, higher precision in the original two modes is favorable.

  1. Thermodynamic study of the A-B phase transition in superfluid 3He: Phase diagram and consequences

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hahn, I.

    1993-01-01

    The authors have measured the A-B phase transition temperature of superfluid 3 He at pressures from zero to 29 bars, and in all magnetic fields up to the high field limit of the B phase (0.59 Tesla). This work is the first precision measurement of the A-B phase transition over the entire phase diagram (P, T, B). Measurements at low magnetic fields can be related to microscopic interactions in liquid 3 He. The results show that all current microscopic models of normal liquid 3 He are incomplete. Also, the results suggest the possibility that the conventional identification of the order parameter of superfluid 3 He-A is incorrect. The measurements at high magnetic fields can be related through thermodynamic identities to quantities which are immeasurable directly, such as the molar volume changes at the A-B phase transition, and the specific heat of the A-phase of superfluid 3 He in the limit T → 0. The authors detect the phase transition by monitoring the attenuation of zero around traversing a 4-mm path in the superfluid. Because thermometry is so crucial to the success of the measurements, the authors elected to use two independent thermometers. The authors use a pulsed NMR measurement of the susceptibility of Pt nuclei, which varies as 1/T, to guarantee linearity of the temperature scale. In order to achieve the high resolution required by the experiment, the authors also use an LCMN thermometer driven by a unique digital bridge which the authors constructed

  2. A Library of ATMO Forward Model Transmission Spectra for Hot Jupiter Exoplanets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goyal, Jayesh M.; Mayne, Nathan; Sing, David K.; Drummond, Benjamin; Tremblin, Pascal; Amundsen, David S.; Evans, Thomas; Carter, Aarynn L.; Spake, Jessica; Baraffe, Isabelle; hide

    2017-01-01

    We present a grid of forward model transmission spectra, adopting an isothermal temperature-pressure profile, alongside corresponding equilibrium chemical abundances for 117 observationally significant hot exoplanets (equilibrium temperatures of 547-2710 K). This model grid has been developed using a 1D radiative-convective-chemical equilibrium model termed ATMO, with up-to-date high-temperature opacities. We present an interpretation of observations of 10 exoplanets, including best-fitting parameters and X(exp 2) maps. In agreement with previous works, we find a continuum from clear to hazy/cloudy atmospheres for this sample of hot Jupiters. The data for all the 10 planets are consistent with subsolar to solar C/O ratio, 0.005 to 10 times solar metallicity and water rather than methane-dominated infrared spectra. We then explore the range of simulated atmospheric spectra for different exoplanets, based on characteristics such as temperature, metallicity, C/O ratio, haziness and cloudiness. We find a transition value for the metallicity between 10 and 50 times solar, which leads to substantial changes in the transmission spectra. We also find a transition value of C/O ratio, from water to carbon species dominated infrared spectra, as found by previous works, revealing a temperature dependence of this transition point ranging from approximately 0.56 to approximately 1-1.3 for equilibrium temperatures from approximately 900 to approximately 2600 K. We highlight the potential of the spectral features of HCN and C2H2 to constrain the metallicities and C/O ratios of planets, using James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) observations. Finally, our entire grid (approximately 460 000 simulations) is publicly available and can be used directly with the JWST simulator PandExo for planning observations.

  3. A library of ATMO forward model transmission spectra for hot Jupiter exoplanets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goyal, Jayesh M.; Mayne, Nathan; Sing, David K.; Drummond, Benjamin; Tremblin, Pascal; Amundsen, David S.; Evans, Thomas; Carter, Aarynn L.; Spake, Jessica; Baraffe, Isabelle; Nikolov, Nikolay; Manners, James; Chabrier, Gilles; Hebrard, Eric

    2018-03-01

    We present a grid of forward model transmission spectra, adopting an isothermal temperature-pressure profile, alongside corresponding equilibrium chemical abundances for 117 observationally significant hot exoplanets (equilibrium temperatures of 547-2710 K). This model grid has been developed using a 1D radiative-convective-chemical equilibrium model termed ATMO, with up-to-date high-temperature opacities. We present an interpretation of observations of 10 exoplanets, including best-fitting parameters and χ2 maps. In agreement with previous works, we find a continuum from clear to hazy/cloudy atmospheres for this sample of hot Jupiters. The data for all the 10 planets are consistent with subsolar to solar C/O ratio, 0.005 to 10 times solar metallicity and water rather than methane-dominated infrared spectra. We then explore the range of simulated atmospheric spectra for different exoplanets, based on characteristics such as temperature, metallicity, C/O ratio, haziness and cloudiness. We find a transition value for the metallicity between 10 and 50 times solar, which leads to substantial changes in the transmission spectra. We also find a transition value of C/O ratio, from water to carbon species dominated infrared spectra, as found by previous works, revealing a temperature dependence of this transition point ranging from ˜0.56 to ˜1-1.3 for equilibrium temperatures from ˜900 to ˜2600 K. We highlight the potential of the spectral features of HCN and C2H2 to constrain the metallicities and C/O ratios of planets, using James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) observations. Finally, our entire grid (˜460 000 simulations) is publicly available and can be used directly with the JWST simulator PandExo for planning observations.

  4. Transiting exoplanets from the CoRoT space mission. XVII. The hot Jupiter CoRoT-17b: a very old planet

    Science.gov (United States)

    Csizmadia, Sz.; Moutou, C.; Deleuil, M.; Cabrera, J.; Fridlund, M.; Gandolfi, D.; Aigrain, S.; Alonso, R.; Almenara, J.-M.; Auvergne, M.; Baglin, A.; Barge, P.; Bonomo, A. S.; Bordé, P.; Bouchy, F.; Bruntt, H.; Carone, L.; Carpano, S.; Cavarroc, C.; Cochran, W.; Deeg, H. J.; Díaz, R. F.; Dvorak, R.; Endl, M.; Erikson, A.; Ferraz-Mello, S.; Fruth, Th.; Gazzano, J.-C.; Gillon, M.; Guenther, E. W.; Guillot, T.; Hatzes, A.; Havel, M.; Hébrard, G.; Jehin, E.; Jorda, L.; Léger, A.; Llebaria, A.; Lammer, H.; Lovis, C.; MacQueen, P. J.; Mazeh, T.; Ollivier, M.; Pätzold, M.; Queloz, D.; Rauer, H.; Rouan, D.; Santerne, A.; Schneider, J.; Tingley, B.; Titz-Weider, R.; Wuchterl, G.

    2011-07-01

    We report on the discovery of a hot Jupiter-type exoplanet, CoRoT-17b, detected by the CoRoT satellite. It has a mass of 2.43 ± 0.30 MJup and a radius of 1.02 ± 0.07 RJup, while its mean density is 2.82 ± 0.38 g/cm3. CoRoT-17b is in a circular orbit with a period of 3.7681 ± 0.0003 days. The host star is an old (10.7 ± 1.0 Gyr) main-sequence star, which makes it an intriguing object for planetary evolution studies. The planet's internal composition is not well constrained and can range from pure H/He to one that can contain ~380 earth masses of heavier elements. The CoRoT space mission, launched on December 27th 2006, has been developed and is operated by CNES, with the contribution of Austria, Belgium, Brazil, ESA (RSSD and Science Programme), Germany and Spain. Part of the observations were obtained at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) which is operated by the National Research Council of Canada, the Institut National des Sciences de l'Univers of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique of France, and the University of Hawaii. Based on observations made with HARPS spectrograph on the 3.6-m European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere telescope at La Silla Observatory, Chile (ESO program 184.C-0639). Based on observations made with the IAC80 telescope operated on the island of Tenerife by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias in the Spanish Observatorio del Teide. Part of the data presented herein were obtained at the W.M. Keck Observatory, which is operated as a scientific partnership among the California Institute of Technology, the University of California and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The Observatory was made possible by the generous financial support of the W.M. Keck Foundation.

  5. A Population Study of Gaseous Exoplanets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsiaras, A.; Waldmann, I. P.; Zingales, T.; Rocchetto, M.; Morello, G.; Damiano, M.; Karpouzas, K.; Tinetti, G.; McKemmish, L. K.; Tennyson, J.; Yurchenko, S. N.

    2018-04-01

    We present here the analysis of 30 gaseous extrasolar planets, with temperatures between 600 and 2400 K and radii between 0.35 and 1.9 R Jup. The quality of the HST/WFC3 spatially scanned data combined with our specialized analysis tools allow us to study the largest and most self-consistent sample of exoplanetary transmission spectra to date and examine the collective behavior of warm and hot gaseous planets rather than isolated case studies. We define a new metric, the Atmospheric Detectability Index (ADI) to evaluate the statistical significance of an atmospheric detection and find statistically significant atmospheres in around 16 planets out of the 30 analyzed. For most of the Jupiters in our sample, we find the detectability of their atmospheres to be dependent on the planetary radius but not on the planetary mass. This indicates that planetary gravity plays a secondary role in the state of gaseous planetary atmospheres. We detect the presence of water vapour in all of the statistically detectable atmospheres, and we cannot rule out its presence in the atmospheres of the others. In addition, TiO and/or VO signatures are detected with 4σ confidence in WASP-76 b, and they are most likely present in WASP-121 b. We find no correlation between expected signal-to-noise and atmospheric detectability for most targets. This has important implications for future large-scale surveys.

  6. Giant honeybees ( Apis dorsata) mob wasps away from the nest by directed visual patterns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kastberger, Gerald; Weihmann, Frank; Zierler, Martina; Hötzl, Thomas

    2014-11-01

    The open nesting behaviour of giant honeybees ( Apis dorsata) accounts for the evolution of a series of defence strategies to protect the colonies from predation. In particular, the concerted action of shimmering behaviour is known to effectively confuse and repel predators. In shimmering, bees on the nest surface flip their abdomens in a highly coordinated manner to generate Mexican wave-like patterns. The paper documents a further-going capacity of this kind of collective defence: the visual patterns of shimmering waves align regarding their directional characteristics with the projected flight manoeuvres of the wasps when preying in front of the bees' nest. The honeybees take here advantage of a threefold asymmetry intrinsic to the prey-predator interaction: (a) the visual patterns of shimmering turn faster than the wasps on their flight path, (b) they "follow" the wasps more persistently (up to 100 ms) than the wasps "follow" the shimmering patterns (up to 40 ms) and (c) the shimmering patterns align with the wasps' flight in all directions at the same strength, whereas the wasps have some preference for horizontal correspondence. The findings give evidence that shimmering honeybees utilize directional alignment to enforce their repelling power against preying wasps. This phenomenon can be identified as predator driving which is generally associated with mobbing behaviour (particularly known in selfish herds of vertebrate species), which is, until now, not reported in insects.

  7. Ground Based Support for Exoplanet Space Missions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haukka, H.; Hentunen, V.-P.; Salmi, T.; Aartolahti, H.; Juutilainen, J.; Vilokki, H.; Nissinen, M.

    2011-10-01

    Taurus Hill Observatory (THO), observatory code A95, is an amateur observatory located in Varkaus, Finland. The observatory is maintained by the local astronomical association Warkauden Kassiopeia. THO research team has observed and measured various stellar objects and phenomena. Observatory has mainly focused to asteroid [1] and exoplanet light curve measurements, observing the gamma rays burst, supernova discoveries and monitoring [2] and long term monitoring projects [3]. In the early 2011 Europlanet NA1 and NA2 organized "Coordinated Observations of Exoplanets from Ground and Space"-workshop in Graz, Austria. The workshop gathered together proam astronomers who have the equipment to measure the light curves of the exoplanets. Also there were professional scientists working in the exoplanet field who attended to the workshop. The result of the workshop was to organize coordinated observation campaign for follow-up observations of exoplanets (e.g. CoRoT planets). Also coordinated observation campaign to observe stellar CME outbreaks was planned. THO has a lot of experience in field of exoplanet light curve measurements and therefore this campaign is very supported by the research team of the observatory. In next coming observing seasons THO will concentrate its efforts for this kind of campaigns.

  8. Chromospheric and Transition Region Emission Properties of G, K, and M dwarf Exoplanet Host Stars

    Science.gov (United States)

    France, Kevin; Arulanantham, Nicole; Fossati, Luca; Lanza, A. F.; Linsky, Jeffrey L.; Redfield, Seth; Loyd, Robert; Schneider, Christian

    2018-01-01

    Exoplanet magnetic fields have proven notoriously hard to detect, despite theoretical predictions of substantial magnetic field strengths on close-in extrasolar giant planets. It has been suggested that stellar and planetary magnetic field interactions can manifest as enhanced stellar activity relative to nominal age-rotation-activity relationships for main sequence stars or enhanced activity on stars hosting short-period massive planets. In a recent study of M and K dwarf exoplanet host stars, we demonstrated a significant correlation between the relative luminosity in high-temperature stellar emission lines (L(ion)/L_Bol) and the “star-planet interaction strength”, M_plan/a_plan. Here, we expand on that work with a survey of G, K, and M dwarf exoplanet host stars obtained in two recent far-ultraviolet spectroscopic programs with the Hubble Space Telescope. We have measured the relative luminosities of stellar lines C II, Si III, Si IV, and N V (formation temperatures from 30,000 – 150,000 K) in a sample of ~60 exoplanet host stars and an additional ~40 dwarf stars without known planets. We present results on star-planet interaction signals as a function of spectral type and line formation temperature, as well as a statistical comparison of stars with and without planets.

  9. The Transit Monitoring in the South (TraMoS project

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    López-Morales Mercedes

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available We present the Transit Monitoring in the South (TraMoS project. TraMoS has monitored transits of 30 exoplanets with telescopes located in Chile since 2008, whit the following goals: (1 to refine the physical and/or orbital parameters of those exoplanet system, and (2 to search for variations in the mid-times of the transits and in other parameters such as orbital inclination or transit's depth, that could indicate the presence of additional bodies in the system. We highlight here the first results of TraMoS in three selected exoplanets.

  10. CHEOPS: A transit photometry mission for ESA's small mission programme

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Queloz D.

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available Ground based radial velocity (RV searches continue to discover exoplanets below Neptune mass down to Earth mass. Furthermore, ground based transit searches now reach milli-mag photometric precision and can discover Neptune size planets around bright stars. These searches will find exoplanets around bright stars anywhere on the sky, their discoveries representing prime science targets for further study due to the proximity and brightness of their host stars. A mission for transit follow-up measurements of these prime targets is currently lacking. The first ESA S-class mission CHEOPS (CHaracterizing ExoPlanet Satellite will fill this gap. It will perform ultra-high precision photometric monitoring of selected bright target stars almost anywhere on the sky with sufficient precision to detect Earth sized transits. It will be able to detect transits of RV-planets by photometric monitoring if the geometric configuration results in a transit. For Hot Neptunes discovered from the ground, CHEOPS will be able to improve the transit light curve so that the radius can be determined precisely. Because of the host stars' brightness, high precision RV measurements will be possible for all targets. All planets observed in transit by CHEOPS will be validated and their masses will be known. This will provide valuable data for constraining the mass-radius relation of exoplanets, especially in the Neptune-mass regime. During the planned 3.5 year mission, about 500 targets will be observed. There will be 20% of open time available for the community to develop new science programmes.

  11. Orchids mimic green-leaf volatiles to attract prey-hunting wasps for pollination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brodmann, Jennifer; Twele, Robert; Francke, Wittko; Hölzler, Gerald; Zhang, Qing-He; Ayasse, Manfred

    2008-05-20

    An outstanding feature of orchids is the diversity of their pollination systems [1]. Most remarkable are those species that employ chemical deceit for the attraction of pollinators [2]. The orchid Epipactis helleborine is a typical wasp flower, exhibiting physiological and morphological adaptations for the attraction of pollinating social wasps [3]. As noted by Darwin [1], this species is almost entirely overlooked by other potential pollinators, despite a large nectar reward. Therefore, the mechanism for the attraction of pollinating social wasps was something of a mystery. By using a combination of behavioral experiments, electrophysiological investigations, and chemical analyses, we demonstrate for the first time that the flowers of E. helleborine and E. purpurata emit green-leaf volatiles (GLVs), which are attractive to foragers of the social wasps Vespula germanica and V. vulgaris. GLVs, emitted by damaged plant tissues, are known to guide parasitic wasps to their hosts [4]. Several E. helleborine GLVs that induced response in the antennae of wasps were also emitted by cabbage leaves infested with caterpillars (Pieris brassicae), which are common prey items for wasps [5]. This is the first example in which GLVs have been implicated in chemical mimicry for the attraction of pollinating insects.

  12. Wien Automatic System Planning (WASP) Package. A computer code for power generating system expansion planning. Version WASP-IV. User's manual

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2001-01-01

    generated by each plant and the user specified characteristics of fuels used. Expanded dimensions for handling up to 90 types of plants and a larger number of configurations (up to 500 per year and 5000 for the study period). The present manual allows us to support the use of the WASP-IV version and to illustrate the capabilities of the model. This manual contains 13 chapters. Chapter 1 gives a summary description of WASP-IV Computer Code and its Modules and file system. Chapter 2 explains the hardware requirement and the installation of the package. The sequence of the execution of WASP-IV is also briefly introduced in this chapter. Chapters 3 to 9 explains, in detail, how to execute each of the module of WASP-IV package, the organisation of input files and output from the run of the model. Special attention was paid to the description of the linkage of modules. Chapter 10 specially guides the users on how to effectively search for an optimal solution. Chapter 11 describes the execution of sensitivity analyses that can be (recommend to be) performed with WASP-IV. To ease the debugging during the running of the software, Chapter 12 provides technical details of the new features incorporated in this version. Chapter 13 provides a list of error and warning messages produced for each module of WASP. The reader of this manual is assumed to have experience in the field of power generation expansion planning and to be familiar with all concepts related to such type of analysis, therefore these aspects are not treated in this manual. Additional information on power generation expansion planning can be found in the IAEA publication 'Expansion Planning for Electrical Generating Systems, A Guidebook', Technical Reports Series No. 241 (1984) or User's Manual of WASP-IV Plus, Computer Manual Series No. 8, (1995)

  13. Observing the ExoEarth: Simulating the Retrieval of Exoplanet Parameters Using DSCOVR

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kane, S.; Cowan, N. B.; Domagal-Goldman, S. D.; Herman, J. R.; Robinson, T.; Stine, A.

    2017-12-01

    The field of exoplanets has rapidly expanded from detection to include exoplanet characterization. This has been enabled by developments such as the detection of terrestrial-sized planets and the use of transit spectroscopy to study exoplanet atmospheres. Studies of rocky planets are leading towards the direct imaging of exoplanets and the development of techniques to extract their intrinsic properties. The importance of properties such as rotation, albedo, and obliquity are significant since they inform planet formation theories and are key input parameters for Global Circulation Models used to determine surface conditions, including habitability. Thus, a complete characterization of exoplanets for understanding habitable climates requires the ability to measure these key planetary parameters. The retrieval of planetary rotation rates, albedos, and obliquities from highly undersampled imaging data can be honed using satellites designed to study the Earth's atmosphere. In this talk I will describe how the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) provides a unique opportunity to test such retrieval methods using data for the sunlit hemisphere of the Earth. Our methods use the high-resolution DSCOVR-EPIC images to simulate the Earth as an exoplanet, by deconvolving the images to match a variety of expected exoplanet mission requirements, and by comparing EPIC data with the cavity radiometer data from DSCOVR-NISTAR that views the Earth as a single pixel. Through this methodology, we are creating a grid of retrieval states as a function of image resolution, observing cadence, passband, etc. Our modeling of the DSCOVR data will provide an effective baseline from which to develop tools that can be applied to a variety of exoplanet imaging data.

  14. False Positives in Exoplanet Detection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leuquire, Jacob; Kasper, David; Jang-Condell, Hannah; Kar, Aman; Sorber, Rebecca; Suhaimi, Afiq; KELT (Kilodegree Extremely Little Telescope)

    2018-06-01

    Our team at the University of Wyoming uses a 0.6 m telescope at RBO (Red Buttes Observatory) to help confirm results on potential exoplanet candidates from low resolution, wide field surveys shared by the KELT (Kilodegree Extremely Little Telescope) team. False positives are common in this work. We carry out transit photometry, and this method comes with special types of false positives. The most common false positive seen at the confirmation level is an EB (eclipsing binary). Low resolution images are great in detecting multiple sources for photometric dips in light curves, but they lack the precision to decipher single targets at an accurate level. For example, target star KC18C030621 needed RBO’s photometric precision to determine there was a nearby EB causing exoplanet type light curves. Identifying false positives with our telescope is important work because it helps eliminate the waste of time taken by more expensive telescopes trying to rule out negative candidate stars. It also furthers the identification of other types of photometric events, like eclipsing binaries, so they can be studied on their own.

  15. Design Considerations: Falcon M Dwarf Habitable Exoplanet Survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Polsgrove, Daniel; Novotny, Steven; Della-Rose, Devin J.; Chun, Francis; Tippets, Roger; O'Shea, Patrick; Miller, Matthew

    2016-01-01

    The Falcon Telescope Network (FTN) is an assemblage of twelve automated 20-inch telescopes positioned around the globe, controlled from the Cadet Space Operations Center (CSOC) at the US Air Force Academy (USAFA) in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Five of the 12 sites are currently installed, with full operational capability expected by the end of 2016. Though optimized for studying near-earth objects to accomplish its primary mission of Space Situational Awareness (SSA), the Falcon telescopes are in many ways similar to those used by ongoing and planned exoplanet transit surveys targeting individual M dwarf stars (e.g., MEarth, APACHE, SPECULOOS). The network's worldwide geographic distribution provides additional potential advantages. We have performed analytical and empirical studies exploring the viability of employing the FTN for a future survey of nearby late-type M dwarfs tailored to detect transits of 1-2REarth exoplanets in habitable-zone orbits . We present empirical results on photometric precision derived from data collected with multiple Falcon telescopes on a set of nearby (survey design parameters is also described, including an analysis of site-specific weather data, anticipated telescope time allocation and the percentage of nearby M dwarfs with sufficient check stars within the Falcons' 11' x 11' field-of-view required to perform effective differential photometry. The results of this ongoing effort will inform the likelihood of discovering one (or more) habitable-zone exoplanets given current occurrence rate estimates over a nominal five-year campaign, and will dictate specific survey design features in preparation for initiating project execution when the FTN begins full-scale automated operations.

  16. Exoplanet Population Distribution from Kepler Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Traub, Wesley A.

    2015-08-01

    The underlying population of exoplanets around stars in the Kepler sample can be inferred by binning the Kepler planets in radius and period, invoking an empirical noise model, assuming a model exoplanet distribution function, randomly assigning planets to each of the Kepler target stars, asking whether each planet’s transit signal could be detected by Kepler, binning the resulting simulated detections, comparing the simulations with the observed data sample, and iterating on the model parameters until a satisfactory fit is obtained. The process is designed to simulate Kepler’s observing procedure. The key assumption is that the distribution function is continuous and the product of separable functions of period and radius. Any additional suspected biases in the sample can be handled by adjusting the noise model. The first advantage of this overall procedure is that the actual detection process is simulated as closely as possible, on a target by target basis, so the resulting estimated population should be closer to the actual population than by any other method of analysis. The second advantage is that the resulting distribution function can be extended to values of period and radius that go beyond the sample space, including, for example, application to estimating eta-sub-Earth, and also estimating the expected science yields of future direct-imaging exoplanet missions such as WFIRST-AFTA.

  17. VUV-absorption cross section of CO2 at high temperatures and impact on exoplanet atmospheres

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Venot Olivia

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available Ultraviolet (UV absorption cross sections are an essential ingredient of photochemical atmosphere models. Exoplanet searches have unveiled a large population of short-period objects with hot atmospheres, very different from what we find in our solar system. Transiting exoplanets whose atmospheres can now be studied by transit spectroscopy receive extremely strong UV fluxes and have typical temperatures ranging from 400 to 2500 K. At these temperatures, UV photolysis cross section data are severely lacking. Our goal is to provide high-temperature absorption cross sections and their temperature dependency for important atmospheric compounds. This study is dedicated to CO2, which is observed and photodissociated in exoplanet atmospheres. We performed these measurements for the 115 - 200 nm range at 300, 410, 480, and 550 K. In the 195 - 230 nm range, we worked at seven temperatures between 465 and 800 K. We found that the absorption cross section of CO2 is very sensitive to temperature, especially above 160 nm. Within the studied range of temperature, the CO2 cross section can vary by more than two orders of magnitude. This, in particular, makes the absorption of CO2 significant up to wavelengths as high as 230 nm, while it is negligible above 200 nm at 300 K. To investigate the influence of these new data on the photochemistry of exoplanets, we implemented the measured cross section into a 1D photochemical model. The model predicts that accounting for this temperature dependency of CO2 cross section can affect the computed abundances of NH3, CO2, and CO by one order of magnitude in the atmospheres of hot Jupiter and hot Neptune.

  18. Assembly, alignment and test of the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) optical assemblies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balonek, Gregory; Brown, Joshua J.; Andre, James E.; Chesbrough, Christian D.; Chrisp, Michael P.; Dalpiaz, Michael; Lennon, Joseph; Richards, B. C.; Clark, Kristin E.

    2017-08-01

    The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) will carry four visible waveband, seven-element, refractive F/1.4 lenses, each with a 34 degree diagonal field of view. This paper describes the methods used for the assembly, alignment and test of the four flight optical assemblies. Prior to commencing the build of the four flight optical assemblies, a Risk Reduction Unit (RRU) was successfully assembled and tested [1]. The lessons learned from the RRU were applied to the build of the flight assemblies. The main modifications to the flight assemblies include the inking of the third lens element stray light mitigation, tighter alignment tolerances, and diamond turning for critical mechanical surfaces. Each of the optical assemblies was tested interferometrically and measured with a low coherence distance measuring interferometer (DMI) to predict the optimal shim thickness between the lens assembly and detector before -75°C environmental testing. In addition to individual test data, environmental test results from prior assemblies allow for the exploration of marginal performance differences between each of the optical assemblies.

  19. An integrated payload design for the Exoplanet Characterisation Observatory (EChO)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Swinyard, Bruce; Tinetti, Giovanna; Tennyson, Jonathan

    2012-01-01

    by ESA in the context of a medium class mission within the Cosmic Vision programme for launch post 2020. The payload suite is required to provide simultaneous coverage from the visible to the mid-infrared and must be highly stable and effectively operate as a single instrument. In this paper we describe......The Exoplanet Characterisation Observatory (EChO) is a space mission dedicated to undertaking spectroscopy of transiting exoplanets over the widest wavelength range possible. It is based around a highly stable space platform with a 1.2 m class telescope. The mission is currently being studied...

  20. Wayne—A Simulator for HST   WFC3 IR Grism Spectroscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Varley, R.; Tsiaras, A.; Karpouzas, K.

    2017-01-01

    Wayne is an algorithm that simulates Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) grism spectroscopic frames, including sources of noise and systematics. It can simulate both staring and spatial scan modes, and observations such as the transit and the eclipse of an exoplanet. Unlike many other instrument simulators, the focus of Wayne is on creating frames with realistic systematics in order to test the effectiveness of different data analysis methods in a variety of different scenarios. This approach is critical for method validation and optimizing observing strategies. In this paper we describe the implementation of Wayne for WFC3 in the near-infrared channel with the G102 and G141 grisms. We compare the simulations to real data obtained for the exoplanet HD 209458b, to verify the accuracy of the simulation. The software is now available as open source at https://github.com/ucl-exoplanets/wayne.

  1. Wayne—A Simulator for HST   WFC3 IR Grism Spectroscopy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Varley, R.; Tsiaras, A. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street, WC1E6BT London (United Kingdom); Karpouzas, K., E-mail: r.varley@ucl.ac.uk [Department of Physics, Section of Astrophysics, Astronomy and Mechanics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thessaloniki (Greece)

    2017-07-01

    Wayne is an algorithm that simulates Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) grism spectroscopic frames, including sources of noise and systematics. It can simulate both staring and spatial scan modes, and observations such as the transit and the eclipse of an exoplanet. Unlike many other instrument simulators, the focus of Wayne is on creating frames with realistic systematics in order to test the effectiveness of different data analysis methods in a variety of different scenarios. This approach is critical for method validation and optimizing observing strategies. In this paper we describe the implementation of Wayne for WFC3 in the near-infrared channel with the G102 and G141 grisms. We compare the simulations to real data obtained for the exoplanet HD 209458b, to verify the accuracy of the simulation. The software is now available as open source at https://github.com/ucl-exoplanets/wayne.

  2. The Effect of Starspots on Detectability of Exoplanet Atmospheres

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hofmann, Ryan; Berta-Thompson, Zachory

    2018-01-01

    Transmission spectroscopy is an effective tool for detecting and characterizing the atmospheres of transiting extrasolar planets. However, the presence of cool spots on a planet’s host star can be a source of uncertainty that is difficult to account for. Cool starspots introduce wavelength-dependent features and noise into the transmission spectrum of an orbiting exoplanet. For sufficiently cool stars, especially M dwarfs, this could cause false detections of water and other species in the planet’s atmosphere. To understand the extent of this problem, we use a combination of PHOENIX model spectra and the starspot simulation code MACULA to simulate the effects of starspots on observed transmission spectra for a wide variety of stars and spot configurations. By comparing the simulated DoTV (Depth of Transit Variation) due to starspots with models of the expected DoTV from exoplanet atmospheres with a given composition, we can estimate the level of effect the starspots have on the detectability of various atmospheres. For example, our results indicate for TRAPPIST-1’s planets that while the large amplitude absorption features from a H/He-rich atmosphere should be easily detectable, a pure water atmosphere would be much harder to distinguish from starspot noise. Consequently, proper characterization of exoplanet atmospheres, especially around cool, active host stars, requires a proper understanding of the star’s spot properties and suitable methods for reducing or removing spot-induced brightness fluctuations as a source of noise.

  3. Write a scientific paper (WASP) - a career-critical skill.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grech, Victor; Cuschieri, Sarah

    2018-02-01

    The ability to write a scientific paper (WASP) is becoming progressively more critical because the "publish or perish" mantra is increasingly valid in today's world where success is judged by number of publications and quality of publications based on journals which publish the researcher's work. These metrics are used to gauge applicants in often cut-throat competitions for jobs and/or career advancement. However, the science and art of paper-writing comprise a vast panoply of different skills, from writing a proposal, to ethics and data protection applications, to data collection and analysis, to writing and dealing with editors and authors, and so on. Over the next few issues, Early Human Development will embark on a series of Best Practice Guidelines that will outline and explain the various requisite WASP skills while providing practical guidelines for paper writing. The purpose is to impart the authors' collective experience to trainees in this crucial aspect of career progress. This first set of WASP papers will mainly focus on statistical analysis using Excel™. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Searching for Exoplanet Effects on the X-ray Spectrum of τ Boo

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wood, Brian; Laming, J. Martin

    2018-01-01

    We study the X-ray spectrum of the exoplanet host star τ Boo A (F7 V), in order to explore the possibility that its very close-in, massive exoplanet (Porb=3.31 days, m sin i=3.9 MJ) may be affecting the coronal emissions of this star. The star was observed recently by Chandra/LETGS for 92 ksec in three pieces between 2017 February 27 and 2017 March 5; and was previously observed by XMM for 65 ksec in 2003 June 24. The new Chandra observations allow us to resolve τ Boo A from its stellar companion, τ Boo B (M2 V), for the first time. The companion accounts for 21% of the system's total X-ray emission at the time of the Chandra observation. Nevertheless, our measurements of τ Boo A emission measures and coronal abundances from Chandra are reasonably consistent with previous measurements from XMM by Maggio et al. (2011, A&A, 527, A144), in which τ Boo A and B are not resolved. Covering planetary orbital phases 0.21-0.31, 0.44-0.49, and 0.69-0.86, the Chandra data show that τ Boo A's coronal X-ray spectrum does not vary significantly with planetary orbital phase. However, our analysis suggests that coronal abundances for τ Boo A are somewhat anomalous, with a significantly weaker "FIP effect" compared to similar stars without close-in exoplanets, particularly π3 Ori (F6 V).

  5. Exoplanet Classification and Yield Estimates for Direct Imaging Missions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kopparapu, Ravi Kumar; Hébrard, Eric; Belikov, Rus; Batalha, Natalie M.; Mulders, Gijs D.; Stark, Chris; Teal, Dillon; Domagal-Goldman, Shawn; Mandell, Avi

    2018-04-01

    Future NASA concept missions that are currently under study, like the Habitable Exoplanet Imaging Mission (HabEx) and the Large Ultra-violet Optical Infra Red Surveyor, could discover a large diversity of exoplanets. We propose here a classification scheme that distinguishes exoplanets into different categories based on their size and incident stellar flux, for the purpose of providing the expected number of exoplanets observed (yield) with direct imaging missions. The boundaries of this classification can be computed using the known chemical behavior of gases and condensates at different pressures and temperatures in a planetary atmosphere. In this study, we initially focus on condensation curves for sphalerite ZnS, {{{H}}}2{{O}}, {CO}}2, and {CH}}4. The order in which these species condense in a planetary atmosphere define the boundaries between different classes of planets. Broadly, the planets are divided into rocky planets (0.5–1.0 R ⊕), super-Earths (1.0–1.75 R ⊕), sub-Neptunes (1.75–3.5 R ⊕), sub-Jovians (3.5–6.0 R ⊕), and Jovians (6–14.3 R ⊕) based on their planet sizes, and “hot,” “warm,” and “cold” based on the incident stellar flux. We then calculate planet occurrence rates within these boundaries for different kinds of exoplanets, η planet, using the community coordinated results of NASA’s Exoplanet Program Analysis Group’s Science Analysis Group-13 (SAG-13). These occurrence rate estimates are in turn used to estimate the expected exoplanet yields for direct imaging missions of different telescope diameters.

  6. Project Solaris, a Global Network of Autonomous Observatories: Design, Commissioning, and First Science Results

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kozłowski, S. K.; Sybilski, P. W.; Konacki, M.; Pawłaszek, R. K.; Ratajczak, M.; Hełminiak, K. G.; Litwicki, M.

    2017-10-01

    We present the design and commissioning of Project Solaris, a global network of autonomous observatories. Solaris is a Polish scientific undertaking aimed at the detection and characterization of circumbinary exoplanets and eclipsing binary stars. To accomplish this, a network of four fully autonomous observatories has been deployed in the Southern Hemisphere: Solaris-1 and Solaris-2 in the South African Astronomical Observatory in South Africa; Solaris-3 in Siding Spring Observatory in Australia; and Solaris-4 in Complejo Astronomico El Leoncito in Argentina. The four stations are nearly identical and are equipped with 0.5-m Ritchey-Crétien (f/15) or Cassegrain (f/9, Solaris-3) optics and high-grade 2 K × 2 K CCD cameras with Johnson and Sloan filter sets. We present the design and implementation of low-level security; data logging and notification systems; weather monitoring components; all-sky vision system, surveillance system; and distributed temperature and humidity sensors. We describe dedicated grounding and lighting protection system design and robust fiber data transfer interfaces in electrically demanding conditions. We discuss the outcomes of our design, as well as the resulting software engineering requirements. We describe our system’s engineering approach to achieve the required level of autonomy, the architecture of the custom high-level industry-grade software that has been designed and implemented specifically for the use of the network. We present the actual status of the project and first photometric results; these include data and models of already studied systems for benchmarking purposes (Wasp-4b, Wasp-64b, and Wasp-98b transits, PG 1663-018, an eclipsing binary with a pulsator) as well J024946-3825.6, an interesting low-mass binary system for which a complete model is provided for the first time.

  7. WAsP engineering 2000

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mann, J.; Ott, S.; Hoffmann Joergensen, B.; Frank, H.P.

    2002-08-01

    This report summarizes the findings of the EFP project WAsP Engineering Version 2000. The main product of this project is the computer program WAsP Engineering which is used for the estimation of extreme wind speeds, wind shears, profiles, and turbulence in complex terrain. At the web page http://www.waspengineering.dk more information of the program can be obtained and a copy of the manual can be downloaded. The reports contains a complete description of the turbulence modelling in moderately complex terrain, implemented in WAsP Engineering. Also experimental validation of the model together with comparison with spectra from engineering codes is done. Some shortcomings of the linear flow model LINCOM, which is at the core of WAsP Engineering, is pointed out and modifications to eliminate the problem are presented. The global database of meteorological 'reanalysis' data from NCAP/NCEP are used to estimate the extreme wind climate around Denmark. Among various alternative physical parameters in the database, such as surface winds, wind at various pressure levels or geostrophic winds at various heights, the surface geostrophic wind seems to give the most realistic results. Because of spatial filtering and intermittent temporal sampling the 50 year winds are underestimated by approximately 12%. Whether the method applies to larger areas of the world remains to be seen. The 50 year winds in Denmark is estimated from data using the flow model inWAsP Engineering and the values are approximately 1 m/s larger than previous analysis (Kristensen et al. 2000). A tool is developed to estimate crudely an extreme wind climate from a WAsP lib file. (au)

  8. Transit and radial velocity survey efficiency comparison for a habitable zone Earth

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Burke, Christopher J.; McCullough, P. R.

    2014-01-01

    Transit and radial velocity searches are two techniques for identifying nearby extrasolar planets to Earth that transit bright stars. Identifying a robust sample of these exoplanets around bright stars for detailed atmospheric characterization is a major observational undertaking. In this study we describe a framework that answers the question of whether a transit or radial velocity survey is more efficient at finding transiting exoplanets given the same amount of observing time. Within the framework we show that a transit survey's window function can be approximated using the hypergeometric probability distribution. We estimate the observing time required for a transit survey to find a transiting Earth-sized exoplanet in the habitable zone (HZ) with an emphasis on late-type stars. We also estimate the radial velocity precision necessary to detect the equivalent HZ Earth-mass exoplanet that also transits when using an equal amount of observing time as the transit survey. We find that a radial velocity survey with σ rv ∼ 0.6 m s –1 precision has comparable efficiency in terms of observing time to a transit survey with the requisite photometric precision σ phot ∼ 300 ppm to find a transiting Earth-sized exoplanet in the HZ of late M dwarfs. For super-Earths, a σ rv ∼ 2.0 m s –1 precision radial velocity survey has comparable efficiency to a transit survey with σ phot ∼ 2300 ppm.

  9. Binary catalogue of exoplanets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwarz, Richard; Bazso, Akos; Zechner, Renate; Funk, Barbara

    2016-02-01

    Since 1995 there is a database which list most of the known exoplanets (The Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia at http://exoplanet.eu/). With the growing number of detected exoplanets in binary and multiple star systems it became more important to mark and to separate them into a new database, which is not available in the Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia. Therefore we established an online database (which can be found at: http://www.univie.ac.at/adg/schwarz/multiple.html) for all known exoplanets in binary star systems and in addition for multiple star systems, which will be updated regularly and linked to the Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia. The binary catalogue of exoplanets is available online as data file and can be used for statistical purposes. Our database is divided into two parts: the data of the stars and the planets, given in a separate list. We describe also the different parameters of the exoplanetary systems and present some applications.

  10. Sex ratio in two species of Pegoscapus wasps (Hymenoptera: Agaonidae that develop in figs: can wasps do mathematics, or play sex ratio games?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    William Ramírez-Benavides

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available The fig pollinating wasps (Hymenoptera: Agaonidae have obligate arrhenotoky and a breeding structure that fits local mate competition (LMC. It has been traditionally assumed that LMC organisms adjust the sex ratio by laying a greater proportion of male eggs when there is superparasitism (several foundresses in a host. We tested the assumption with two wasp species, Pegoscapus silvestrii, pollinator of Ficus pertusa and Pegoscapus tonduzi, pollinator of Ficus eximia (= F. citrifolia, in the Central Valley of Costa Rica. Total number of wasps and seeds were recorded in individual isolated naturally colonized syconia. There was a constant additive effect between the number of foundresses and the number of males produced in the brood of a syconium, while the number of females decreased. Both wasp species seem to have precise sex ratios and probably lay the male eggs first in the sequence, independently of superparasitism and clutch size: consequently, they have a non-random sex allocation. Each syconium of Ficus pertusa and of F. eximia colonized by one foundress had similar mean numbers of females, males, and seeds. The two species of wasps studied do not seem to adjust the sex ratio when there is superparasitism. Pollinating fig wasp behavior is better explained by those models not assuming that females do mathematical calculations according to other females’ sex ratios, size, number of foundresses, genetic constitution, clutch size or environmental conditions inside the syconium. Our results are in agreement with the constant male number hypothesis, not with sex ratio games. Rev. Biol. Trop. 57 (3: 605-621. Epub 2009 September 30.

  11. Floral volatiles, pollinator sharing and diversification in the fig–wasp mutualism: insights from Ficus natalensis, and its two wasp pollinators (South Africa)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cornille, A.; Underhill, J. G.; Cruaud, A.; Hossaert-McKey, M.; Johnson, S. D.; Tolley, K. A.; Kjellberg, F.; van Noort, S.; Proffit, M.

    2012-01-01

    Combining biogeographic, ecological, morphological, molecular and chemical data, we document departure from strict specialization in the fig-pollinating wasp mutualism. We show that the pollinating wasps Elisabethiella stuckenbergi and Elisabethiella socotrensis form a species complex of five lineages in East and Southern Africa. Up to two morphologically distinct lineages were found to co-occur locally in the southern African region. Wasps belonging to a single lineage were frequently the main regional pollinators of several Ficus species. In South Africa, two sister lineages, E. stuckenbergi and E. socotrensis, pollinate Ficus natalensis but only E. stuckenbergi also regularly pollinates Ficus burkei. The two wasp species co-occur in individual trees of F. natalensis throughout KwaZulu-Natal. Floral volatile blends emitted by F. natalensis in KwaZulu-Natal were similar to those emitted by F. burkei and different from those produced by other African Ficus species. The fig odour similarity suggests evolutionary convergence to attract particular wasp species. The observed pattern may result from selection for pollinator sharing among Ficus species. Such a process, with one wasp species regionally pollinating several hosts, but several wasp species pollinating a given Ficus species across its geographical range could play an important role in the evolutionary dynamics of the Ficus-pollinating wasp association. PMID:22130605

  12. The Gemini Planet Imager Exoplanet Survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macintosh, Bruce

    The Gemini Planet Imager (GPI) is a next-generation coronagraph constructed for the Gemini Observatory. GPI will see first light this fall. It will be the most advanced planet-imaging system in operation - an order of magnitude more sensitive than any current instrument, capable of detecting and spectroscopically characterizing young Jovian planets 107 times fainter than their parent star at separations of 0.2 arcseconds. GPI was built from the beginning as a facility-class survey instrument, and the observatory will employ it that way. Our team has been selected by Gemini Observatory to carry out an 890-hour program - the GPI Exoplanet Survey (GPIES) campaign from 2014-2017. We will observe 600 stars spanning spectral types A-M. We will use published young association catalogs and a proprietary list in preparation that adds several hundred new young (pc) and adolescent (pc) stars. The range of separations studied by GPI is completely inaccessible to Doppler and transit techniques (even with Kepler or TESS)— GPI offers a new window into planet formation. We will use GPI to produce the first-ever robust census of giant planet populations in the 5-50 AU range, allowing us to: 1) illuminate the formation pathways of Jovian planets; 2) reconstruct the early dynamical evolution of systems, including migration mechanisms and the interaction with disks and belts of debris; and 3) bridge the gap between Jupiter and the brown dwarfs with the first examples of cool low- gravity planetary atmospheres. Simulations predict this survey will discover approximately 50 exoplanets, increasing the number of exoplanet images by an order of magnitude, enough for statistical investigation. This Origins of Solar Systems proposal will support the execution of the GPI Exoplanet Survey campaign. We will develop tools needed to execute the survey efficiently. We will refine the existing GPI data pipeline to a final version that robustly removes residual speckle artifacts and provides

  13. TWO NEARBY SUB-EARTH-SIZED EXOPLANET CANDIDATES IN THE GJ 436 SYSTEM

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stevenson, Kevin B.; Harrington, Joseph; Lust, Nate B.; Blecic, Jasmina; Hardy, Ryan A.; Cubillos, Patricio; Campo, Christopher J.; Lewis, Nikole K.; Montagnier, Guillaume; Moses, Julianne I.; Visscher, Channon

    2012-01-01

    We report the detection of UCF-1.01, a strong exoplanet candidate with a radius 0.66 ± 0.04 times that of Earth (R ⊕ ). This sub-Earth-sized planet transits the nearby M-dwarf star GJ 436 with a period of 1.365862 ± 8 × 10 –6 days. We also report evidence of a 0.65 ± 0.06 R ⊕ exoplanet candidate (labeled UCF-1.02) orbiting the same star with an undetermined period. Using the Spitzer Space Telescope, we measure the dimming of light as the planets pass in front of their parent star to assess their sizes and orbital parameters. If confirmed today, UCF-1.01 and UCF-1.02 would be designated GJ 436c and GJ 436d, respectively, and would be part of the first multiple-transiting-planet system outside of the Kepler field. Assuming Earth-like densities of 5.515 g cm –3 , we predict both candidates to have similar masses (∼0.28 Earth-masses, M ⊕ , 2.6 Mars-masses) and surface gravities of ∼0.65 g (where g is the gravity on Earth). UCF-1.01's equilibrium temperature (T eq , where emitted and absorbed radiation balance for an equivalent blackbody) is 860 K, making the planet unlikely to harbor life as on Earth. Its weak gravitational field and close proximity to its host star imply that UCF-1.01 is unlikely to have retained its original atmosphere; however, a transient atmosphere is possible if recent impacts or tidal heating were to supply volatiles to the surface. We also present additional observations of GJ 436b during secondary eclipse. The 3.6 μm light curve shows indications of stellar activity, making a reliable secondary eclipse measurement impossible. A second non-detection at 4.5 μm supports our previous work in which we find a methane-deficient and carbon monoxide-rich dayside atmosphere.

  14. Two nearby Sub-Earth-sized Exoplanet Candidates in the GJ 436 System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stevenson, Kevin B.; Harrington, Joseph; Lust, Nate B.; Lewis, Nikole K.; Montagnier, Guillaume; Moses, Julianne I.; Visscher, Channon; Blecic, Jasmina; Hardy, Ryan A.; Cubillos, Patricio; Campo, Christopher J.

    2012-08-01

    We report the detection of UCF-1.01, a strong exoplanet candidate with a radius 0.66 ± 0.04 times that of Earth (R ⊕). This sub-Earth-sized planet transits the nearby M-dwarf star GJ 436 with a period of 1.365862 ± 8 × 10-6 days. We also report evidence of a 0.65 ± 0.06 R ⊕ exoplanet candidate (labeled UCF-1.02) orbiting the same star with an undetermined period. Using the Spitzer Space Telescope, we measure the dimming of light as the planets pass in front of their parent star to assess their sizes and orbital parameters. If confirmed today, UCF-1.01 and UCF-1.02 would be designated GJ 436c and GJ 436d, respectively, and would be part of the first multiple-transiting-planet system outside of the Kepler field. Assuming Earth-like densities of 5.515 g cm-3, we predict both candidates to have similar masses (~0.28 Earth-masses, M ⊕, 2.6 Mars-masses) and surface gravities of ~0.65 g (where g is the gravity on Earth). UCF-1.01's equilibrium temperature (T eq, where emitted and absorbed radiation balance for an equivalent blackbody) is 860 K, making the planet unlikely to harbor life as on Earth. Its weak gravitational field and close proximity to its host star imply that UCF-1.01 is unlikely to have retained its original atmosphere; however, a transient atmosphere is possible if recent impacts or tidal heating were to supply volatiles to the surface. We also present additional observations of GJ 436b during secondary eclipse. The 3.6 μm light curve shows indications of stellar activity, making a reliable secondary eclipse measurement impossible. A second non-detection at 4.5 μm supports our previous work in which we find a methane-deficient and carbon monoxide-rich dayside atmosphere.

  15. PLN's experience with the WASP-III model in generation expansion planning for the Java system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sudja, N.; Afiff, A.; Simarmata, B.

    1988-01-01

    The State Electric Power Corporation of Indonesia (PLN) was one of the first recipients of the WASP computer model, and since 1976 has been using the model (first the version WASP-II, and later the WASP-III version) for carrying out generation expansion planning studies for the country, and particularly, for the Java power system. This paper discusses PLN's experience with WASP-III and comments on some problems and constraints encountered, particularly: the time-fixed forced outage rate (FOR) assumed for generating units, simulation of the hydro system and computation time. The paper concludes with some suggestions about future enhancements to WASP-III. (author). 3 figs, 11 tabs

  16. EXOPLANET CHARACTERIZATION BY PROXY: A TRANSITING 2.15 R{sub Circled-Plus} PLANET NEAR THE HABITABLE ZONE OF THE LATE K DWARF KEPLER-61

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ballard, Sarah; Charbonneau, David; Fressin, Francois; Torres, Guillermo; Irwin, Jonathan; Newton, Elisabeth [University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195 (United States); Desert, Jean-Michel; Crepp, Justin R.; Shporer, Avi [California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Mann, Andrew W. [Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawai' i, Honolulu, HI 96822 (United States); Ciardi, David R. [NASA Exoplanet Science Institute/Caltech, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Henze, Christopher E.; Bryson, Stephen T.; Howell, Steven B. [NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035 (United States); Horch, Elliott P. [Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, CT 06515 (United States); Everett, Mark E., E-mail: sarahba@uw.edu [National Optical Astronomy Observatory, Tucson, AZ 85719 (United States)

    2013-08-20

    We present the validation and characterization of Kepler-61b: a 2.15 R{sub Circled-Plus} planet orbiting near the inner edge of the habitable zone of a low-mass star. Our characterization of the host star Kepler-61 is based upon a comparison with a set of spectroscopically similar stars with directly measured radii and temperatures. We apply a stellar prior drawn from the weighted mean of these properties, in tandem with the Kepler photometry, to infer a planetary radius for Kepler-61b of 2.15 {+-} 0.13 R{sub Circled-Plus} and an equilibrium temperature of 273 {+-} 13 K (given its period of 59.87756 {+-} 0.00020 days and assuming a planetary albedo of 0.3). The technique of leveraging the physical properties of nearby ''proxy'' stars allows for an independent check on stellar characterization via the traditional measurements with stellar spectra and evolutionary models. In this case, such a check had implications for the putative habitability of Kepler-61b: the planet is 10% warmer and larger than inferred from K-band spectral characterization. From the Kepler photometry, we estimate a stellar rotation period of 36 days, which implies a stellar age of >1 Gyr. We summarize the evidence for the planetary nature of the Kepler-61 transit signal, which we conclude is 30,000 times more likely to be due to a planet than a blend scenario. Finally, we discuss possible compositions for Kepler-61b with a comparison to theoretical models as well as to known exoplanets with similar radii and dynamically measured masses.

  17. MODELS OF NEPTUNE-MASS EXOPLANETS: EMERGENT FLUXES AND ALBEDOS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spiegel, David S.; Burrows, Adam; Ibgui, Laurent; Hubeny, Ivan; Milsom, John A.

    2010-01-01

    There are now many known exoplanets with Msin i within a factor of 2 of Neptune's, including the transiting planets GJ 436b and HAT-P-11b. Planets in this mass range are different from their more massive cousins in several ways that are relevant to their radiative properties and thermal structures. By analogy with Neptune and Uranus, they are likely to have metal abundances that are an order of magnitude or more greater than those of larger, more massive planets. This increases their opacity, decreases Rayleigh scattering, and changes their equation of state. Furthermore, their smaller radii mean that fluxes from these planets are roughly an order of magnitude lower than those of otherwise identical gas giant planets. Here, we compute a range of plausible radiative equilibrium models of GJ 436b and HAT-P-11b. In addition, we explore the dependence of generic Neptune-mass planets on a range of physical properties, including their distance from their host stars, their metallicity, the spectral type of their stars, the redistribution of heat in their atmospheres, and the possible presence of additional optical opacity in their upper atmospheres.

  18. Molecular phylogenies of figs and fig-pollinating wasps in the Ryukyu and Bonin (Ogasawara) islands, Japan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Azuma, Hiroshi; Harrison, Rhett D; Nakamura, Keiko; Su, Zhi-Hui

    2010-01-01

    The interaction between figs (Ficus, Moraceae) and fig-pollinating wasps (Chalcidoidea, Agaonidae) is one of the most specific mutualisms, and thus is a model system for studying coevolution and cospeciation. In this study we focused on figs and their associated fig-wasps found in the Ryukyu and Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands, Japan, because it has been suggested that breakdown in the specificity may occur in islands or at edge of a species' distribution. We collected 136 samples of 15 native fig species and 95 samples of 13 associated fig-wasps from all major islands in the Ryukyu Islands, including two fig species and one fig-wasp species endemic to the Bonin Islands. We performed molecular phylogenetic analyses using plastid DNA and nuclear ITS sequences for the figs and nuclear 28S rRNA and mitochondrial COI genes for the fig-wasps to investigate the interspecific phylogenies and intraspecific variation within the mutualism. Our phylogenetic analyses using multiple samples per species show the single clade of each fig (except the Bonin endemic species) and fig-pollinating wasp species. Fig species belonging to the same subgenera formed well-supported clades in both plastid and ITS trees, except for the subgenus Urostigma. Likewise, fig wasps emerging from host fig species belonging to the same subgenera formed mostly well supported clades in both 28S and COI trees. Host specificity between the figs and fig-wasps functions strictly in these islands. There was very little sequence variation within species, and that no major geographic structure was found. The two Bonin endemic species (F. boninsimae and F. nishimurae) or their common ancestor and the associated fig-wasps (Blastophaga sp.) are apparently derived from F. erecta and its associated fig-wasps (B. nipponica), respectively, and probably migrated from the Ryukyu Islands.

  19. SPITZER IRAC SECONDARY ECLIPSE PHOTOMETRY OF THE TRANSITING EXTRASOLAR PLANET HAT-P-1b

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Todorov, Kamen; Deming, Drake; Harrington, Jospeph; Stevenson, Kevin B.; Bowman, William C.; Nymeyer, Sarah; Fortney, Jonathan J.; Bakos, Gaspar A.

    2010-01-01

    We report Spitzer/IRAC photometry of the transiting giant exoplanet HAT-P-1b during its secondary eclipse. This planet lies near the postulated boundary between the pM and pL-class of hot Jupiters, and is important as a test of models for temperature inversions in hot Jupiter atmospheres. We derive eclipse depths for HAT-P-1b, in units of the stellar flux, that are: 0.080% ± 0.008% [3.6 μm], 0.135% ± 0.022% [4.5 μm], 0.203% ± 0.031% [5.8 μm], and 0.238% ± 0.040% [8.0 μm]. These values are best fit using an atmosphere with a modest temperature inversion, intermediate between the archetype inverted atmosphere (HD 209458b) and a model without an inversion. The observations also suggest that this planet is radiating a large fraction of the available stellar irradiance on its dayside, with little available for redistribution by circulation. This planet has sometimes been speculated to be inflated by tidal dissipation, based on its large radius in discovery observations, and on a non-zero orbital eccentricity allowed by the radial velocity data. The timing of the secondary eclipse is very sensitive to orbital eccentricity, and we find that the central phase of the eclipse is 0.4999 ± 0.0005. The difference between the expected and observed phase indicates that the orbit is close to circular, with a 3σ limit of |e cos ω| < 0.002.

  20. Palp-faction: an African milkweed dismembers its wasp pollinators.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shuttleworth, Adam; Johnson, Steven D

    2009-06-01

    Interactions between pollinators and nectar-producing flowers are usually assumed to be mutualistic, but the exploitative basis of these relationships can lead to antagonistic interactions. Flowers of the African milkweed, Pachycarpus appendiculatus E. Mey, produce concentrated nectar that is consumed primarily by the large spider-hunting wasp Hemipepsis dedjas Guerin (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae). Pollinaria of this milkweed become attached to the palps of these wasps during nectar feeding. Broken wasp palps were found between guide rails, attached to corpuscula that were trapped behind the guide rails, and attached to pollinia that were inserted into the stigmatic chambers of the flowers. Approximately 85% of wasps captured on flowers of P. appendiculatus were missing one or more palps, whereas only 9% of wasps captured on flowers of another asclepiad species were missing any palps. It thus seems that wasps face a high risk of losing their palps when foraging on these flowers. The interaction may thus be antagonistic for the wasps if the cost of losing their sensory palps (not yet established) is greater than the benefits of the nectar reward. The plants, however, gain clear benefit from the interaction, as verified by the removal and insertion of pollinia in flowers exposed solely to visits by pompilid wasps.

  1. Optimal Strategies for Probing Terrestrial Exoplanet Atmospheres with JWST

    Science.gov (United States)

    Batalha, Natasha E.; Lewis, Nikole K.; Line, Michael

    2018-01-01

    It is imperative that the exoplanet community determines the feasibility and the resources needed to yield high fidelity atmospheric compositions from terrestrial exoplanets. In particular, LHS 1140b and the TRAPPIST-1 system, already slated for observations by JWST’s Guaranteed Time Observers, will be the first two terrestrial planets observed by JWST. I will discuss optimal observing strategies for observing these two systems, focusing on the NIRSpec Prism (1-5μm) and the combination of NIRISS SOSS (1-2.7μm) and NIRSpec G395H (3-5μm). I will also introduce currently unsupported JWST readmodes that have the potential to greatly increase the precision on our atmospheric spectra. Lastly, I will use information content theory to compute the expected confidence interval on the retrieved abundances of key molecular species and temperature profiles as a function of JWST observing cycles.

  2. Strike fast, strike hard: the red-throated caracara exploits absconding behavior of social wasps during nest predation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCann, Sean; Moeri, Onour; Jones, Tanya; Scott, Catherine; Khaskin, Grigori; Gries, Regine; O'Donnell, Sean; Gries, Gerhard

    2013-01-01

    Red-throated Caracaras Ibycter americanus (Falconidae) are specialist predators of social wasps in the Neotropics. It had been proposed that these caracaras possess chemical repellents that allow them to take the brood of wasp nests without being attacked by worker wasps. To determine how caracaras exploit nests of social wasps and whether chemical repellents facilitate predation, we: (1) video recorded the birds attacking wasp nests; (2) analyzed surface extracts of the birds' faces, feet, and feathers for potential chemical repellents; and (3) inflicted mechanical damage on wasp nests to determine the defensive behavior of wasps in response to varying levels of disturbance. During caracara predation events, two species of large-bodied wasps mounted stinging attacks on caracaras, whereas three smaller-bodied wasp species did not. The "hit-and-run" predation tactic of caracaras when they attacked nests of large and aggressive wasps reduced the risk of getting stung. Our data reveal that the predation strategy of caracaras is based on mechanical disturbance of, and damage to, target wasp nests. Caracara attacks and severe experimental disturbance of nests invariably caused wasps to abscond (abandon their nests). Two compounds in caracara foot extracts [sulcatone and iridodial] elicited electrophysiological responses from wasp antennae, and were also present in defensive secretions of sympatric arboreal-nesting Azteca ants. These compounds appear not to be wasp repellents but to be acquired coincidentally by caracaras when they perch on trees inhabited with Azteca ants. We conclude that caracara predation success does not depend on wasp repellents but relies on the absconding response that is typical of swarm-founding polistine wasps. Our study highlights the potential importance of vertebrate predators in the ecology and evolution of social wasps.

  3. Laboratory Studies of Planetary Hazes: composition of cool exoplanet atmospheric aerosols with very high resolution mass spectrometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moran, Sarah E.; Horst, Sarah; He, Chao; Flandinet, Laurene; Moses, Julianne I.; Orthous-Daunay, Francois-Regis; Vuitton, Veronique; Wolters, Cedric; Lewis, Nikole

    2017-10-01

    We present first results of the composition of laboratory-produced exoplanet haze analogues. With the Planetary HAZE Research (PHAZER) Laboratory, we simulated nine exoplanet atmospheres of varying initial gas phase compositions representing increasing metallicities (100x, 1000x, and 10000x solar) and exposed them to three different temperature regimes (600, 400, and 300 K) with two different “instellation” sources (a plasma source and a UV lamp). The PHAZER exoplanet experiments simulate a temperature and atmospheric composition phase space relevant to the expected planetary yield of the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission as well as recently discovered potentially habitable zone exoplanets in the TRAPPIST-1, LHS-1140, and Proxima Centauri systems. Upon exposure to the energy sources, all of these experiments produced aerosol particles, which were collected in a dry nitrogen glove box and then analyzed with an LTQ Orbitrap XL™ Hybrid Ion Trap-Orbitrap Mass Spectrometer utilizing m/z ranging from 50 to 1000. The collected aerosol samples were found to contain complex organics. Constraining the composition of these aerosols allows us to better understand the photochemical and dynamical processes ongoing in exoplanet atmospheres. Moreover, these data can inform our telescope observations of exoplanets, which is of critical importance as we enter a new era of exoplanet atmosphere observation science with the upcoming launch of the James Webb Space Telescope. The molecular makeup of these haze particles provides key information for understanding exoplanet atmospheric spectra, and constraining the structure and behavior of clouds, hazes, and other aerosols is at the forefront of exoplanet atmosphere science.

  4. Prospects for Detecting Thermal Emission from Terrestrial Exoplanets with JWST

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kreidberg, Laura

    2018-01-01

    A plethora of nearby, terrestrial exoplanets has been discovered recently by ground-based surveys. Excitingly, some of these are in the habitable zones of their host stars, and may be hospitable for life. However, all the planets orbit small, cool stars and have considerably different irradiation environments from the Earth, making them vulnerable to atmospheric escape, erosion and collapse. Atmosphere characterization is therefore critical to assessing the planets' habitability. I will discuss possible JWST thermal emission measurements to determine the atmospheric properties of nearby terrestrial planets. I will focus on prospects for detecting physically motivated atmospheres for planets orbiting LHS 1140, GJ 1132, and TRAPPIST-1. I will also discuss the potential for using phase curve observations to determine whether an atmosphere has survived on the non-transiting planet Proxima b.

  5. Pollinator attraction of the wasp-flower Scrophularia umbrosa (Scrophulariaceae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brodmann, J; Emer, D; Ayasse, M

    2012-05-01

    Certain species of Scrophularia (Scrophulariaceae), such as S. nodosa and S. umbrosa, are mainly pollinated by social wasps and are consequently described as wasp-flowers. Because plants attract their pollinators with the help of various floral cues, such as floral odour and/or optical cues, we have investigated the role of olfactory and visual floral signals responsible for wasp attraction in S. umbrosa. Using a combination of chemical (GC, GC-MS) and electrophysiological analyses (GC-EAD), we identified ten compounds in the complex floral odour bouquet that are detectable by the wasps' antennae. As in the wasp-flower Epipactis helleborine, we found so-called 'green leaf volatiles' (GLVs) in the floral odour; these GLVs are highly attractive to the wasps. GLVs, mostly six-carbon aldehydes, alcohols and acetates, and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs), are emitted by many plants infested with herbivores, e.g. caterpillars. In contrast to other investigated wasp-flowers, behavioural experiments have demonstrated that, in addition to the floral odour of S. umbrosa, visual cues are involved in pollinator attraction. © 2011 German Botanical Society and The Royal Botanical Society of the Netherlands.

  6. Wien Automatic System Planning (WASP) Package. A computer code for power generating system expansion planning. Version WASP-III Plus. User's manual. Volume 1: Chapters 1-11

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1995-09-01

    (FIXSYS plants); user control of the distribution of capital cost expenditures during the construction period (if required to be different from the general 'S' curve distribution used as default). The present document has been produced to support use of the WASP-Ill Plus computer code and to illustrate the capabilities of the program. This Manual is organized in two separate volumes. This first one includes 11 main chapters describing how to use the WASP-Ill Plus computer program. Chapter 1 gives a summary description and some background information about the program. Chapter 2 introduces some concepts, mainly related to the computer requirements imposed by the program, that are used throughout the Manual. Chapters 3 to 9 describe how to execute each of the various programs (or modules) of the WASP-Ill Plus package. (abstract truncated)

  7. Atmospheric Retrievals from Exoplanet Observations and Simulations with BART

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harrington, Joseph

    This project will determine the observing plans needed to retrieve exoplanet atmospheric composition and thermal profiles over a broad range of planets, stars, instruments, and observing modes. Characterizing exoplanets is hard. The dim planets orbit bright stars, giving orders of magnitude more relative noise than for solar-system planets. Advanced statistical techniques are needed to determine what the data can - and more importantly cannot - say. We therefore developed Bayesian Atmospheric Radiative Transfer (BART). BART explores the parameter space of atmospheric chemical abundances and thermal profiles using Differential-Evolution Markov-Chain Monte Carlo. It generates thousands of candidate spectra, integrates over observational bandpasses, and compares to data, generating a statistical model for an atmosphere's composition and thermal structure. At best, it gives abundances and thermal profiles with uncertainties. At worst, it shows what kinds of planets the data allow. It also gives parameter correlations. BART is open-source, designed for community use and extension (http://github.com/exosports/BART). Three arXived PhD theses (papers in publication) provide technical documentation, tests, and application to Spitzer and HST data. There are detailed user and programmer manuals and community support forums. Exoplanet analysis techniques must be tested against synthetic data, where the answer is known, and vetted by statisticians. Unfortunately, this has rarely been done, and never sufficiently. Several recent papers question the entire body of Spitzer exoplanet observations, because different analyses of the same data give different results. The latest method, pixel-level decorrelation, produces results that diverge from an emerging consensus. We do not know the retrieval problem's strengths and weaknesses relative to low SNR, red noise, low resolution, instrument systematics, or incomplete spectral line lists. In observing eclipses and transits, we assume

  8. Wien Automatic System Planning (WASP) Package. A computer code for power generating system expansion planning. Version WASP-III Plus. User's manual. Volume 1: Chapters 1-11

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1995-01-01

    (FIXSYS plants); user control of the distribution of capital cost expenditures during the construction period (if required to be different from the general 'S' curve distribution used as default). The present document has been produced to support use of the WASP-Ill Plus computer code and to illustrate the capabilities of the program. This Manual is organized in two separate volumes. This first one includes 11 main chapters describing how to use the WASP-Ill Plus computer program. Chapter 1 gives a summary description and some background information about the program. Chapter 2 introduces some concepts, mainly related to the computer requirements imposed by the program, that are used throughout the Manual. Chapters 3 to 9 describe how to execute each of the various programs (or modules) of the WASP-Ill Plus package. The description for each module shows the user how to prepare the Job Control statements and input data needed to execute the module and how to interpret the printed output produced. The iterative process that should be followed in order to obtain the 'optimal solution' for a WASP case study is covered in Chapters 6 to 8. Chapter 10 explains the use of an auxiliary program of the WASP package which is mainly intended for saving computer time. Lastly, Chapter 11 recapitulates the use of WASP-Ill Plus for executing a generation expansion planning study; describes the several phases normally involved in this type of study; and provides the user with practical hints about the most important aspects that need to be verified at each phase while executing the various WASP modules

  9. Colors of Alien Worlds from Direct Imaging Exoplanet Missions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Renyu

    2016-01-01

    Future direct-imaging exoplanet missions such as WFIRST will measure the reflectivity of exoplanets at visible wavelengths. Most of the exoplanets to be observed will be located further away from their parent stars than is Earth from the Sun. These "cold" exoplanets have atmospheric environments conducive for the formation of water and/or ammonia clouds, like Jupiter in the Solar System. I find the mixing ratio of methane and the pressure level of the uppermost cloud deck on these planets can be uniquely determined from their reflection spectra, with moderate spectral resolution, if the cloud deck is between 0.6 and 1.5 bars. The existence of this unique solution is useful for exoplanet direct imaging missions for several reasons. First, the weak bands and strong bands of methane enable the measurement of the methane mixing ratio and the cloud pressure, although an overlying haze layer can bias the estimate of the latter. Second, the cloud pressure, once derived, yields an important constraint on the internal heat flux from the planet, and thus indicating its thermal evolution. Third, water worlds having H2O-dominated atmospheres are likely to have water clouds located higher than the 10-3 bar pressure level, and muted spectral absorption features. These planets would occupy a confined phase space in the color-color diagrams, likely distinguishable from H2-rich giant exoplanets by broadband observations. Therefore, direct-imaging exoplanet missions may offer the capability to broadly distinguish H2-rich giant exoplanets versus H2O-rich super-Earth exoplanets, and to detect ammonia and/or water clouds and methane gas in their atmospheres.

  10. 32 New Exoplanets Found

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-10-01

    oday, at an international ESO/CAUP exoplanet conference in Porto, the team who built the High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher, better known as HARPS, the spectrograph for ESO's 3.6-metre telescope, reports on the incredible discovery of some 32 new exoplanets, cementing HARPS's position as the world's foremost exoplanet hunter. This result also increases the number of known low-mass planets by an impressive 30%. Over the past five years HARPS has spotted more than 75 of the roughly 400 or so exoplanets now known. "HARPS is a unique, extremely high precision instrument that is ideal for discovering alien worlds," says Stéphane Udry, who made the announcement. "We have now completed our initial five-year programme, which has succeeded well beyond our expectations." The latest batch of exoplanets announced today comprises no less than 32 new discoveries. Including these new results, data from HARPS have led to the discovery of more than 75 exoplanets in 30 different planetary systems. In particular, thanks to its amazing precision, the search for small planets, those with a mass of a few times that of the Earth - known as super-Earths and Neptune-like planets - has been given a dramatic boost. HARPS has facilitated the discovery of 24 of the 28 planets known with masses below 20 Earth masses. As with the previously detected super-Earths, most of the new low-mass candidates reside in multi-planet systems, with up to five planets per system. In 1999, ESO launched a call for opportunities to build a high resolution, extremely precise spectrograph for the ESO 3.6-metre telescope at La Silla, Chile. Michel Mayor, from the Geneva Observatory, led a consortium to build HARPS, which was installed in 2003 and was soon able to measure the back-and-forward motions of stars by detecting small changes in a star's radial velocity - as small as 3.5 km/hour, a steady walking pace. Such a precision is crucial for the discovery of exoplanets and the radial velocity method

  11. TRANSITING PLANETS WITH LSST. II. PERIOD DETECTION OF PLANETS ORBITING 1 M{sub ⊙} HOSTS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jacklin, Savannah [Department of Astrophysics and Planetary Science, Villanova University, Villanova, PA 19085 (United States); Lund, Michael B.; Stassun, Keivan G. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235 (United States); Pepper, Joshua [Department of Physics, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA 18015 (United States)

    2015-07-15

    The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) will photometrically monitor ∼10{sup 9} stars for 10 years. The resulting light curves can be used to detect transiting exoplanets. In particular, as demonstrated by Lund et al., LSST will probe stellar populations currently undersampled in most exoplanet transit surveys, including out to extragalactic distances. In this paper we test the efficiency of the box-fitting least-squares (BLS) algorithm for accurately recovering the periods of transiting exoplanets using simulated LSST data. We model planets with a range of radii orbiting a solar-mass star at a distance of 7 kpc, with orbital periods ranging from 0.5 to 20 days. We find that standard-cadence LSST observations will be able to reliably recover the periods of Hot Jupiters with periods shorter than ∼3 days; however, it will remain a challenge to confidently distinguish these transiting planets from false positives. At the same time, we find that the LSST deep-drilling cadence is extremely powerful: the BLS algorithm successfully recovers at least 30% of sub-Saturn-size exoplanets with orbital periods as long as 20 days, and a simple BLS power criterion robustly distinguishes ∼98% of these from photometric (i.e., statistical) false positives.

  12. [1012.5676] The Exoplanet Orbit Database

    Science.gov (United States)

    : The Exoplanet Orbit Database Authors: Jason T Wright, Onsi Fakhouri, Geoffrey W. Marcy, Eunkyu Han present a database of well determined orbital parameters of exoplanets. This database comprises parameters, and the method used for the planets discovery. This Exoplanet Orbit Database includes all planets

  13. Expression and evolutionary divergence of the non-conventional olfactory receptor in four species of fig wasp associated with one species of fig

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiao Jinhua

    2009-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The interactions of fig wasps and their host figs provide a model for investigating co-evolution. Fig wasps have specialized morphological characters and lifestyles thought to be adaptations to living in the fig's syconium. Although these aspects of natural history are well documented, the genetic mechanism(s underlying these changes remain(s unknown. Fig wasp olfaction is the key to host-specificity. The Or83b gene class, an unusual member of olfactory receptor family, plays a critical role in enabling the function of conventional olfactory receptors. Four Or83b orthologous genes from one pollinator (PFW (Ceratosolen solmsi and three non-pollinator fig wasps (NPFWs (Apocrypta bakeri, Philotrypesis pilosa and Philotrypesis sp. associated with one species of fig (Ficus hispida can be used to better understand the molecular mechanism underlying the fig wasp's adaptation to its host. We made a comparison of spatial tissue-specific expression patterns and substitution rates of one orthologous gene in these fig wasps and sought evidence for selection pressures. Results A newly identified Or83b orthologous gene was named Or2. Expressions of Or2 were restricted to the heads of all wingless male fig wasps, which usually live in the dark cavity of a fig throughout their life cycle. However, expressions were widely detected in the antennae, legs and abdomens of all female fig wasps that fly from one fig to another for oviposition, and secondarily pollination. Weak expression was also observed in the thorax of PFWs. Compared with NPFWs, the Or2 gene in C. solmsi had an elevated rate of substitutions and lower codon usage. Analyses using Tajima's D, Fu and Li's D* and F* tests indicated a non-neutral pattern of nucleotide variation in all fig wasps. Unlike in NPFWs, this non-neutral pattern was also observed for synonymous sites of Or2 within PFWs. Conclusion The sex- and species-specific expression patterns of Or2 genes detected beyond

  14. System Geometries and Transit/Eclipse Probabilities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Howard A.

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available Transiting exoplanets provide access to data to study the mass-radius relation and internal structure of extrasolar planets. Long-period transiting planets allow insight into planetary environments similar to the Solar System where, in contrast to hot Jupiters, planets are not constantly exposed to the intense radiation of their parent stars. Observations of secondary eclipses additionally permit studies of exoplanet temperatures and large-scale exo-atmospheric properties. We show how transit and eclipse probabilities are related to planet-star system geometries, particularly for long-period, eccentric orbits. The resulting target selection and observational strategies represent the principal ingredients of our photometric survey of known radial-velocity planets with the aim of detecting transit signatures (TERMS.

  15. Cognitive plasticity in foraging Vespula germanica wasps.

    Science.gov (United States)

    D'Adamo, Paola; Lozada, Mariana

    2011-01-01

    Vespula germanica (F.) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) is a highly invasive social wasp that exhibits a rich behavioral repertoire in which learning and memory play a fundamental role in foraging. The learning abilities of these wasps were analyzed while relocating a food source and whether V. germanica foragers are capable of discriminating between different orientation patterns and generalizing their choice to a new pattern. Foraging wasps were trained to associate two different stripe orientation patterns with their respective food locations. Their response to a novel configuration that maintained the orientation of one of the learned patterns but differed in other aspects (e.g. width of stripes) was then evaluated. The results support the hypothesis that V. germanica wasps are able to associate a particular oriented pattern with the location of a feeder and to generalize their choice to a new pattern, which differed in quality, but presented the same orientation.

  16. Wind Atlas Analysis and Application Program: WAsP 11 Help Facility

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    2014-01-01

    of specific wind turbines and wind farms. The WAsP Help Facility includes a Quick Start Tutorial, a User's Guide and a Technical Reference. It further includes descriptions of the Observed Wind Climate Wizard, the WAsP Climate Analyst, the WAsP Map Editor tool, the WAsP Turbine Editor tool, the Air Density...

  17. Scalable Gaussian Processes and the search for exoplanets

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN. Geneva

    2015-01-01

    Gaussian Processes are a class of non-parametric models that are often used to model stochastic behavior in time series or spatial data. A major limitation for the application of these models to large datasets is the computational cost. The cost of a single evaluation of the model likelihood scales as the third power of the number of data points. In the search for transiting exoplanets, the datasets of interest have tens of thousands to millions of measurements with uneven sampling, rendering naive application of a Gaussian Process model impractical. To attack this problem, we have developed robust approximate methods for Gaussian Process regression that can be applied at this scale. I will describe the general problem of Gaussian Process regression and offer several applicable use cases. Finally, I will present our work on scaling this model to the exciting field of exoplanet discovery and introduce a well-tested open source implementation of these new methods.

  18. WARM SPITZER OBSERVATIONS OF THREE HOT EXOPLANETS: XO-4b, HAT-P-6b, AND HAT-P-8b

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Todorov, Kamen O. [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 (United States); Deming, Drake [Planetary Systems Laboratory, NASA' s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Knutson, Heather A. [Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Burrows, Adam [Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 05844 (United States); Sada, Pedro V. [Department of Physics and Mathematics, University of Monterrey, Monterrey (Mexico); Cowan, Nicolas B. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208 (United States); Agol, Eric [Department of Astronomy, University of Washington, Box 351580, Seattle, WA 98195 (United States); Desert, Jean-Michel; Charbonneau, David [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Fortney, Jonathan J.; Laughlin, Gregory [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California at Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States); Langton, Jonathan [Department of Physics, Principia College, Elsah, IL 62028 (United States); Showman, Adam P.; Lewis, Nikole K. [Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States)

    2012-02-10

    We analyze Warm Spitzer/Infrared Array Camera observations of the secondary eclipses of three planets, XO-4b, HAT-P-6b, and HAT-P-8b. We measure secondary eclipse amplitudes at 3.6 {mu}m and 4.5 {mu}m for each target. XO-4b exhibits a stronger eclipse depth at 4.5 {mu}m than at 3.6 {mu}m, which is consistent with the presence of a temperature inversion. HAT-P-8b shows a stronger eclipse amplitude at 3.6 {mu}m and is best described by models without a temperature inversion. The eclipse depths of HAT-P-6b can be fitted with models with a small or no temperature inversion. We consider our results in the context of a postulated relationship between stellar activity and temperature inversion and a relationship between irradiation level and planet dayside temperature, as discussed by Knutson et al. and Cowan and Agol, respectively. Our results are consistent with these hypotheses, but do not significantly strengthen them. To measure accurate secondary eclipse central phases, we require accurate ephemerides. We obtain primary transit observations and supplement them with publicly available observations to update the orbital ephemerides of the three planets. Based on the secondary eclipse timing, we set upper boundaries for ecos ({omega}) for HAT-P-6b, HAT-P-8b, and XO-4b and find that the values are consistent with circular orbits.

  19. Comparison of three liquid lures for trapping social wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wegner, Gerald S; Jordan, Kyle K

    2005-06-01

    Two citrus-based sodas and a known wasp attractant were compared in a field trial to assess their attractiveness to local nuisance wasp species. The wasps captured included Vespula germanica (F.), Vespula maculifrons (Buysson), Vespula vulgaris (L.), Vespula flavopilosa Jacobson, Vespula squamosa (Drury), Dolichovespula maculata (L.), Polistes fuscatus (L.), Polistes metricus Say, and Polistes dominulus (Christ). Wasps in the genus Vespula were present in significantly higher numbers in traps than Dolichovespula and Polistes. Both citrus soda products were superior to the isobutanol-acetic acid mixture as attractants for almost all of the wasp species.

  20. Physical properties of the planetary systems WASP-45 and WASP-46 from simultaneous multiband photometry

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ciceri, S.; Mancini, L.; Southworth, J.

    2016-01-01

    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 stud...

  1. LkCa 15: A YOUNG EXOPLANET CAUGHT AT FORMATION?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kraus, Adam L.; Ireland, Michael J.

    2012-01-01

    Young and directly imaged exoplanets offer critical tests of planet-formation models that are not matched by radial velocity surveys of mature stars. These targets have been extremely elusive to date, with no exoplanets younger than 10-20 Myr and only a handful of direct-imaged exoplanets at all ages. We report the direct-imaging discovery of a likely (proto)planet around the young (∼2 Myr) solar analog LkCa 15, located inside a known gap in the protoplanetary disk (a 'transitional disk'). Our observations use non-redundant aperture masking interferometry at three epochs to reveal a faint and relatively blue point source (M K ' =9.1±0.2, K' – L' = 0.98 ± 0.22), flanked by approximately co-orbital emission that is red and resolved into at least two sources (M L ' =7.5±0.2, K' – L' = 2.7 ± 0.3; M L ' =7.4±0.2, K' – L' = 1.94 ± 0.16). We propose that the most likely geometry consists of a newly formed (proto)planet that is surrounded by dusty material. The nominal estimated mass is ∼6 M Jup according to the 1 Myr hot-start models. However, we argue based on its luminosity, color, and the presence of circumplanetary material that the planet has likely been caught at its epoch of assembly, and hence this mass is an upper limit due to its extreme youth and flux contributed by accretion. The projected separations (71.9 ± 1.6 mas, 100.7 ± 1.9 mas, and 88.2 ± 1.8 mas) and deprojected orbital radii (16, 21, and 19 AU) correspond to the center of the disk gap, but are too close to the primary star for a circular orbit to account for the observed inner edge of the outer disk, so an alternative explanation (i.e., additional planets or an eccentric orbit) is likely required. This discovery is the first direct evidence that at least some transitional disks do indeed host newly formed (or forming) exoplanetary systems, and the observed properties provide crucial insight into the gas giant formation process.

  2. Multi-band characterization of the hot Jupiters

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Moyano, M.; Almeida, L. A.; von Essen, C.

    2017-01-01

    We have carried out a campaign to characterize the hot Jupiters WASP-5b, WASP-44b and WASP-46b using multiband photometry collected at the Observatorio do Pico Dos Dias in Brazil. We have determined the planetary physical properties and new transit ephemerides for these systems. The new orbital...

  3. Tidally distorted exoplanets: Density corrections for short-period hot-Jupiters based solely on observable parameters

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Burton, J. R.; Watson, C. A.; Fitzsimmons, A.; Moulds, V. [Astrophysics Research Centre, Queen' s University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN (United Kingdom); Pollacco, D.; Wheatley, P. J. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL (United Kingdom); Littlefair, S. P., E-mail: jburton04@qub.ac.uk [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S3 7RH (United Kingdom)

    2014-07-10

    The close proximity of short-period hot-Jupiters to their parent star means they are subject to extreme tidal forces. This has a profound effect on their structure and, as a result, density measurements that assume that the planet is spherical can be incorrect. We have simulated the tidally distorted surface for 34 known short-period hot-Jupiters, assuming surfaces of constant gravitational equipotential for the planet, and the resulting densities have been calculated based only on observed parameters of the exoplanet systems. Comparing these results to the density values, assuming the planets are spherical, shows that there is an appreciable change in the measured density for planets with very short periods (typically less than two days). For one of the shortest-period systems, WASP-19b, we determine a decrease in bulk density of 12% from the spherical case and, for the majority of systems in this study, this value is in the range of 1%-5%. On the other hand, we also find cases where the distortion is negligible (relative to the measurement errors on the planetary parameters) even in the cases of some very short period systems, depending on the mass ratio and planetary radius. For high-density gas planets requiring apparently anomalously large core masses, density corrections due to tidal deformation could become important for the shortest-period systems.

  4. A new interferometric study of four exoplanet host stars: θ Cygni, 14 Andromedae, υ Andromedae and 42 Draconis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ligi, R.; Mourard, D.; Lagrange, A. M.; Perraut, K.; Boyajian, T.; Bério, Ph.; Nardetto, N.; Tallon-Bosc, I.; McAlister, H.; ten Brummelaar, T.; Ridgway, S.; Sturmann, J.; Sturmann, L.; Turner, N.; Farrington, C.; Goldfinger, P. J.

    2012-09-01

    Context. Since the discovery of the first exoplanet in 1995 around a solar-type star, the interest in exoplanetary systems has kept increasing. Studying exoplanet host stars is of the utmost importance to establish the link between the presence of exoplanets around various types of stars and to understand the respective evolution of stars and exoplanets. Aims: Using the limb-darkened diameter (LDD) obtained from interferometric data, we determine the fundamental parameters of four exoplanet host stars. We are particularly interested in the F4 main-sequence star, θ Cyg, for which Kepler has recently revealed solar-like oscillations that are unexpected for this type of star. Furthermore, recent photometric and spectroscopic measurements with SOPHIE and ELODIE (OHP) show evidence of a quasi-periodic radial velocity of ~150 days. Models of this periodic change in radial velocity predict either a complex planetary system orbiting the star, or a new and unidentified stellar pulsation mode. Methods: We performed interferometric observations of θ Cyg, 14 Andromedae, υ Andromedae and 42 Draconis for two years with VEGA/CHARA (Mount Wilson, California) in several three-telescope configurations. We measured accurate limb darkened diameters and derived their radius, mass and temperature using empirical laws. Results: We obtain new accurate fundamental parameters for stars 14 And, υ And and 42 Dra. We also obtained limb darkened diameters with a minimum precision of ~1.3%, leading to minimum planet masses of Msini = 5.33 ± 0.57, 0.62 ± 0.09 and 3.79 ± 0.29 MJup for 14 And b, υ And b and 42 Dra b, respectively. The interferometric measurements of θ Cyg show a significant diameter variability that remains unexplained up to now. We propose that the presence of these discrepancies in the interferometric data is caused either by an intrinsic variation of the star or an unknown close companion orbiting around it. Based on interferometric observations with the VEGA

  5. Atmospheric Seasonality as an Exoplanet Biosignature

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olson, Stephanie L.; Schwieterman, Edward W.; Reinhard, Christopher T.; Ridgwell, Andy; Kane, Stephen R.; Meadows, Victoria S.; Lyons, Timothy W.

    2018-05-01

    Current investigations of exoplanet biosignatures have focused on static evidence of life, such as the presence of biogenic gases like O2 or CH4. However, the expected diversity of terrestrial planet atmospheres and the likelihood of both “false positives” and “false negatives” for conventional biosignatures motivate exploration of additional life detection strategies, including time-varying signals. Seasonal variation in atmospheric composition is a biologically modulated phenomenon on Earth that may occur elsewhere because it arises naturally from the interplay between the biosphere and time-variable insolation. The search for seasonality as a biosignature would avoid many assumptions about specific metabolisms and provide an opportunity to directly quantify biological fluxes—allowing us to characterize, rather than simply recognize, biospheres on exoplanets. Despite this potential, there have been no comprehensive studies of seasonality as an exoplanet biosignature. Here, we provide a foundation for further studies by reviewing both biological and abiological controls on the magnitude and detectability of seasonality of atmospheric CO2, CH4, O2, and O3 on Earth. We also consider an example of an inhabited world for which atmospheric seasonality may be the most notable expression of its biosphere. We show that life on a low O2 planet like the weakly oxygenated mid-Proterozoic Earth could be fingerprinted by seasonal variation in O3 as revealed in its UV Hartley–Huggins bands. This example highlights the need for UV capabilities in future direct-imaging telescope missions (e.g., LUVOIR/HabEx) and illustrates the diagnostic importance of studying temporal biosignatures for exoplanet life detection/characterization.

  6. Reduced electric-octupole transition probabilities, B(E3;O1+ → 31-), for even-even nuclides throughout the periodic table

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spear, R.H.

    1988-11-01

    Adopted values for the excitation energy, E x( 3 1 - ), of the first 3 - state of the even-even nuclei are tabulated. Values of the reduced electric-octupole transition probability, B(E3;O 1 + → 3 1 - ), from the ground state to this state, as determined from Coulomb excitation, lifetime measurements, inelastic electron scattering, deformation parameters β 3 obtained from angular distributions of inelastically scattered nucleons and light ions, and other miscellaneous procedures are listed in separate Tables. Adopted values for B(E3; O 1 + → 3 1 - ) are presented in Table VII, together with the E3 transition strengths, in Weisskopf units, and the product E x( 3 1 - ) x B(E3; O 1 + → 3 1 - - ) expressed as a percentage of the energy-weighted E3 sum-rule strength. An evaluation is made of the reliability of B(E3; O 1 + → 3 1 - ) values deduced from deformation parameters β 3 . The literature has been covered to March 1988

  7. Small-scale area effect on species richness and nesting occupancy of cavity-nesting bees and wasps

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rafael D. Loyola

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available Small-scale area effect on species richness and nesting occupancy of cavity-nesting bees and wasps. The research was conducted in an urban forest remnant in southeast Brazil. We tested the predictions of the following hypotheses: (1 larger areas present higher species richness of bees and wasps, (2 solitary bees and wasps occupy more nests in larger areas, (3 rare species occupy more nests in smaller areas. We sampled Aculeate bees and wasps using trap nests from February to November 2004. We placed trap nests in sampling units (SU with different size (25, 100 and 400 m² located in 6 ha of secondary mesophytic forest. One hundred and thirty-seven trap nests were occupied by seven species of bees and four species of wasps. We found an increase in wasp, but not bee species richness following increase in SU size. Hymenoptera richness (i.e. bees plus wasps was also greater in larger SU. Both the number and density of occupied nests increased with SU size. The wasp Trypoxylon lactitarse responded significantly to area size, larger SU having more occupied nests. The same pattern was exhibited by the wasp Auplopus militaris, the Megachile bee species, and the bee Anthodioctes megachiloides. Only Trypoxylon sp. was not affected by SU size. Our results show that cavity-nesting bee and wasps respond differently to the area effects. Such findings must be complemented by information on the frequency and dynamics of area colonization and nest occupancy by species of solitary Hymenoptera.

  8. Queen signaling in social wasps

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    van Zweden, Jelle Stijn; Bonckaert, Wim; Wenseleers, Tom

    2014-01-01

    Social Hymenoptera are characterized by a reproductive division of labor, whereby queens perform most of the reproduction and workers help to raise her offspring. A long-lasting debate is whether queens maintain this reproductive dominance by manipulating their daughter workers into remaining...... sterile (queen control), or if instead queens honestly signal their fertility and workers reproduce according to their own evolutionary incentives (queen signaling). Here, we test these competing hypotheses using data from Vespine wasps. We show that in natural colonies of the Saxon wasp, Dolichovespula...

  9. Data from: Compatible and incompatible pathogen-plant interactions differentially affect plant volatile emissions and the attraction of parasitoid wasps

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ponzio, C.A.M.; Weldegergis, B.T.; Dicke, M.; Gols, R.

    2016-01-01

    The three data sheets show the data for the three types of comparisons that were made: (1) wasp choice when offered acaterpillar infested plant and a caterpillar + pathogen infected plant (2) wasp choice when offered a healthy plant against a singleattacker infected/infected plant and (3) wasp

  10. Near-IR Direct Detection of Water Vapor in Tau Bootis b

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-02-24

    unknown orbital inclination. Treating the τ Boo system as a high flux ratio double-lined spectroscopic binary permits the direct measurement of the...the atmosphere of a non-transiting hot Jupiter, τ Boo b. Key words: planets and satellites: atmospheres – techniques: spectroscopic 1. INTRODUCTION...sensitivity required for these detections. Despite the agreement between the two groups, the direct detection of exoplanets, especially τ Boo b, has

  11. The genomic features of parasitism, Polyembryony and immune evasion in the endoparasitic wasp Macrocentrus cingulum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yin, Chuanlin; Li, Meizhen; Hu, Jian; Lang, Kun; Chen, Qiming; Liu, Jinding; Guo, Dianhao; He, Kang; Dong, Yipei; Luo, Jiapeng; Song, Zhenkun; Walters, James R; Zhang, Wenqing; Li, Fei; Chen, Xuexin

    2018-05-30

    Parasitoid wasps are well-known natural enemies of major agricultural pests and arthropod borne diseases. The parasitoid wasp Macrocentrus cingulum (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) has been widely used to control the notorious insect pests Ostrinia furnacalis (Asian Corn Borer) and O. nubilalis (European corn borer). One striking phenomenon exhibited by M. cingulum is polyembryony, the formation of multiple genetically identical offspring from a single zygote. Moreover, M. cingulum employs a passive parasitic strategy by preventing the host's immune system from recognizing the embryo as a foreign body. Thus, the embryos evade the host's immune system and are not encapsulated by host hemocytes. Unfortunately, the mechanism of both polyembryony and immune evasion remains largely unknown. We report the genome of the parasitoid wasp M. cingulum. Comparative genomics analysis of M. cingulum and other 11 insects were conducted, finding some gene families with apparent expansion or contraction which might be linked to the parasitic behaviors or polyembryony of M. cingulum. Moreover, we present the evidence that the microRNA miR-14b regulates the polyembryonic development of M. cingulum by targeting the c-Myc Promoter-binding Protein 1 (MBP-1), histone-lysine N-methyltransferase 2E (KMT2E) and segmentation protein Runt. In addition, Hemomucin, an O-glycosylated transmembrane protein, protects the endoparasitoid wasp larvae from being encapsulated by host hemocytes. Motif and domain analysis showed that only the hemomucin in two endoparasitoids, M. cingulum and Venturia canescens, possessing the ability of passive immune evasion has intact mucin domain and similar O-glycosylation patterns, indicating that the hemomucin is a key factor modulating the immune evasion. The microRNA miR-14b participates in the regulation of polyembryonic development, and the O-glycosylation of the mucin domain in the hemomucin confers the passive immune evasion in this wasp. These key findings provide

  12. Exoplanet habitability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seager, Sara

    2013-05-03

    The search for exoplanets includes the promise to eventually find and identify habitable worlds. The thousands of known exoplanets and planet candidates are extremely diverse in terms of their masses or sizes, orbits, and host star type. The diversity extends to new kinds of planets, which are very common yet have no solar system counterparts. Even with the requirement that a planet's surface temperature must be compatible with liquid water (because all life on Earth requires liquid water), a new emerging view is that planets very different from Earth may have the right conditions for life. The broadened possibilities will increase the future chances of discovering an inhabited world.

  13. Phylogeny, evolution and classification of gall wasps: the plot thickens.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fredrik Ronquist

    Full Text Available Gall wasps (Cynipidae represent the most spectacular radiation of gall-inducing insects. In addition to true gall formers, gall wasps also include phytophagous inquilines, which live inside the galls induced by gall wasps or other insects. Here we present the first comprehensive molecular and total-evidence analyses of higher-level gall wasp relationships. We studied more than 100 taxa representing a rich selection of outgroups and the majority of described cynipid genera outside the diverse oak gall wasps (Cynipini, which were more sparsely sampled. About 5 kb of nucleotide data from one mitochondrial (COI and four nuclear (28S, LWRh, EF1alpha F1, and EF1alpha F2 markers were analyzed separately and in combination with morphological and life-history data. According to previous morphology-based studies, gall wasps evolved in the Northern Hemisphere and were initially herb gallers. Inquilines originated once from gall inducers that lost the ability to initiate galls. Our results, albeit not conclusive, suggest a different scenario. The first gall wasps were more likely associated with woody host plants, and there must have been multiple origins of gall inducers, inquilines or both. One possibility is that gall inducers arose independently from inquilines in several lineages. Except for these surprising results, our analyses are largely consistent with previous studies. They confirm that gall wasps are conservative in their host-plant preferences, and that herb-galling lineages have radiated repeatedly onto the same set of unrelated host plants. We propose a revised classification of the family into twelve tribes, which are strongly supported as monophyletic across independent datasets. Four are new: Aulacideini, Phanacidini, Diastrophini and Ceroptresini. We present a key to the tribes and discuss their morphological and biological diversity. Until the relationships among the tribes are resolved, the origin and early evolution of gall wasps will

  14. Eccentricity from transit photometry

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Van Eylen, Vincent; Albrecht, Simon

    2015-01-01

    and can be described by a Rayleigh distribution with $\\sigma$ = 0.049 $\\pm$ 0.013. This is in full agreement with solar system eccentricities, but in contrast to the eccentricity distributions previously derived for exoplanets from radial velocity studies. Our findings are helpful in identifying which...... (TTVs), and we present some previously unreported TTVs. Finally transit durations help distinguish between false positives and true planets and we use our measurements to confirm six new exoplanets....

  15. Integrated Exoplanet Modeling with the GSFC Exoplanet Modeling & Analysis Center (EMAC)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mandell, Avi M.; Hostetter, Carl; Pulkkinen, Antti; Domagal-Goldman, Shawn David

    2018-01-01

    Our ability to characterize the atmospheres of extrasolar planets will be revolutionized by JWST, WFIRST and future ground- and space-based telescopes. In preparation, the exoplanet community must develop an integrated suite of tools with which we can comprehensively predict and analyze observations of exoplanets, in order to characterize the planetary environments and ultimately search them for signs of habitability and life.The GSFC Exoplanet Modeling and Analysis Center (EMAC) will be a web-accessible high-performance computing platform with science support for modelers and software developers to host and integrate their scientific software tools, with the goal of leveraging the scientific contributions from the entire exoplanet community to improve our interpretations of future exoplanet discoveries. Our suite of models will include stellar models, models for star-planet interactions, atmospheric models, planet system science models, telescope models, instrument models, and finally models for retrieving signals from observational data. By integrating this suite of models, the community will be able to self-consistently calculate the emergent spectra from the planet whether from emission, scattering, or in transmission, and use these simulations to model the performance of current and new telescopes and their instrumentation.The EMAC infrastructure will not only provide a repository for planetary and exoplanetary community models, modeling tools and intermodal comparisons, but it will include a "run-on-demand" portal with each software tool hosted on a separate virtual machine. The EMAC system will eventually include a means of running or “checking in” new model simulations that are in accordance with the community-derived standards. Additionally, the results of intermodal comparisons will be used to produce open source publications that quantify the model comparisons and provide an overview of community consensus on model uncertainties on the climates of

  16. Differential Properties of Venom Peptides and Proteins in Solitary vs. Social Hunting Wasps

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Si Hyeock; Baek, Ji Hyeong; Yoon, Kyungjae Andrew

    2016-01-01

    The primary functions of venoms from solitary and social wasps are different. Whereas most solitary wasps sting their prey to paralyze and preserve it, without killing, as the provisions for their progeny, social wasps usually sting to defend their colonies from vertebrate predators. Such distinctive venom properties of solitary and social wasps suggest that the main venom components are likely to be different depending on the wasps’ sociality. The present paper reviews venom components and properties of the Aculeata hunting wasps, with a particular emphasis on the comparative aspects of venom compositions and properties between solitary and social wasps. Common components in both solitary and social wasp venoms include hyaluronidase, phospholipase A2, metalloendopeptidase, etc. Although it has been expected that more diverse bioactive components with the functions of prey inactivation and physiology manipulation are present in solitary wasps, available studies on venom compositions of solitary wasps are simply too scarce to generalize this notion. Nevertheless, some neurotoxic peptides (e.g., pompilidotoxin and dendrotoxin-like peptide) and proteins (e.g., insulin-like peptide binding protein) appear to be specific to solitary wasp venom. In contrast, several proteins, such as venom allergen 5 protein, venom acid phosphatase, and various phospholipases, appear to be relatively more specific to social wasp venom. Finally, putative functions of main venom components and their application are also discussed. PMID:26805885

  17. An Analytic Model Approach to the Frequency of Exoplanets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Traub, Wesley A.

    2016-10-01

    The underlying population of exoplanets around stars in the Kepler sample can be inferred by a simulation that includes binning the Kepler planets in radius and period, invoking an empirical noise model, assuming a model exoplanet distribution function, randomly assigning planets to each of the Kepler target stars, asking whether each planet's transit signal could be detected by Kepler, binning the resulting simulated detections, comparing the simulations with the observed data sample, and iterating on the model parameters until a satisfactory fit is obtained. The process is designed to simulate the Kepler observing procedure. The key assumption is that the distribution function is the product of separable functions of period and radius. Any additional suspected biases in the sample can be handled by adjusting the noise model or selective editing of the range of input planets. An advantage of this overall procedure is that it is a forward calculation designed to simulate the observed data, subject to a presumed underlying population distribution, minimizing the effect of bin-to-bin fluctuations. Another advantage is that the resulting distribution function can be extended to values of period and radius that go beyond the sample space, including, for example, application to estimating eta-sub-Earth, and also estimating the expected science yields of future direct-imaging exoplanet missions such as WFIRST-AFTA.

  18. Turning Planetary Theory Upside Down

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    The discovery of nine new transiting exoplanets is announced today at the RAS National Astronomy Meeting (NAM2010). When these new results were combined with earlier observations of transiting exoplanets astronomers were surprised to find that six out of a larger sample of 27 were found to be orbiting in the opposite direction to the rotation of their host star - the exact reverse of what is seen in our own Solar System. The new discoveries provide an unexpected and serious challenge to current theories of planet formation. They also suggest that systems with exoplanets of the type known as hot Jupiters are unlikely to contain Earth-like planets. "This is a real bomb we are dropping into the field of exoplanets," says Amaury Triaud, a PhD student at the Geneva Observatory who, with Andrew Cameron and Didier Queloz, leads a major part of the observational campaign. Planets are thought to form in the disc of gas and dust encircling a young star. This proto-planetary disc rotates in the same direction as the star itself, and up to now it was expected that planets that form from the disc would all orbit in more or less the same plane, and that they would move along their orbits in the same direction as the star's rotation. This is the case for the planets in the Solar System. After the initial detection of the nine new exoplanets [1] with the Wide Angle Search for Planets (WASP, [2]), the team of astronomers used the HARPS spectrograph on the 3.6-metre ESO telescope at the La Silla observatory in Chile, along with data from the Swiss Euler telescope, also at La Silla, and data from other telescopes to confirm the discoveries and characterise the transiting exoplanets [3] found in both the new and older surveys. Surprisingly, when the team combined the new data with older observations they found that more than half of all the hot Jupiters [4] studied have orbits that are misaligned with the rotation axis of their parent stars. They even found that six exoplanets in this

  19. Wasp sting: An unusual fatal outcome

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    George, P.; Mathew, P.; Pawar, B.; Calton, N.

    2008-01-01

    Wasp stings are not uncommon especially in populations living in theproximity of forested area-s all over the world. Local manifestationsfollowing stings are common and unusually life threatening anaphylaxis mayoccur, requiring prompt treatment. Multi organ failure and acute renalfailure following wasp stings are rare and histological evaluation suggestacute tubular necrosis secondary to hemolysis, rhabdomyolysis and directvenom toxicity. A rare complication of a patient following multiple waspstings with disseminated intravascular coagulation, acute renal failure andthrombotic microangiopathy is presented. (author)

  20. Arsenophonus nasoniae and Rickettsiae Infection of Ixodes ricinus Due to Parasitic Wasp Ixodiphagus hookeri.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Monika Bohacsova

    Full Text Available Arsenophonus nasoniae, a male-killing endosymbiont of chalcid wasps, was recently detected in several hard tick species. Following the hypothesis that its presence in ticks may not be linked to the direct occurrence of bacteria in tick's organs, we identified A. nasoniae in wasps emerging from parasitised nymphs. We confirmed that 28.1% of Ixodiphagus hookeri wasps parasitizing Ixodes ricinus ticks were infected by A. nasoniae. Moreover, in examined I. ricinus nymphs, A. nasoniae was detected only in those, which were parasitized by the wasp. However, in part of the adult wasps as well as in some ticks that contained wasp's DNA, we did not confirm A. nasoniae. We also found, that in spite of reported male-killing, some newly emerged adult wasp males were also infected by A. nasoniae. Additionally, we amplified the DNA of Rickettsia helvetica and Rickettsia monacensis (known to be Ixodes ricinus-associated bacteria in adult parasitoid wasps. This may be related either with the digested bacterial DNA in wasp body lumen or with a role of wasps in circulation of rickettsiae among tick vectors.

  1. USING STELLAR DENSITIES TO EVALUATE TRANSITING EXOPLANETARY CANDIDATES

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tingley, B.; Deeg, H. J.; Bonomo, A. S.

    2011-01-01

    One of the persistent complications in searches for transiting exoplanets is the low percentage of the detected candidates that ultimately prove to be planets, which significantly increases the load on the telescopes used for the follow-up observations to confirm or reject candidates. Several attempts have been made at creating techniques that can pare down candidate lists without the need of additional observations. Some of these techniques involve a detailed analysis of light curve characteristics; others estimate the stellar density or some proxy thereof. In this paper, we extend upon this second approach, exploring the use of independently calculated stellar densities to identify the most promising transiting exoplanet candidates. We use a set of CoRoT candidates and the set of known transiting exoplanets to examine the potential of this approach. In particular, we note the possibilities inherent in the high-precision photometry from space missions, which can detect stellar asteroseismic pulsations from which accurate stellar densities can be extracted without additional observations.

  2. Transiting exoplanets from the CoRoT space mission . XIX. CoRoT-23b: a dense hot Jupiter on an eccentric orbit

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rouan, D.; Parviainen, H.; Moutou, C.

    2012-01-01

    We report the detection of CoRoT-23b, a hot Jupiter transiting in front of its host star with a period of 3.6314 ± 0.0001 days. This planet was discovered thanks to photometric data secured with the CoRoT satellite, combined with spectroscopic radial velocity (RV) measurements. A photometric search...... to be 7 Gyr, not far from the transition to subgiant, in agreement with the rather large stellar radius. The two features of a significant eccentricity of the orbit and of a fairly high density are fairly uncommon for a hot Jupiter. The high density is, however, consistent with a model of contraction...... is more than a few 105, a value that is the lower bound of the usually expected range. Even if CoRoT-23b  features a density and an eccentricity that are atypical of a hot Jupiter, it is thus not an enigmatic object....

  3. JUPITER AS AN EXOPLANET: UV TO NIR TRANSMISSION SPECTRUM REVEALS HAZES, A Na LAYER, AND POSSIBLY STRATOSPHERIC H{sub 2}O-ICE CLOUDS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Montañés-Rodríguez, Pilar; González-Merino, B.; Pallé, E. [Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, C/Vía Láctea s/n, E-38200 La Laguna (Spain); López-Puertas, Manuel [Departamento de Astrofísica, Universidad de La Laguna, Av., Astrofísico Francisco Sánchez, s/n, E-38206 La Laguna (Spain); García-Melendo, E., E-mail: pmr@iac.es [Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (CSIC), Glorieta de la Astronomía s/n, E-18080 Granada (Spain)

    2015-03-01

    Currently, the analysis of transmission spectra is the most successful technique to probe the chemical composition of exoplanet atmospheres. However, the accuracy of these measurements is constrained by observational limitations and the diversity of possible atmospheric compositions. Here, we show the UV–VIS–IR transmission spectrum of Jupiter as if it were a transiting exoplanet, obtained by observing one of its satellites, Ganymede, while passing through Jupiter’s shadow, i.e., during a solar eclipse from Ganymede. The spectrum shows strong extinction due to the presence of clouds (aerosols) and haze in the atmosphere and strong absorption features from CH{sub 4}. More interestingly, the comparison with radiative transfer models reveals a spectral signature, which we attribute here to a Jupiter stratospheric layer of crystalline H{sub 2}O ice. The atomic transitions of Na are also present. These results are relevant for the modeling and interpretation of giant transiting exoplanets. They also open a new technique to explore the atmospheric composition of the upper layers of Jupiter’s atmosphere.

  4. Exoplanet Observing: From Art to Science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conti, Dennis M.; Gleeson, Jack

    2017-06-01

    This paper will review the now well-established best practices for conducting high precision exoplanet observing with small telescopes. The paper will also review the AAVSO's activities in promoting these best practices among the amateur astronomer community through training material and online courses, as well as through the establishment of an AAVSO Exoplanet Database. This latter development will be an essential element in supporting followup exoplanet observations for upcoming space telescope missions such as TESS and JWST.

  5. Testing connections between exo-atmospheres and their host stars. GEMINI-N/GMOS ground-based transmission spectrum of Qatar-1b

    Science.gov (United States)

    von Essen, C.; Cellone, S.; Mallonn, M.; Albrecht, S.; Miculán, R.; Müller, H. M.

    2017-07-01

    Till date, only a handful exo-atmospheres have been well characterized, mostly by means of the transit method. Some classic examples are HD 209458b, HD 189733b, GJ-436b, and GJ-1214b. Data show exoplanet atmospheres to be diverse. However, this is based on a small number of cases. Here we focus our study on the exo-atmosphere of Qatar-1b, an exoplanet that looks much like HD 189733b regarding its host star's activity level, their surface gravity, scale height, equilibrium temperature and transit parameters. Thus, our motivation relied on carrying out a comparative study of their atmospheres, and assess if these are regulated by their environment. In this work we present one primary transit of Qatar-1b obtained during September, 2014, using the 8.1 m GEMINI North telescope. The observations were performed using the GMOS-N instrument in multi-object spectroscopic mode. We collected fluxes of Qatar-1 and six more reference stars, covering the wavelength range between 460 and 746 nm. The achieved photometric precision of 0.18 parts-per-thousand in the white light curve, at a cadence of 165 s, makes this one of the most precise datasets obtained from the ground. We created 12 chromatic transit light curves that we computed by integrating fluxes in wavelength bins of different sizes, ranging between 3.5 and 20 nm. Although the data are of excellent quality, the wavelength coverage and the precision of the transmission spectrum are not sufficient to neither rule out or to favor classic atmospheric models. Nonetheless, simple statistical analysis favors the clear atmosphere scenario. A larger wavelength coverage or space-based data is required to characterize the constituents of Qatar-1b's atmosphere and to compare it to the well known HD 189733b. On top of the similarities of the orbital and physical parameters of both exoplanets, from a long Hα photometric follow-up of Qatar-1, presented in this work, we find Qatar-1 to be as active as HD 189733. The white light curve

  6. A simple model to describe intrinsic stellar noise for exoplanet detection around red giants

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    North, Thomas S. H.; Chaplin, William J.; Gilliland, Ronald L.

    2017-01-01

    In spite of the huge advances in exoplanet research provided by the NASA Kepler Mission, there remain only a small number of transit detections around evolved stars. Here, we present a reformulation of the noise properties of red-giant stars, where the intrinsic stellar granulation and the stella...

  7. Atmospheres of Two Super-Puffs: Transmission Spectra of Kepler 51b and Kepler 51d

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roberts, Jessica; Berta-Thompson, Zachory K.; Desert, Jean-Michel; Deck, Katherine; Fabrycky, Daniel; Fortney, Jonathan J.; Line, Michael R.; Lopez, Eric; Masuda, Kento; Morley, Caroline; Sanchis Ojeda, Roberto; Winn, Joshua N.

    2018-06-01

    The Kepler 51 system hosts three transiting, extremely low-mass, low-density exoplanets. These planets orbit a young G type star at periods of 45, 85 and 130 days, placing them outside of the regime for the inflated hot-Jupiters. Instead, the Kepler 51 planets are part of a rare class of exoplanets: the super-puffs. Models suggest these H/He-rich planets formed outside of the snow-line and migrated inwards, which might imply abundant water in their atmospheres. Because Kepler 51b and 51d have low surface gravities, they also have scale heights 10x larger than a typical hot-Jupiter, making them prime targets for atmospheric investigation. Kepler 51c, while also possessing a large scale height, only grazes its star during transit. We are also presented with a unique opportunity to study two super-puffs in very different temperature regimes around the same star. Therefore, we observed two transits each of both Kepler 51b and 51d with the Hubble Space Telescope’s Wide Field Camera 3 G141 grism spectroscopy. Using these data we created spectroscopic light curves that allow us to compute a transmission spectrum for each planet. We conclude that both planets have a flat transmission spectrum with a precision better than 0.6 scale heights between 1.1 and 1.7 microns. We also analyzed the transit timing variations of each planet by combining re-fitted Kepler mid-transit times with our measured HST times. From these additional timing points, we are able to better constrain the planetary masses and the dynamics of the system. With these updated masses and revisited stellar parameters, we determine precise measurements on the densities of these planets. We will present these results as well as discuss the implications for high altitude aerosols in both Kepler 51b and 51d.

  8. A Bayesian analysis of HAT-P-7b using the EXONEST algorithm

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Placek, Ben; Knuth, Kevin H.

    2015-01-01

    The study of exoplanets (planets orbiting other stars) is revolutionizing the way we view our universe. High-precision photometric data provided by the Kepler Space Telescope (Kepler) enables not only the detection of such planets, but also their characterization. This presents a unique opportunity to apply Bayesian methods to better characterize the multitude of previously confirmed exoplanets. This paper focuses on applying the EXONEST algorithm to characterize the transiting short-period-hot-Jupiter, HAT-P-7b (also referred to as Kepler-2b). EXONEST evaluates a suite of exoplanet photometric models by applying Bayesian Model Selection, which is implemented with the MultiNest algorithm. These models take into account planetary effects, such as reflected light and thermal emissions, as well as the effect of the planetary motion on the host star, such as Doppler beaming, or boosting, of light from the reflex motion of the host star, and photometric variations due to the planet-induced ellipsoidal shape of the host star. By calculating model evidences, one can determine which model best describes the observed data, thus identifying which effects dominate the planetary system. Presented are parameter estimates and model evidences for HAT-P-7b

  9. The EBLM Project. IV. Spectroscopic orbits of over 100 eclipsing M dwarfs masquerading as transiting hot Jupiters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Triaud, Amaury H. M. J.; Martin, David V.; Ségransan, Damien; Smalley, Barry; Maxted, Pierre F. L.; Anderson, David R.; Bouchy, François; Collier Cameron, Andrew; Faedi, Francesca; Gómez Maqueo Chew, Yilen; Hebb, Leslie; Hellier, Coel; Marmier, Maxime; Pepe, Francesco; Pollacco, Don; Queloz, Didier; Udry, Stéphane; West, Richard

    2017-12-01

    We present 2271 radial velocity measurements taken on 118 single-line binary stars, taken over eight years with the CORALIE spectrograph. The binaries consist of F/G/K primaries and M dwarf secondaries. They were initially discovered photometrically by the WASP planet survey, as their shallow eclipses mimic a hot Jupiter transit. The observations we present permit a precise characterisation of the binary orbital elements and mass function. With modelling of the primary star, this mass function is converted to a mass of the secondary star. In the future, this spectroscopic work will be combined with precise photometric eclipses to draw an empirical mass/radius relation for the bottom of the mass sequence. This has applications in both stellar astrophysics and the growing number of exoplanet surveys around M dwarfs. In particular, we have discovered 34 systems with a secondary mass below 0.2 M⊙, and so we will ultimately double the number of known very low-mass stars with well-characterised masses and radii. The quality of our data combined with the amplitude of the Doppler variations mean that we are able to detect eccentricities as small as 0.001 and orbital periods to sub-second precision. Our sample can revisit some earlier work on the tidal evolution of close binaries, extending it to low mass ratios. We find some exceptional binary systems that are eccentric at orbital periods below three days, while our longest circular orbit has a period of 10.4 days. Amongst our systems, we note one remarkable architecture in J1146-42 that boasts three stars within one astronomical unit. By collating the EBLM binaries with published WASP planets and brown dwarfs, we derive a mass spectrum with twice the resolution of previous work. We compare the WASP/EBLM sample of tightly bound orbits with work in the literature on more distant companions up to 10 AU. We note that the brown dwarf desert appears wider, as it carves into the planetary domain for our short-period orbits

  10. Performance of Copan WASP for Routine Urine Microbiology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quiblier, Chantal; Jetter, Marion; Rominski, Mark; Mouttet, Forouhar; Böttger, Erik C.; Keller, Peter M.

    2015-01-01

    This study compared a manual workup of urine clinical samples with fully automated WASPLab processing. As a first step, two different inocula (1 and 10 μl) and different streaking patterns were compared using WASP and InoqulA BT instrumentation. Significantly more single colonies were produced with the10-μl inoculum than with the 1-μl inoculum, and automated streaking yielded significantly more single colonies than manual streaking on whole plates (P < 0.001). In a second step, 379 clinical urine samples were evaluated using WASP and the manual workup. Average numbers of detected morphologies, recovered species, and CFUs per milliliter of all 379 urine samples showed excellent agreement between WASPLab and the manual workup. The percentage of urine samples clinically categorized as positive or negative did not differ between the automated and manual workflow, but within the positive samples, automated processing by WASPLab resulted in the detection of more potential pathogens. In summary, the present study demonstrates that (i) the streaking pattern, i.e., primarily the number of zigzags/length of streaking lines, is critical for optimizing the number of single colonies yielded from primary cultures of urine samples; (ii) automated streaking by the WASP instrument is superior to manual streaking regarding the number of single colonies yielded (for 32.2% of the samples); and (iii) automated streaking leads to higher numbers of detected morphologies (for 47.5% of the samples), species (for 17.4% of the samples), and pathogens (for 3.4% of the samples). The results of this study point to an improved quality of microbiological analyses and laboratory reports when using automated sample processing by WASP and WASPLab. PMID:26677255

  11. A Framework to Combine Low- and High-resolution Spectroscopy for the Atmospheres of Transiting Exoplanets

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Brogi, M.; Line, M.; Bean, J.; Désert, J.-M.; Schwarz, H.

    2017-01-01

    Current observations of the atmospheres of close-in exoplanets are predominantly obtained with two techniques: low-resolution spectroscopy with space telescopes and high-resolution spectroscopy from the ground. Although the observables delivered by the two methods are in principle highly

  12. Transiting exoplanets from the CoRoT space mission. IV. CoRoT-Exo-4b: a transiting planet in a 9.2 day synchronous orbit

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aigrain, S.; Collier Cameron, A.; Ollivier, M.; Pont, F.; Jorda, L.; Almenara, J. M.; Alonso, R.; Barge, P.; Bordé, P.; Bouchy, F.; Deeg, H.; de La Reza, R.; Deleuil, M.; Dvorak, R.; Erikson, A.; Fridlund, M.; Gondoin, P.; Gillon, M.; Guillot, T.; Hatzes, A.; Lammer, H.; Lanza, A. F.; Léger, A.; Llebaria, A.; Magain, P.; Mazeh, T.; Moutou, C.; Paetzold, M.; Pinte, C.; Queloz, D.; Rauer, H.; Rouan, D.; Schneider, J.; Wuchter, G.; Zucker, S.

    2008-09-01

    CoRoT, the first space-based transit search, provides ultra-high-precision light curves with continuous time-sampling over periods of up to 5 months. This allows the detection of transiting planets with relatively long periods, and the simultaneous study of the host star's photometric variability. In this Letter, we report the discovery of the transiting giant planet CoRoT-Exo-4b and use the CoRoT light curve to perform a detailed analysis of the transit and determine the stellar rotation period. The CoRoT light curve was pre-processed to remove outliers and correct for orbital residuals and artefacts due to hot pixels on the detector. After removing stellar variability about each transit, the transit light curve was analysed to determine the transit parameters. A discrete autocorrelation function method was used to derive the rotation period of the star from the out-of-transit light curve. We determine the periods of the planetary orbit and star's rotation of 9.20205 ± 0.00037 and 8.87 ± 1.12 days respectively, which is consistent with this being a synchronised system. We also derive the inclination, i = 90.00_-0.085+0.000 in degrees, the ratio of the orbital distance to the stellar radius, a/Rs = 17.36-0.25+0.05, and the planet-to-star radius ratio R_p/R_s=0.1047-0.0022+0.0041. We discuss briefly the coincidence between the orbital period of the planet and the stellar rotation period and its possible implications for the system's migration and star-planet interaction history. The CoRoT space mission, launched on December 27th 2006, has been developed and is operated by CNES, with the contribution of Austria, Belgium, Brazil, ESA, Germany, and Spain. The first CoRoT data will be available to the public in February 2009 from the CoRoT archive: http://idoc-corot.ias.u-psud.fr/ Figures 1, 4 and 5 are only available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.org

  13. THE TRANSIT TRANSMISSION SPECTRUM OF A COLD GAS GIANT PLANET

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dalba, Paul A.; Muirhead, Philip S.; Veyette, Mark J. [Department of Astronomy, Boston University, 725 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215 (United States); Fortney, Jonathan J. [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States); Hedman, Matthew M. [Department of Physics, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83843 (United States); Nicholson, Philip D., E-mail: pdalba@bu.edu [Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 (United States)

    2015-12-01

    We use solar occultations observed by the Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer on board the Cassini Spacecraft to extract the 1–5 μm transmission spectrum of Saturn, as if it were a transiting exoplanet. We detect absorption from methane, ethane, acetylene, aliphatic hydrocarbons, and possibly carbon monoxide, with peak-to-peak features of up to 90 parts-per-million despite the presence of ammonia clouds. We also find that atmospheric refraction, as opposed to clouds or haze, determines the minimum altitude that could be probed during mid-transit. Self-consistent exoplanet atmosphere models show good agreement with Saturn’s transmission spectrum but fail to reproduce a large absorption feature near 3.4 μm, likely caused by gaseous ethane and a C–H stretching mode of an unknown aliphatic hydrocarbon. This large feature is located in one of the Spitzer Space Telescope bandpasses and could alter interpretations of transmission spectra if not properly modeled. The large signal in Saturn’s transmission spectrum suggests that transmission spectroscopy of cold, long-period gaseous exoplanets should be possible with current and future observatories. Motivated by these results, we briefly consider the feasibility of  using a survey to search for and characterize cold exoplanets that are analogous to Jupiter and Saturn utilizing a target-of-opportunity approach.

  14. Exoplanet's Figure and Its Interior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mian, Zhang; Cheng-li, Huang

    2018-01-01

    Along with the development of the observing technology, the observation and study on the exoplanets' oblateness and apsidal precession have achieved significant progress. The oblateness of an exoplanet is determined by its interior density profile and rotation period. Between its Love number k2 and core size exists obviously a negative correlation. So oblateness and k2 can well constrain its interior structure. Starting from the Lane-Emden equation, the planet models based on different polytropic indices are built. Then the flattening factors are obtained by solving the Wavre's integro-differential equation. The result shows that the smaller the polytropic index, the faster the rotation, and the larger the oblateness. We have selected 469 exoplanets, which have simultaneously the observed or estimated values of radius, mass, and orbit period from the NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) Exoplanet Archive, and calculated their flattening factors under the two assumptions: tidal locking and fixed rotation period of 10.55 hours. The result shows that the flattening factors are too small to be detected under the tidal locking assumption, and that 28% of exoplanets have the flattening factors larger than 0.1 under the fixed rotation period of 10.55 hours. The Love numbers under the different polytropic models are solved by the Zharkov's approach, and the relation between k2 and core size is discussed.

  15. Exoplanet Biosignatures: Future Directions

    OpenAIRE

    Walker, Sara I.; Bains, William; Cronin, Leroy; DasSarma, Shiladitya; Danielache, Sebastian; Domagal-Goldman, Shawn; Kacar, Betul; Kiang, Nancy Y.; Lenardic, Adrian; Reinhard, Christopher T.; Moore, William; Schwieterman, Edward W.; Shkolnik, Evgenya L.; Smith, Harrison B.

    2017-01-01

    Exoplanet science promises a continued rapid accumulation of new observations in the near future, energizing a drive to understand and interpret the forthcoming wealth of data to identify signs of life beyond our Solar System. The large statistics of exoplanet samples, combined with the ambiguity of our understanding of universal properties of life and its signatures, necessitate a quantitative framework for biosignature assessment Here, we introduce a Bayesian framework for guiding future di...

  16. Sex ratio in two species of Pegoscapus wasps (Hymenoptera: Agaonidae) that develop in figs: can wasps do mathematics, or play sex ratio games?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramírez-Benavides, William; Monge-Nájera, Julián; Chavarría, Juan B

    2009-09-01

    The fig pollinating wasps (Hymenoptera: Agaonidae) have obligate arrhenotoky and a breeding structure that fits local mate competition (LMC). It has been traditionally assumed that LMC organisms adjust the sex ratio by laying a greater proportion of male eggs when there is superparasitism (several foundresses in a host). We tested the assumption with two wasp species, Pegoscapus silvestrii, pollinator of Ficus pertusa and Pegoscapus tonduzi, pollinator of Ficus eximia (= F citrifolia), in the Central Valley of Costa Rica. Total number of wasps and seeds were recorded in individual isolated naturally colonized syconia. There was a constant additive effect between the number of foundresses and the number of males produced in the brood of a syconium, while the number of females decreased. Both wasp species seem to have precise sex ratios and probably lay the male eggs first in the sequence, independently of superparasitism and clutch size: consequently, they have a non-random sex allocation. Each syconium of Ficus pertusa and of F. eximia colonized by one foundress had similar mean numbers of females, males, and seeds. The two species of wasps studied do not seem to adjust the sex ratio when there is superparasitism. Pollinating fig wasp behavior is better explained by those models not assuming that females do mathematical calculations according to other females' sex ratios, size, number of foundresses, genetic constitution, clutch size or environmental conditions inside the syconium. Our results are in agreement with the constant male number hypothesis, not with sex ratio games.

  17. Use of a Parasitic Wasp as a Biosensor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dawn Olson

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Screening cargo for illicit substances is in need of rapid high-throughput inspection systems that accurately identify suspicious cargo. Here we investigate the ability of a parasitic wasp, Microplitis croceipes to detect and respond to methyl benzoate, the volatile component of cocaine, by examining their response to training concentrations, their sensitivity at low concentrations, and their ability to detect methyl benzoate when two concealment substances (green tea and ground coffee are added to the testing arena. Utilizing classical associative learning techniques with sucrose as reward, we found that M. croceipes learns individual concentrations of methyl benzoate, and they can generalize this learning to concentrations 100× lower than the training concentration. Their sensitivity to methyl benzoate is very low at an estimated 3 ppb. They are also able to detect methyl benzoate when covered completely by green tea, but were not able to detect methyl benzoate when covered completely by coffee grounds. Habituation to the tea and coffee odors prior to testing improves their responses, resulting in effective detection of methyl benzoate covered by the coffee grounds. With the aid of the portable device called ‘the wasp hound’, the wasps appear to have potential to be effective on-site biosensors for the detection of cocaine.

  18. Radial velocity follow-up of CoRoT transiting exoplanets

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Deleuil M.

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available We report on the results from the radial-velocity follow-up program performed to establish the planetary nature and to characterize the transiting candidates discovered by the space mission CoRoT. We use the SOPHIE at OHP, HARPS at ESO and the HIRES at Keck spectrographs to collect spectra and high-precision radial velocity (RV measurements for several dozens different candidates from CoRoT. We have measured the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect of several confirmed planets, especially CoRoT-1b which revealed that it is another highly inclined system. Such high-precision RV data are necessary for the discovery of new transiting planets. Furthermore, several low mass planet candidates have emerged from our Keck and HARPS data.

  19. High-resolution Imaging of Transiting Extrasolar Planetary systems (HITEP). II. Lucky Imaging results from 2015 and 2016

    Science.gov (United States)

    Evans, D. F.; Southworth, J.; Smalley, B.; Jørgensen, U. G.; Dominik, M.; Andersen, M. I.; Bozza, V.; Bramich, D. M.; Burgdorf, M. J.; Ciceri, S.; D'Ago, G.; Figuera Jaimes, R.; Gu, S.-H.; Hinse, T. C.; Henning, Th.; Hundertmark, M.; Kains, N.; Kerins, E.; Korhonen, H.; Kokotanekova, R.; Kuffmeier, M.; Longa-Peña, P.; Mancini, L.; MacKenzie, J.; Popovas, A.; Rabus, M.; Rahvar, S.; Sajadian, S.; Snodgrass, C.; Skottfelt, J.; Surdej, J.; Tronsgaard, R.; Unda-Sanzana, E.; von Essen, C.; Wang, Yi-Bo; Wertz, O.

    2018-02-01

    Context. The formation and dynamical history of hot Jupiters is currently debated, with wide stellar binaries having been suggested as a potential formation pathway. Additionally, contaminating light from both binary companions and unassociated stars can significantly bias the results of planet characterisation studies, but can be corrected for if the properties of the contaminating star are known. Aim. We search for binary companions to known transiting exoplanet host stars, in order to determine the multiplicity properties of hot Jupiter host stars. We also search for and characterise unassociated stars along the line of sight, allowing photometric and spectroscopic observations of the planetary system to be corrected for contaminating light. Methods: We analyse lucky imaging observations of 97 Southern hemisphere exoplanet host stars, using the Two Colour Instrument on the Danish 1.54 m telescope. For each detected companion star, we determine flux ratios relative to the planet host star in two passbands, and measure the relative position of the companion. The probability of each companion being physically associated was determined using our two-colour photometry. Results: A catalogue of close companion stars is presented, including flux ratios, position measurements, and estimated companion star temperature. For companions that are potential binary companions, we review archival and catalogue data for further evidence. For WASP-77AB and WASP-85AB, we combine our data with historical measurements to determine the binary orbits, showing them to be moderately eccentric and inclined to the line of sight (and hence planetary orbital axis). Combining our survey with the similar Friends of Hot Jupiters survey, we conclude that known hot Jupiter host stars show a deficit of high mass stellar companions compared to the field star population; however, this may be a result of the biases in detection and target selection by ground-based surveys. Based on data collected by

  20. On the Interior of Carbon-Rich Exoplanets: New Insight from Si-C System at Ultra High Pressure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miozzi Ferrini, F.; Morard, G.; Antonangeli, D.; Clark, A. N.; Edmund, E.; Fiquet, G.; Mezouar, M.

    2017-12-01

    The variability in the mass/radius ratio of the more than 3200 exoplanets discovered so far, is a direct consequence of the large diversity of their internal composition. Exoplanets with a mass between 1 and 10 times the mass of the Earth are typically referred to as super-Earths, and their mineralogical composition depends on that of the protoplanetary disk. The key variable in determining the chemical makeup of such planets is the C/O ratio. Values of C/O ratio smaller than 0.8 correspond to an interior dominated by silicates (e.g. terrestrial planets), whereas for C/O ratios > 0.8 the interior is enriched in carbon. In these C-rich planets, Si may form carbides instead of silicates (Duffy et al., 2015). The detection of planet 55 Cancri e, with a particularly high C/O ratio, has increased the interest in carbon-rich planets. 55 Cancri e has been modelled as a layered structure made by different assemblages of carbon, silicon and iron (Madhusudan et al., 2012). However, the accuracy of such type of models suffers the lack of experimental data on the Si - C system at extreme conditions of pressure and temperature. Experimental equations of state are limited to 80 GPa (Nisr et al., 2017) and little is known about subsolidus relation, with only one theoretical study from Wilson and Militzer (2004) at multi-megabar pressures. Here we present experiments on SiC samples by synchrotron X-ray diffraction, in laser heated diamond anvil cell between 30-200 GPa and 300-3500 K. The results show evidences of coexistence of SiC with Si or C, without the appearance of intermediate compounds. Moreover, between 60 and 75 GPa, SiC undergoes a phase transition from the zinc blend structure (B3), to the rock salt structure (B1). This phase transition, also reported in previous literature work (e.g. Daviau and Lee, 2017), corresponds to a change in the atoms coordination, and is accompanied by an important volume reduction. Acknowledgements: This work was supported by the ERC Planet

  1. Follow-Up Photometry of Kelt Transiting Planet Candidates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stephens, Denise C.; Joner, Michael D.; Hintz, Eric G.; Martin, Trevor; Spencer, Alex; Kelt Follow-Up Network (FUN) Team

    2017-10-01

    We have three telescopes at BYU that we use to follow-up possible transiting planet canidates for the KELT team. These telescopes were used to collect data on Kelt-16b and Kelt-9b, which is the hottest known exoplanet. More recently we used the newest of these telescopes, a robotic 8-inch telescope on the roof of our building, to confirm the most recent Kelt planet that will be published soon. This research has been ideal for the teaching and training of undergraduate students in the art of photometric observing and data reduction. In this presentation I will highlight how we are using our membership in the Kelt team to further the educational objective of our undergraduate astronomy program, while contributing meaningful science to the ever growing field of exoplanet discovery. I will also highlight a few of the more interesting Kelt planets and the minimum telescope requirements for detecting these planets. I will then discuss the sensitivities required to follow-up future TESS candidates, which may be of interest to others interested in joining the TESS follow-up teams.

  2. High-Cadence Timing Observations of an Exoplanet-Pulsar System, PSR B1257+12

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rivera, Rudy; Wolszczan, Aleksander; Seymour, Andrew

    2016-01-01

    The pulsar B1257+12 was regularly observed and timed by Aleksander Wolszczan from its discovery in 1992 up to 2008. It is the first example of an exoplanet-pulsar system, and is modeled to consist of three planets. At the time, long term timing programs lacked the sensitivity to measure effects that low mass, short orbital period bodies would have on the pulse arrival times (TOA's) and its timing residuals. Newer technology, like the PUPPI backend at Arecibo, allows for the exploration of an untouched planet parameter space. The project consisted of conducting precise timing using PUPPI, taking two hour long observations at 327 MHz, 430 MHz, and L-Band Wide (LBW) frequencies for 25 days. The data is processed in order to obtain standard profiles and TOA's that would be introduced into TEMPO2, allowing data point manipulation by fitting them for known pulsar parameters to acquire post fit residuals with expected precisions below 1 μs. The observations yielded residuals ranging between 0.40 μs and 1.89 μs for 430 MHz and 327 MHz, while LBW resulted in values higher than 4.0 μs, which is attributed to the many radio frequency interference (RFI) bands present in the data. Combining the newly and previously acquired data revealed a decrease in the dispersion measure (DM), from 10.16550 pc/cm3 to 10.15325 pc/cm3, since the pulsar was last observed, which allowed a correction for the effects of interstellar scintillation, which are most noticed at 327 MHz.

  3. The Gemini NICI planet-finding campaign: the orbit of the young exoplanet β Pictoris b

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nielsen, Eric L.; Liu, Michael C.; Chun, Mark; Ftaclas, Christ [Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822 (United States); Wahhaj, Zahed [European Southern Observatory, Alonso de Cordova 3107, Vitacura, Casilla 19001, Santiago (Chile); Biller, Beth A. [Institute for Astronomy, The University of Edinburgh, Royal Observatory, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ (United Kingdom); Hayward, Thomas L. [Gemini Observatory, Southern Operations Center, c/o AURA, Casilla 603, La Serena (Chile); Males, Jared R.; Close, Laird M.; Morzinski, Katie M.; Skemer, Andrew J.; Hinz, Philip M. [Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States); Kuchner, Marc J. [Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 667, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Rodigas, Timothy J. [Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institute of Washington, 5241 Broad Branch Road, NW, Washington, DC 20015 (United States); Toomey, Douglas W. [Mauna Kea Infrared, LLC, 21 Pookela Street, Hilo, HI 96720 (United States)

    2014-10-20

    We present new astrometry for the young (12-21 Myr) exoplanet β Pictoris b taken with the Gemini/NICI and Magellan/MagAO instruments between 2009 and 2012. The high dynamic range of our observations allows us to measure the relative position of β Pic b with respect to its primary star with greater accuracy than previous observations. Based on a Markov Chain Monte Carlo analysis, we find the planet has an orbital semi-major axis of 9.1{sub −0.5}{sup +5.3} AU and orbital eccentricity <0.15 at 68% confidence (with 95% confidence intervals of 8.2-48 AU and 0.00-0.82 for semi-major axis and eccentricity, respectively, due to a long narrow degenerate tail between the two). We find that the planet has reached its maximum projected elongation, enabling higher precision determination of the orbital parameters than previously possible, and that the planet's projected separation is currently decreasing. With unsaturated data of the entire β Pic system (primary star, planet, and disk) obtained thanks to NICI's semi-transparent focal plane mask, we are able to tightly constrain the relative orientation of the circumstellar components. We find the orbital plane of the planet lies between the inner and outer disks: the position angle (P.A.) of nodes for the planet's orbit (211.8 ± 0.°3) is 7.4σ greater than the P.A. of the spine of the outer disk and 3.2σ less than the warped inner disk P.A., indicating the disk is not collisionally relaxed. Finally, for the first time we are able to dynamically constrain the mass of the primary star β Pic to 1.76{sub −0.17}{sup +0.18} M {sub ☉}.

  4. No hydrogen exosphere detected around the super-Earth HD 97658 b

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bourrier, V.; Ehrenreich, D.; King, G.; Lecavelier des Etangs, A.; Wheatley, P. J.; Vidal-Madjar, A.; Pepe, F.; Udry, S.

    2017-01-01

    The exoplanet HD 97658 b provides a rare opportunity to probe the atmospheric composition and evolution of moderately irradiated super-Earths. It transits a bright K star at a moderate orbital distance of 0.08 au. Its low density is compatible with a massive steam envelope that could photodissociate at high altitudes and become observable as escaping neutral hydrogen. Our analysis of three transits with HST/STIS at Lyman-α reveals no such signature, suggesting that the thermosphere of HD 97658 b is not hydrodynamically expanding and is subjected to a low escape of neutral hydrogen (soft X-ray source with signs of chromospheric variability in the Lyman-α line core. We determine an average reference for the intrinsic Lyman-α line and X-EUV (XUV) spectrum of the star, and show that HD 97658 b is in mild conditions of irradiation compared to other known evaporating exoplanets with an XUV irradiation about three times lower than the evaporating warm Neptune GJ436 b. This could be the reason why the thermosphere of HD 97658 b is not expanding: the low XUV irradiation prevents an efficient photodissociation of any putative steam envelope. Alternatively, it could be linked to a low hydrogen content or inefficient conversion of the stellar energy input. The HD 97658 system provides clues for understanding the stability of low-mass planet atmospheres in terms of composition, planetary density, and irradiation. Our study of HD 97658 b can be seen as a control experiment of our methodology, confirming that it does not bias detections of atmospheric escape and underlining its strength and reliability. Our results show that stellar activity can be efficiently discriminated from absorption signatures by a transiting exospheric cloud. They also highlight the potential of observing the upper atmosphere of small transiting planets to probe their physical and chemical properties.

  5. Chemical Strategies of the Beetle Metoecus Paradoxus, Social Parasite of the Wasp Vespula Vulgaris.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Oystaeyen, Annette; van Zweden, Jelle S; Huyghe, Hilde; Drijfhout, Falko; Bonckaert, Wim; Wenseleers, Tom

    2015-12-01

    The parasitoid beetle Metoecus paradoxus frequently parasitizes colonies of the common wasp, Vespula vulgaris. It penetrates a host colony as a larva that attaches itself onto a foraging wasp's body and, once inside the nest, it feeds on a wasp larva inside a brood cell and then pupates. Avoiding detection by the wasp host is crucial when the beetle emerges. Here, we tested whether adult M. paradoxus beetles avoid detection by mimicking the cuticular hydrocarbon profile of their host. The beetles appear to be chemically adapted to their main host species, the common wasp, because they share more hydrocarbon compounds with it than they do with the related German wasp, V. germanica. In addition, aggression tests showed that adult beetles were attacked less by common wasp workers than by German wasp workers. Our results further indicated that the host-specific compounds were, at least partially, produced through recycling of the prey's hydrocarbons, and were not acquired through contact with the adult host. Moreover, the chemical profile of the beetles shows overproduction of the wasp queen pheromone, nonacosane (n-C29), suggesting that beetles might mimic the queen's pheromonal bouquet.

  6. The Light Source Problem: The Effect of Heterogeneous Stellar Photospheres on Searches for Transiting Exoplanet Biosignatures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rackham, B. V.; Apai, D.; Giampapa, M. S.

    2017-11-01

    TESS will soon enable the study of terrestrial exoplanet atmospheres. However, spots and faculae in stellar photospheres can complicate these measurements by mimicking or masking atmospheric features. We detail our work to constrain this effect.

  7. Evo-SETI SCALE to measure Life on Exoplanets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maccone, Claudio

    2016-04-01

    that the GBM exponential may be regarded as the geometric locus of all the peaks of a one-parameter (i.e. the peak time p) family of b-lognormals. Since b-lognormals are pdf-s, the area under each of them always equals 1 (normalization condition) and so, going from left to right on the time axis, the b-lognormals become more and more ;peaky;, and so they last less and less in time. This is precisely what happened in human history: civilizations that lasted millennia (like Ancient Greece and Rome) lasted just centuries (like the Italian Renaissance and Portuguese, Spanish, French, British and USA Empires) but they were more and more advanced in the ;level of civilization;. This ;level of civilization; is what physicists call ENTROPY. Also, in refs. Maccone [3] and [4], this author proved that, for all GBMs, the (Shannon) Entropy of the b-lognormals in his Peak-Locus Theorem grows LINEARLY in time. The Molecular Clock, well known to geneticists since 50 years, shows that the DNA base-substitutions occur LINEARLY in time since they are neutral with respect to Darwinian selection. In simple words: DNA evolved by obeying the laws of quantum physics only (microscopic laws) and not by obeying assumed ;Darwinian selection laws; (macroscopic laws). This is Kimura's neutral theory of molecular evolution. The conclusion is that the Molecular Clock and the b-lognormal Entropy are the same thing. At last, we reach the new, original result justifying the publication of this paper. On exoplanets, molecular evolution is proceeding at about the same rate as it did proceed on Earth: rather independently of the physical conditions of the exoplanet, if the DNA had the possibility to evolve in water initially. Thus, Evo-Entropy, i.e. the (Shannon) Entropy of the generic b-lognormal of the Peak-Locus Theorem, provides the Evo-SETI SCALE to measure the evolution of life on exoplanets.

  8. The Search for Exoplanets using Ultra-long Wavelength Radio Astronomy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bentum, Marinus Jan

    2017-01-01

    Recent studies on extra solar planets (exoplanets) provide us with a new glimpse into the Milky Way's composition. Exoplanets appear to be very typical around Sunlike stars. Most of these exoplanets are observed via indirect measurements. If a direct radio observation of the exoplanet's signal was

  9. Peculiar thermal points during B2O3 transition from liquid to glass-like state

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bartenev, G.M.; Lomovskoj, V.A.

    1992-01-01

    Relaxation transitions in glass-like B 2 O 3 were studied by dynamic methods in vacuum in the temperature range of 70-1070 K and frequency range of 10 -4 -1.2·10 6 Hz. The standard temperature of glass formation is T g =493 K and it corresponds to the standard frequency 5.3·10 -4 Hz. Above T g two special temperature points - T K and T F , position of which does not depend on the frequency, are observed

  10. A continuum from clear to cloudy hot-Jupiter exoplanets without primordial water depletion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sing, David K; Fortney, Jonathan J; Nikolov, Nikolay; Wakeford, Hannah R; Kataria, Tiffany; Evans, Thomas M; Aigrain, Suzanne; Ballester, Gilda E; Burrows, Adam S; Deming, Drake; Désert, Jean-Michel; Gibson, Neale P; Henry, Gregory W; Huitson, Catherine M; Knutson, Heather A; des Etangs, Alain Lecavelier; Pont, Frederic; Showman, Adam P; Vidal-Madjar, Alfred; Williamson, Michael H; Wilson, Paul A

    2016-01-07

    Thousands of transiting exoplanets have been discovered, but spectral analysis of their atmospheres has so far been dominated by a small number of exoplanets and data spanning relatively narrow wavelength ranges (such as 1.1-1.7 micrometres). Recent studies show that some hot-Jupiter exoplanets have much weaker water absorption features in their near-infrared spectra than predicted. The low amplitude of water signatures could be explained by very low water abundances, which may be a sign that water was depleted in the protoplanetary disk at the planet's formation location, but it is unclear whether this level of depletion can actually occur. Alternatively, these weak signals could be the result of obscuration by clouds or hazes, as found in some optical spectra. Here we report results from a comparative study of ten hot Jupiters covering the wavelength range 0.3-5 micrometres, which allows us to resolve both the optical scattering and infrared molecular absorption spectroscopically. Our results reveal a diverse group of hot Jupiters that exhibit a continuum from clear to cloudy atmospheres. We find that the difference between the planetary radius measured at optical and infrared wavelengths is an effective metric for distinguishing different atmosphere types. The difference correlates with the spectral strength of water, so that strong water absorption lines are seen in clear-atmosphere planets and the weakest features are associated with clouds and hazes. This result strongly suggests that primordial water depletion during formation is unlikely and that clouds and hazes are the cause of weaker spectral signatures.

  11. Elucidating Key Motifs Required for Arp2/3-Dependent and Independent Actin Nucleation by Las17/WASP

    Science.gov (United States)

    Urbanek, Agnieszka N.; Smaczynska-de Rooij, Iwona I.

    2016-01-01

    Actin nucleation is the key rate limiting step in the process of actin polymerization, and tight regulation of this process is critical to ensure actin filaments form only at specific times and at defined regions of the cell. Arp2/3 is a well-characterised protein complex that can promote nucleation of new filaments, though its activity requires additional nucleation promotion factors (NPFs). The best recognized of these factors are the WASP family of proteins that contain binding motifs for both monomeric actin and for Arp2/3. Previously we demonstrated that the yeast WASP homologue, Las17, in addition to activating Arp2/3 can also nucleate actin filaments de novo, independently of Arp2/3. This activity is dependent on its polyproline rich region. Through biochemical and in vivo analysis we have now identified key motifs within the polyproline region that are required for nucleation and elongation of actin filaments, and have addressed the role of the WH2 domain in the context of actin nucleation without Arp2/3. We have also demonstrated that full length Las17 is able to bind liposomes giving rise to the possibility of direct linkage of nascent actin filaments to specific membrane sites to which Las17 has been recruited. Overall, we propose that Las17 functions as the key initiator of de novo actin filament formation at endocytic sites by nucleating, elongating and tethering nascent filaments which then serve as a platform for Arp2/3 recruitment and function. PMID:27637067

  12. A SEARCH FOR WATER IN THE ATMOSPHERE OF HAT-P-26b USING LDSS-3C

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stevenson, Kevin B.; Bean, Jacob L.; Seifahrt, Andreas; Gilbert, Gregory J. [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Chicago, 5640 S Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637 (United States); Line, Michael R. [NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035 (United States); Désert, Jean-Michel [Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Fortney, Jonathan J., E-mail: kbs@uchicago.edu [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States)

    2016-02-01

    The characterization of a physically diverse set of transiting exoplanets is an important and necessary step toward establishing the physical properties linked to the production of obscuring clouds or hazes. It is those planets with identifiable spectroscopic features that can most effectively enhance our understanding of atmospheric chemistry and metallicity. The newly commissioned LDSS-3C instrument on Magellan provides enhanced sensitivity and suppressed fringing in the red optical, thus advancing the search for the spectroscopic signature of water in exoplanetary atmospheres from the ground. Using data acquired by LDSS-3C and the Spitzer Space Telescope, we search for evidence of water vapor in the transmission spectrum of the Neptune-mass planet HAT-P-26b. Our measured spectrum is best explained by the presence of water vapor, a lack of potassium, and either a high-metallicity, cloud-free atmosphere or a solar-metallicity atmosphere with a cloud deck at ∼10 mbar. The emergence of multi-scale-height spectral features in our data suggests that future observations at higher precision could break this degeneracy and reveal the planet’s atmospheric chemical abundances. We also update HAT-P-26b’s transit ephemeris, t{sub 0} = 2455304.65218(25) BJD{sub TDB}, and orbital period, p = 4.2345023(7) days.

  13. Physical constraints on the likelihood of life on exoplanets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lingam, Manasvi; Loeb, Abraham

    2018-04-01

    One of the most fundamental questions in exoplanetology is to determine whether a given planet is habitable. We estimate the relative likelihood of a planet's propensity towards habitability by considering key physical characteristics such as the role of temperature on ecological and evolutionary processes, and atmospheric losses via hydrodynamic escape and stellar wind erosion. From our analysis, we demonstrate that Earth-sized exoplanets in the habitable zone around M-dwarfs seemingly display much lower prospects of being habitable relative to Earth, owing to the higher incident ultraviolet fluxes and closer distances to the host star. We illustrate our results by specifically computing the likelihood (of supporting life) for the recently discovered exoplanets, Proxima b and TRAPPIST-1e, which we find to be several orders of magnitude smaller than that of Earth.

  14. Social Learning in Vespula Germanica Wasps: Do They Use Collective Foraging Strategies?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lozada, Mariana; D' Adamo, Paola; Buteler, Micaela; Kuperman, Marcelo N

    2016-01-01

    Vespula germanica is a social wasp that has become established outside its native range in many regions of the world, becoming a major pest in the invaded areas. In the present work we analyze social communication processes used by V. germanica when exploiting un-depleted food sources. For this purpose, we investigated the arrival pattern of wasps at a protein bait and evaluated whether a forager recruited conspecifics in three different situations: foragers were able to return to the nest (full communication), foragers were removed on arrival (communication impeded), or only one forager was allowed to return to the nest (local enhancement restricted). Results demonstrated the existence of recruitment in V. germanica, given that very different patterns of wasp arrivals and a higher frequency of wasp visits to the resource were observed when communication flow between experienced and naive foragers was allowed. Our findings showed that recruitment takes place at a distance from the food source, in addition to local enhancement. When both local enhancement and distant recruitment were occurring simultaneously, the pattern of wasp arrival was exponential. When recruitment occurred only distant from the feeder, the arrival pattern was linear, but the number of wasps arriving was twice as many as when neither communication nor local enhancement was allowed. Moreover, when return to the nest was impeded, wasp arrival at the bait was regular and constant, indicating that naive wasps forage individually and are not spatially aggregated. In conclusion, this is the first study to demonstrate recruitment in V. germanica at a distance from the food source by modelling wasps' arrival to a protein-based resource. In addition, the existence of correlations when communication was allowed and reflected in tandem arrivals indicates that we were not in the presence of random processes.

  15. Social Learning in Vespula Germanica Wasps: Do They Use Collective Foraging Strategies?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mariana Lozada

    Full Text Available Vespula germanica is a social wasp that has become established outside its native range in many regions of the world, becoming a major pest in the invaded areas. In the present work we analyze social communication processes used by V. germanica when exploiting un-depleted food sources. For this purpose, we investigated the arrival pattern of wasps at a protein bait and evaluated whether a forager recruited conspecifics in three different situations: foragers were able to return to the nest (full communication, foragers were removed on arrival (communication impeded, or only one forager was allowed to return to the nest (local enhancement restricted. Results demonstrated the existence of recruitment in V. germanica, given that very different patterns of wasp arrivals and a higher frequency of wasp visits to the resource were observed when communication flow between experienced and naive foragers was allowed. Our findings showed that recruitment takes place at a distance from the food source, in addition to local enhancement. When both local enhancement and distant recruitment were occurring simultaneously, the pattern of wasp arrival was exponential. When recruitment occurred only distant from the feeder, the arrival pattern was linear, but the number of wasps arriving was twice as many as when neither communication nor local enhancement was allowed. Moreover, when return to the nest was impeded, wasp arrival at the bait was regular and constant, indicating that naive wasps forage individually and are not spatially aggregated. In conclusion, this is the first study to demonstrate recruitment in V. germanica at a distance from the food source by modelling wasps' arrival to a protein-based resource. In addition, the existence of correlations when communication was allowed and reflected in tandem arrivals indicates that we were not in the presence of random processes.

  16. Exoplanet Observing: from Art to Science (Abstract)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conti, D. M.; Gleeson, J.

    2017-12-01

    (Abstract only) This paper will review the now well-established best practices for conducting high precision exoplanet observing with small telescopes. The paper will also review the AAVSO's activities in promoting these best practices among the amateur astronomer community through training material and online courses, as well as through the establishment of an AAVSO Exoplanet Database. This latter development will be an essential element in supporting followup exoplanet observations for upcoming space telescope missions such as TESS and JWST.

  17. Direct Imaging of a Cold Jovian Exoplanet in Orbit around the Sun-Like Star GJ 504

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuzuhara, M.; Tamura, M.; Kudo, T.; Janson, M; Kandori, R.; Brandt, T. D.; Thalmann, C.; Spiegel, D.; Biller, B.; Carson, J.; hide

    2013-01-01

    Several exoplanets have recently been imaged at wide separations of >10 AU from their parent stars. These span a limited range of ages ( 0.5 mag), implying thick cloud covers. Furthermore, substantial model uncertainties exist at these young ages due to the unknown initial conditions at formation, which can lead to an order of magnitude of uncertainty in the modeled planet mass. Here, we report the direct imaging discovery of a Jovian exoplanet around the Sun-like star GJ 504, detected as part of the SEEDS survey. The system is older than all other known directly-imaged planets; as a result, its estimated mass remains in the planetary regime independent of uncertainties related to choices of initial conditions in the exoplanet modeling. Using the most common exoplanet cooling model, and given the system age of 160(+350/-60) Myr, GJ 504 b has an estimated mass of 4(+4.5/-1.0) Jupiter masses, among the lowest of directly imaged planets. Its projected separation of 43.5 AU exceeds the typical outer boundary of approx.. 30 AU predicted for the core accretion mechanism. GJ 504 b is also significantly cooler (510(+30/-20) K)) and has a bluer color (J - H = -0.23 mag) than previously imaged exoplanets, suggesting a largely cloud-free atmosphere accessible to spectroscopic characterization. Thus, it has the potential of providing novel insights into the origins of giant planets, as well as their atmospheric properties.

  18. Astr 101 Students' Attitudes Towards Essays On Transits, Eclipses And Occultations

    Science.gov (United States)

    D'Cruz, Noella L.

    2012-05-01

    Joliet Junior College, Joliet, IL offers a one semester introductory astronomy course each semester. We teach over 110 primarily non-science major students each semester. We use proven active learning strategies such lecture tutorials, think-pair-share questions and small group discussions to help these students develop and retain a good understanding of astrophysical concepts. Occasionally, we offer projects that allow students to explore course topics beyond the classroom. We hope that such projects will increase students' interest in astronomy. We also hope that these assignments will help students to improve their critical thinking and writing skills. In Spring 12, we are offering three short individual essay assignments in our face-to-face sections. The essays focus on transits, eclipses and occultations to highlight the 2012 transit of Venus. For the first essay, students will find images of transit and occultation events using the Astronomy Picture of the Day website and describe their chosen events. In addition, students will predict how variations in certain physical and orbital parameters would alter their particular events. The second essay involves transits, eclipses and occultations observed by spacecraft. Students will describe their transit event, their spacecraft's mission, orbital path, how the orbital path was achieved, etc. The third essay deals with transiting exoplanets. Students will choose at least two exoplanets from an exoplanet database, one of which has been discovered through the transit method. This essay will enable students to learn about detecting exoplanets and how they compare with our solar system. Details of the essay assignments and students' reactions to them will be presented at the meeting.

  19. Does size matter? - Thermoregulation of 'heavyweight' and 'lightweight' wasps (Vespa crabro and Vespula sp.).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kovac, Helmut; Stabentheiner, Anton

    2012-09-15

    In insect groups with the ability of endothermy, the thermoregulatory capacity has a direct relation to body mass. To verify this relationship in vespine wasps, we compared the thermoregulation of hornets (Vespa crabro), the largest species of wasps in Central Europe, with two smaller wasps (Vespula vulgaris and Vespula germanica) in the entire range of ambient temperature (T(a): ~0-40°C) where the insects exhibited foraging flights.Despite the great difference in body weight of Vespula (V. vulgaris: 84.1±19.0 mg, V. germanica: 74.1±9.6 mg) and Vespa (477.5±59.9 mg), they exhibited similarities in the dependence of thorax temperature on T(a) on their arrival (mean T(th) = 30-40°C) and departure (mean T(th) = 33-40°C) at the nest entrance. However, the hornets' thorax temperature was up to 2.5°C higher upon arrival and up to 3°C lower at departure. The thorax temperature excess (T(th)-T(a)) above ambient air of about 5-18°C indicates a high endothermic capacity in both hornets and wasps. Heat gain from solar radiation elevated the temperature excess by up to 1°C. Results show that hornets and wasps are able to regulate their body temperature quite well, even during flight. A comparison of flight temperature with literature reports on other vespine wasps revealed a dependence of the T(th) on the body mass in species weighing less than about 200 mg.

  20. A sub-Mercury-sized exoplanet

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Barclay, T.; et al., [Unknown; Hekker, S.

    2013-01-01

    Since the discovery of the first exoplanets1, 2, it has been known that other planetary systems can look quite unlike our own3. Until fairly recently, we have been able to probe only the upper range of the planet size distribution4, 5, and, since last year, to detect planets that are the size of

  1. Pre-hospital treatment of bee and wasp induced anaphylactic reactions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ruiz Oropeza, Athamaica; Mikkelsen, Søren; Bindslev-Jensen, Carsten

    2017-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Bee and wasp stings are among the most common triggers of anaphylaxis in adults representing around 20% of fatal anaphylaxis from any cause. Data of pre-hospital treatment of bee and wasp induced anaphylactic reactions are sparse. This study aimed to estimate the incidence of bee...... only for Odense and 2009-2014 for the whole region). Discharge summaries with diagnosis related to anaphylaxis according to the International Classification of Diseases 10 (ICD-10) were reviewed to identify bee and wasp induced anaphylactic reactions. The severity of the anaphylactic reaction...... was assessed according to Sampson's severity score and Mueller's severity score. Treatment was evaluated in relation to administration of adrenaline, glucocorticoids and antihistamine. RESULTS: We identified 273 cases (Odense 2008 n = 14 and Region of Southern Denmark 2009-2014 n = 259) of bee and wasp induced...

  2. BIOSIGNATURE GASES IN H{sub 2}-DOMINATED ATMOSPHERES ON ROCKY EXOPLANETS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Seager, S.; Bains, W.; Hu, R. [Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States)

    2013-11-10

    Super-Earth exoplanets are being discovered with increasing frequency and some will be able to retain stable H{sub 2}-dominated atmospheres. We study biosignature gases on exoplanets with thin H{sub 2} atmospheres and habitable surface temperatures, using a model atmosphere with photochemistry and a biomass estimate framework for evaluating the plausibility of a range of biosignature gas candidates. We find that photochemically produced H atoms are the most abundant reactive species in H{sub 2} atmospheres. In atmospheres with high CO{sub 2} levels, atomic O is the major destructive species for some molecules. In Sun-Earth-like UV radiation environments, H (and in some cases O) will rapidly destroy nearly all biosignature gases of interest. The lower UV fluxes from UV-quiet M stars would produce a lower concentration of H (or O) for the same scenario, enabling some biosignature gases to accumulate. The favorability of low-UV radiation environments to accumulate detectable biosignature gases in an H{sub 2} atmosphere is closely analogous to the case of oxidized atmospheres, where photochemically produced OH is the major destructive species. Most potential biosignature gases, such as dimethylsulfide and CH{sub 3}Cl, are therefore more favorable in low-UV, as compared with solar-like UV, environments. A few promising biosignature gas candidates, including NH{sub 3} and N{sub 2}O, are favorable even in solar-like UV environments, as these gases are destroyed directly by photolysis and not by H (or O). A more subtle finding is that most gases produced by life that are fully hydrogenated forms of an element, such as CH{sub 4} and H{sub 2}S, are not effective signs of life in an H{sub 2}-rich atmosphere because the dominant atmospheric chemistry will generate such gases abiologically, through photochemistry or geochemistry. Suitable biosignature gases in H{sub 2}-rich atmospheres for super-Earth exoplanets transiting M stars could potentially be detected in transmission

  3. Magnetic fields in Earth-like exoplanets and implications for habitability around M-dwarfs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    López-Morales, Mercedes; Gómez-Pérez, Natalia; Ruedas, Thomas

    2011-12-01

    We present estimations of dipolar magnetic moments for terrestrial exoplanets using the Olson & Christiansen (EPS Lett 250:561-571, 2006) scaling law and assuming their interior structure is similar to Earth. We find that the dipolar moment of fast rotating planets (where the Coriolis force dominates convection in the core), may amount up to ~80 times the magnetic moment of Earth, M ⊕, for at least part of the planets' lifetime. For slow rotating planets (where the force of inertia dominates), the dipolar magnetic moment only reaches up to ~1.5 M [symbol in text]. Applying our calculations to confirmed rocky exoplanets, we find that CoRoT-7b, Kepler-10b and 55 Cnc e can sustain dynamos up to ~18, 15 and 13 M [symbol in text], respectively. Our results also indicate that the magnetic moment of rocky exoplanets not only depends on rotation rate, but also on their formation history, thermal state, age, composition, and the geometry of the field. These results apply to all rocky planets, but have important implications for the particular case of planets in the Habitable Zone of M-dwarfs.

  4. DETECTING INDUSTRIAL POLLUTION IN THE ATMOSPHERES OF EARTH-LIKE EXOPLANETS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lin, Henry W. [Harvard College, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Abad, Gonzalo Gonzalez; Loeb, Abraham, E-mail: henrylin@college.harvard.edu, E-mail: ggonzalezabad@cfa.harvard.edu, E-mail: aloeb@cfa.harvard.edu [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden St., Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)

    2014-09-01

    Detecting biosignatures, such as molecular oxygen in combination with a reducing gas, in the atmospheres of transiting exoplanets has been a major focus in the search for alien life. We point out that in addition to these generic indicators, anthropogenic pollution could be used as a novel biosignature for intelligent life. To this end, we identify pollutants in the Earth's atmosphere that have significant absorption features in the spectral range covered by the James Webb Space Telescope. We focus on tetrafluoromethane (CF{sub 4}) and trichlorofluoromethane (CCl{sub 3}F), which are the easiest to detect chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) produced by anthropogenic activity. We estimate that ∼1.2 days (∼1.7 days) of total integration time will be sufficient to detect or constrain the concentration of CCl{sub 3}F (CF{sub 4}) to ∼10 times the current terrestrial level.

  5. Surface Variability of Short-wavelength Radiation and Temperature on Exoplanets around M Dwarfs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Xin; Tian, Feng [Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Earth System Modeling, Department of Earth System Science, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Wang, Yuwei [Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 0B9 (Canada); Dudhia, Jimy; Chen, Ming, E-mail: tianfengco@tsinghua.edu.cn [National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO (United States)

    2017-03-10

    It is a common practice to use 3D General Circulation Models (GCM) with spatial resolution of a few hundred kilometers to simulate the climate of Earth-like exoplanets. The enhanced albedo effect of clouds is especially important for exoplanets in the habitable zones around M dwarfs that likely have fixed substellar regions and substantial cloud coverage. Here, we carry out mesoscale model simulations with 3 km spatial resolution driven by the initial and boundary conditions in a 3D GCM and find that it could significantly underestimate the spatial variability of both the incident short-wavelength radiation and the temperature at planet surface. Our findings suggest that mesoscale models with cloud-resolving capability be considered for future studies of exoplanet climate.

  6. The Transit Ingress and the Tilted Orbit of the Extraordinarily Eccentric Exoplanet HD 80606b

    Science.gov (United States)

    Winn, Joshua N.; Howard, Andrew W.; Johnson, John A.; Marcy, Geoffrey W.; Gazak, J. Zachary; Starkey, Donn; Ford, Eric B.; Colon, Knicole D.; Reyes, Francisco; Nortmann, Lisa; hide

    2009-01-01

    We reported the first detection of the transit ingress, revealing the transit duration to be 11.64 plus or minus 0.25 hr and allowing more robust determinations of the system parameters. Keck spectra obtained at midtransit exhibited an anomalous blueshift, giving definitive evidence that the stellar spin axis and planetary orbital axis are misaligned. Thus, the orbit of this planet is not only highly eccentric but is also tilted away from the equatorial plane of its parent star. A large tilt had been predicted, based on the idea that the planet's eccentric orbit was caused by the Kozai mechanism.

  7. High bee and wasp diversity in a heterogeneous tropical farming system compared to protected forest.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christof Schüepp

    Full Text Available It is a globally important challenge to meet increasing demands for resources and, at the same time, protect biodiversity and ecosystem services. Farming is usually regarded as a major threat to biodiversity due to its expansion into natural areas. We compared biodiversity of bees and wasps between heterogeneous small-scale farming areas and protected forest in northern coastal Belize, Central America. Malaise traps operated for three months during the transition from wet to dry season. Farming areas consisted of a mosaic of mixed crop types, open habitat, secondary forest, and agroforestry. Mean species richness per site (alpha diversity, as well as spatial and temporal community variation (beta diversity of bees and wasps were equal or higher in farming areas compared to protected forest. The higher species richness and community variation in farmland was due to additional species that did not occur in the forest, whereas most species trapped in forest were also found in farming areas. The overall regional species richness (gamma diversity increased by 70% with the inclusion of farming areas. Our results suggest that small-scale farming systems adjacent to protected forest may not only conserve, but even favour, biodiversity of some taxonomic groups. We can, however, not exclude possible declines of bee and wasp diversity in more intensified farmland or in landscapes completely covered by heterogeneous farming systems.

  8. TRANSITING THE SUN. II. THE IMPACT OF STELLAR ACTIVITY ON Lyα TRANSITS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Llama, J.; Shkolnik, E. L.

    2016-01-01

    High-energy observations of the Sun provide an opportunity to test the limits of our ability to accurately measure the properties of transiting exoplanets in the presence of stellar activity. Here we insert the transit of a hot Jupiter into continuous disk integrated data of the Sun in Lyα from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory/EVE instrument to assess the impact of stellar activity on the measured planet-to-star radius ratio (R p /R ⋆ ). In 75% of our simulated light curves, we measure the correct radius ratio; however, incorrect values can be measured if there is significant short-term variability in the light curve. The maximum measured value of R p /R ⋆ is 50% larger than the input value, which is much smaller than the large Lyα transit depths that have been reported in the literature, suggesting that for stars with activity levels comparable to the Sun, stellar activity alone cannot account for these deep transits. We ran simulations without a transit and found that stellar activity cannot mimic the Lyα transit of 55 Cancari b, strengthening the conclusion that this planet has a partially transiting exopshere. We were able to compare our simulations to more active stars by artificially increasing the variability in the Solar Lyα light curve. In the higher variability data, the largest value of R p /R ⋆ we measured is <3× the input value, which again is not large enough to reproduce the Lyα transit depth reported for the more active stars HD 189733 and GJ 436, supporting the interpretation that these planets have extended atmospheres and possible cometary tails

  9. Comparison of Inoculation with the InoqulA and WASP Automated Systems with Manual Inoculation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Croxatto, Antony; Dijkstra, Klaas; Prod'hom, Guy

    2015-01-01

    The quality of sample inoculation is critical for achieving an optimal yield of discrete colonies in both monomicrobial and polymicrobial samples to perform identification and antibiotic susceptibility testing. Consequently, we compared the performance between the InoqulA (BD Kiestra), the WASP (Copan), and manual inoculation methods. Defined mono- and polymicrobial samples of 4 bacterial species and cloudy urine specimens were inoculated on chromogenic agar by the InoqulA, the WASP, and manual methods. Images taken with ImagA (BD Kiestra) were analyzed with the VisionLab version 3.43 image analysis software to assess the quality of growth and to prevent subjective interpretation of the data. A 3- to 10-fold higher yield of discrete colonies was observed following automated inoculation with both the InoqulA and WASP systems than that with manual inoculation. The difference in performance between automated and manual inoculation was mainly observed at concentrations of >106 bacteria/ml. Inoculation with the InoqulA system allowed us to obtain significantly more discrete colonies than the WASP system at concentrations of >107 bacteria/ml. However, the level of difference observed was bacterial species dependent. Discrete colonies of bacteria present in 100- to 1,000-fold lower concentrations than the most concentrated populations in defined polymicrobial samples were not reproducibly recovered, even with the automated systems. The analysis of cloudy urine specimens showed that InoqulA inoculation provided a statistically significantly higher number of discrete colonies than that with WASP and manual inoculation. Consequently, the automated InoqulA inoculation greatly decreased the requirement for bacterial subculture and thus resulted in a significant reduction in the time to results, laboratory workload, and laboratory costs. PMID:25972424

  10. Climate warming and the potential extinction of fig wasps, the obligate pollinators of figs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jevanandam, Nanthinee; Goh, Alexander G R; Corlett, Richard T

    2013-06-23

    Figs (Ficus) have a reciprocally obligate mutualism with tiny, short-lived (1-2 days) fig wasps (Agaonidae). The small size and short life of these pollinators is expected to make them more vulnerable to climate change than their larger and longer-lived hosts. We experimentally tested the thermal tolerances of four species of adult female fig wasp from equatorial Singapore. The results suggest that an increase of 3°C or more above the current temperatures experienced across much of the equatorial tropics would markedly decrease the active adult lifespan of all four species. Fig plants are the centre of an intricate web of specialist and generalist animals. Unless fig wasps can acclimate or adapt to warmer temperatures in time, these responses may disrupt the mutualism, potentially affecting multiple trophic levels.

  11. Constraining Exoplanet Habitability with HabEx

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robinson, Tyler

    2018-01-01

    The Habitable Exoplanet Imaging mission, or HabEx, is one of four flagship mission concepts currently under study for the upcoming 2020 Decadal Survey of Astronomy and Astrophysics. The broad goal of HabEx will be to image and study small, rocky planets in the Habitable Zones of nearby stars. Additionally, HabEx will pursue a range of other astrophysical investigations, including the characterization of non-habitable exoplanets and detailed observations of stars and galaxies. Critical to the capability of HabEx to understand Habitable Zone exoplanets will be its ability to search for signs of surface liquid water (i.e., habitability) and an active biosphere. Photometry and moderate resolution spectroscopy, spanning the ultraviolet through near-infrared spectral ranges, will enable constraints on key habitability-related atmospheric species and properties (e.g., surface pressure). In this poster, we will discuss approaches to detecting signs of habitability in reflected-light observations of rocky exoplanets. We will also present initial results for modeling experiments aimed at demonstrating the capabilities of HabEx to study and understand Earth-like worlds around other stars.

  12. Developing a user-friendly photometric software for exoplanets to increase participation in Citizen Science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kokori, A.; Tsiaras, A.

    2017-09-01

    Previous research on Citizen Science projects agree that Citizen Science (CS) would serve as a way of both increasing levels of public understanding of science and public participation in scientific research. Historically, the concept of CS is not new, it dates back to the 20th century when citizens where making skilled observations, particularly in archaeology, ecology, and astronomy. Recently, the idea of CS has been improved due to technological progress and the arrival of Internet. The phrase "astronomy from the chair" that is being used in the literature highlights the extent of the convenience for analysing observational data. Citizen science benefits a variety of communities, such as scientific researchers, volunteers and STEM educators. Participating in CS projects is not only engaging the volunteers with the research goals of a science team, but is also helping them learning more about specialised scientific topics. In the case of astronomy, typical examples of CS projects are gathering observational data or/and analysing them. The Holomon Photometric Software (HOPS) is a user-friendly photometric software for exoplanets, with graphical representations, statistics, models, options are brought together into a single package. It was originally developed to analyse observations of transiting exoplanets obtained from the Holomon Astronomical Station of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Here, we make the case that this software can be used as part of a CS project in analysing transiting exoplanets and producing light-curves. HOPS could contribute to the scientific data analysis but it could be used also as an educational tool for learning and visualizing photometry analyses of transiting exoplanets. Such a tool could be proven very efficient in the context of public participation in the research. In recent successful representative examples such as Galaxy Zoo professional astronomers cooperating with CS discovered a group of rare galaxies by using

  13. Oocyte-specific deletion of N-WASP does not affect oocyte polarity, but causes failure of meiosis II completion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Zhen-Bo; Ma, Xue-Shan; Hu, Meng-Wen; Jiang, Zong-Zhe; Meng, Tie-Gang; Dong, Ming-Zhe; Fan, Li-Hua; Ouyang, Ying-Chun; Snapper, Scott B; Schatten, Heide; Sun, Qing-Yuan

    2016-09-01

    There is an unexplored physiological role of N-WASP (neural Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein) in oocyte maturation that prevents completion of second meiosis. In mice, N-WASP deletion did not affect oocyte polarity and asymmetric meiotic division in first meiosis, but did impair midbody formation and second meiosis completion. N-WASP regulates actin dynamics and participates in various cell activities through the RHO-GTPase-Arp2/3 (actin-related protein 2/3 complex) pathway, and specifically the Cdc42 (cell division cycle 42)-N-WASP-Arp2/3 pathway. Differences in the functions of Cdc42 have been obtained from in vitro compared to in vivo studies. By conditional knockout of N-WASP in mouse oocytes, we analyzed its in vivo functions by employing a variety of different methods including oocyte culture, immunofluorescent staining and live oocyte imaging. Each experiment was repeated at least three times, and data were analyzed by paired-samples t-test. Oocyte-specific deletion of N-WASP did not affect the process of oocyte maturation including spindle formation, spindle migration, polarity establishment and maintenance, and homologous chromosome or sister chromatid segregation, but caused failure of cytokinesis completion during second meiosis (P meiosis completion and failures in this process that affect oocyte quality. None. This work was supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (No. 2012CB944404) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos 30930065, 31371451, 31272260 and 31530049). There are no potential conflicts of interests. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  14. DIRECT IMAGING OF A COLD JOVIAN EXOPLANET IN ORBIT AROUND THE SUN-LIKE STAR GJ 504

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kuzuhara, M. [Department of Earth and Planetary Science, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan); Tamura, M.; Kandori, R.; Hori, Y.; Suzuki, R.; Suenaga, T.; Takahashi, Y. H.; Kwon, J. [National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588 (Japan); Kudo, T. [Subaru Telescope, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, 650 North A' ohoku Place, Hilo, HI 96720 (United States); Janson, M.; Brandt, T. D.; Spiegel, D.; Burrows, A.; Turner, E. L.; Moro-Martin, A. [Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Peyton Hall, Ivy Lane, Princeton, NJ 08544 (United States); Thalmann, C. [Astronomical Institute ' ' Anton Pannekoek' ' , University of Amsterdam, Postbus 94249, 1090 GE, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Biller, B.; Henning, T. [Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Koenigstuhl 17, D-69117 Heidelberg (Germany); Carson, J. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, College of Charleston, 58 Coming Street, Charleston, SC 29424 (United States); McElwain, M. W., E-mail: m.kuzuhara@nao.ac.jp [Exoplanets and Stellar Astrophysics Laboratory, Code 667, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); and others

    2013-09-01

    Several exoplanets have recently been imaged at wide separations of >10 AU from their parent stars. These span a limited range of ages (<50 Myr) and atmospheric properties, with temperatures of 800-1800 K and very red colors (J - H > 0.5 mag), implying thick cloud covers. Furthermore, substantial model uncertainties exist at these young ages due to the unknown initial conditions at formation, which can lead to an order of magnitude of uncertainty in the modeled planet mass. Here, we report the direct-imaging discovery of a Jovian exoplanet around the Sun-like star GJ 504, detected as part of the SEEDS survey. The system is older than all other known directly imaged planets; as a result, its estimated mass remains in the planetary regime independent of uncertainties related to choices of initial conditions in the exoplanet modeling. Using the most common exoplanet cooling model, and given the system age of 160{sup +350}{sub -60} Myr, GJ 504b has an estimated mass of 4{sup +4.5}{sub -1.0} Jupiter masses, among the lowest of directly imaged planets. Its projected separation of 43.5 AU exceeds the typical outer boundary of {approx}30 AU predicted for the core accretion mechanism. GJ 504b is also significantly cooler (510{sup +30}{sub -20} K) and has a bluer color (J - H = -0.23 mag) than previously imaged exoplanets, suggesting a largely cloud-free atmosphere accessible to spectroscopic characterization. Thus, it has the potential of providing novel insights into the origins of giant planets as well as their atmospheric properties.

  15. FURTHER CONSTRAINTS ON THE OPTICAL TRANSMISSION SPECTRUM OF HAT-P-1b

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Montalto, M.; Santos, N. C.; Martins, J. H. C.; Figueira, P.; Alonso, R.; Iro, N.; Desidera, S.

    2015-01-01

    We report on novel observations of HAT-P-1 aimed at constraining the optical transmission spectrum of the atmosphere of its transiting hot-Jupiter exoplanet. Ground-based differential spectrophotometry was performed over two transit windows using the DOLORES spectrograph at the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo. Our measurements imply an average planet to star radius ratio equal to R p /R * = (0.1159 ± 0.0005). This result is consistent with the value obtained from recent near-infrared measurements of this object, but differs from previously reported optical measurements, being lower by around 4.4 exoplanet scale heights. Analyzing the data over five different spectral bins of ∼600 Å wide, we observed a single peaked spectrum (3.7 σ level) with a blue cutoff corresponding to the blue edge of the broad absorption wing of sodium and an increased absorption in the region in-between 6180 and 7400 Å. We also infer that the width of the broad absorption wings due to alkali metals is likely narrower than the one implied by solar abundance clear atmospheric models. We interpret the result as evidence that HAT-P-1b has a partially clear atmosphere at optical wavelengths with a more modest contribution from an optical absorber than previously reported

  16. FURTHER CONSTRAINTS ON THE OPTICAL TRANSMISSION SPECTRUM OF HAT-P-1b

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Montalto, M.; Santos, N. C.; Martins, J. H. C.; Figueira, P.; Alonso, R. [Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço, Universidade do Porto, CAUP, Rua das Estrelas, PT4150-762 Porto (Portugal); Iro, N. [Theoretical Meteorology Group Klimacampus, University of Hamburg Grindelberg 5, D-20144, Hamburg (Germany); Desidera, S., E-mail: Marco.Montalto@astro.up.pt [INAF—Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova, Vicolo dellOsservatorio 5, Padova, I-35122 (Italy)

    2015-09-20

    We report on novel observations of HAT-P-1 aimed at constraining the optical transmission spectrum of the atmosphere of its transiting hot-Jupiter exoplanet. Ground-based differential spectrophotometry was performed over two transit windows using the DOLORES spectrograph at the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo. Our measurements imply an average planet to star radius ratio equal to R{sub p}/R{sub *} = (0.1159 ± 0.0005). This result is consistent with the value obtained from recent near-infrared measurements of this object, but differs from previously reported optical measurements, being lower by around 4.4 exoplanet scale heights. Analyzing the data over five different spectral bins of ∼600 Å wide, we observed a single peaked spectrum (3.7 σ level) with a blue cutoff corresponding to the blue edge of the broad absorption wing of sodium and an increased absorption in the region in-between 6180 and 7400 Å. We also infer that the width of the broad absorption wings due to alkali metals is likely narrower than the one implied by solar abundance clear atmospheric models. We interpret the result as evidence that HAT-P-1b has a partially clear atmosphere at optical wavelengths with a more modest contribution from an optical absorber than previously reported.

  17. XO-2b: A HOT JUPITER WITH A VARIABLE HOST STAR THAT POTENTIALLY AFFECTS ITS MEASURED TRANSIT DEPTH

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zellem, Robert T.; Griffith, Caitlin A.; Pearson, Kyle A.; Fitzpatrick, M. Ryleigh; Teske, Johanna K.; Biddle, Lauren I.; Turner, Jake D.; Henry, Gregory W.; Williamson, Michael H.

    2015-01-01

    The transiting hot Jupiter XO-2b is an ideal target for multi-object photometry and spectroscopy as it has a relatively bright (V-mag = 11.25) K0V host star (XO-2N) and a large planet-to-star contrast ratio (R p /R s ≈ 0.015). It also has a nearby (31.″21) binary stellar companion (XO-2S) of nearly the same brightness (V-mag = 11.20) and spectral type (G9V), allowing for the characterization and removal of shared systematic errors (e.g., airmass brightness variations). We have therefore conducted a multiyear (2012–2015) study of XO-2b with the University of Arizona’s 61″ (1.55 m) Kuiper Telescope and Mont4k CCD in the Bessel U and Harris B photometric passbands to measure its Rayleigh scattering slope to place upper limits on the pressure-dependent radius at, e.g., 10 bar. Such measurements are needed to constrain its derived molecular abundances from primary transit observations. We have also been monitoring XO-2N since the 2013–2014 winter season with Tennessee State University’s Celestron-14 (0.36 m) automated imaging telescope to investigate stellar variability, which could affect XO-2b’s transit depth. Our observations indicate that XO-2N is variable, potentially due to cool star spots, with a peak-to-peak amplitude of 0.0049 ± 0.0007 R-mag and a period of 29.89 ± 0.16 days for the 2013–2014 observing season and a peak-to-peak amplitude of 0.0035 ± 0.0007 R-mag and 27.34 ± 0.21 day period for the 2014–2015 observing season. Because of the likely influence of XO-2N’s variability on the derivation of XO-2b’s transit depth, we cannot bin multiple nights of data to decrease our uncertainties, preventing us from constraining its gas abundances. This study demonstrates that long-term monitoring programs of exoplanet host stars are crucial for understanding host star variability

  18. Improving Transit Predictions of Known Exoplanets with TERMS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mahadevan S.

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available Transiting planet discoveries have largely been restricted to the short-period or low-periastron distance regimes due to the bias inherent in the geometric transit probability. Through the refinement of planetary orbital parameters, and hence reducing the size of transit windows, long-period planets become feasible targets for photometric follow-up. Here we describe the TERMS project that is monitoring these host stars at predicted transit times.

  19. Unusual fatal multiple-organ dysfunction and pancreatitis induced by a single wasp sting

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C Azad

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Acute onset of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS is a well-known complication following multiple wasp stings. However, MODS after a single wasp sting has been rarely reported in children and acute pancreatitis have probably never been observed before. Herein we describe the case of a 12-year-old boy who had urticaria and abdominal pain after a single wasp sting. The child gradually developed MODS while his abdominal complaints were worsening. Despite aggressive supportive management, the child did not survive. Afterward, the cause of the acute abdomen was finally diagnosed as acute pancreatitis. Both MODS and pancreatitis following a single wasp sting are very unusual. Thus, although pancreatitis is rarely manifested, it should be suspected after a wasp sting if there are predominant abdominal symptoms.

  20. Search for an evaporating ocean on the super-Earth HIP 116454b

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bourrier, Vincent

    2017-08-01

    The super-Earth HIP116454b was the first exoplanet detected by the K2 mission, in transit across a bright and nearby K1 dwarf (V=10.2, d=55 pc). The low density of the planet suggests it must have at least 30% water or a 0.5% H-He envelope. Given the strong XUV irradiation from the young (2 Gyr) host star, this H-He envelope should have been lost through evaporation in a few hundred millions year, suggesting that HIP 116454b likely contains a large mass fraction of water. The shallow transit depth makes difficult the search for water vapor in the lower atmosphere with HST/WFC3. The moderate orbital distance of this warm ( 700 K) planet favors the formation of a super-critical steam envelope, which should be promptly dissociated at high altitude by the XUV irradiation and become observable as hydrogen flowing within and beyond the Roche lobe. The host star is similar to HD 189733, host to an evaporating hot Jupiter, and numerical simulations of HIP116454b show that the hydrogen exosphere resulting from the dissociation of water is observable with HST/STIS at Ly-alpha. The detection of this exosphere would be the first signature of an evolved evaporating ocean on an extrasolar planet, as well as the first validation of internal structure models of exoplanets in this mass regime. It would also determine how to best search for water in the lower atmosphere of HIP116454b with the JWST. A non-detection of escaping hydrogen, as with 55 Cnc e and HD 97658b, would bring useful constraints on the nature of the planetary atmosphere, the evolutionary path of close-in super-Earths, and the progenitors of the rocky evaporation remnants detected by Kepler.

  1. Sting microsculpture in the digger wasp Bembix rostrata (Hymenoptera, Crabronidae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Natalia Matushkina

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available The sting microsculpture of the digger wasp Bembix rostrata (Fabricius, 1781 (Hymenoptera, Crabronidae is studied with the scanning electron microscope (SEM for the first time. As in many other hymenopterans, the second valvifer of B. rostrata possesses two fields of styloconic sensilla (hair plates of proprioceptive function. The presence of two paired fields of campaniform sensilla on the second valvula and second valvifer is first shown in an apoid wasp. The first and the second valvulae bear scattered sensilla-like structures on the external surface, more numerous apically. The first valvula has two subapical barbs externally and a pair of valvilli on its inner surface, whereas the outer surface of the second valvula is smooth. The third valvula is sclerotized externally, consisting of proximal and distal parts, and bearing four sensilla morphotypes of mechanoreceptive and probably chemoreceptive functions. The inner surface of the valvulae and the membranous cuticle that is touching the sting have microstructures of different shapes directed distally. Functional aspects of characters studied are discussed.

  2. Transiting exoplanets from the CoRoT space mission. VIII. CoRoT-7b: the first super-Earth with measured radius

    Science.gov (United States)

    Léger, A.; Rouan, D.; Schneider, J.; Barge, P.; Fridlund, M.; Samuel, B.; Ollivier, M.; Guenther, E.; Deleuil, M.; Deeg, H. J.; Auvergne, M.; Alonso, R.; Aigrain, S.; Alapini, A.; Almenara, J. M.; Baglin, A.; Barbieri, M.; Bruntt, H.; Bordé, P.; Bouchy, F.; Cabrera, J.; Catala, C.; Carone, L.; Carpano, S.; Csizmadia, Sz.; Dvorak, R.; Erikson, A.; Ferraz-Mello, S.; Foing, B.; Fressin, F.; Gandolfi, D.; Gillon, M.; Gondoin, Ph.; Grasset, O.; Guillot, T.; Hatzes, A.; Hébrard, G.; Jorda, L.; Lammer, H.; Llebaria, A.; Loeillet, B.; Mayor, M.; Mazeh, T.; Moutou, C.; Pätzold, M.; Pont, F.; Queloz, D.; Rauer, H.; Renner, S.; Samadi, R.; Shporer, A.; Sotin, Ch.; Tingley, B.; Wuchterl, G.; Adda, M.; Agogu, P.; Appourchaux, T.; Ballans, H.; Baron, P.; Beaufort, T.; Bellenger, R.; Berlin, R.; Bernardi, P.; Blouin, D.; Baudin, F.; Bodin, P.; Boisnard, L.; Boit, L.; Bonneau, F.; Borzeix, S.; Briet, R.; Buey, J.-T.; Butler, B.; Cailleau, D.; Cautain, R.; Chabaud, P.-Y.; Chaintreuil, S.; Chiavassa, F.; Costes, V.; Cuna Parrho, V.; de Oliveira Fialho, F.; Decaudin, M.; Defise, J.-M.; Djalal, S.; Epstein, G.; Exil, G.-E.; Fauré, C.; Fenouillet, T.; Gaboriaud, A.; Gallic, A.; Gamet, P.; Gavalda, P.; Grolleau, E.; Gruneisen, R.; Gueguen, L.; Guis, V.; Guivarc'h, V.; Guterman, P.; Hallouard, D.; Hasiba, J.; Heuripeau, F.; Huntzinger, G.; Hustaix, H.; Imad, C.; Imbert, C.; Johlander, B.; Jouret, M.; Journoud, P.; Karioty, F.; Kerjean, L.; Lafaille, V.; Lafond, L.; Lam-Trong, T.; Landiech, P.; Lapeyrere, V.; Larqué, T.; Laudet, P.; Lautier, N.; Lecann, H.; Lefevre, L.; Leruyet, B.; Levacher, P.; Magnan, A.; Mazy, E.; Mertens, F.; Mesnager, J.-M.; Meunier, J.-C.; Michel, J.-P.; Monjoin, W.; Naudet, D.; Nguyen-Kim, K.; Orcesi, J.-L.; Ottacher, H.; Perez, R.; Peter, G.; Plasson, P.; Plesseria, J.-Y.; Pontet, B.; Pradines, A.; Quentin, C.; Reynaud, J.-L.; Rolland, G.; Rollenhagen, F.; Romagnan, R.; Russ, N.; Schmidt, R.; Schwartz, N.; Sebbag, I.; Sedes, G.; Smit, H.; Steller, M. B.; Sunter, W.; Surace, C.; Tello, M.; Tiphène, D.; Toulouse, P.; Ulmer, B.; Vandermarcq, O.; Vergnault, E.; Vuillemin, A.; Zanatta, P.

    2009-10-01

    Aims: We report the discovery of very shallow (Δ F/F ≈ 3.4× 10-4), periodic dips in the light curve of an active V = 11.7 G9V star observed by the CoRoT satellite, which we interpret as caused by a transiting companion. We describe the 3-colour CoRoT data and complementary ground-based observations that support the planetary nature of the companion. Methods: We used CoRoT colours information, good angular resolution ground-based photometric observations in- and out- of transit, adaptive optics imaging, near-infrared spectroscopy, and preliminary results from radial velocity measurements, to test the diluted eclipsing binary scenarios. The parameters of the host star were derived from optical spectra, which were then combined with the CoRoT light curve to derive parameters of the companion. Results: We examined all conceivable cases of false positives carefully, and all the tests support the planetary hypothesis. Blends with separation >0.40´´or triple systems are almost excluded with a 8 × 10-4 risk left. We conclude that, inasmuch we have been exhaustive, we have discovered a planetary companion, named CoRoT-7b, for which we derive a period of 0.853 59 ± 3 × 10-5 day and a radius of Rp = 1.68 ± 0.09 R_Earth. Analysis of preliminary radial velocity data yields an upper limit of 21 M_Earth for the companion mass, supporting the finding. Conclusions: CoRoT-7b is very likely the first Super-Earth with a measured radius. This object illustrates what will probably become a common situation with missions such as Kepler, namely the need to establish the planetary origin of transits in the absence of a firm radial velocity detection and mass measurement. The composition of CoRoT-7b remains loosely constrained without a precise mass. A very high surface temperature on its irradiated face, ≈1800-2600 K at the substellar point, and a very low one, ≈50 K, on its dark face assuming no atmosphere, have been derived. The CoRoT space mission, launched on 27

  3. INFLUENCE OF STELLAR FLARES ON THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF EXOPLANETS AND SPECTRA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Venot, Olivia; Decin, Leen [Instituut voor Sterrenkunde, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200D, B-3001 Leuven (Belgium); Rocchetto, Marco [University College London, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT (United Kingdom); Carl, Shaun; Hashim, Aysha Roshni, E-mail: olivia.venot@kuleuven.be [Department of Quantum Chemistry and Physical Chemistry, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200F, B-3001 Leuven (Belgium)

    2016-10-20

    More than three thousand exoplanets have been detected so far, and more and more spectroscopic observations of exoplanets are performed. Future instruments ( James Webb Space Telescope ( JWST ), E-ELT, PLATO, Ariel, etc.,) are eagerly awaited, as they will be able to provide spectroscopic data with greater accuracy and sensitivity than what is currently available. This will allow more accurate conclusions to be drawn regarding the chemistry and dynamics of exoplanetary atmospheres, provided that the observational data are carefully processed. One important aspect to consider is temporal stellar atmospheric disturbances that can influence the planetary composition, and hence spectra, and potentially can lead to incorrect assumptions about the steady-state atmospheric composition of the planet. In this paper, we focus on perturbations coming from the host star in the form of flare events that significantly increase photon flux impingement on the exoplanets atmosphere. In some cases, particularly for M stars, this sudden increase may last for several hours. We aim to discover to what extent a stellar flare is able to modify the chemical composition of the planetary atmosphere and, therefore, influence the resulting spectra. We use a one-dimensional thermo-photochemical model to study the neutral atmospheric composition of two hypothetical planets located around the star AD Leo. We place the two planets at different distances from the star, which results in effective atmospheric temperatures of 412 and 1303 K. AD Leo is an active star that has already been observed during a flare. Therefore, we use the spectroscopic data from this flare event to simulate the evolution of the chemical composition of the atmospheres of the two hypothetical planets. We compute synthetic spectra to evaluate the implications for observations. The increase in the incoming photon flux affects the chemical abundances of some important species (such as H and NH{sub 3}), down to altitudes

  4. Odour-mediated foraging by yellowjacket wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae): predation on leks of pheromone-calling Mediterranean fruit fly males (Diptera: Tephritidae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hendrichs, J; Katsoyannos, B I; Wornoayporn, V; Hendrichs, M A

    1994-09-01

    Predation is probably the most important male mortality factor in insect species with courtship displays that render males performing them conspicuous targets of predators. Sexually active Mediterranean fruit fly males, Ceratitis capitata (Wied.), aggregate in leks, where they participate in agonistic encounters and engage in visual, acoustic and pheromone-calling displays to attract receptive females. The objective of this study was to assess: a) whether sexually displaying C. capitata males in leks inside host and non-host foliage are subject to predation by the most prominent predators yellow-jacket wasps, Vespula germanica (F.), and if so, b) whether olfactory, visual or auditive stimuli are used by foraging wasps in locating male C. capitata prey. Studies were carried out in a citrus orchard and surroundings on the island of Chios, Greece. Observations were conducted using perforated containers hung within mulberry, fig or citrus foliage. Living C. capitata flies of different sex and either mature or immature were placed inside. Our results show that the yellowjacket wasps have learned to associate the presence of sexually active medfly males aggregated in leks with their prey's pheromone (kairomone). Foraging wasps, flying through the crowns of host trees, responded to the odour source of C. capitata male pheromone by approaching from downwind. Even inside dense citrus tree foliage, wasps keyed in on aggregations of pheromone-calling males using olfactory stimuli. Stimuli of visual and acoustic male signalling were only used at close range, after having followed the pheromone plume close to its source. Visual cues played a greater role in directing wasp foraging under more open and exposed host foliage conditions. Odour-based foraging of wasps inside host foliage in the mid-morning hours, when medfly male lekking activities peak, shifted gradually to a more visual-based host fruit patrolling in the afternoons to capture ovipositing and feeding medfly females

  5. Combining Photometry from Kepler and TESS to Improve Short-Period Exoplanet Characterization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Placek, Ben; Knuth, Kevin H.; Angerhausen, Daniel

    2016-01-01

    Planets emit thermal radiation and reflect incident light that they receive from their host stars. As a planet orbits its host star the photometric variations associated with these two effects produce very similar phase curves. If observed through only a single bandpass, this leads to a degeneracy between certain planetary parameters that hinder the precise characterization of such planets. However, observing the same planet through two different bandpasses gives much more information about the planet. Here we develop a Bayesian methodology for combining photometry from both Kepler and the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite. In addition, we demonstrate via simulations that one can disentangle the reflected and thermally emitted light from the atmosphere of a hot-Jupiter as well as more precisely constrain both the geometric albedo and day-side temperature of the planet. This methodology can further be employed using various combinations of photometry from the James Webb Space Telescope, the Characterizing ExOplanet Satellite, or the PLATO mission.

  6. Water Quality Analysis Simulation Program (WASP)

    Science.gov (United States)

    The Water Quality Analysis Simulation Program (WASP) model helps users interpret and predict water quality responses to natural phenomena and manmade pollution for various pollution management decisions.

  7. Structures, phase transitions and microwave dielectric properties of the 6H perovskites Ba3BSb2O9, B=Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ling, Chris D.; Rowda, Budwy; Avdeev, Maxim; Pullar, Robert

    2009-01-01

    We present a complete temperature-composition phase diagram for Ba 3 BSb 2 O 9 , B=Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, along with their electrical behavior as a function of B. These compounds have long been recognized as 6H-type perovskites, but (with the exception of B=Mg) their exact structures and properties were unknown due to their low symmetries, temperature-dependent phase transitions, and difficulties in synthesizing pure samples. The full range of possible space group symmetries is observed, from ideal hexagonal P6 3 /mmc to monoclinic C2/c to triclinic P1-bar. Direct second-order transitions between these phases are plausible according to group theory, and no evidence was seen for any further intermediate phases. The phase diagram with respect to temperature and the effective ionic radius of B is remarkably symmetrical for B=Mg, Ca, and Sr. For B=Ba, a first-order phase transition to a locally distorted phase allows a metastable hexagonal phase to persist to lower temperatures than expected before decomposing around 600 K. Electrical measurements revealed that dielectric permittivity corrected for porosity does not change significantly as a function of B and is in a good agreement with the values predicted by the Clausius-Mossotti equation. - Graphical abstract: Thermodynamic phase diagram for Ba 3 BSb 2 O 9 , B=Mg, Ca, and Sr, as a function of temperature T and effective ionic radius (IR) of the B 2+ cation

  8. WASP (Wavelet Analysis of Secondary Particles Angular Distributions) package. Version 1.0. User's guide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Solov'ev, A.G.

    2001-01-01

    WASP package is a C++ program aimed to analyze angular distributions of secondary particles generated in nuclear interactions. (WASP is designed for data analysis of the STAR and ALICE experiments). It uses a wavelet analysis for this purpose and the vanishing momentum or gaussian wavelets are chosen for transformations. WASP provides an user-friendly Graphical User Interface (GUI) which makes it quite simple to use. WASP design, a brief description of the used wavelet transformation algorithm and GUI are presented in this user's guide

  9. Flee or fight: ontogenetic changes in the behavior of cobweb spiders in encounters with spider-hunting wasps.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uma, Divya B; Weiss, Martha R

    2012-12-01

    An animal's body size plays a predominant role in shaping its interspecific interactions, and, in encounters between two predators, often determines which shall be predator and which shall be prey. Spiders are top predators of insects, yet can fall prey to mud-dauber wasps that provision their larval nests with paralyzed spiders. Here we examined predator-prey interactions between Chalybion californicum (Saussure) (Sphecidae), a mud-dauber wasp, and Parasteatoda tepidariorum C. L. Koch (Theridiidae), a cobweb spider. We examined whether a spider's size influences its response to an attacking wasp, and report a size-dependent change in spider behavior: small-sized spiders fled, whereas medium- and large-sized spiders fought in response to wasp attacks. From the wasps' perspective, we examined whether spider size influences a wasp's hunting behavior and capture success. We found that wasps commonly approached small spiders, but were much less likely to approach medium and large spiders. However, wasp capture success did not vary with spider size. We also report a strategy used by Chalybion wasps toward cobweb spiders that is consistent with an interpretation of aggressive mimicry.

  10. Essential oils and their compositions as spatial repellents for pestiferous social wasps.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Qing-He; Schneidmiller, Rodney G; Hoover, Doreen R

    2013-04-01

    The study objectives were: (1) to field test potential repellency of common essential oils against several pestiferous social wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae), using attractant-baited traps; (2) to identify vespid antennally active compounds from the repellent essential oils; (3) to determine potential repellency of these electroantennographic detection (EAD) active compounds in the field. Of the 21 essential oils tested, 17 showed significant repellency on yellowjackets [mainly Vespula pensylvanica (Saussure)] and paper wasps [mainly Polistes dominulus (Christ)]: clove, pennyroyal, lemongrass, ylang ylang, spearmint, wintergreen, sage, rosemary, lavender, geranium, patchouli, citronella, Roman chamomile, thyme, fennel seed, anise and peppermint. Two essential oil mixtures - 3EO-mix (clove, geranium and lemongrass) and 4EO-mix (clove, geranium, lemongrass and rosemary) - totally blocked the attraction of vespid workers. Twenty-nine vespid antennally active compounds were identified from solid-phase microextraction (SPME) samples of 11 strongly repellent essential oils by GC-EAD/MS techniques. Among the synthetic EAD-active compounds field tested, eugenol, P/I-menthone, pulegone, α/β-thujone, l-carvone, E/Z-citral, citronellal, methyl benzoate, benzyl acetate, methyl salicylate and 3-octanol showed a significant repellency on vespid workers. These compounds are likely responsible for the repellency of their corresponding essential oils. These repellent essential oils and their active compositions have great potential for efficient, environmentally sound semiochemical-based IPM of pestiferous vespid wasps. © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry.

  11. Nest Architectural Patterns by Three Wasp Species ( and with Reference to Their Behavior

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Farzana Perveen

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available In the present study, the nest architectural patterns, elemental analysis and their behavior were carried out in three wasp species: Vespa velutina (Lepeletier, Polistes flavus (Cresson and Sceliphron formosum (Smith from the different localities of the Mansehra, Pakistan. The V. velutina nest was completely closed except for one opening for entry or exit with 1–10 layers of hexagonal cells inside the nest. The nests of P. flavus were found among bunches of leaves of trees with 1–5 layers and hexagonal cells same as in V. velutina. Nests of the S. formosum were pitcher-shaped, found in muddy places, and consisted of 1–10 cells. Social behavior of wasps showed strong foraging, defensive behaviors, pseudo-attack, subsequent erratic flight, wing buzzing, mandibular pecking, abdominal pumping and abdominal twisting with highly developed parental care. It was concluded that the behaviors of these 3 wasp species was highly developed as compared with other insects.

  12. Bee-hawking by the wasp, Vespa velutina, on the honeybees Apis cerana and A. mellifera.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, K; Radloff, S E; Li, J J; Hepburn, H R; Yang, M X; Zhang, L J; Neumann, P

    2007-06-01

    The vespine wasps, Vespa velutina, specialise in hawking honeybee foragers returning to their nests. We studied their behaviour in China using native Apis cerana and introduced A. mellifera colonies. When the wasps are hawking, A. cerana recruits threefold more guard bees to stave off predation than A. mellifera. The former also utilises wing shimmering as a visual pattern disruption mechanism, which is not shown by A. mellifera. A. cerana foragers halve the time of normal flight needed to dart into the nest entrance, while A. mellifera actually slows down in sashaying flight manoeuvres. V. velutina preferentially hawks A. mellifera foragers when both A. mellifera and A. cerana occur in the same apiary. The pace of wasp-hawking was highest in mid-summer but the frequency of hawking wasps was three times higher at A. mellifera colonies than at the A. cerana colonies. The wasps were taking A. mellifera foragers at a frequency eightfold greater than A. cerana foragers. The final hawking success rates of the wasps were about three times higher for A. mellifera foragers than for A. cerana. The relative success of native A. cerana over European A. mellifera in thwarting predation by the wasp V. velutina is interpreted as the result of co-evolution between the Asian wasp and honeybee, respectively.

  13. An Earth-sized exoplanet with a Mercury-like composition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santerne, A.; Brugger, B.; Armstrong, D. J.; Adibekyan, V.; Lillo-Box, J.; Gosselin, H.; Aguichine, A.; Almenara, J.-M.; Barrado, D.; Barros, S. C. C.; Bayliss, D.; Boisse, I.; Bonomo, A. S.; Bouchy, F.; Brown, D. J. A.; Deleuil, M.; Delgado Mena, E.; Demangeon, O.; Díaz, R. F.; Doyle, A.; Dumusque, X.; Faedi, F.; Faria, J. P.; Figueira, P.; Foxell, E.; Giles, H.; Hébrard, G.; Hojjatpanah, S.; Hobson, M.; Jackman, J.; King, G.; Kirk, J.; Lam, K. W. F.; Ligi, R.; Lovis, C.; Louden, T.; McCormac, J.; Mousis, O.; Neal, J. J.; Osborn, H. P.; Pepe, F.; Pollacco, D.; Santos, N. C.; Sousa, S. G.; Udry, S.; Vigan, A.

    2018-05-01

    Earth, Venus, Mars and some extrasolar terrestrial planets1 have a mass and radius that is consistent with a mass fraction of about 30% metallic core and 70% silicate mantle2. At the inner frontier of the Solar System, Mercury has a completely different composition, with a mass fraction of about 70% metallic core and 30% silicate mantle3. Several formation or evolution scenarios are proposed to explain this metal-rich composition, such as a giant impact4, mantle evaporation5 or the depletion of silicate at the inner edge of the protoplanetary disk6. These scenarios are still strongly debated. Here, we report the discovery of a multiple transiting planetary system (K2-229) in which the inner planet has a radius of 1.165 ± 0.066 Earth radii and a mass of 2.59 ± 0.43 Earth masses. This Earth-sized planet thus has a core-mass fraction that is compatible with that of Mercury, although it was expected to be similar to that of Earth based on host-star chemistry7. This larger Mercury analogue either formed with a very peculiar composition or has evolved, for example, by losing part of its mantle. Further characterization of Mercury-like exoplanets such as K2-229 b will help to put the detailed in situ observations of Mercury (with MESSENGER and BepiColombo8) into the global context of the formation and evolution of solar and extrasolar terrestrial planets.

  14. An Earth-sized exoplanet with a Mercury-like composition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santerne, A.; Brugger, B.; Armstrong, D. J.; Adibekyan, V.; Lillo-Box, J.; Gosselin, H.; Aguichine, A.; Almenara, J.-M.; Barrado, D.; Barros, S. C. C.; Bayliss, D.; Boisse, I.; Bonomo, A. S.; Bouchy, F.; Brown, D. J. A.; Deleuil, M.; Delgado Mena, E.; Demangeon, O.; Díaz, R. F.; Doyle, A.; Dumusque, X.; Faedi, F.; Faria, J. P.; Figueira, P.; Foxell, E.; Giles, H.; Hébrard, G.; Hojjatpanah, S.; Hobson, M.; Jackman, J.; King, G.; Kirk, J.; Lam, K. W. F.; Ligi, R.; Lovis, C.; Louden, T.; McCormac, J.; Mousis, O.; Neal, J. J.; Osborn, H. P.; Pepe, F.; Pollacco, D.; Santos, N. C.; Sousa, S. G.; Udry, S.; Vigan, A.

    2018-03-01

    Earth, Venus, Mars and some extrasolar terrestrial planets1 have a mass and radius that is consistent with a mass fraction of about 30% metallic core and 70% silicate mantle2. At the inner frontier of the Solar System, Mercury has a completely different composition, with a mass fraction of about 70% metallic core and 30% silicate mantle3. Several formation or evolution scenarios are proposed to explain this metal-rich composition, such as a giant impact4, mantle evaporation5 or the depletion of silicate at the inner edge of the protoplanetary disk6. These scenarios are still strongly debated. Here, we report the discovery of a multiple transiting planetary system (K2-229) in which the inner planet has a radius of 1.165 ± 0.066 Earth radii and a mass of 2.59 ± 0.43 Earth masses. This Earth-sized planet thus has a core-mass fraction that is compatible with that of Mercury, although it was expected to be similar to that of Earth based on host-star chemistry7. This larger Mercury analogue either formed with a very peculiar composition or has evolved, for example, by losing part of its mantle. Further characterization of Mercury-like exoplanets such as K2-229 b will help to put the detailed in situ observations of Mercury (with MESSENGER and BepiColombo8) into the global context of the formation and evolution of solar and extrasolar terrestrial planets.

  15. The nature of the TRAPPIST-1 exoplanets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grimm, Simon L.; Demory, Brice-Olivier; Gillon, Michaël; Dorn, Caroline; Agol, Eric; Burdanov, Artem; Delrez, Laetitia; Sestovic, Marko; Triaud, Amaury H. M. J.; Turbet, Martin; Bolmont, Émeline; Caldas, Anthony; Wit, Julien de; Jehin, Emmanuël; Leconte, Jérémy; Raymond, Sean N.; Grootel, Valérie Van; Burgasser, Adam J.; Carey, Sean; Fabrycky, Daniel; Heng, Kevin; Hernandez, David M.; Ingalls, James G.; Lederer, Susan; Selsis, Franck; Queloz, Didier

    2018-06-01

    Context. The TRAPPIST-1 system hosts seven Earth-sized, temperate exoplanets orbiting an ultra-cool dwarf star. As such, it represents a remarkable setting to study the formation and evolution of terrestrial planets that formed in the same protoplanetary disk. While the sizes of the TRAPPIST-1 planets are all known to better than 5% precision, their densities have significant uncertainties (between 28% and 95%) because of poor constraints on the planet's masses. Aims: The goal of this paper is to improve our knowledge of the TRAPPIST-1 planetary masses and densities using transit-timing variations (TTVs). The complexity of the TTV inversion problem is known to be particularly acute in multi-planetary systems (convergence issues, degeneracies and size of the parameter space), especially for resonant chain systems such as TRAPPIST-1. Methods: To overcome these challenges, we have used a novel method that employs a genetic algorithm coupled to a full N-body integrator that we applied to a set of 284 individual transit timings. This approach enables us to efficiently explore the parameter space and to derive reliable masses and densities from TTVs for all seven planets. Results: Our new masses result in a five- to eight-fold improvement on the planetary density uncertainties, with precisions ranging from 5% to 12%. These updated values provide new insights into the bulk structure of the TRAPPIST-1 planets. We find that TRAPPIST-1 c and e likely have largely rocky interiors, while planets b, d, f, g, and h require envelopes of volatiles in the form of thick atmospheres, oceans, or ice, in most cases with water mass fractions less than 5%.

  16. Revealing Fact or Fiction in Spitzer Exoplanet Phase Curve Trends

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bean, Jacob; Parmentier, Vivien; Mansfield, Megan; Cowan, Nicolas; Kempton, Eliza; Desert, Jean-Michel; Swain, Mark; Dang, Lisa; Bell, Taylor; Keating, Dylan; Zellem, Robert; Fortney, Jonathan; Line, Michael; Kreidberg, Laura; Stevenson, Kevin

    2018-05-01

    The constraints on energy transport in exoplanet atmospheres from phase curve observations is sure to be one of Spitzer's enduring legacies. However, with phase curves for 17 planets now observed we find that the previously observed trends are not coming into sharper focus. Instead, these trends in hot spot offset and day-night flux contrast vs. the fundamental planetary parameters expected to control the energy transport (e.g., irradiation and rotational period) are becoming more uncertain due to the recent discovery of outliers. At the same time, there is a growing understanding that a number of factors like magnetic fields, aerosols, and molecular chemistry could be confounding the search for these correlations. We propose a final phase curve program to advance our understanding of energy transport in transiting exoplanet atmospheres and to cement Spitzer's legacy on this topic. This program tackles the outstanding questions in this area with a comprehensive, two-pronged approach: (1) a survey of an additional 10 high signal-to-noise planets that span a broad parameter space and (2) a search for magnetic field-induced variability in the planet HAT-P-7b. The expanded survey will bring additional statistical power to the search for trends and will enable us to determine if the recently-detected outliers are indeed oddities or are instead actually representative of the intrinsic sample diversity. The variability search will test the hypothesis that the atmospheric dynamics of the partially ionized atmospheres of close-in planets are influenced by magnetic fields, which could explain the observed scatter around the existing trends. All observations will be performed at 4.5 microns, which is the consensus best channel for these measurements. The dataset from this program will provide vital context for JWST observations and will not be superseded until ARIEL flies more than a decade from now.

  17. Chemical analyses of wasp-associated streptomyces bacteria reveal a prolific potential for natural products discovery

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Poulsen, Michael; Oh, Dong-Chan; Clardy, Jon

    2011-01-01

    and solitary Hymenoptera. Here we test this possibility by examining two species of solitary mud dauber wasps, Sceliphron caementarium and Chalybion californicum. We performed enrichment isolations from 33 wasps and obtained more than 200 isolates of Streptomyces Actinobacteria. Chemical analyses of 15...... and antibacterial activity. The prevalence and anti-microbial properties of Actinobacteria associated with these two solitary wasp species suggest the potential role of these Streptomyces as antibiotic-producing symbionts, potentially helping defend their wasp hosts from pathogenic microbes. Finding...... phylogenetically diverse and chemically prolific Actinobacteria from solitary wasps suggests that insect-associated Actinobacteria can provide a valuable source of novel natural products of pharmaceutical interest....

  18. The First Atmospheric Characterization of a Habitable-Zone Exoplanet

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stevenson, Kevin; Bean, Jacob; Charbonneau, David; Desert, Jean-Michel; Fortney, Jonathan; Irwin, Jonathan; Kreidberg, Laura; Line, Michael; Montet, Ben; Morley, Caroline

    2015-10-01

    Exoplanet surveys have recently revealed nearby planets orbiting within stellar habitable zones. This highly-anticipated breakthrough brings us one step closer in our quest to identify cosmic biosignatures, the indicators of extrasolar life. To achieve our goal, we must first study the atmospheres of these temperate worlds to measure their compositions and determine the prevalence of obscuring clouds. Using observations from the K2 mission, Co-I Montet recently announced the discovery of a 2.2 Earth-radii planet within the habitable zone of its relatively bright, nearby M dwarf parent star, K2-18. This temperate world is currently the best habitable-zone target for atmospheric characterization. Congruent with currently planned HST observations, we propose a Spitzer program to measure the transmission spectrum of the first habitable-zone exoplanet. Both telescopes are essential to revealing K2-18b's chemical composition. In a cloud-free, hydrogen-dominated atmosphere, the precision achieved by these measurements will be sufficient to detect methane, ammonia, and water vapor, which are the dominant C, N, and O bearing species at these temperatures. In turn, elemental abundance constraints from a primordial atmosphere can tell us about the composition of a protoplanetary disk in which Earth-like planets could have formed. Conversely, if the atmosphere contains thick clouds then the multi-wavelength observations from K2, HST, and Spitzer will constrain the clouds' properties. Because temperature plays a key role in the formation of clouds, their detection within the atmosphere of this habitable-zone exoplanet would be an important signpost that serves as a guide to future investigations of smaller, rocky exoplanets. As K2 continues discovering more habitable-zone planets, it is imperative that we perform spectral reconnaissance with Spitzer to determine their physical characteristics and begin understanding the prevalence of potentially-obscuring clouds prior to the

  19. Efficacy of fipronil for control of yellowjacket wasps in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foote, David; Hanna, Cause; King, Cynthia; Spurr, Eric

    2011-01-01

    The western yellowjacket wasp (Vespula pensylvanica) invaded Hawai`i’s national parks and refuges following its spread throughout the islands in the late 1970s. The endemic arthropod fauna of Hawai`i is thought to be especially vulnerable to these predacious social Hymenoptera, and methods of wasp control have been a priority for conservation biology in Hawai`i. The efficacy of the insecticide fipronil mixed with minced canned chicken meat for suppression of yellowjacket populations was evaluated in five experimental field trials in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park between 1999 and 2005. Populations of Vespula were monitored in replicate twoto four- hectare study areas in mesic montane and seasonal submontane forests, before and after application of chicken bait, with and without 0.1% fipronil, and in treatment and nontreatment areas. The bait was applied in hanging bait stations for two to three days. The response of yellowjacket wasp populations was measured using at least three different metrics of abundance including instantaneous counts of wasps at bait stations, wasp traffic rates at Vespula nests, as well as heptyl butyrate trap and/or malaise trap catches in the study areas. All indices of wasp abundance exhibited significant reductions in sites treated with fipronil compared with non-treatment sites with the exception of malaise trapping, where only a limited number of traps were available to be deployed. Wasp traffic ceased at all Vespula nests in sites treated with fipronil within a month after baiting in four of the five trials. The only trial where fipronil failed to terminate yellowjacket nest activity occurred late in the fall when wasps switch from feeding on protein to carbohydrate foods. Based on these data, 0.1% fipronil in chicken bait appears to be an effective tool for suppressing local Vespula yellowjacket populations in the park and other natural areas during the period of peak wasp activity in the summer and early fall months.

  20. TRANSITING THE SUN. II. THE IMPACT OF STELLAR ACTIVITY ON Lyα TRANSITS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Llama, J.; Shkolnik, E. L., E-mail: joe.llama@lowell.edu [Lowell Observatory, 1400 W Mars Hill Road, Flagstaff, AZ 86001 (United States)

    2016-01-20

    High-energy observations of the Sun provide an opportunity to test the limits of our ability to accurately measure the properties of transiting exoplanets in the presence of stellar activity. Here we insert the transit of a hot Jupiter into continuous disk integrated data of the Sun in Lyα from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory/EVE instrument to assess the impact of stellar activity on the measured planet-to-star radius ratio (R{sub p}/R{sub ⋆}). In 75% of our simulated light curves, we measure the correct radius ratio; however, incorrect values can be measured if there is significant short-term variability in the light curve. The maximum measured value of R{sub p}/R{sub ⋆} is 50% larger than the input value, which is much smaller than the large Lyα transit depths that have been reported in the literature, suggesting that for stars with activity levels comparable to the Sun, stellar activity alone cannot account for these deep transits. We ran simulations without a transit and found that stellar activity cannot mimic the Lyα transit of 55 Cancari b, strengthening the conclusion that this planet has a partially transiting exopshere. We were able to compare our simulations to more active stars by artificially increasing the variability in the Solar Lyα light curve. In the higher variability data, the largest value of R{sub p}/R{sub ⋆} we measured is <3× the input value, which again is not large enough to reproduce the Lyα transit depth reported for the more active stars HD 189733 and GJ 436, supporting the interpretation that these planets have extended atmospheres and possible cometary tails.

  1. A Low-mass Exoplanet Candidate Detected by K2 Transiting the Praesepe M Dwarf JS 183

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pepper, Joshua; Gillen, Ed; Parviainen, Hannu; Hillenbrand, Lynne A.; Cody, Ann Marie; Aigrain, Suzanne; Stauffer, John; Vrba, Frederick J.; David, Trevor; Lillo-Box, Jorge; Stassun, Keivan G.; Conroy, Kyle E.; Pope, Benjamin J. S.; Barrado, David

    2017-04-01

    We report the discovery of a repeating photometric signal from a low-mass member of the Praesepe open cluster that we interpret as a Neptune-sized transiting planet. The star is JS 183 (HSHJ 163, EPIC 211916756), with T eff = 3325 ± 100 K, M * = 0.44 ± 0.04 M ⊙, R * = 0.44 ± 0.03 R ⊙, and {log}{g}* = 4.82+/- 0.06. The planet has an orbital period of 10.134588 days and a radius of R P = 0.32 ± 0.02 R J. Since the star is faint at V = 16.5 and J = 13.3, we are unable to obtain a measured radial velocity orbit, but we can constrain the companion mass to below about 1.7 M J, and thus well below the planetary boundary. JS 183b (since designated as K2-95b) is the second transiting planet found with K2 that resides in a several-hundred-megayear open cluster; both planets orbit mid-M dwarf stars and are approximately Neptune sized. With a well-determined stellar density from the planetary transit, and with an independently known metallicity from its cluster membership, JS 183 provides a particularly valuable test of stellar models at the fully convective boundary. We find that JS 183 is the lowest-density transit host known at the fully convective boundary, and that its very low density is consistent with current models of stars just above the fully convective boundary but in tension with the models just below the fully convective boundary.

  2. Comparative AFLP reveals paternal sex ratio chromosome specific DNA sequences in the parasitoid wasp Trichogramma kaykai

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vugt, van J.J.F.A.; Hulst, van der R.G.M.; Pruijssers, A.; Verbaarschot, P.G.H.; Stouthamer, R.; Jong, de H.

    2009-01-01

    The parasitoid wasp Trichogramma kaykai with a haplo-diploid sex determination has a B chromosome called the paternal sex ratio (PSR) chromosome that confers paternal genome loss during early embryogenesis, resulting in male offspring. So far, it is not well known whether the PSR chromosome has

  3. Five new associations of parasitoids in potter wasps (Vespidae, Eumeninae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tiago H. Auko

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Five new associations of parasitoids in potter wasps (Vespidae, Eumeninae. New associations of host and parasitoids involving potter wasps: Toxophora leucon and Pleurochrysis sp. were found parasitizing Cyphomenes anisitsii, Chrysis sp. (gr. intricans was found parasitizing Minixi suffusum, Plega beardi was found parasitizing Montezumia pelagica sepulchralis and Macrosiagon sp. was found parasitizing Pachodynerus nasidens.

  4. Worker policing in the German wasp Vespula germanica

    OpenAIRE

    Wim Bonckaert; Kristel Vuerinckx; Johan Billen; Rob L. Hammond; Laurent Keller; Tom Wenseleers

    2008-01-01

    In some ants, bees, and wasps, workers kill or "police" male eggs laid by other workers in order to maintain the reproductive primacy of the queen. Kin selection theory predicts that multiple mating by the queen is one factor that can selectively favor worker policing. This is because when the queen is mated to multiple males, workers are more closely related to the queen's sons than to the sons of other workers. Earlier work has suggested that reproductive patterns in the German wasp Vespula...

  5. A pressure study of CePt{sub 3}B

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rauch, Daniela; Suellow, Stefan [Institute of Condensed Matter Physics, University of Technology Braunschweig, Braunschweig (Germany); Hartwig, Steffen [Institute of Condensed Matter Physics, University of Technology Braunschweig, Braunschweig (Germany); BENSC, Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin, Berlin (Germany); Hidaka, Hiroyuki; Yamazaki, Seigo; Amitsuka, Hiroshi [Department of Physics, Hokkaido University, Sapporo (Japan); Bauer, Ernst [Institute of Solid State Physics, Vienna University of Technology, Vienna (Austria)

    2013-07-01

    CePt{sub 3}B is isostructural to the non-centro symmetric heavy-fermion superconductor CePt{sub 3}Si. In contrast to the latter system, CePt{sub 3}B exhibits a complex magnetically ordered state at low temperatures, with an antiferromagnetic phase below T{sub N}=7.8 K and a weakly ferromagnetic transition below T{sub C}∼5 K. CePt{sub 3}B can be understand as a low pressure variant of CePt{sub 3}Si. Here we report a study of CePt{sub 3}B by means of high pressure magnetization measurements, this way in particular accessing the pressure evolution of the ferromagnetic transition temperature T{sub C}. From our investigation up to about 40 kbar we observe an almost constant transition temperature T{sub C} with pressure. This behavior we discuss in the context of alloying studies on this material.

  6. The Role of Lipid Competition for Endosymbiont-Mediated Protection against Parasitoid Wasps in Drosophila

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juan C. Paredes

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Insects commonly harbor facultative bacterial endosymbionts, such as Wolbachia and Spiroplasma species, that are vertically transmitted from mothers to their offspring. These endosymbiontic bacteria increase their propagation by manipulating host reproduction or by protecting their hosts against natural enemies. While an increasing number of studies have reported endosymbiont-mediated protection, little is known about the mechanisms underlying this protection. Here, we analyze the mechanisms underlying protection from parasitoid wasps in Drosophila melanogaster mediated by its facultative endosymbiont Spiroplasma poulsonii. Our results indicate that S. poulsonii exerts protection against two distantly related wasp species, Leptopilina boulardi and Asobara tabida. S. poulsonii-mediated protection against parasitoid wasps takes place at the pupal stage and is not associated with an increased cellular immune response. In this work, we provide three important observations that support the notion that S. poulsonii bacteria and wasp larvae compete for host lipids and that this competition underlies symbiont-mediated protection. First, lipid quantification shows that both S. poulsonii and parasitoid wasps deplete D. melanogaster hemolymph lipids. Second, the depletion of hemolymphatic lipids using the Lpp RNA interference (Lpp RNAi construct reduces wasp success in larvae that are not infected with S. poulsonii and blocks S. poulsonii growth. Third, we show that the growth of S. poulsonii bacteria is not affected by the presence of the wasps, indicating that when S. poulsonii is present, larval wasps will develop in a lipid-depleted environment. We propose that competition for host lipids may be relevant to endosymbiont-mediated protection in other systems and could explain the broad spectrum of protection provided.

  7. Sweet Tetra-Trophic Interactions: Multiple Evolution of Nectar Secretion, a Defensive Extended Phenotype in Cynipid Gall Wasps.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nicholls, James A; Melika, George; Stone, Graham N

    2017-01-01

    Many herbivores employ reward-based mutualisms with ants to gain protection from natural enemies. We examine the evolutionary dynamics of a tetra-trophic interaction in which gall wasp herbivores induce their host oaks to produce nectar-secreting galls, which attract ants that provide protection from parasitoids. We show that, consistent with other gall defensive traits, nectar secretion has evolved repeatedly across the oak gall wasp tribe and also within a single genus (Disholcaspis) that includes many nectar-inducing species. Once evolved, nectar secretion is never lost in Disholcaspis, consistent with high defensive value of this trait. We also show that evolution of nectar secretion is correlated with a transition from solitary to aggregated oviposition, resulting in clustered nectar-secreting galls, which produce a resource that ants can more easily monopolize. Such clustering is commonly seen in ant guard mutualisms. We suggest that correlated evolution between maternal oviposition and larval nectar induction traits has enhanced the effectiveness of this gall defense strategy.

  8. Trap-nest occupation by solitary wasps and bees (Hymenoptera: Aculeata) in a forest urban remanent

    OpenAIRE

    Loyola, Rafael D.; Martins, Rogério P.

    2006-01-01

    Temporal variation of solitary wasps and bees, nesting frequency, mortality, and parasitism were recorded from a remanent forest in Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. Wasps and bees were collected in trap-nests placed in areas with 25, 100, and 400 m², from February to November 2004. The 137 trap-nests collected contained 11 species of wasps and bees. Wasps occupied most nests (75%). Occupation peaks occurred in March (25%) and September (26%); in June, the lowest occupation (2%) was observed. Excep...

  9. REPEATABILITY AND ACCURACY OF EXOPLANET ECLIPSE DEPTHS MEASURED WITH POST-CRYOGENIC SPITZER

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ingalls, James G.; Krick, J. E.; Carey, S. J.; Stauffer, John R.; Lowrance, Patrick J.; Grillmair, Carl J.; Capak, Peter; Glaccum, William; Laine, Seppo; Surace, Jason; Storrie-Lombardi, Lisa [Spitzer Science Center, California Institute of Technology, 1200 E California Boulevard, Mail Code 314-6, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Buzasi, Derek [Department of Chemistry and Physics, Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, FL 33965 (United States); Deming, Drake [Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742-2421 (United States); Diamond-Lowe, Hannah; Stevenson, Kevin B. [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Chicago, 5640 S Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637 (United States); Evans, Thomas M. [School of Physics, University of Exeter, EX4 4QL Exeter (United Kingdom); Morello, G. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street, WC1 E6BT (United Kingdom); Wong, Ian, E-mail: ingalls@ipac.caltech.edu [Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States)

    2016-08-01

    We examine the repeatability, reliability, and accuracy of differential exoplanet eclipse depth measurements made using the InfraRed Array Camera (IRAC) on the Spitzer Space Telescope during the post-cryogenic mission. We have re-analyzed an existing 4.5 μ m data set, consisting of 10 observations of the XO-3b system during secondary eclipse, using seven different techniques for removing correlated noise. We find that, on average, for a given technique, the eclipse depth estimate is repeatable from epoch to epoch to within 156 parts per million (ppm). Most techniques derive eclipse depths that do not vary by more than a factor 3 of the photon noise limit. All methods but one accurately assess their own errors: for these methods, the individual measurement uncertainties are comparable to the scatter in eclipse depths over the 10 epoch sample. To assess the accuracy of the techniques as well as to clarify the difference between instrumental and other sources of measurement error, we have also analyzed a simulated data set of 10 visits to XO-3b, for which the eclipse depth is known. We find that three of the methods (BLISS mapping, Pixel Level Decorrelation, and Independent Component Analysis) obtain results that are within three times the photon limit of the true eclipse depth. When averaged over the 10 epoch ensemble,  5 out of 7 techniques come within 60 ppm of the true value. Spitzer exoplanet data, if obtained following current best practices and reduced using methods such as those described here, can measure repeatable and accurate single eclipse depths, with close to photon-limited results.

  10. Modeling of exoplanets interiors in the framework of future space missions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brugger, B.; Mousis, O.; Deleuil, M.

    2017-12-01

    Probing the interior of exoplanets with known masses and radii is possible via the use of models of internal structure. Here we present a model able to handle various planetary compositions, from terrestrial bodies to ocean worlds or carbon-rich planets, and its application to the case of CoRoT-7b. Using the elemental abundances of an exoplanet’s host star, we significantly reduce the degeneracy limiting such models. This further constrains the type and state of material present at the surface, and helps estimating the composition of a secondary atmosphere that could form in these conditions through potential outgassing. Upcoming space missions dedicated to exoplanet characterization, such as PLATO, will provide accurate fundamental parameters of Earth-like planets orbiting in the habitable zone, for which our model is well adapted.

  11. CARBON-RICH GIANT PLANETS: ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY, THERMAL INVERSIONS, SPECTRA, AND FORMATION CONDITIONS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Madhusudhan, Nikku [Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544 (United States); Mousis, Olivier [Institut UTINAM, CNRS-UMR 6213, Observatoire de Besancon, BP 1615, F-25010 Besancon Cedex (France); Johnson, Torrence V. [Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109 (United States); Lunine, Jonathan I., E-mail: nmadhu@astro.princeton.edu [Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 (United States)

    2011-12-20

    The recent inference of a carbon-rich atmosphere, with C/O {>=} 1, in the hot Jupiter WASP-12b motivates the exotic new class of carbon-rich planets (CRPs). We report a detailed study of the atmospheric chemistry and spectroscopic signatures of carbon-rich giant (CRG) planets, the possibility of thermal inversions in their atmospheres, the compositions of icy planetesimals required for their formation via core accretion, and the apportionment of ices, rock, and volatiles in their envelopes. Our results show that CRG atmospheres probe a unique region in composition space, especially at high temperature (T). For atmospheres with C/O {>=} 1, and T {approx}> 1400 K in the observable atmosphere, most of the oxygen is bound up in CO, while H{sub 2}O is depleted and CH{sub 4} is enhanced by up to two or three orders of magnitude each, compared to equilibrium compositions with solar abundances (C/O = 0.54). These differences in the spectroscopically dominant species for the different C/O ratios cause equally distinct observable signatures in the spectra. As such, highly irradiated transiting giant exoplanets form ideal candidates to estimate atmospheric C/O ratios and to search for CRPs. We also find that the C/O ratio strongly affects the abundances of TiO and VO, which have been suggested to cause thermal inversions in highly irradiated hot Jupiter atmospheres. A C/O = 1 yields TiO and VO abundances of {approx}100 times lower than those obtained with equilibrium chemistry assuming solar abundances, at P {approx} 1 bar. Such a depletion is adequate to rule out thermal inversions due to TiO/VO even in the most highly irradiated hot Jupiters, such as WASP-12b. We estimate the compositions of the protoplanetary disk, the planetesimals, and the envelope of WASP-12b, and the mass of ices dissolved in the envelope, based on the observed atmospheric abundances. Adopting stellar abundances (C/O = 0.44) for the primordial disk composition and low-temperature formation conditions

  12. The Ultraviolet Radiation Environment around M Dwarf Exoplanet Host Stars

    Science.gov (United States)

    France, Kevin; Froning, Cynthia S.; Linsky, Jeffrey L.; Roberge, Aki; Stocke, John T.; Tian, Feng; Bushinsky, Rachel; Desert, Jean-Michel; Mauas, Pablo; Mauas, Pablo; hide

    2013-01-01

    The spectral and temporal behavior of exoplanet host stars is a critical input to models of the chemistry and evolution of planetary atmospheres. Ultraviolet photons influence the atmospheric temperature profiles and production of potential biomarkers on Earth-like planets around these stars. At present, little observational or theoretical basis exists for understanding the ultraviolet spectra of M dwarfs, despite their critical importance to predicting and interpreting the spectra of potentially habitable planets as they are obtained in the coming decades. Using observations from the Hubble Space Telescope, we present a study of the UV radiation fields around nearby M dwarf planet hosts that covers both far-UV (FUV) and near-UV (NUV) wavelengths. The combined FUV+NUV spectra are publicly available in machine-readable format. We find that all six exoplanet host stars in our sample (GJ 581, GJ 876, GJ 436, GJ 832, GJ 667C, and GJ 1214) exhibit some level of chromospheric and transition region UV emission. No "UV-quiet" M dwarfs are observed. The bright stellar Lyman-alpha emission lines are reconstructed, and we find that the Lyman-alpha line fluxes comprise approximately 37%-75% of the total 1150-3100 A flux from most M dwarfs; approximately greater than 10(exp3) times the solar value. We develop an empirical scaling relation between Lyman-alpha and Mg II emission, to be used when interstellar H I attenuation precludes the direct observation of Lyman-alpha. The intrinsic unreddened flux ratio is F(Lyman-alpha)/F(Mg II) = 10(exp3). The F(FUV)/F(NUV) flux ratio, a driver for abiotic production of the suggested biomarkers O2 and O3, is shown to be approximately 0.5-3 for all M dwarfs in our sample, greather than 10(exp3) times the solar ratio. For the four stars with moderate signal-to-noise Cosmic Origins Spectrograph time-resolved spectra, we find UV emission line variability with amplitudes of 50%.500% on 10(exp2)-10(exp3) s timescales. This effect should be taken

  13. THE ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION ENVIRONMENT AROUND M DWARF EXOPLANET HOST STARS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    France, Kevin; Froning, Cynthia S.; Stocke, John T.; Bushinsky, Rachel [Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy, University of Colorado, 389 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309 (United States); Linsky, Jeffrey L. [JILA, University of Colorado and NIST, 440 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309 (United States); Roberge, Aki [Exoplanets and Stellar Astrophysics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Tian, Feng [Center for Earth System Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Desert, Jean-Michel [Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Mauas, Pablo; Vieytes, Mariela [Instituto de Astronomsica del Espacio (CONICET-UBA), C.C. 67 Sucursal 28, 1428 Buenos Aires (Argentina); Walkowicz, Lucianne M., E-mail: kevin.france@colorado.edu [Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544 (United States)

    2013-02-15

    The spectral and temporal behavior of exoplanet host stars is a critical input to models of the chemistry and evolution of planetary atmospheres. Ultraviolet photons influence the atmospheric temperature profiles and production of potential biomarkers on Earth-like planets around these stars. At present, little observational or theoretical basis exists for understanding the ultraviolet spectra of M dwarfs, despite their critical importance to predicting and interpreting the spectra of potentially habitable planets as they are obtained in the coming decades. Using observations from the Hubble Space Telescope, we present a study of the UV radiation fields around nearby M dwarf planet hosts that covers both far-UV (FUV) and near-UV (NUV) wavelengths. The combined FUV+NUV spectra are publicly available in machine-readable format. We find that all six exoplanet host stars in our sample (GJ 581, GJ 876, GJ 436, GJ 832, GJ 667C, and GJ 1214) exhibit some level of chromospheric and transition region UV emission. No 'UV-quiet' M dwarfs are observed. The bright stellar Ly{alpha} emission lines are reconstructed, and we find that the Ly{alpha} line fluxes comprise {approx}37%-75% of the total 1150-3100 A flux from most M dwarfs; {approx}>10{sup 3} times the solar value. We develop an empirical scaling relation between Ly{alpha} and Mg II emission, to be used when interstellar H I attenuation precludes the direct observation of Ly{alpha}. The intrinsic unreddened flux ratio is F(Ly{alpha})/F(Mg II) = 10 {+-} 3. The F(FUV)/F(NUV) flux ratio, a driver for abiotic production of the suggested biomarkers O{sub 2} and O{sub 3}, is shown to be {approx}0.5-3 for all M dwarfs in our sample, >10{sup 3} times the solar ratio. For the four stars with moderate signal-to-noise Cosmic Origins Spectrograph time-resolved spectra, we find UV emission line variability with amplitudes of 50%-500% on 10{sup 2}-10{sup 3} s timescales. This effect should be taken into account in future UV

  14. Flower-Visiting Social Wasps and Plants Interaction: Network Pattern and Environmental Complexity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mateus Aparecido Clemente

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Network analysis as a tool for ecological interactions studies has been widely used since last decade. However, there are few studies on the factors that shape network patterns in communities. In this sense, we compared the topological properties of the interaction network between flower-visiting social wasps and plants in two distinct phytophysiognomies in a Brazilian savanna (Riparian Forest and Rocky Grassland. Results showed that the landscapes differed in species richness and composition, and also the interaction networks between wasps and plants had different patterns. The network was more complex in the Riparian Forest, with a larger number of species and individuals and a greater amount of connections between them. The network specialization degree was more generalist in the Riparian Forest than in the Rocky Grassland. This result was corroborated by means of the nestedness index. In both networks was found asymmetry, with a large number of wasps per plant species. In general aspects, most wasps had low niche amplitude, visiting from one to three plant species. Our results suggest that differences in structural complexity of the environment directly influence the structure of the interaction network between flower-visiting social wasps and plants.

  15. Accidental genetic engineers: horizontal sequence transfer from parasitoid wasps to their Lepidopteran hosts.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sean E Schneider

    Full Text Available We show here that 105 regions in two Lepidoptera genomes appear to derive from horizontally transferred wasp DNA. We experimentally verified the presence of two of these sequences in a diverse set of silkworm (Bombyx mori genomes. We hypothesize that these horizontal transfers are made possible by the unusual strategy many parasitoid wasps employ of injecting hosts with endosymbiotic polydnaviruses to minimize the host's defense response. Because these virus-like particles deliver wasp DNA to the cells of the host, there has been much interest in whether genetic information can be permanently transferred from the wasp to the host. Two transferred sequences code for a BEN domain, known to be associated with polydnaviruses and transcriptional regulation. These findings represent the first documented cases of horizontal transfer of genes between two organisms by a polydnavirus. This presents an interesting evolutionary paradigm in which host species can acquire new sequences from parasitoid wasps that attack them. Hymenoptera and Lepidoptera diverged ∼300 MYA, making this type of event a source of novel sequences for recipient species. Unlike many other cases of horizontal transfer between two eukaryote species, these sequence transfers can be explained without the need to invoke the sequences 'hitchhiking' on a third organism (e.g. retrovirus capable of independent reproduction. The cellular machinery necessary for the transfer is contained entirely in the wasp genome. The work presented here is the first such discovery of what is likely to be a broader phenomenon among species affected by these wasps.

  16. Biology and behavior of the seed borer wasp Bephratelloides cubensis Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Eurytomidae); Biologia y habitos del barrenador de la semilla Bephratelloides cubensis Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Eurytomidae)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hernandez-Fuentes, Luis M.; Urias-Lopez, Mario A., E-mail: hernandez.luismartin@inifap.gob.m, E-mail: urias.marioalfonso@inifap.gob.m [Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestal000, Agricolas y Pecuarias, Santiago, Nayarit (Mexico). Campo Experimental Santiago Ixcuintla; Bautista-Martinez, Nestor, E-mail: nestor@colpos.m [Instituto de Fitosanidad, Montecillo, Texcoco (Mexico). Colegio de Postgraduados

    2010-07-15

    The sour sop Annona muricata is an important fruit for national market, and for exportation, but the crop is affected by pests and diseases. The seed borer wasp Bephratelloides cubensis Ashmead is the pest that produces the highest damage to the crop in Mexico. Sixty percent of damaged fruits and 5-50 seeds per fruit have been registered, with 25% reduction in yield. In Nayarit, Mexico, 100% of damaged fruits were recorded. In this State, an experiment with sour sop was conducted to study the life cycle under fi eld conditions and to determine diurnal behavior of the female of B. cubensis. The highest activity of the wasp was observed between 12:00 h and 13:00 h (35 degree C, 54% RH and 409.34 luxes). Females oviposited in fruits with a diameter of 3.1-7.6 cm. Larvae of B. cubensis developed five instars, adults survived no longer than 22 days, and female survived longer than males; they lived 22 and 15 days, respectively. Life cycle of B. cubensis varied from 69 to 122 days. (author)

  17. Earth as an Exoplanet: Lessons in Recognizing Planetary Habitability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meadows, Victoria; Robinson, Tyler; Misra, Amit; Ennico, Kimberly; Sparks, William B.; Claire, Mark; Crisp, David; Schwieterman, Edward; Bussey, D. Ben J.; Breiner, Jonathan

    2015-01-01

    Earth will always be our best-studied example of a habitable world. While extrasolar planets are unlikely to look exactly like Earth, they may share key characteristics, such as oceans, clouds and surface inhomogeneity. Earth's globally-averaged characteristics can therefore help us to recognize planetary habitability in data-limited exoplanet observations. One of the most straightforward ways to detect habitability will be via detection of 'glint', specular reflectance from an ocean (Robinson et al., 2010). Other methods include undertaking a census of atmospheric greenhouse gases, or attempting to measure planetary surface temperature and pressure, to determine if liquid water would be feasible on the planetary surface. Here we present recent research on detecting planetary habitability, led by the NASA Astrobiology Institute's Virtual Planetary Laboratory Team. This work includes a collaboration with the NASA Lunar Science Institute on the detection of ocean glint and ozone absorption using Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) Earth observations (Robinson et al., 2014). This data/model comparison provides the first observational test of a technique that could be used to determine exoplanet habitability from disk-integrated observations at visible and near-infrared wavelengths. We find that the VPL spectral Earth model is in excellent agreement with the LCROSS Earth data, and can be used to reliably predict Earth's appearance at a range of phases relevant to exoplanet observations. Determining atmospheric surface pressure and temperature directly for a potentially habitable planet will be challenging due to the lack of spatial-resolution, presence of clouds, and difficulty in spectrally detecting many bulk constituents of terrestrial atmospheres. Additionally, Rayleigh scattering can be masked by absorbing gases and absorption from the underlying surface. However, new techniques using molecular dimers of oxygen (Misra et al., 2014) and nitrogen

  18. Trap-nest occupation by solitary wasps and bees (Hymenoptera: Aculeata) in a forest urban remanent.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loyola, Rafael D; Martins, Rogério P

    2006-01-01

    Temporal variation of solitary wasps and bees, nesting frequency, mortality, and parasitism were recorded from a remanent forest in Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. Wasps and bees were collected in trap-nests placed in areas with 25, 100, and 400 m2, from February to November 2004. The 137 trap-nests collected contained 11 species of wasps and bees. Wasps occupied most nests (75%). Occupation peaks occurred in March (25%) and September (26%); in June, the lowest occupation (2%) was observed. Except for Trypoxylon (Trypargilum) lactitarse Saussure, no significant correlation was found between number of occupied nests, and temperature and rainfall means. In the nests, 48% of the immature specimens died; 13% of the nests were parasitized. Total death and parasitism rates of wasps and bees differed significantly.

  19. A near-infrared transmission spectrum for the warm Saturn HAT-P-12b

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Line, Michael R.; Knutson, Heather; Desert, Jean-Michel [Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Deming, Drake; Wilkins, Ashlee, E-mail: mrl@gps.caltech.edu [Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 (United States)

    2013-12-01

    We present a Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera-3 (WFC3) transmission spectrum for the transiting exoplanet HAT-P-12b. This warm (1000 K) sub-Saturn-mass planet has a smaller mass and a lower temperature than the hot Jupiters that have been studied so far. We find that the planet's measured transmission spectrum lacks the expected water absorption feature for a hydrogen-dominated atmosphere and is instead best described by a model with high-altitude clouds. Using a frequentist hypothesis testing procedure, we can rule out a hydrogen-dominated cloud-free atmosphere to 4.9σ. When combined with other recent WFC3 studies, our observations suggest that clouds may be common in exoplanetary atmospheres.

  20. WAsP E-learning - Developing and running an interactive online course

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Badger, Merete; Prag, Sidsel-Marie Winther; Jowitt, William Richard

    This report describes the development and testing of an E-learning course in WAsP – the Wind Atlas Analysis and Application Program. WAsP is the industry standard tool for wind energy resource assessment. The software is developed and distributed by the Department of Wind Energy at the Technical...