1,721,048 research outputs found
Physical properties and optical-infrared transmission spectrum of the giant planet XO-1 b
Full text linkWe present 10 high-precision light curves of four transits in the XO-1 planetary system, obtained using u, g, r, redshifted H α, I, and z filters. We use these to measure the physical properties, orbital ephemeris, and a transmission spectrum of the planet covering the full optical wavelength range. We augment this with published HST/WFC3 observations to construct a transmission spectrum of the planet covering 0.37-1.65 μm. Our best-fitting model to this spectrum is for a H2/He-rich atmosphere containing water (3.05σ confidence), nitrogen-bearing molecules NH3 and HCN (1.5σ) and patchy cloud (1.3σ). We find that adding the optical to the near-infrared data does not lead to more precise constraints on the planetary atmosphere in this case. We conduct a detailed investigation into the effect of stellar limb darkening on our results, concluding that the choice of limb darkening law and coefficients is unimportant; such conclusions may not hold for other systems so should be reassessed for all high-quality data sets. The planet radius we measure in the gband is anomalously low and should be investigated with future observations at a higher spectral resolution. From the measured times of transit, we determine an improved orbital ephemeris, calculate a lower limit on the modified stellar tidal quality factor of Q_\star ^{ ' } > 10^{5.6}, and rule out a previously postulated sinusoidal variation in the transit times
Erratum: Physical properties, star-spot activity, orbital obliquity and transmission spectrum of the Qatar-2 planetary system from multicolour photometry [MNRAS, (443), (2014) (2391)] DOI:10.1093/mnras/stu1286
Full text linkPhysical properties, star-spot activity, orbital obliquity and transmission spectrum of the Qatar-2 planetary system from multicolour photometry
No full textWe present 17 high-precision light curves of five transits of the planet Qatar-2 b, obtained from four defocused 2 m-class telescopes. Three of the transits were observed simultaneously in the Sloan g<SUP>'</SUP>r<SUP>'</SUP>i<SUP>'</SUP>z<SUP>'</SUP> passbands using the seven-beam Gamma Ray Burst Optical and Near-Infrared Detector imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-m telescope. A fourth was observed simultaneously in Gunn grz using the Centro Astronómico Hispano Alemán 2.2-m telescope with Bonn University Simultaneous Camera, and in r using the Cassini 1.52-m telescope. Every light curve shows small anomalies due to the passage of the planetary shadow over a cool spot on the surface of the host star. We fit the light curves with the PRISM+GEMC model to obtain the photometric parameters of the system and the position, size and contrast of each spot. We use these photometric parameters and published spectroscopic measurements to obtain the physical properties of the system to high precision, finding a larger radius and lower density for both star and planet than previously thought. By tracking the change in position of one star-spot between two transit observations, we measure the orbital obliquity of Qatar-2 b to be λ = 4.3° ± 4.5°, strongly indicating an alignment of the stellar spin with the orbit of the planet. We calculate the rotation period and velocity of the cool host star to be 11.5 ± 0.2 d and 3.28 ± 0.04 km s<SUP>-1</SUP> at a colatitude of 74°. We assemble the planet's transmission spectrum over the 386-976 nm wavelength range and search for variations of the measured radius of Qatar-2 b as a function of wavelength. Our analysis highlights a possible H<SUB>2</SUB>/He Rayleigh scattering in the blue
Physical properties of the WASP-44 planetary system from simultaneous multi-colour photometry
No full textWe present ground-based broad-band photometry of two transits in the WASP-44 planetary system obtained simultaneously through four optical (Sloan g<SUP>'</SUP>, r<SUP>'</SUP>, i<SUP>'</SUP>, z<SUP>'</SUP>) and three near-infrared (NIR; J, H, K) filters. We achieved low scatters of 1-2 mmag per observation in the optical bands with a cadence of ≈48 s, but the NIR-band light curves present much greater scatter. We also observed another transit of WASP-44 b by using a Gunn r filter and telescope defocussing, with a scatter of 0.37 mmag per point and an observing cadence around 135 s. We used these data to improve measurements of the time of mid-transit and the physical properties of the system. In particular, we improved the radius measurements of the star and planet by factors of 3 and 4, respectively. We find that the radius of WASP-44 b is 1.002 ± 0.033 ± 0.018 R<SUB>Jup</SUB> (statistical and systematic errors, respectively), which is slightly smaller than previously thought and differs from that expected for a core-free planet. In addition, with the help of a synthetic spectrum, we investigated the theoretically predicted variation of the planetary radius as a function of wavelength, covering the range 370-2440 nm. We can rule out extreme variations at optical wavelengths, but unfortunately our data are not precise enough (especially in the NIR bands) to differentiate between the theoretical spectrum and a radius which does not change with wavelength
Physical properties and radius variations in the HAT-P-5 planetary system from simultaneous four-colour photometry
Full text linkThe radii of giant planets, as measured from transit observations, may vary with wavelength due to Rayleigh scattering or variations in opacity. Such an effect is predicted to be large enough to detect using ground-based observations at multiple wavelengths. We present the defocused photometry of a transit in the HAT-P-5 system, obtained simultaneously through Strömgren u, Gunn g and r, and Johnson I filters. Two more transit events were observed through a Gunn r filter. We detect a substantially larger planetary radius in u, but the effect is greater than predicted using theoretical model atmospheres of gaseous planets. This phenomenon is most likely to be due to systematic errors present in the u-band photometry, stemming from variations in the transparency of Earth’s atmosphere at these short wavelengths. We use our data to calculate an improved orbital ephemeris and to refine the measured physical properties of the system. The planet HAT-P-5 b has a mass of and a radius of (statistical and systematic errors, respectively), making it slightly larger than expected according to standard models of coreless gas-giant planets. Its equilibrium temperature of 1517 ± 29 K is within 60 K of that of the extensively studied planet HD 209458 b
Transits and starspots in the WASP-6 planetary system
Full text linkJTR acknowledges financial support from STFC in the form of a PhD Studentship (the majority of this work) and also acknowledges financial support from ORAU (Oak Ridge Associated Universities) and NASA in the form of a Post-Doctoral Programme (NPP) Fellowship. JS acknowledges financial support from STFC in the form of an Advanced Fellowship. DR acknowledges financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) under the 2011 Severo Ochoa Programme MINECO SEV-2011-0187. FF, DR (boursier FRIA) and J Surdej acknowledge support from the Communauté française de Belgique – Actions de recherche concertées – Académie Wallonie–Europe.We present updates to prism, a photometric transit-starspot model, and GEMC, a hybrid optimization code combining MCMC and a genetic algorithm. We then present high-precision photometry of four transits in the WASP-6 planetary system, two of which contain a starspot anomaly. All four transits were modelled using PRISM and GEMC, and the physical properties of the system calculated. We find the mass and radius of the host star to be 0.836 ± 0.063 M⊙ and 0.864 ± 0.024 R⊙, respectively. For the planet, we find a mass of 0.485 ± 0.027 MJup, a radius of 1.230 ± 0.035 RJup and a density of 0.244 ± 0.014 ρJup. These values are consistent with those found in the literature. In the likely hypothesis that the two spot anomalies are caused by the same starspot or starspot complex, we measure the stars rotation period and velocity to be 23.80 ± 0.15 d and 1.78 ± 0.20 km s−1, respectively, at a colatitude of 75.8°. We find that the sky-projected angle between the stellar spin axis and the planetary orbital axis is λ = 7.2° ± 3.7°, indicating axial alignment. Our results are consistent with and more precise than published spectroscopic measurements of the Rossiter–McLaughlin effect. These results suggest that WASP-6 b formed at a much greater distance from its host star and suffered orbital decay through tidal interactions with the protoplanetary disc.Peer reviewe
Possible detection of a bimodal cloud distribution in the atmosphere of HAT-P-32Ab from multiband photometry
Full text linkWe present high-precision photometry of eight separate transit events in the HAT-P-32 planetary system. One transit event was observed simultaneously by two telescopes of which one obtained a simultaneous multiband light curve in three optical bands, giving a total of 11 transit light curves. Due to the filter selection and in conjunction with using the defocused photometry technique, we were able to obtain an extremely high-precision, ground-based transit in the u band (350 nm), with an rms scatter of ≈1 mmag. All 11 transits were modelled using PRISM and GEMC, and the physical properties of the system calculated. We find the mass and radius of the host star to be 1.182 ± 0.041 M<SUB>☉</SUB> and 1.225 ± 0.015 R<SUB>☉</SUB>, respectively. For the planet, we find a mass of 0.80 ± 0.14 M<SUB>Jup</SUB>, a radius of 1.807 ± 0.022 R<SUB>Jup</SUB>, and a density of 0.126 ± 0.023 ρ<SUB>Jup</SUB>. These values are consistent with those found in the literature. We also obtain a new orbital ephemeris for the system T<SUB>0</SUB> = BJD/TDB 2 454 420.447187(96) + 2.15000800(10) × E. We measured the transmission spectrum of HAT-P-32 A b and compared it to theoretical transmission spectra. Our results indicate a bimodal cloud particle distribution consisting of Rayleigh-like haze and grey absorbing cloud particles within the atmosphere of HAT-P-32 A b
Larger and faster : revised properties and a shorter orbital period for the WASP-57 planetary system from a pro-am collaboration
Full text linkMG and EJ are FNRS Research Associates. LD is a FNRS/FRIA Doctoral Fellow. J Southworth acknowledges financial support from STFC in the form of an Advanced Fellowship. This publication was partially supported by grant NPRP X-019-1-006 from Qatar National Research Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation). TCH is supported by the Korea Astronomy & Space Science Institute travel grant #2014-1-400-06. TCH acknowledges support from the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI) grant 2014-1-400-06. OW (FNRS research fellow) and J Surdej acknowledge support from the Communauté française de Belgique – Actions de recherche concertées – Académie Wallonie-Europe.Transits in the WASP-57 planetary system have been found to occur half an hour earlier than expected. We present 10 transit light curves from amateur telescopes, on which this discovery was based, 13 transit light curves from professional facilities which confirm and refine this finding, and high-resolution imaging which show no evidence for nearby companions. We use these data to determine a new and precise orbital ephemeris, and measure the physical properties of the system. Our revised orbital period is 4.5 s shorter than found from the discovery data alone, which explains the early occurrence of the transits. We also find both the star and planet to be larger and less massive than previously thought. The measured mass and radius of the planet are now consistent with theoretical models of gas giants containing no heavy-element core, as expected for the subsolar metallicity of the host star. Two transits were observed simultaneously in four passbands. We use the resulting light curves to measure the planet's radius as a function of wavelength, finding that our data are sufficient in principle but not in practise to constrain its atmospheric properties. We conclude with a discussion of the current and future status of transmission photometry studies for probing the atmospheres of gas-giant transiting planets.Peer reviewe
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
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