ALBERT

Description: Context. An accurate characterization of the known exoplanet population is key to understanding the origin and evolution of planetary systems. Determining true planetary masses through the radial velocity (RV) method is expected to experience a great improvement thanks to the availability of ultra-stable echelle spectrographs. Aims. We took advantage of the extreme precision of the new-generation echelle spectrograph ESPRESSO to characterize the transiting planetary system orbiting the G2V star K2-38 located at 194 pc from the Sun with V ~ 11.4. This system is particularly interesting because it could contain the densest planet detected to date. Methods. We carried out a photometric analysis of the available K2 photometric light curve of this star to measure the radius of its two known planets, K2-38b and K2-38c, with Pb = 4.01593 ± 0.00050 d and Pc = 10.56103 ± 0.00090 d, respectively. Using 43 ESPRESSO high-precision RV measurements taken over the course of 8 months along with the 14 previously published HIRES RV measurements, we modeled the orbits of the two planets through a Markov chain Monte Carlo analysis, significantly improving their mass measurements. Results. Using ESPRESSO spectra, we derived the stellar parameters, Teff = 5731 ± 66, log g = 4.38 ± 0.11 dex, and [Fe/H] = 0.26 ± 0.05 dex, and thus the mass and radius of K2-38, M⋆ = 1.03−0.02+0.04 M⊕ and R⋆ = 1.06−0.06+0.09 R⊕. We determine new values for the planetary properties of both planets. We characterize K2-38b as a super-Earth with RP = 1.54 ± 0.14 R⊕ and Mp = 7.3−1.0+1.1 M⊕, and K2-38c as a sub-Neptune with RP = 2.29 ± 0.26 R⊕ and Mp = 8.3−1.3+1.3 M⊕. Combining the radius and mass measurements, we derived a mean density of ρp = 11.0−2.8+4.1 g cm−3 for K2-38b and ρp = 3.8−1.1+1.8 g cm−3 for K2-38c, confirming K2-38b as one of the densest planets known to date. Conclusions. The best description for the composition of K2-38b comes from an iron-rich Mercury-like model, while K2-38c is better described by a rocky-model with H2 envelope. The maximum collision stripping boundary shows how giant impacts could be the cause for the high density of K2-38b. The irradiation received by each planet places them on opposite sides of the radius valley. We find evidence of a long-period signal in the RV time-series whose origin could be linked to a 0.25–3 MJ planet or stellar activity.

Description: We performed a uniform and detailed abundance analysis of 12 refractory elements (Na, Mg, Al, Si, Ca, Ti, Cr, Ni, Co, Sc, Mn, and V) for a sample of 257 G- and K-type evolved stars from the CORALIE planet search programme. To date, only one of these stars is known to harbour a planetary companion. We aimed to characterize this large sample of evolved stars in terms of chemical abundances and kinematics, thus setting a solid base for further analysis of planetary properties around giant stars. This sample, being homogeneously analysed, can be used as a comparison sample for other planet-related studies, as well as for different type of studies related to stellar and Galaxy astrophysics. The abundances of the chemical elements were determined using an local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) abundance analysis relative to the Sun, with the spectral synthesis code moog and a grid of Kurucz ATLAS9 atmospheres. To separate the Galactic stellar populations, both a purely kinematical approach and a chemical method were applied. We confirm the overabundance of Na in giant stars compared to the field FGK dwarfs. This enhancement might have a stellar evolutionary character, but departures from LTE may also produce a similar enhancement. Our chemical separation of stellar populations also suggests a ‘gap’ in metallicity between the thick-disc and high-α metal-rich stars, as previously observed in dwarfs sample from HARPS. The present sample, as most of the giant star samples, also suffers from the B – V colour cut-off, which excludes low-log g stars with high metallicities, and high-log g star with low [Fe/H]. For future studies of planet occurrence dependence on stellar metallicity around these evolved stars, we suggest to use a subsample of stars in a ‘cut-rectangle’ in the log g –[Fe/H] diagram to overcome the aforementioned issue.

Description: Results from exoplanet surveys indicate that small planets (super-Earth size and below) are abundant in our Galaxy. However, little is known about their interiors and atmospheres. There is therefore a need to find small planets transiting bright stars, which would enable a detailed characterization of this population of objects. We present the results of a search for the transit of the Earth-mass exoplanet α Centauri B b with the Hubble Space Telescope ( HST ). We observed α Centauri B twice in 2013 and 2014 for a total of 40 h. We achieve a precision of 115 ppm per 6-s exposure time in a highly saturated regime, which is found to be consistent across HST orbits. We rule out the transiting nature of α Centauri B b with the orbital parameters published in the literature at 96.6 per cent confidence. We find in our data a single transit-like event that could be associated with another Earth-sized planet in the system, on a longer period orbit. Our programme demonstrates the ability of HST to obtain consistent, high-precision photometry of saturated stars over 26 h of continuous observations.

Description: WASP-80b is a missing link in the study of exoatmospheres. It falls between the warm Neptunes and the hot Jupiters and is amenable for characterization, thanks to its host star's properties. We observed the planet through transit and during occultation with Warm Spitzer . Combining our mid-infrared transits with optical time series, we find that the planet presents a transmission spectrum indistinguishable from a horizontal line. In emission, WASP-80b is the intrinsically faintest planet whose dayside flux has been detected in both the 3.6 and 4.5 μm Spitzer channels. The depths of the occultations reveal that WASP-80b is as bright and as red as a T4 dwarf, but that its temperature is cooler. If planets go through the equivalent of an L–T transition, our results would imply that this happens at cooler temperatures than for brown dwarfs. Placing WASP-80b's dayside into a colour–magnitude diagram, it falls exactly at the junction between a blackbody model and the T-dwarf sequence; we cannot discern which of those two interpretations is the more likely. WASP-80b's flux density is as low as GJ 436b at 3.6 μm; the planet's dayside is also fainter, but bluer than HD 189733Ab's nightside (in the [3.6] and [4.5] Spitzer bands). Flux measurements on other planets with similar equilibrium temperatures are required to establish whether irradiated gas giants, such as brown dwarfs, transition between two spectral classes. An eventual detection of methane absorption in transmission would also help lift that degeneracy. We obtained a second series of high-resolution spectra during transit, using HARPS. We reanalyse the Rossiter–McLaughlin effect. The data now favour an aligned orbital solution and a stellar rotation nearly three times slower than stellar line broadening implies. A contribution to stellar line broadening, maybe macroturbulence, is likely to have been underestimated for cool stars, whose rotations have therefore been systematically overestimated.

Description: We present new observations of the Kuiper belt analogues around HD 38858 and HD 20794, hosts of super-Earth mass planets within 1 au. As two of the four nearby G-type stars (with HD 69830 and 61 Vir) that form the basis of a possible correlation between low-mass planets and debris disc brightness, these systems are of particular interest. The disc around HD 38858 is well resolved with Herschel and we constrain the disc geometry and radial structure. We also present a probable James Clerk Maxwell Telescope sub-mm continuum detection of the disc and a CO J  = 2–1 upper limit. The disc around HD 20794 is much fainter and appears marginally resolved with Herschel , and is constrained to be less extended than the discs around 61 Vir and HD 38858. We also set limits on the radial location of hot dust recently detected around HD 20794 with near-IR interferometry. We present High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher upper limits on unseen planets in these four systems, ruling out additional super-Earths within a few au, and Saturn-mass planets within 10 au. We consider the disc structure in the three systems with Kuiper belt analogues (HD 69830 has only a warm dust detection), concluding that 61 Vir and HD 38858 have greater radial disc extent than HD 20794. We speculate that the greater width is related to the greater minimum planet masses (10–20 M versus 3–5 M ), arising from an eccentric planetesimal population analogous to the Solar system's scattered disc. We discuss alternative scenarios and possible means to distinguish among them.

Description: We present graphic , a new angular differential imaging reduction pipeline where all geometric image operations are based on Fourier transforms. To achieve this goal the entire pipeline is parallelized making it possible to reduce large amounts of observation data without the need to bin the data. The specific rotation and shift algorithms based on Fourier transforms are described and performance comparison with conventional interpolation algorithm is given. Tests using fake companions injected in real science frames demonstrate the significant gain obtained by using geometric operations based on Fourier transforms compared to conventional interpolation. This also translates in a better point spread function and speckle subtraction with respect to conventional reduction pipelines, achieving detection limits comparable to current best performing pipelines. Flux conservation of the companions is also demonstrated. This pipeline is currently able to reduce science data produced by Very Large Telescope (VLT)/NACO, Gemini/NICI, VLT/SPHERE, and Subaru/SCExAO.

Description: We report the discovery of the transiting exoplanets WASP-69b, WASP-70Ab and WASP-84b, each of which orbits a bright star ( V  ~ 10). WASP-69b is a bloated Saturn-mass planet (0.26  M Jup , 1.06  R Jup ) in a 3.868-d period around an active, ~1-Gyr, mid-K dwarf. ROSAT detected X-rays 60±27 arcsec from WASP-69. If the star is the source then the planet could be undergoing mass-loss at a rate of ~10 12  g s –1 . This is one to two orders of magnitude higher than the evaporation rate estimated for HD 209458b and HD 189733b, both of which have exhibited anomalously large Lyman α absorption during transit. WASP-70Ab is a sub-Jupiter-mass planet (0.59  M Jup , 1.16  R Jup ) in a 3.713-d orbit around the primary of a spatially resolved, 9–10-Gyr, G4+K3 binary, with a separation of 3.3 arcsec (≥800 au). WASP-84b is a sub-Jupiter-mass planet (0.69  M Jup , 0.94  R Jup ) in an 8.523-d orbit around an active, ~1-Gyr, early-K dwarf. Of the transiting planets discovered from the ground to date, WASP-84b has the third-longest period. For the active stars WASP-69 and WASP-84, we pre-whitened the radial velocities using a low-order harmonic series. We found that this reduced the residual scatter more than did the oft-used method of pre-whitening with a fit between residual radial velocity and bisector span. The system parameters were essentially unaffected by pre-whitening.

Description: We present here the first observationally based determination of the rate of occurrence of circumbinary planets. This is derived from the publicly available Kepler data, using an automated search algorithm and debiasing process to produce occurrence rates implied by the seven systems already known. These rates depend critically on the planetary inclination distribution: if circumbinary planets are preferentially coplanar with their host binaries, as has been suggested, then the rate of occurrence of planets with R p 〉 6R orbiting with P p  〈 300 d is $10.0 ^{+18}_{-6.5}$ per cent (95 per cent confidence limits), higher than but consistent with single star rates. If on the other hand the underlying planetary inclination distribution is isotropic, then this occurrence rate rises dramatically, to give a lower limit of 47 per cent. This implies that formation and subsequent dynamical evolution in circumbinary discs must either lead to largely coplanar planets, or proceed with significantly greater ease than in circumstellar discs. As a result of this investigation, we also show that giant planets ( 〉 10R ) are significantly less common in circumbinary orbits than their smaller siblings, and confirm that the proposed shortfall of circumbinary planets orbiting the shorter period binaries in the Kepler sample is a real effect.