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Register a new userA photospheric and chromospheric activity analysis of the quiescent retrograde-planet host $ u$ Octantis A
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The single-lined spectroscopic binary $ u$ Octantis provided evidence of the first conjectured circumstellar planet demanding an orbit retrograde to the stellar orbits. The planet-like behaviour is now based on 1437 radial velocities (RVs) acquired from 2001 to 2013. $ u$ Octs semimajor axis is only 2.6 AU with the candidate planet orbiting $ u$ Oct A about midway between. These details seriously challenge our understanding of planet formation and our decisive modelling of orbit reconfiguration and stability scenarios. However, all non-planetary explanations are also inconsistent with numerous qualitative and quantitative tests including previous spectroscopic studies of bisectors and line-depth ratios, photometry from Hipparcos and the more recent space missions TESS and GAIA (whose increased parallax classifies $ u$ Oct A closer still to a subgiant ~ K1 IV). We conducted the first large survey of $ u$ Oct As chromosphere: 198 Ca II H-line and 1160 H $alpha$ indices using spectra from a previous RV campaign (2009-2013). We also acquired 135 spectra (2018-2020) primarily used for additional line-depth ratios, which are extremely sensitive to the photospheres temperature. We found no significant RV-correlated variability. Our line-depth ratios indicate temperature variations of only $pm$ 4 K, as achieved previously. Our atypical Ca II analysis models the indices in terms of S/N and includes covariance significantly in their errors. The H $alpha$ indices have a quasi-periodic variability which we demonstrate is due to telluric lines. Our new evidence provides further multiple arguments realistically only in favor of the planet.
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We observed the extreme close-in hot Jupiter system WASP-12 with HST. Near-UV transits up to three times deeper than the optical transit of WASP-12b reveal extensive diffuse gas, extending well beyond the Roche lobe. The distribution of absorbing gas varies between visits. The deepest NUV transits are at wavelength ranges with strong photospheric absorption, implying the absorbing gas may have temperature and composition similar to the stellar photosphere. Our spectra reveal significantly enhanced absorption (greater than 3 sigma below the median) at ~200 wavelengths on each of two HST visits; 65 of these wavelengths are consistent between the two visits, using a strict criterion for velocity matching which excludes matches with velocity shifts exceeding ~20 km/s. Excess transit depths are robustly detected throughout the inner wings of the MgII resonance lines independently on both HST visits. We detected absorption in FeII 2586A, the heaviest species yet detected in an exoplanet transit. The MgII line cores have zero flux, emission cores exhibited by every other observed star of similar age and spectral type are conspicuously absent. WASP-12 probably produces normal MgII profiles, but the inner portions of these strong resonance lines are likely affected by extrinsic absorption. The required Mg+ column is an order of magnitude greater than expected from the ISM, though we cannot completely dismiss that possibility. A more plausible source of absorption is gas lost by WASP-12b. We show that planetary mass loss can produce the required column. Our Visit 2 NUV light curves show evidence for a stellar flare. We show that some of the possible transit detections in resonance lines of rare elements may be due instead to non-resonant transitions in common species. We present optical observations and update the transit ephemeris.
We report 1212 radial-velocity (RV) measurements obtained in the years 2009-2013 using an iodine cell for the spectroscopic binary nu Octantis (K1III/IV). This system (a_bin~2.6 au, P~1050 days) is conjectured to have a Jovian planet with a semi-major axis half that of the binary host. The extreme geometry only permits long-term stability if the planet is in a retrograde orbit. Whilst the reality of the planet (P~415 days) remains uncertain, other scenarios (stellar variability or apsidal motion caused by a yet unobserved third star) continue to appear substantially less credible based on CCF bisectors, line-depth ratios and many other independent details. If this evidence is validated but the planet is disproved, the claims of other planets using RVs will be seriously challenged. We also describe a significant revision to the previously published RVs and the full set of 1437 RVs now encompasses nearly 13 years. The sensitive orbital dynamics allow us to constrain the three-dimensional architecture with a broad prior probability distribution on the mutual inclination, which with posterior samples obtained from an N-body Markov chain Monte Carlo is found to be 158.4 +/- 1.2 deg. None of these samples are dynamically stable beyond 1 Myr. However, a grid search around the best-fitting solution finds a region that has many models stable for 10 Myr, and includes one model within 1-sigma that is stable for at least 100 Myr. The planets exceptional nature demands robust independent verification and makes the theoretical understanding of its formation a worthy challenge.
Magnetic activity in the photosphere and chromosphere of the M dwarf EY Dra is studied and possible correlations between the two are investigated using photometric observations in the V and R bands and optical and near infrared spectroscopy. The longitudinal spot configuration in the photosphere is obtained from the V band photometry, and the chromospheric structures are investigated using variations in the H alpha line profile and observations of the Paschen beta line. The shape of the V band light-curve indicates two active regions on the stellar surface, about 0.4 in phase apart. The spectroscopic observations show enhanced H alpha emission observed close to the phases of the photometrically detected starspots. This could indicate chromospheric plages associated with the photospheric starspots. Some indications of prominence structures are also seen. The chromospheric pressure is limited to logTR < -4 based on the non-detection of emission in the Paschen beta wavelength region.
Kapteyns star is an old M subdwarf believed to be a member of the Galactic halo population of stars. A recent study has claimed the existence of two super-Earth planets around the star based on radial velocity (RV) observations. The innermost of these candidate planets--Kapteyn b (P = 48 days)--resides within the circumstellar habitable zone. Given recent progress in understanding the impact of stellar activity in detecting planetary signals, we have analyzed the observed HARPS data for signatures of stellar activity. We find that while Kapteyns star is photometrically very stable, a suite of spectral activity indices reveals a large-amplitude rotation signal, and we determine the stellar rotation period to be 143 days. The spectral activity tracers are strongly correlated with the purported RV signal of planet b, and the 48-day period is an integer fraction (1/3) of the stellar rotation period. We conclude that Kapteyn b is not a planet in the Habitable Zone, but an artifact of stellar activity.
Current radial velocity data from specialized instruments contain a large amount of information that may pass unnoticed if their analysis is not accurate. The joint use of Bayesian inference tools and frequency analysis has been shown effective to reveal exoplanets but they have been used less frequently to investigate stellar activity. We intend to use radial velocity data of the exoplanet host star GJ 3512 to investigate its magnetic activity. Our study includes the analysis of the photometric data available. The main objectives of our work are to constrain the orbital parameters of the exoplanets in the system, to determine the current level of activity of the star and to derive an activity cycle length for it. An adaptive importance sampling method was used to determine the parameters of the exoplanets orbit. Generalized Lomb-Scargle periodograms were constructed with both radial velocity curve and photometric data. A careful analysis of the harmonic frequencies was conducted in each periodogram. Our fit to multiple Keplerian orbits constrained the orbital parameters of two giant gas planets orbiting the star GJ 3512. The host star showed an increase of its magnetic activity during the last observing campaign. The accurate fit of the radial velocity curve data to the multi-Keplerian orbit permitted to reveal the star rotation in the residuals of the best fit and estimate an activity cycle length of ~ 14 years.
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