CoRoT-7b, the first super-Earth with measured radius discovered, has opened the new field of rocky exoplanets characterisation. To better understand this interesting system, new observations were taken with the CoRoT satellite. During this run 90 new
transits were obtained in the imagette mode. These were analysed together with the previous 151 transits obtained in the discovery run and HARPS radial velocity observations to derive accurate system parameters. A difference is found in the posterior probability distribution of the transit parameters between the previous CoRoT run (LRa01) and the new run (LRa06). We propose this is due to an extra noise component in the previous CoRoT run suspected to be transit spot occultation events. These lead to the mean transit shape becoming V-shaped. We show that the extra noise component is dominant at low stellar flux levels and reject these transits in the final analysis. We obtained a planetary radius, $R_p= 1.585pm0.064,R_{oplus}$, in agreement with previous estimates. Combining the planetary radius with the new mass estimates results in a planetary density of $ 1.19 pm 0.27, rho_{oplus}$ which is consistent with a rocky composition. The CoRoT-7 system remains an excellent test bed for the effects of activity in the derivation of planetary parameters in the shallow transit regime.
The hot-Jupiter WASP-10b was reported by Maciejewski et al. (2011a,b) to show transit timing variations (TTV) with an amplitude of ~ 3.5 minutes. These authors proposed that the observed TTVs were caused by a 0.1 MJup perturbing companion with an orb
ital period of ~ 5.23 d, and hence, close to the outer 5:3 mean motion resonance with WASP-10b. To test this scenario, we present eight new transit light curves of WASP-10b obtained with the Faulkes Telescope North and the Liverpool Telescope. The new light curves, together with 22 previously published ones, were modelled with a Markov-Chain Monte-Carlo transit fitting code. (...) Our homogeneously derived transit times do not support the previous claimed TTV signal, which was strongly dependent on 2 previously published transits that have been incorrectly normalised. Nevertheless, a linear ephemeris is not a statistically good fit to the transit times of WASP-10b. We show that the observed transit time variations are due to spot occultation features or systematics. We discuss and exemplify the effects of occultation spot features in the measured transit times and show that despite spot occultation during egress and ingress being difficult to distinguish in the transit light curves, they have a significant effect in the measured transit times. We conclude that if we account for spot features, the transit times of WASP-10 are consistent with a linear ephemeris with the exception of one transit (epoch 143) which is a partial transit. Therefore, there is currently no evidence for the existence of a companion to WASP-10b. Our results support the lack of TTVs of hot-Jupiters reported for the Kepler sample.
We present three newly discovered sub-Jupiter mass planets from the SuperWASP survey: WASP-54b is a heavily bloated planet of mass 0.636$^{+0.025}_{-0.024}$ mj and radius 1.653$^{+0.090}_{-0.083}$ rj. It orbits a F9 star, evolving off the main sequen
ce, every 3.69 days. Our MCMC fit of the system yields a slightly eccentric orbit ($e=0.067^{+0.033}_{-0.025}$) for WASP-54b. We investigated further the veracity of our detection of the eccentric orbit for WASP-54b, and we find that it could be real. However, given the brightness of WASP-54 V=10.42 magnitudes, we encourage observations of a secondary eclipse to draw robust conclusions on both the orbital eccentricity and the thermal structure of the planet. WASP-56b and WASP-57b have masses of 0.571$^{+0.034}_{-0.035}$ mj and $0.672^{+0.049}_{-0.046}$ mj, respectively; and radii of $1.092^{+0.035}_{-0.033}$ rj for WASP-56b and $0.916^{+0.017}_{-0.014}$ rj for WASP-57b. They orbit main sequence stars of spectral type G6 every 4.67 and 2.84 days, respectively. WASP-56b and WASP-57b show no radius anomaly and a high density possibly implying a large core of heavy elements; possibly as high as $sim$50 M$_{oplus}$ in the case of WASP-57b. However, the composition of the deep interior of exoplanets remain still undetermined. Thus, more exoplanet discoveries such as the ones presented in this paper, are needed to understand and constrain giant planets physical properties.
WASP-13b is a sub-Jupiter mass exoplanet orbiting a G1V type star with a period of 4.35 days. The current uncertainty in its impact parameter (0 < b < 0.46) resulted in poorly defined stellar and planetary radii. To better constrain the impact parame
ter we have obtained high precision transit observations with the RISE instrument mounted on 2.0 m Liverpool Telescope. We present four new transits which are fitted with an MCMC routine to derive accurate system parameters. We found an orbital inclination of 85.2 pm 0.3 degrees resulting in stellar and planetary radii of 1.56 pm 0.04 Rodot and 1.39 pm 0.05 RJup, respectively. This suggests that the host star has evolved off the main-sequence and is in the shell hydrogen-burning phase. We also discuss how the limb darkening affects the derived system parameters. With a density of 0.17{rho}J, WASP-13b joins the group of low density planets whose radii are too large to be explained by standard irradiation models. We derive a new ephemeris for the system, T0 = 2455575.5136 pm 0.0016 (HJD) and P = 4.353011 pm 0.000013 days. The planet equilibrium temperature (Tequ = 1500 K) and the bright host star (V = 10.4 mag) make it a good candidate for follow-up atmospheric studies.
We present high precision transit observations of the exoplanet WASP-21b, obtained with the RISE instrument mounted on 2.0m Liverpool Telescope. A transit model is fitted, coupled with an MCMC routine to derive accurate system parameters. The two new
high precision transits allow to estimate the stellar density directly from the light curve. Our analysis suggests that WASP-21 is evolving off the main sequence which led to a previous overestimation of the stellar density. Using isochrone interpolation, we find a stellar mass of 0.86 pm 0.04 Msun which is significantly lower than previously reported (1.01 pm 0.03 Msun). Consequently, we find a lower planetary mass of $0.27 pm 0.01 Mjup$. A lower inclination (87.4 pm 0.3 degrees) is also found for the system than previously reported, resulting in a slightly larger stellar (R_* =1.10 pm 0.03 Rsun) and planetary radius (R_p = 1.14 pm 0.04 Rjup). The planet radius suggests a hydrogen/helium composition with no core which strengthens the correlation between planetary density and host star metallicity. A new ephemeris is determined for the system, i.e., t0 =2455084.51974 pm 0.00020 (HJD) and P=4.3225060 pm 0.0000031 days. We found no transit timing variations in WASP-21b.
We present the discovery of WASP-39b, a highly inflated transiting Saturn-mass planet orbiting a late G-type dwarf star with a period of $4.055259 pm 0.000008$,d, Transit Epoch T$_{0}=2455342.9688pm0.0002$,(HJD), of duration $0.1168 pm 0.0008$,d. A c
ombined analysis of the WASP photometry, high-precision follow-up transit photometry, and radial velocities yield a planetary mass of $mpl=0.28pm0.03,mj$ and a radius of $rpl=1.27pm0.04,rj$, resulting in a mean density of $0.14 pm 0.02,rhoj$. The stellar parameters are mass $mstar = 0.93 pm 0.03,msun$, radius $rstar = 0.895pm 0.23,rsun$, and age $9^{+3}_{-4}$,Gyr. Only WASP-17b and WASP-31b have lower densities than WASP-39b, although they are slightly more massive and highly irradiated planets. From our spectral analysis, the metallicity of WASP-39 is measured to be feh,$= -0.12pm0.1$,dex, and we find the planet to have an equilibrium temperature of $1116^{+33}_{-32}$,K,. Both values strengthen the observed empirical correlation between these parameters and the planetary radius for the known transiting Saturn-mass planets.
We report the discovery of WASP-38b, a long period transiting planet in an eccentric 6.871815 day orbit. The transit epoch is 2455335.92050 +/- 0.00074 (HJD) and the transit duration is 4.663 hours. WASP-38bs discovery was enabled due to an upgrade t
o the SuperWASP-North cameras. We performed a spectral analysis of the host star HD 146389/BD+10 2980 that yielded Teff = 6150 +/- 80K, logg =4.3 +/- 0.1, vsini=8.6 +/- 0.4 km/s, M*=1.16 +/- 0.04 Msun and R* =1.33 +/- 0.03 Rsun, consistent with a dwarf of spectral type F8. Assuming a main-sequence mass-radius relation for the star, we fitted simultaneously the radial velocity variations and the transit light curves to estimate the orbital and planetary parameters. The planet has a mass of 2.69 +/- 0.06 Mjup and a radius of 1.09 +/-0.03 Rjup giving a density, rho_p = 2.1 +/-0.1 rho_jup. The high precision of the eccentricity e=0.0314 +/- 0.0044 is due to the relative transit timing from the light curves and the RV shape. The planet equilibrium temperature is estimated at 1292 +/- 33K. WASP-38b is the longest period planet found by SuperWASP-North and with a bright host star (V =9.4 mag), is a good candidate for followup atmospheric studies.
We present SuperWASP observations of HAT-P-14b, a hot Jupiter discovered by Torres et al. The planet was found independently by the SuperWASP team and named WASP-27b after follow-up observations had secured the discovery, but prior to the publication
by Torres et al. Our analysis of HAT-P-14/WASP-27 is in good agreement with the values found by Torres et al. and we refine the parameters by combining our datasets. We also provide additional evidence against astronomical false positives. Due to the brightness of the host star, V = 10, HAT-P-14 is an attractive candidate for further characterisation observations. The planet has a high impact parameter, b = 0.907 +/- 0.004, and the primary transit is close to grazing. This could readily reveal small deviations in the orbital parameters indicating the presence of a third body in the system, which may be causing the small but significant orbital eccentricity, e = 0.095 +/- 0.011. The system geometry suggests that the planet narrowly fails to undergo a secondary eclipse. However, even a non-detection would tightly constrain the system parameters.
We report on the discovery of WASP-37b, a transiting hot Jupiter orbiting a mv = 12.7 G2-type dwarf, with a period of 3.577471 pm 0.00001 d, transit epoch T0 = 2455338.6188 pm 0.0006 (HJD), and a transit duration 0.1304 pm 0.0018 d. The planetary com
panion has a mass Mp = 1.80 pm 0.17 MJ and radius Rp = 1.16 pm 0.07 RJ, yielding a mean density of 1.15 pm 0.15 times that of Jupiter. From a spectral analysis and comparisons with stellar models, we find the host star has M* = 0.925 pm 0.120 Msun, R* = 1.003 pm 0.053 Rsun, Teff = 5800 pm 150 K and [Fe/H] = -0.40 pm 0.12. WASP-37 is therefore one of the lowest metallicity stars to host a transiting planet.
