WASP-43b: The closest-orbiting hot Jupiter

in Astronomy and Astrophysics (2011), 535

We report the discovery of WASP-43b, a hot Jupiter transiting a K7V star every 0.81 d. At 0.6-Msun the host star has the lowest mass of any star hosting a hot Jupiter. It also shows a 15.6-d rotation ... [more ▼]

We report the discovery of WASP-43b, a hot Jupiter transiting a K7V star every 0.81 d. At 0.6-Msun the host star has the lowest mass of any star hosting a hot Jupiter. It also shows a 15.6-d rotation period. The planet has a mass of 1.8 Mjup, a radius of 0.9 Rjup, and with a semi-major axis of only 0.014 AU has the smallest orbital distance of any known hot Jupiter. The discovery of such a planet around a K7V star shows that planets with apparently short remaining lifetimes owing to tidal decay of the orbit are also found around stars with deep convection zones. [less ▲]

WASP-50 b: a hot Jupiter transiting a moderately active solar-type star

in Astronomy and Astrophysics (2011), 533

We report the discovery by the WASP transit survey of a giant planet in a close orbit (0.0295 ± 0.0009 AU) around a moderately bright (V = 11.6, K = 10) G9 dwarf (0.89 ± 0.08 M[SUB]&sun;[/SUB], 0.84 ± 0 ... [more ▼]

We report the discovery by the WASP transit survey of a giant planet in a close orbit (0.0295 ± 0.0009 AU) around a moderately bright (V = 11.6, K = 10) G9 dwarf (0.89 ± 0.08 M[SUB]&sun;[/SUB], 0.84 ± 0.03 R[SUB]&sun;[/SUB]) in the Southern constellation Eridanus. Thanks to high-precision follow-up photometry and spectroscopy obtained by the telescopes TRAPPIST and Euler, the mass and size of this planet, WASP-50 b, are well constrained to 1.47 ± 0.09 M[SUB]Jup[/SUB] and 1.15 ± 0.05 R[SUB]Jup[/SUB], respectively. The transit ephemeris is 2 455 558.6120 (±0.0002) + N × 1.955096 (±0.000005) HJD[SUB]UTC[/SUB]. The size of the planet is consistent with basic models of irradiated giant planets. The chromospheric activity (log R'[SUB]HK = -4.67[/SUB]) and rotational period (P[SUB]rot[/SUB] = 16.3 ± 0.5 days) of the host star suggest an age of 0.8 ± 0.4 Gy that is discrepant with a stellar-evolution estimate based on the measured stellar parameters (ρ[SUB]∗[/SUB] = 1.48 ± 0.10 ρ[SUB]&sun;[/SUB], T[SUB]eff[/SUB] = 5400 ± 100 K, [Fe/H] = -0.12 ± 0.08) which favors an age of 7 ± 3.5 Gy. This discrepancy could be explained by the tidal and magnetic influence of the planet on the star, in good agreement with the observations that stars hosting hot Jupiters tend to show faster rotation and magnetic activity. We measure a stellar inclination of 84[SUB]-31[SUP]+6[/SUP][/SUB] deg, disfavoring a high stellar obliquity. Thanks to its large irradiation and the relatively small size of its host star, WASP-50 b is a good target for occultation spectrophotometry, making it able to constrain the relationship between hot Jupiters' atmospheric thermal profiles and the chromospheric activity of their host stars. The photometric time-series used in this work are only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via <A href="http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/533/A88">http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/533/A88</A> [less ▲]

WASP-34b: a near-grazing transiting sub-Jupiter-mass exoplanet in a hierarchical triple system

in Astronomy and Astrophysics (2011), 526

We report the discovery of WASP-34b, a sub-Jupiter-mass exoplanet transiting its 10.4-magnitude solar-type host star (1SWASP J110135.89-235138.4; TYC 6636-540-1) every 4.3177 days in a slightly eccentric ... [more ▼]

We report the discovery of WASP-34b, a sub-Jupiter-mass exoplanet transiting its 10.4-magnitude solar-type host star (1SWASP J110135.89-235138.4; TYC 6636-540-1) every 4.3177 days in a slightly eccentric orbit (e = 0.038 +/- 0.012). We find a planetary mass of 0.59 +/- 0.01 M_Jup and radius of 1.22 ^{+0.11}_{-0.08} R_Jup. There is a linear trend in the radial velocities of 55+/-4 m/s/y indicating the presence of a long-period third body in the system with a mass > 0.45 M_Jup at a distance of >1.2 AU from the host star. This third-body is either a low-mass star, white dwarf, or another planet. The transit depth ((R_P/R_*)^2 = 0.0126) and high impact parameter (b = 0.90) suggest that this could be the first known transiting exoplanet expected to undergo grazing transits, but with a confidence of only ~80%. [less ▲]

Flux and color variations of the quadruply imaged quasar HE 0435--1223

in Astronomy and Astrophysics (2011), 528

We present VRi photometric observations of the quadruply imaged quasar HE 0435-1223, carried out with the Danish 1.54m telescope at the La Silla Observatory. Our aim was to monitor and study the ... [more ▼]

We present VRi photometric observations of the quadruply imaged quasar HE 0435-1223, carried out with the Danish 1.54m telescope at the La Silla Observatory. Our aim was to monitor and study the magnitudes and colors of each lensed component as a function of time. methods: We monitored the object during two seasons (2008 and 2009) in the VRi spectral bands, and reduced the data with two independent techniques: difference imaging and PSF (Point Spread Function) fitting.results: Between these two seasons, our results show an evident decrease in flux by ~0.2-0.4 magnitudes of the four lensed components in the three filters. We also found a significant increase (~0.05-0.015) in their V-R and R-i color indices. conclusions: These flux and color variations are very likely caused by intrinsic variations of the quasar between the observed epochs. Microlensing effects probably also affect the brightest "A" lensed component. [less ▲]

A sub-Saturn Mass Planet, MOA-2009-BLG-319Lb

in Astrophysical Journal (2011), 1010

We report the gravitational microlensing discovery of a sub-Saturn mass planet, MOA-2009-BLG-319Lb, orbiting a K or M-dwarf star in the inner Galactic disk or Galactic bulge. The high cadence observations ... [more ▼]

We report the gravitational microlensing discovery of a sub-Saturn mass planet, MOA-2009-BLG-319Lb, orbiting a K or M-dwarf star in the inner Galactic disk or Galactic bulge. The high cadence observations of the MOA-II survey discovered this microlensing event and enabled its identification as a high magnification event approximately 24 hours prior to peak magnification. As a result, the planetary signal at the peak of this light curve was observed by 20 different telescopes, which is the largest number of telescopes to contribute to a planetary discovery to date. The microlensing model for this event indicates a planet-star mass ratio of q = (3.95 +/- 0.02) x 10^{-4} and a separation of d = 0.97537 +/- 0.00007 in units of the Einstein radius. A Bayesian analysis based on the measured Einstein radius crossing time, t_E, and angular Einstein radius, \theta_E, along with a standard Galactic model indicates a host star mass of M_L = 0.38^{+0.34}_{-0.18} M_{Sun} and a planet mass of M_p = 50^{+44}_{-24} M_{Earth}, which is half the mass of Saturn. This analysis also yields a planet-star three-dimensional separation of a = 2.4^{+1.2}_{-0.6} AU and a distance to the planetary system of D_L = 6.1^{+1.1}_{-1.2} kpc. This separation is ~ 2 times the distance of the snow line, a separation similar to most of the other planets discovered by microlensing. [less ▲]

A much lower density for the transiting extrasolar planet WASP-7 (Research Note)

in Astronomy and Astrophysics (2011), 527

We present the first high-precision photometry of the transiting extrasolar planetary system WASP-7, obtained using telescope defocussing techniques and reaching a scatter of 0.68 mmag per point. We find ... [more ▼]

We present the first high-precision photometry of the transiting extrasolar planetary system WASP-7, obtained using telescope defocussing techniques and reaching a scatter of 0.68 mmag per point. We find that the transit depth is greater and that the host star is more evolved than previously thought. The planet has a significantly larger radius (1.330 +/- 0.093 Rjup versus 0.915 +0.046 -0.040 Rjup) and much lower density (0.41 +/- 0.10 rhojup versus 1.26 +0.25 -0.21 rhojup) and surface gravity (13.4 +/- 2.6 m/s2 versus 26.4 +4.4 -4.0 m/s2) than previous measurements showed. Based on the revised properties it is no longer an outlier in planetary mass--radius and period--gravity diagrams. We also obtain a more precise transit ephemeris for the WASP-7 system. [less ▲]

OGLE-2009-BLG-092/MOA-2009-BLG-137: A Dramatic Repeating Event with the Second Perturbation Predicted by Real-time Analysis

in Astrophysical Journal (2010), 723(1), 81-88

We report the result of the analysis of a dramatic repeating gravitational microlensing event OGLE-2009-BLG-092/MOA-2009-BLG-137, for which the light curve is characterized by two distinct peaks with ... [more ▼]

We report the result of the analysis of a dramatic repeating gravitational microlensing event OGLE-2009-BLG-092/MOA-2009-BLG-137, for which the light curve is characterized by two distinct peaks with perturbations near both peaks. We find that the event is produced by the passage of the source trajectory over the central perturbation regions associated with the individual components of a wide-separation binary. The event is special in the sense that the second perturbation, occurring ~100 days after the first, was predicted by the real-time analysis conducted after the first peak, demonstrating that real-time modeling can be routinely done for binary and planetary events. With the data obtained from follow-up observations covering the second peak, we are able to uniquely determine the physical parameters of the lens system. We find that the event occurred on a bulge clump giant and it was produced by a binary lens composed of a K- and M-type main-sequence stars. The estimated masses of the binary components are M [SUB]1[/SUB] = 0.69 ± 0.11 M [SUB]sun[/SUB] and M [SUB]2[/SUB] = 0.36 ± 0.06 M [SUB]sun[/SUB], respectively, and they are separated in projection by r [SUB]bottom[/SUB] = 10.9 ± 1.3 AU. The measured distance to the lens is D [SUB]L[/SUB] = 5.6 ± 0.7 kpc. We also detect the orbital motion of the lens system. [less ▲]

OGLE 2008-BLG-290: an accurate measurement of the limb darkening of a galactic bulge K Giant spatially resolved by microlensing

in Astronomy and Astrophysics (2010), 518

Context. Not only is gravitational microlensing a successful tool for discovering distant exoplanets, but it also enables characterization of the lens and source stars involved in the lensing event. <BR ... [more ▼]

Context. Not only is gravitational microlensing a successful tool for discovering distant exoplanets, but it also enables characterization of the lens and source stars involved in the lensing event. <BR /> Aims: In high-magnification events, the lens caustic may cross over the source disk, which allows determination of the angular size of the source and measurement of its limb darkening. <BR /> Methods: When such extended-source effects appear close to maximum magnification, the resulting light curve differs from the characteristic Paczyński point-source curve. The exact shape of the light curve close to the peak depends on the limb darkening of the source. Dense photometric coverage permits measurement of the respective limb-darkening coefficients. <BR /> Results: In the case of the microlensing event OGLE 2008-BLG-290, the K giant source star reached a peak magnification at about 100. Thirteen different telescopes have covered this event in eight different photometric bands. Subsequent light-curve analysis yielded measurements of linear limb-darkening coefficients of the source in six photometric bands. The best-measured coefficients lead to an estimate of the source effective temperature of about 4700[SUP]+100[/SUP][SUB]-200[/SUB] K. However, the photometric estimate from colour-magnitude diagrams favours a cooler temperature of 4200 ± 100 K. <BR /> Conclusions: Because the limb-darkening measurements, at least in the CTIO/SMARTS2 V_s- and I_s-bands, are among the most accurate obtained, the above disagreement needs to be understood. A solution is proposed, which may apply to previous events where such a discrepancy also appeared. [less ▲]

Realisation of a fully-deterministic microlensing observing strategy for inferring planet populations

in Astronomische Nachrichten (2010), 331

Within less than 15 years, the count of known planets orbiting stars other than the Sun has risen from none to more than 400 with detections arising from four successfully applied techniques: Doppler ... [more ▼]

Within less than 15 years, the count of known planets orbiting stars other than the Sun has risen from none to more than 400 with detections arising from four successfully applied techniques: Doppler-wobbles, planetary transits, gravitational microlensing, and direct imaging. While the hunt for twin Earths is on, a statistically well-defined sample of the population of planets in all their variety is required for probing models of planet formation and orbital evolution so that the origin of planets that harbour life, like and including ours, can be understood. Given the different characteristics of the detection techniques, a complete picture can only arise from a combination of their respective results. Microlensing observations are well-suited to reveal statistical properties of the population of planets orbiting stars in either the Galactic disk or bulge from microlensing observations, but a mandatory requirement is the adoption of strictly-deterministic criteria for selecting targets and identifying signals. Here, we describe a fully-deterministic strategy realised by means of the ARTEMiS (Automated Robotic Terrestrial Exoplanet Microlensing Search) system at the Danish 1.54-m telescope at ESO La Silla between June and August 2008 as part of the MiNDSTEp (Microlensing Network for the Detection of Small Terrestrial Exoplanets) campaign, making use of immediate feedback on suspected anomalies recognized by the SIGNALMEN anomaly detector. We demonstrate for the first time the feasibility of such an approach, and thereby the readiness for studying planet populations down to Earth mass and even below, with ground-based observations. While the quality of the real-time photometry is a crucial factor on the efficiency of the campaign, an impairment of the target selection by data of bad quality can be successfully avoided. With a smaller slew time, smaller dead time, and higher through-put, modern robotic telescopes could significantly outperform the 1.54-m Danish, whereas lucky-imaging cameras could set new standards for high-precision follow-up monitoring of microlensing events. Based on data collected by the MiNDSTEp consortium with the Danish 1.54-m telescope at the ESO La Silla Observatory. [less ▲]

Transiting planetary system WASP-4 (Southworth+, 2009)

Textual, factual or bibliographical database (2009)

Light curves of four transit events of the transiting extrasolar planetary system WASP-4 are presented. The data were obtained using the Danish 1.5m telescope and DFOSC camera at ESO La Silla in 2008 ... [more ▼]

Light curves of four transit events of the transiting extrasolar planetary system WASP-4 are presented. The data were obtained using the Danish 1.5m telescope and DFOSC camera at ESO La Silla in 2008, with substantial telescope defocussing in order to improve the photometric precision of the observations. A Cousins R filter and exposure times of 120s were used. (1 data file). [less ▲]