WASP-80b: a gas giant transiting a cool dwarf

in Astronomy and Astrophysics (2013), 551

We report the discovery of a planet transiting the star <ASTROBJ>WASP-80</ASTROBJ> (<ASTROBJ>1SWASP J201240.26-020838.2</ASTROBJ>; <ASTROBJ>2MASS J20124017-0208391</ASTROBJ>; <ASTROBJ>TYC 5165-481-1 ... [more ▼]

We report the discovery of a planet transiting the star <ASTROBJ>WASP-80</ASTROBJ> (<ASTROBJ>1SWASP J201240.26-020838.2</ASTROBJ>; <ASTROBJ>2MASS J20124017-0208391</ASTROBJ>; <ASTROBJ>TYC 5165-481-1</ASTROBJ>; <ASTROBJ>BPM 80815</ASTROBJ>; V = 11.9, K = 8.4). Our analysis shows this is a 0.55 ± 0.04 M[SUB]jup[/SUB], 0.95 ± 0.03 R[SUB]jup[/SUB] gas giant on a circular 3.07 day orbit around a star with a spectral type between K7V and M0V. This system produces one of the largest transit depths so far reported, making it a worthwhile target for transmission spectroscopy. We find a large discrepancy between the vsini[SUB]⋆[/SUB] inferred from stellar line broadening and the observed amplitude of the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect. This can be understood either by an orbital plane nearly perpendicular to the stellar spin or by an additional, unaccounted for source of broadening. Using WASP-South photometric observations, from Sutherland (South Africa), confirmed with the 60 cm TRAPPIST robotic telescope, EulerCam, and the CORALIE spectrograph on the Swiss 1.2 m Euler Telescope, and HARPS on the ESO 3.6 m (Prog ID 089.C-0151), all three located at La Silla Observatory, Chile.Radial velocity and photometric data are available in electronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp to <A href="http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr">cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr</A>(<A href="http://130.79.128.5">130.79.128.5</A>) or via <A href="http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/551/A80">http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/551/A80</A> [less ▲]

Spitzer 3.6 micron and 4.5 micron full-orbit lightcurves of WASP-18

in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (2013), 428(3), 2645-2660

We present new lightcurves of the massive hot Jupiter system WASP-18 obtained with the Spitzer spacecraft covering the entire orbit at 3.6 micron and 4.5 micron. These lightcurves are used to measure the ... [more ▼]

We present new lightcurves of the massive hot Jupiter system WASP-18 obtained with the Spitzer spacecraft covering the entire orbit at 3.6 micron and 4.5 micron. These lightcurves are used to measure the amplitude, shape and phase of the thermal phase effect for WASP-18b. We find that our results for the thermal phase effect are limited to an accuracy of about 0.01% by systematic noise sources of unknown origin. At this level of accuracy we find that the thermal phase effect has a peak-to-peak amplitude approximately equal to the secondary eclipse depth, has a sinusoidal shape and that the maximum brightness occurs at the same phase as mid-occultation to within about 5 degrees at 3.6 micron and to within about 10 degrees at 4.5 micron. The shape and amplitude of the thermal phase curve imply very low levels of heat redistribution within the atmosphere of the planet. We also perform a separate analysis to determine the system geometry by fitting a lightcurve model to the data covering the occultation and the transit. The secondary eclipse depths we measure at 3.6 micron and 4.5 micron are in good agreement with previous measurements and imply a very low albedo for WASP-18b. The parameters of the system (masses, radii, etc.) derived from our analysis are in also good agreement with those from previous studies, but with improved precision. We use new high-resolution imaging and published limits on the rate of change of the mean radial velocity to check for the presence of any faint companion stars that may affect our results. We find that there is unlikely to be any significant contribution to the flux at Spitzer wavelengths from a stellar companion to WASP-18. We find that there is no evidence for variations in the times of eclipse from a linear ephemeris greater than about 100 seconds over 3 years. [less ▲]

WASP-71b: a bloated hot Jupiter in an 2.9-day, prograde orbit around an evolved F8 star

E-print/Working paper (2012)

We report the discovery by the WASP transit survey of a highly-irradiated, massive (2.258 +/- 0.072 MJup) planet which transits a bright (V = 10.6), evolved F8 star every 2.9 days. The planet, WASP-71b ... [more ▼]

We report the discovery by the WASP transit survey of a highly-irradiated, massive (2.258 +/- 0.072 MJup) planet which transits a bright (V = 10.6), evolved F8 star every 2.9 days. The planet, WASP-71b, is larger than Jupiter (1.50 +/- 0.11 RJup), but less dense (0.67 +/- 0.14 {\rho}Jup). We also report spectroscopic observations made during transit with the CORALIE spectrograph, which allow us to detect the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect. We determine the sky-projected angle between the stellar-spin and planetary-orbit axes to be {\lambda} = 19.8 +/- 9.9 degrees. [less ▲]

WASP-54b, WASP-56b and WASP-57b: Three new sub-Jupiter mass planets from SuperWASP

E-print/Working paper (2012)

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 ... [more ▼]

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 sequence, 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. [less ▲]

WASP-42 b and WASP-49 b: two new transiting Saturns

in Astronomy and Astrophysics (2012), 544

We report the discovery of two new transiting planets from the WASP survey. WASP-42 b is a 0.500 +- 0.035 M_J planet orbiting a K1 star at a separation of 0.0548 +- 0.0017 AU with a period of 4.9816872 ... [more ▼]

We report the discovery of two new transiting planets from the WASP survey. WASP-42 b is a 0.500 +- 0.035 M_J planet orbiting a K1 star at a separation of 0.0548 +- 0.0017 AU with a period of 4.9816872 +- 0.0000073 days. The radius of WASP-42 is 1.080 +- 0.057 R_J while its equilibrium temperature is T_eq = 995 +- 34 K. We detect some evidence of a small but non-zero eccentricity of e = 0.060 +- 0.013. WASP-49 b is a 0.378 +- 0.027 M_J planet around an old G6 star. It has a period of 2.7817387 +- 5.6 x 10-6 days and a separation of 0.0379 +- 0.0011 AU. This planet is slightly bloated, having a radius of 1.115 +- 0.056 R_J and an equilibrium temperature of T_eq = 1369 +- 42 K. Both planets have been followed up intensively in photometry, in total we have obtained 5 full and one partial transit light curves of WASP-42 and 4 full and one partial light curves of WASP-49 using the Euler-Swiss, TRAPPIST and Faulkes South telescopes. [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 ▲]