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Carleo, I., Malavolta, L., Desidera, S., Nardiello, D., Wang, S., Turrini, D., et al. (2024). The GAPS programme at TNG. Astron. Astrophys., 682, A135.
Abstract: Context. Different theories have been developed to explain the origins and properties of close-in giant planets, but none of them alone can explain all of the properties of the warm Jupiters (WJs, Porb = 10-200 days). One of the most intriguing characteristics of WJs is that they have a wide range of orbital eccentricities, challenging our understanding of their formation and evolution. Aims. The investigation of these systems is crucial in order to put constraints on formation and evolution theories. TESS is providing a significant sample of transiting WJs around stars bright enough to allow spectroscopic follow-up studies. Methods. We carried out a radial velocity (RV) follow-up study of the TESS candidate TOI-4515 b with the high-resolution spectrograph HARPS-N in the context of the GAPS project, the aim of which is to characterize young giant planets, and the TRES and FEROS spectrographs. We then performed a joint analysis of the HARPS-N, TRES, FEROS, and TESS data in order to fully characterize this planetary system. Results. We find that TOI-4515 b orbits a 1.2 Gyr-old G-star, has an orbital period of Pb = 15.266446 +/- 0.000013 days, a mass of Mb = 2.01 +/- 0.05 MJ, and a radius of Rb = 1.09 +/- 0.04 RJ. We also find an eccentricity of e = 0.46 +/- 0.01, placing this planet among the WJs with highly eccentric orbits. As no additional companion has been detected, this high eccentricity might be the consequence of past violent scattering events.
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Carone, L., Molliere, P., Zhou, Y. F., Bouwman, J., Yan, F., Baeyens, R., et al. (2021). Indications for very high metallicity and absence of methane in the eccentric exo-Saturn WASP-117b. Astron. Astrophys., 646, A168.
Abstract: Aims. We investigate the atmospheric composition of the long-period (P-orb = 10 days) eccentric exo-Saturn WASP-117b. WASP-117b could be similar in atmospheric temperature and chemistry to WASP-107b. In mass and radius, WASP-117b is similar to WASP-39b, which allows a comparative study of these planets.Methods. We analyzed a near-infrared transmission spectrum of WASP-117b taken with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) WFC3 G141, which was reduced with two independent pipelines. High-resolution measurements were taken with VLT/ESPRESSO in the optical.Results. We report the robust (3 sigma) detection of a water spectral feature. In a 1D atmosphere model with isothermal temperature, uniform cloud deck, and equilibrium chemistry, the Bayesian evidence of a retrieval analysis of the transmission spectrum indicates a preference for a high atmospheric metallicity
[Fe/H] = 2.58(-0.37)(+0.26)
[Fe/H]=2.58-0.37+0.26 and clear skies. The data are also consistent with a lower metallicity composition [Fe/H] < 1.75 and a cloud deck between 10(-2.2) and 10(-5.1) bar, but with weaker Bayesian preference. We retrieve a low CH4 abundance of <10(-4) volume fraction within 1 sigma and <2 x 10(-1) volume fraction within 3<sigma>. We cannot constrain the equilibrium temperature between theoretically imposed limits of 700 and 1000 K. Further observations are needed to confirm quenching of CH4 with K-zz >= 10(8) cm(2) s(-1). We report indications of Na and K in the VLT/ESPRESSO high-resolution spectrum with substantial Bayesian evidence in combination with HST data.
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Casassus, S., & Carcamo, M. (2022). Variable structure in the PDS 70 disc and uncertainties in radio-interferometric image restoration. Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc., 513(4), 5790–5798.
Abstract: The compact mm-wavelength signal in the central cavity of the PDS 70 disc, revealed by deep ALMA observations, is aligned with unresolved H alpha emission, and is thought to stem from a circumplanetary disc (CPD) around PDS 70c. We revisit the available ALMA data on PDS 70c with alternative imaging strategies, and with special attention to uncertainties and to the impact of the so-called 'JvM correction', which is thought to improve the dynamic range of restored images. We also propose a procedure for the alignment and joint imaging of multi-epoch visibility data. We find that the JvM correction exaggerates the peak signal-to-noise of the data, by up to a factor of 10. In the case of PDS 70, we recover the detection of PDS 70c from the 2019 July data, but only at 8 sigma. However, its non-detection in 2017 Dec. suggests that PDS 70c is variable by at least 42 per cent +/- 13 per cent over a 1.75 yr time-span, so similar to models of the H alpha variability. We also pick up fine structure in the inner disc, such that its peak is offset by similar to 0 ''.04 from the disc centre. The inner disc is variable too, which we tentatively ascribe to Keplerian rotation as well as intrinsic morphological changes.
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Cont, D., Yan, F., Reiners, A., Nortmann, L., Molaverdikhani, K., Palle, E., et al. (2022). Silicon in the dayside atmospheres of two ultra-hot Jupiters. Astron. Astrophys., 657, L2.
Abstract: Atmospheres of highly irradiated gas giant planets host a large variety of atomic and ionic species. Here we observe the thermal emission spectra of the two ultra-hot Jupiters WASP-33b and KELT-20b /MASCARA-2b in the near-infrared wavelength range with CARMENES. Via high-resolution Doppler spectroscopy, we searched for neutral silicon (Si) in their dayside atmospheres. We detect the Si spectral signature of both planets via cross-correlation with model spectra. Detection levels of 4.8 sigma and 5.4 sigma, respectively, are observed when assuming a solar atmospheric composition. This is the first detection of Si in exoplanet atmospheres. The presence of Si is an important finding due to its fundamental role in cloud formation and, hence, for the planetary energy balance. Since the spectral lines are detected in emission, our results also confirm the presence of an inverted temperature profile in the dayside atmospheres of both planets.
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Dempsey, A. M., Munoz, D. J., & Lithwick, Y. (2021). Outward Migration of Super-Jupiters. Astrophys. J. Lett., 918(2), L36.
Abstract: Recent simulations show that giant planets of about 1 M (J) migrate inward at a rate that differs from the type II prediction. Here we show that at higher masses, planets migrate outward. Our result differs from previous ones because of our longer simulation times, lower viscosity, and boundary conditions that allow the disk to reach a viscous steady state. We show that, for planets on circular orbits, the transition from inward to outward migration coincides with the known transition from circular to eccentric disks that occurs for planets more massive than a few Jupiters. In an eccentric disk, the torque on the outer disk weakens due to two effects: the planet launches weaker waves, and those waves travel further before damping. As a result, the torque on the inner disk dominates, and the planet pushes itself outward. Our results suggest that the many super-Jupiters observed by direct imaging at large distances from the star may have gotten there by outward migration.
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Espinoza, N., Brahm, R., Henning, T., Jordan, A., Dorn, C., Rojas, F., et al. (2020). HD 213885b: a transiting 1-d-period super-Earth with an Earth-like composition around a bright (V=7.9) star unveiled by TESS. Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc., 491(2), 2982–2999.
Abstract: We report the discovery of the 1.008-d, ultrashort period (USP) super-EarthHD213885b (TOI141b) orbiting the bright (V= 7.9) star HD 213885 (TOI-141, TIC 403224672), detected using photometry from the recently launched TESS mission. Using FEROS, HARPS, and CORALIE radial velocities, we measure a precise mass of 8.8 +/- 0.6M. for this 1.74 +/- 0.05 R. exoplanet, which provides enough information to constrain its bulk composition – similar to Earth's but enriched in iron. The radius, mass, and stellar irradiation of HD 213885b are, given our data, very similar to 55 Cancri e, making this exoplanet a good target to perform comparative exoplanetology of short period, highly irradiated super-Earths. Our precise radial velocities reveal an additional 4.78-d signal which we interpret as arising from a second, non-transiting planet in the system, HD 213885c, whoseminimum mass of 19.9 +/- 1.4M. makes it consistent with being a Neptune-mass exoplanet. The HD 213885 system is very interesting from the perspective of future atmospheric characterization, being the second brightest star to host an USP transiting super-Earth (with the brightest star being, in fact, 55 Cancri). Prospects for characterization with present and future observatories are discussed.
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Grieves, N., Bouchy, F., Ulmer-Moll, S., Gill, S., Anderson, D. R., Psaridi, A., et al. (2023). An old warm Jupiter orbiting the metal-poor G-dwarf TOI-5542. Astron. Astrophys., 668, A29.
Abstract: We report the discovery of a 1.32(-0.10)(+0.10)M(Jup) planet orbiting on a 75.12 day period around the G3V 10.8(-3.6)(+2.1) Gyr old star TOI-5542 (TIC 466206508; TYC 9086-1210-1). The planet was first detected by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) as a single transit event in TESS Sector 13. A second transit was observed 376 days later in TESS Sector 27. The planetary nature of the object has been confirmed by ground-based spectroscopic and radial velocity observations from the CORALIE and HARPS spectrographs. A third transit event was detected by the ground-based facilities NGTS, EulerCam, and SAAO. We find the planet has a radius of 1.009(-0.035)(+0.036)R(Jup) and an insolation of 9.6(-0.8)(+0.9)S(circle plus), along with a circular orbit that most likely formed via disk migration or in situ formation, rather than high-eccentricity migration mechanisms. Our analysis of the HARPS spectra yields a host star metallicity of [Fe/H] = -0.21 +/- 0.08, which does not follow the traditional trend of high host star metallicity for giant planets and does not bolster studies suggesting a difference among low- and high-mass giant planet host star metallicities. Additionally, when analyzing a sample of 216 well-characterized giant planets, we find that both high masses (4 M-Jup < M-p < 13 M-Jup) and low masses (0.5 M-Jup < M-p < 4 M-Jup), as well as both both warm (P > 10 days) and hot (P < 10 days) giant planets are preferentially located around metal-rich stars (mean [Fe/H] > 0.1). TOI-5542b is one of the oldest known warm Jupiters and it is cool enough to be unaffected by inflation due to stellar incident flux, making it a valuable contribution in the context of planetary composition and formation studies.
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Grieves, N., Nielsen, L. D., Vines, J. I., Bryant, E. M., Gill, S., Bouchy, F., et al. (2021). NGTS-13b: a hot 4.8 Jupiter-mass planet transiting a subgiant star. Astron. Astrophys., 647, A180.
Abstract: We report the discovery of the massive hot Jupiter NGTS-13b by the Next Generation Transit Survey (NGTS). The V = 12.7 host star is likely in the subgiant evolutionary phase with logg(*) = 4.04 +/- 0.05, T-eff = 5819 +/- 73 K, M-* = 1.30(-0.18)(+0.11) M-circle dot, and R-* = 1.79 +/- 0.06 R-circle dot. The NGTS detected a transiting planet with a period of P = 4.12 days around the star, which was later validated with the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS; TIC 454069765). We confirm the planet using radial velocities from the CORALIE spectrograph. Using NGTS and TESS full-frame image photometry combined with CORALIE radial velocities, we determine NGTS-13b to have a radius of R-P = 1.142 +/- 0.046 R-Jup, a mass of M-P = 4.84 +/- 0.44 M-Jup, and an eccentricity of e = 0.086 +/- 0.034. Previous studies have suggested that similar to 4 M-Jup may be the border separating two formation scenarios (e.g., core accretion and disk instability) and that massive giant planets share similar formation mechanisms as lower-mass brown dwarfs. NGTS-13b is just above 4 M-Jup, making it an important addition to the statistical sample needed to understand the differences between various classes of substellar companions. The high metallicity of NGTS-13, [Fe/H] = 0.25 +/- 0.17, does not support previous suggestions that massive giants are found preferentially around lower metallicity host stars, but NGTS-13b does support findings that more massive and evolved hosts may have a higher occurrence of close-in massive planets than lower-mass unevolved stars.
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Jones, M. I., Reinarz, Y., Brahm, R.., Tala Pinto, M., Eberhardt, J., Rojas, F., et al. (2024). A long-period transiting substellar companion in the super-Jupiters to brown dwarfs mass regime and a prototypical warm-Jupiter detected by TESS. Astron. Astrophys., 683, A192.
Abstract: We report on the confirmation and follow-up characterization of two long-period transiting substellar companions on low-eccentricity orbits around TIC 4672985 and TOI-2529, whose transit events were detected by the TESS space mission. Ground-based photometric and spectroscopic follow-up from different facilities, confirmed the substellar nature of TIC 4672985 b, a massive gas giant in the transition between the super-Jupiters and brown dwarfs mass regime. From the joint analysis we derived the following orbital parameters: P = 69.0480(-0.0005)(+0.0004) d, M-p = 12.74(-1.01)(+1.01) M-J, R-p = 1.026(-0.067)(+0.065) R-J and e = 0.018(-0.004)(+0.004). In addition, the RV time series revealed a significant trend at the similar to 350 m s(-1) yr(-1) level, which is indicative of the presence of a massive outer companion in the system. TIC 4672985 b is a unique example of a transiting substellar companion with a mass above the deuterium-burning limit, located beyond 0.1 AU and in a nearly circular orbit. These planetary properties are difficult to reproduce from canonical planet formation and evolution models. For TOI-2529 b, we obtained the following orbital parameters: P = 64.5949(-0.0003)(+0.0003) d, M-p = 2.340(-0.195)(+0.197) M-J, R-p = 1.030(-0.050)(+0.050) R-J and e = 0.021(-0.015)(+0.024), making this object a new example of a growing population of transiting warm giant planets.
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Jones, M. I., Wittenmyer, R., Aguilera-Gomez, C., Soto, M. G., Torres, P., Trifonov, T., et al. (2021). Four Jovian planets around low-luminosity giant stars observed by the EXPRESS and PPPS. Astron. Astrophys., 646, A131.
Abstract: We report the discovery of planetary companions orbiting four low-luminosity giant stars with M-star between 1.04 and 1.39 M-circle dot. All four host stars have been independently observed by the EXoPlanets aRound Evolved StarS (EXPRESS) program and the Pan-Pacific Planet Search (PPPS). The companion signals were revealed by multi-epoch precision radial velocities obtained in nearly a decade. The planetary companions exhibit orbital periods between similar to 1.2 and 7.1 yr, minimum masses of m(p)sin i similar to 1.8-3.7 M-J, and eccentricities between 0.08 and 0.42. With these four new systems, we have detected planetary companions to 11 out of the 37 giant stars that are common targets in the EXPRESS and PPPS. After excluding four compact binaries from the common sample, we obtained a fraction of giant planets (m(p) greater than or similar to 1- 2 M-J) orbiting within 5 AU from their parent star of f = 33.3(-7.1)(+9.0)%. This fraction is slightly higher than but consistent at the 1 sigma level with previous results obtained by different radial velocity surveys. Finally, this value is substantially higher than the fraction predicted by planet formation models of gas giants around stars more massive than the Sun.
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Kaye, L., Vissapragada, S., Gunther, M. N., Aigrain, S., Mikal-Evans, T., Jensen, E. L. N., et al. (2022). Transit timings variations in the three-planet system: TOI-270. Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc., 510(4), 5464–5485.
Abstract: We present ground- and space-based photometric observations of TOI-270 (L231-32), a system of three transiting planets consisting of one super-Earth and two sub-Neptunes discovered by TESS around a bright (K-mag = 8.25) M3V dwarf. The planets orbit near low-order mean-motion resonances (5:3 and 2:1) and are thus expected to exhibit large transit timing variations (TTVs). Following an extensive observing campaign using eight different observatories between 2018 and 2020, we now report a clear detection of TTVs for planets c and d, with amplitudes of similar to 10 min and a super-period of similar to 3 yr, as well as significantly refined estimates of the radii and mean orbital periods of all three planets. Dynamical modelling of the TTVs alone puts strong constraints on the mass ratio of planets c and d and on their eccentricities. When incorporating recently published constraints from radial velocity observations, we obtain masses of M-b = 1.48 +/- 0.18 M-circle plus, M-c = 6.20 +/- 0.31 M-circle plus, and M-d = 4.20 +/- 0.16 M-circle plus for planets b, c, and d, respectively. We also detect small but significant eccentricities for all three planets : e(b) = 0.0167 +/- 0.0084, e(c) = 0.0044 +/- 0.0006, and e(d) = 0.0066 +/- 0.0020. Our findings imply an Earth-like rocky composition for the inner planet, and Earth-like cores with an additional He/H2O atmosphere for the outer two. TOI-270 is now one of the best constrained systems of small transiting planets, and it remains an excellent target for atmospheric characterization.
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Kossakowski, D., Espinoza, N., Brahm, R., Jordan, A., Henning, T., Rojas, F., et al. (2019). TOI-150b and TOI-163b: two transiting hot Jupiters, one eccentric and one inflated, revealed by TESS near and at the edge of the JWST CVZ. Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc., 490(1), 1094–1110.
Abstract: We present the discovery of TYC9191-519-1b (TOI-150b, TIC 271893367) and HD271181b (TOI-163b, TIC 179317684), two hot Jupiters initially detected using 30-min cadence Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) photometry from Sector 1 and thoroughly characterized through follow-up photometry (CHAT, Hazelwood, LCO/CTIO, El Sauce, TRAPPIST-S), high-resolution spectroscopy (FEROS, CORALIE), and speckle imaging (Gemini/DSSI), confirming the planetary nature of the two signals. A simultaneous joint fit of photometry and radial velocity using a new fitting package JULIET reveals that TOI-150b is a 1.254 +/- 0.016 R-J, massive (2.61(-0.12)(+0.19) M-J) hot Jupiter in a 5.857-d orbit, while TOI-163b is an inflated (R-P = 1.478(-0.029)(+0.022) R-J, M-P = 1.219 +/- 0.11 M-J) hot Jupiter on a P = 4.231-d orbit; both planets orbit F-type stars. A particularly interesting result is that TOI-150b shows an eccentric orbit (e = 0.262(-0.037)(+0.045)), which is quite uncommon among hot Jupiters. We estimate that this is consistent, however, with the circularization time-scale, which is slightly larger than the age of the system. These two hot Jupiters are both prime candidates for further characterization – in particular, both are excellent candidates for determining spin-orbit alignments via the Rossiter-McLaughlin (RM) effect and for characterizing atmospheric thermal structures using secondary eclipse observations considering they are both located closely to the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Continuous Viewing Zone (CVZ).
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Nielsen, L. D., Brahm, R., Bouchy, F., Espinoza, N., Turner, O., Rappaport, S., et al. (2020). Three short-period Jupiters from TESS: HIP 65Ab, TOI-157b, and TOI-169b. Astron. Astrophys., 639, 17 pp.
Abstract: We report the confirmation and mass determination of three hot Jupiters discovered by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission: HIP 65Ab (TOI-129, TIC-201248411) is an ultra-short-period Jupiter orbiting a bright (V = 11.1 mag) K4-dwarf every 0.98 days. It is a massive 3.213 +/- 0.078 M-J planet in a grazing transit configuration with an impact parameter of b = 1.17(-0.08)(+0.10) b=1.17-0.08+0.10 . As a result the radius is poorly constrained, 2.03(-0.49)(+0.61)R(J) 2.03-0.49+0.61 RJ . The planet's distance to its host star is less than twice the separation at which it would be destroyed by Roche lobe overflow. It is expected to spiral into HIP 65A on a timescale ranging from 80 Myr to a few gigayears, assuming a reduced tidal dissipation quality factor of Q(s)(') = 10(7) – 10(9) Qs ' =107-109 . We performed a full phase-curve analysis of the TESS data and detected both illumination- and ellipsoidal variations as well as Doppler boosting. HIP 65A is part of a binary stellar system, with HIP 65B separated by 269 AU (3.95 arcsec on sky). TOI-157b (TIC 140691463) is a typical hot Jupiter with a mass of 1.18 +/- 0.13 M-J and a radius of 1.29 +/- 0.02 R-J. It has a period of 2.08 days, which corresponds to a separation of just 0.03 AU. This makes TOI-157 an interesting system, as the host star is an evolved G9 sub-giant star (V = 12.7). TOI-169b (TIC 183120439) is a bloated Jupiter orbiting a V = 12.4 G-type star. It has a mass of 0.79 +/- 0.06 M-J and a radius of 1.09(-0.05)(+0.08)R(J) 1.09-0.05+0.08<mml:msub>RJ . Despite having the longest orbital period (P = 2.26 days) of the three planets, TOI-169b receives the most irradiation and is situated on the edge of the Neptune desert. All three host stars are metal rich with [Fe / H] ranging from 0.18 to0.24.
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Nowak, G., Palle, E., Gandolfi, D., Deeg, H. J., Hirano, T., Barragan, O., et al. (2020). K2-280 b – a low density warm sub-Saturn around a mildly evolved star. Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc., 497(4), 4423–4435.
Abstract: We present an independent discovery and detailed characterization of K2-280 b, a transiting low density warm sub-Saturn in a 19.9-d moderately eccentric orbit (e = 0.35(-0.04)(+0.05)) from K2 campaign 7. A joint analysis of high precision HARPS, HARPS-N, and FIES radial velocity measurements and K2 photometric data indicates that K2-280 b has a radius of R-b = 7.50 +/- 0.44 R-circle plus and a mass of M-b = 37.1 +/- 5.6 M-circle plus, yielding a mean density of rho(b) = 0.48(-0.10)(+0.13) g cm(-3). The host star is a mildly evolved G7 star with an effective temperature of T-eff = 5500 +/- 100 K, a surface gravity of log g(star) = 4.21 +/- 0.05 (cgs), and an iron abundance of [Fe/H] = 0.33 +/- 0.08 dex, and with an inferred mass of M-star = 1.03 +/- 0.03 M-circle dot and a radius of R-star = 1.28 +/- 0.07 R-circle dot. We discuss the importance of K2-280 b for testing formation scenarios of sub-Saturn planets and the current sample of this intriguing group of planets that are absent in the Solar system.
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Osborn, A., Armstrong, D. J., Cale, B., Brahm, R., Wittenmyer, R. A., Dai, F., et al. (2021). TOI-431/HIP 26013: a super-Earth and a sub-Neptune transiting a bright, early K dwarf, with a third RV planet. Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc., 507(2), 2782–2803.
Abstract: We present the bright (V-mag = 9.12), multiplanet system TOI-431, characterized with photometry and radial velocities (RVs). We estimate the stellar rotation period to be 30.5 +/- 0.7 d using archival photometry and RVs. Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) objects of Interest (TOI)-431b is a super-Earth with a period of 0.49 d, a radius of 1.28 +/- 0.04 R-circle plus, a mass of 3.07 +/- 0.35 M-circle plus, and a density of 8.0 +/- 1.0 g cm(-3); TOI-431 d is a sub-Neptune with a period of 12.46 d, a radius of 3.29 +/- 0.09 R-circle plus, a mass of M-circle plus, and a density of 1.36 +/- 0.25 g cm(-3). We find a third planet, TOI-431c, in the High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher RV data, but it is not seen to transit in the TESS light curves. It has an Msin i of M-circle plus, and a period of 4.85 d. TOI-431d likely has an extended atmosphere and is one of the most well-suited TESS discoveries for atmospheric characterization, while the super-Earth TOI-431b may be a stripped core. These planets straddle the radius gap, presenting an interesting case-study for atmospheric evolution, and TOI-431b is a prime TESS discovery for the study of rocky planet phase curves.
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Psaridi, A., Bouchy, F., Lendl, M., Akinsanmi, B., Stassun, K. G., Smalley, B., et al. (2023). Three Saturn-mass planets transiting F-type stars revealed with TESS and HARPS TOI-615b, TOI-622b, and TOI-2641b. Astron. Astrophys., 675, A39.
Abstract: While the sample of confirmed exoplanets continues to grow, the population of transiting exoplanets around early-type stars is still limited. These planets allow us to investigate the planet properties and formation pathways over a wide range of stellar masses and study the impact of high irradiation on hot Jupiters orbiting such stars. We report the discovery of TOI-615b, TOI-622b, and TOI-2641b, three Saturn-mass planets transiting main sequence, F-type stars. The planets were identified by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and confirmed with complementary ground-based and radial velocity observations. TOI-615b is a highly irradiated (similar to 1277 F-circle dot) and bloated Saturn-mass planet (1.69(-0.06)(+0.05) R-Jup and 0.43(-0.08)(+0.09) M-Jup) in a 4.66 day orbit transiting a 6850 K star. TOI-622b has a radius of 0.82(-0.03)(+0.03) R-Jup and a mass of 0.30(-0.08)(+0.07) M-Jup in a 6.40 day orbit. Despite its high insolation flux (similar to 600 F-circle dot), TOI-622b does not show any evidence of radius inflation. TOI-2641b is a 0.39(-0.04)(+0.02) M-Jup planet in a 4.88 day orbit with a grazing transit (b = 1.04(-0.06)(+0.05)) that results in a poorly constrained radius of 1.61(-0.64)(+0.46) R-Jup. Additionally, TOI-615b is considered attractive for atmospheric studies via transmission spectroscopy with ground-based spectrographs and JWST. Future atmospheric and spin-orbit alignment observations are essential since they can provide information on the atmospheric composition, formation, and migration of exoplanets across various stellar types.
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Salinas, H., Pichara, K., Brahm, R., Perez-Galarce, F., & Mery, D. (2023). Distinguishing a planetary transit from false positives: a Transformer-based classification for planetary transit signals. Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc., 522(3), 3201–3216.
Abstract: Current space-based missions, such as the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), provide a large database of light curves that must be analysed efficiently and systematically. In recent years, deep learning (DL) methods, particularly convolutional neural networks (CNN), have been used to classify transit signals of candidate exoplanets automatically. However, CNNs have some drawbacks; for example, they require many layers to capture dependencies on sequential data, such as light curves, making the network so large that it eventually becomes impractical. The self-attention mechanism is a DL technique that attempts to mimic the action of selectively focusing on some relevant things while ignoring others. Models, such as the Transformer architecture, were recently proposed for sequential data with successful results. Based on these successful models, we present a new architecture for the automatic classification of transit signals. Our proposed architecture is designed to capture the most significant features of a transit signal and stellar parameters through the self-attention mechanism. In addition to model prediction, we take advantage of attention map inspection, obtaining a more interpretable DL approach. Thus, we can identify the relevance of each element to differentiate a transit signal from false positives, simplifying the manual examination of candidates. We show that our architecture achieves competitive results concerning the CNNs applied for recognizing exoplanetary transit signals in data from the TESS telescope. Based on these results, we demonstrate that applying this state-of-the-art DL model to light curves can be a powerful technique for transit signal detection while offering a level of interpretability.
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Sandford, E., Espinoza, N., Brahm, R., & Jordan, A. (2019). Estimation of singly transiting K2 planet periods with Gaia parallaxes. Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc., 489(3), 3149–3161.
Abstract: When a planet is only observed to transit once, direct measurement of its period is impossible. It is possible, however, to constrain the periods of single transiters, and this is desirable as they are likely to represent the cold and far extremes of the planet population observed by any particular survey. Improving the accuracy with which the period of single transiters can be constrained is therefore critical to enhance the long-period planet yield of surveys. Here, we combine Gaia parallaxes with stellar models and broad-band photometry to estimate the stellar densities of K2 planet host stars, then use that stellar density information to model individual planet transits and infer the posterior period distribution. We show that the densities we infer are reliable by comparing with densities derived through asteroseismology, and apply our method to 27 validation planets of known (directly measured) period, treating each transit as if it were the only one, as well as to 12 true single transiters. When we treat eccentricity as a free parameter, we achieve a fractional period uncertainty over the true single transits of 94(-58)(+87) per cent, and when we fix e = 0, we achieve fractional period uncertainty 15(-6)(+30) per cent, a roughly threefold improvement over typical period uncertainties of previous studies.
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Sedaghati, E., MacDonald, R. J., Casasayas-Barris, N., Hoeijmakers, H. J., Boffin, H. M. J., Rodler, F., et al. (2021). A spectral survey of WASP-19b with ESPRESSO. Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc., 505(1), 435–458.
Abstract: High-resolution precision spectroscopy provides a multitude of robust techniques for probing exoplanetary atmospheres. We present multiple VLT/ESPRESSO transit observations of the hot-Jupiter exoplanet WASP-19b with previously published but disputed atmospheric features from low resolution studies. Through spectral synthesis and modelling of the Rossiter-McLaughlin (RM) effect we calculate stellar, orbital and physical parameters for the system. From narrow-band spectroscopy we do not detect any of Hi, Fei, Mgi, Cai, Nai, and Ki neutral species, placing upper limits on their line contrasts. Through cross-correlation analyses with atmospheric models, we do not detect Fei and place a 3 sigma upper limit of on its mass fraction, from injection and retrieval. We show the inability to detect the presence of H2O for known abundances, owing to lack of strong absorption bands, as well as relatively low S/N ratio. We detect a barely significant peak (3.02 +/- 0.15 sigma) in the cross-correlation map for TiO, consistent with the sub-solar abundance previously reported. This is merely a hint for the presence of TiO and does not constitute a confirmation. However, we do confirm the presence of previously observed enhanced scattering towards blue wavelengths, through chromatic RM measurements, pointing to a hazy atmosphere. We finally present a reanalysis of low-resolution transmission spectra of this exoplanet, concluding that unocculted starspots alone cannot explain previously detected features. Our reanalysis of the FORS2 spectra of WASP-19b finds a similar to 100x sub-solar TiO abundance, precisely constrained to , consistent with the TiO hint from ESPRESSO. We present plausible paths to reconciliation with other seemingly contradicting results.
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Sedaghati, E., Sanchez-Lopez, A., Czesla, S., Lopez-Puertas, M., Amado, P. J., Palle, E., et al. (2022). Moderately misaligned orbit of the warm sub-Saturn HD 332231 b. Astron. Astrophys., 659, A44.
Abstract: Measurements of exoplanetary orbital obliquity angles for different classes of planets are an essential tool in testing various planet formation theories. Measurements for those transiting planets on relatively large orbital periods (P > 10 d) present a rather difficult observational challenge. Here we present the obliquity measurement for the warm sub-Saturn planet HD 332231 b, which was discovered through Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite photometry of sectors 14 and 15, on a relatively large orbital period (18.7 d). Through a joint analysis of previously obtained spectroscopic data and our newly obtained CARMENES transit observations, we estimated the spin-orbit misalignment angle, lambda to be -42.0(-10.6)(+11.3) deg, which challenges Laplacian ideals of planet formation. Through the addition of these new radial velocity data points obtained with CARMENES, we also derived marginal improvements on other orbital and bulk parameters for the planet, as compared to previously published values. We showed the robustness of the obliquity measurement through model comparison with an aligned orbit. Finally, we demonstrated the inability of the obtained data to probe any possible extended atmosphere of the planet, due to a lack of precision, and place the atmosphere in the context of a parameter detection space.
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