Planets and Planet-Sized Binaries from the OGLE Transit Survey

The OGLE survey for transiting planets has identified 177 transit candidates. Subsequent radial velocity follow-up of these candidates has allowed the detection of five transiting planets, as well as several dozen eclipsing binaries.Some of these systems consist of solar-type stars transited by small M dwarf companion, including the smallest stellar companions yet measured by transit. As a result, the OGLE transit survey has yielded a wealth of data on the mass-radius relation of planets and low-mass stars. In particular, two planet-sized stars were found, an empirical proof of the model predictions on Jupiter-sized main-sequence stars.     

Empirical evidence for tidal evolution in transiting planetary systems

Most transiting planets orbit very close to their parent star, causing strong tidal forces between the two bodies. Tidal interaction can modify the dynamics of the system through orbital alignment, circularization, synchronization and orbital decay by exchange of angular moment. Evidence for tidal circularization in close-in giant planet is well known. Here, we review the evidence for excess rotation of the parent stars due to the pull of tidal forces towards spin-orbit synchronization. We find suggestive empirical evidence for such a process in the present sample of transiting planetary systems. The corresponding angular momentum exchange would imply that some planets have spiralled towards their star by substantial amounts since the dissipation of the protoplanetary disc. We suggest that this could quantitatively account for the observed mass–period relation of close-in gas giants. We discuss how this scenario can be further tested and point out some consequences for theoretical studies of tidal interactions and for the detection and confirmation of transiting planets from radial velocity and photometric surveys.     

An algorithm for photometric identification of transiting circumbinary planets

Transiting planets manifest themselves by a periodic dimming of their host star by a fixed amount. On the other hand, light curves of transiting circumbinary (CB) planets are expected to be neither periodic nor to have a single depth while in transit. These propertied make the popular transit-finding algorithm Box Least Squares (BLS) almost ineffective so a modified version of BLS for the identification of CB planets was developed – CB-BLS. We show that using this algorithm it is possible to find CB planets in the residuals of light curves of eclipsing binaries that have noise levels of 1 per cent and more – quality that is routinely achieved by current ground-based transit surveys. Previous searches for CB planets using variation in eclipse times minima of CM Dra and elsewhere are more closely related to radial velocity than to transit searches and so are quite distinct from CB-BLS. Detecting CB planets is expected to have significant impact on our understanding of exoplanets in general, and exoplanet formation in particular. Using CB-BLS will allow to easily harness the massive ground- and space-based photometric surveys in operation to look for these hard-to-find objects.     

Transits of extrasolar planets

In this paper, we consider the physical properties and characteristic features of extrasolar planets and planetary systems, those, for which the passage of low-orbit giant planets across the stellar disk (transits) are observed. The paper is mostly a review. The peculiarities of the search for transits are briefly considered. The main attention in this paper is given to the difference in the physical properties of low-orbit giant planets. A comparison of the data obtained during the transits of “hot Jupiters” points to the probable existence of several distinct subtypes of low-orbit extrasolar planets. “Hot Jupiters” of low density (HD 209458b), “hot Jupiters” with massive cores composed of heavy elements (HD 149026b), and “very hot Jupiters” (HD 189733b) are bodies that probably fall into different categories of exoplanets. Dissipation of the atmospheres of low-orbit giant planets estimated from the experimental data is compared with the calculated Jeans atmospheric losses. For “hot Jupiters”, the expected Jeans mass losses due to atmospheric escape on a cosmogonic time scale hardly exceed a few percent. Low-orbit giant planets should have a strong magnetic field. Since the orbital velocity of “hot Jupiters” is close to the magnetosonic velocity (or can even exceed it), the moving planet should actively interact with the “stellar wind” plasma. The possession of a magnetic field by extrasolar planets and the effects of their interaction with plasma can be used to search for extrasolar planets.     

The Monitor project: searching for occultations in young open clusters

The Monitor project is a photometric monitoring survey of nine young (1–200 Myr) clusters in the solar neighbourhood to search for eclipses by very low mass stars and brown dwarfs and for planetary transits in the light curves of cluster members. It began in the autumn of 2004 and uses several 2- to 4-m telescopes worldwide. We aim to calibrate the relation between age, mass, radius and where possible luminosity, from the K dwarf to the planet regime, in an age range where constraints on evolutionary models are currently very scarce. Any detection of an exoplanet in one of our youngest targets (≲10 Myr) would also provide important constraints on planet formation and migration time-scales and their relation to protoplanetary disc lifetimes. Finally, we will use the light curves of cluster members to study rotation and flaring in low-mass pre-main-sequence stars.
The present paper details the motivation, science goals and observing strategy of the survey. We present a method to estimate the sensitivity and number of detections expected in each cluster, using a simple semi-analytic approach which takes into account the characteristics of the cluster and photometric observations, using (tunable) best-guess assumptions for the incidence and parameter distribution of putative companions, and we incorporate the limits imposed by radial velocity follow-up from medium and large telescopes. We use these calculations to show that the survey as a whole can be expected to detect over 100 young low and very low mass eclipsing binaries, and ∼3 transiting planets with radial velocity signatures detectable with currently available facilities.     

SuperWASP-N extrasolar planet candidates from fields 06h < RA < 16h

The Wide Angle Search for Planets (WASP) survey currently operates two installations, designated SuperWASP-N and SuperWASP-S, located in the Northern and Southern hemispheres, respectively. These installations are designed to provide high time-resolution photometry for the purpose of detecting transiting extrasolar planets, asteroids, and transient events. Here, we present results from a transit-hunting observing campaign using SuperWASP-N covering a right ascension (RA) range of 06^h < RA < 16^h. This paper represents the fifth and final in the series of transit candidates released from the 2004 observing season. In total, 729 335 stars from 33 fields were monitored with 130 566 having sufficient precision to be scanned for transit signatures. Using a robust transit detection algorithm and selection criteria, six stars were found to have events consistent with the signature of a transiting extrasolar planet based on the photometry, including the known transiting planet XO-1b. These transit candidates are presented here along with discussion of follow-up observations and the expected number of candidates in relation to the overall observing strategy.     

Simulations for multi-object spectrograph planet surveys

Radial velocity surveys for extrasolar planets generally require substantial amounts of large telescope time in order to monitor a sufficient number of stars. Two of the aspects which can limit such surveys are the single-object capabilities of the spectrograph, and an inefficient observing strategy for a given observing window. In addition, the detection rate of extrasolar planets using the radial velocity method has thus far been relatively linear with time. With the development of various multi-object Doppler survey instruments, there is growing potential to dramatically increase the detection rate using the Doppler method. Several of these instruments have already begun usage in large-scale surveys for extrasolar planets, such as Fibre Large Array Multi Element Spectrograph (FLAMES) on the Very Large Telescope (VLT) and Keck Exoplanet Tracker (ET) on the Sloan 2.5-m wide-field telescope.
In order to plan an effective observing strategy for such a program, one must examine the expected results based on a given observing window and target selection. We present simulations of the expected results from a generic multi-object survey based on calculated noise models and sensitivity for the instrument and the known distribution of exoplanetary system parameters. We have developed code for automatically sifting and fitting the planet candidates produced by the survey to allow for fast follow-up observations to be conducted. The techniques presented here may be applied to a wide range of multi-object planet surveys.     

Interactions between hot Jupiters and their host stars

A young hot Jupiter might have been tidally inflated beyond its Roche radius when its orbit was being circularized. This scenario has the potential to explain a couple of solid or tentative observations such as a pile‐up of hot Jupiters around 0.04‐0.05 AU, the mass‐period correlation of transiting planets, as well as the existence of hot Neptunes. Other scenarios such as tidal dissipation in a planet‐host star as well as the magnetic interaction will be also discussed. (© 2005 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Detecting the signatures of Uranus and Neptune

With more than 15 years since the first radial velocity discovery of a planet orbiting a Sun-like star, the time baseline for radial velocity surveys is now extending out beyond the orbit of Jupiter analogs. The sensitivity to exoplanet orbital periods beyond that of Saturn orbital radii however is still beyond our reach such that very few clues regarding the prevalence of ice giants orbiting solar analogs are available to us. Here we simulate the radial velocity, transit, and photometric phase amplitude signatures of the Solar System giant planets, in particular Uranus and Neptune, and assess their detectability. We scale these results for application to monitoring low-mass stars and compare the relative detection prospects with other potential methods, such as astrometry and imaging. These results quantitatively show how many of the existing techniques are suitable for the detection of ice giants beyond the snow line for late-type stars and the challenges that lie ahead for the detection true Uranus/Neptune analogs around solar-type stars.     

WASP-10b: a 3MJ, gas-giant planet transiting a late-type K star

We report the discovery of WASP-10b, a new transiting extrasolar planet (ESP) discovered by the Wide Angle Search for Planets (WASP) Consortium and confirmed using Nordic Optical Telescope FIbre-fed Echelle Spectrograph and SOPHIE radial velocity data. A 3.09-d period, 29 mmag transit depth and 2.36 h duration are derived for WASP-10b using WASP and high-precision photometric observations. Simultaneous fitting to the photometric and radial velocity data using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo procedure leads to a planet radius of  1.28 R _J   , a mass of  2.96 M _J   and eccentricity of ≈0.06. WASP-10b is one of the more massive transiting ESPs, and we compare its characteristics to the current sample of transiting ESP, where there is currently little information for masses greater than ≈  2 M _J   and non-zero eccentricities. WASP-10's host star, GSC 2752−00114 (USNO-B1.0 1214−0586164) is among the fainter stars in the WASP sample, with   V = 12.7  and a spectral type of K5. This result shows promise for future late-type dwarf star surveys.     

A matched filter method for ground-based sub-noise detection of terrestrial extrasolar planets in eclipsing binaries: application to CM Draconis

The photometric detection of extrasolar planets by transits in eclipsing binary systems can be significantly improved by cross-correlating the observational light curves with synthetic models of possible planetary transit features, essentially a matched filter approach. We demonstrate the utility and application of this transit detection algorithm for ground-based detections of terrestrial-sized (Earth-to-Neptune radii) extrasolar planets in the dwarf M-star eclipsing binary system CM Draconis. Preliminary photometric observational data of this system demonstrate that the observational noise is well characterized as white and Gaussian at the observational time steps required for precision photometric measurements. Depending on planet formation scenarios, terrestrial-sized planets may form quite close to this low-luminosity system. We demonstrate, for example, that planets as small as 1.4 Earth radii with periods on the order of a few months in the CM Draconis system could be detected at the 99.9% confidence level in less than a year using 1-m class telescopes from the ground. This result contradicts commonly held assumptions limiting present ground-based efforts to, at best, detections of gas giant planets after several years of observation. This method can be readily extended to a number of other larger star systems with the utilization of larger telescopes and longer observing times. Its extension to spacecraft observations should also allow the determination of the presence of terrestrial-sized planets in nearly 100 other known eclipsing binary systems.     

Ground-based detection of terrestrial extrasolar planets by photometry: the case for CM Draconis

The detection of extrasolar planets by measuring a photometric drop in the stellar brightness due to a planetary transit can be statistically improved by observing eclipsing binary systems and photometrically improved by observing small component systems. In particular the system CM Draconis, with two dM4 components, would allow the detection of extrasolar planets in the size range of Earth-to-Neptune requiring a ground-based photometric precision of about 0.08% to 1.1% (photometric precision of about 0.3% is routinely achievable with 1-meter class telescopes at the magnitude of CM Draconis, 11.07 inR-filter). In addition, the transit of extrasolar planets in a binary star system provides a unique, quasi-periodic signal that can be cross-correlated with the observational data to detect sub-noise signals. We examine the importance of making such observations to an understanding of the formation and evolution of terrestrial-type planets in main-sequence star systems. Terrestrial planets could have formed with substancially shorter periods in this lower luminosity system, for example, and might be expected to have accreted essentially in the binary orbital plane (however, non-coplanar planets may also eventually be detectable due to precession). We also report on a network of medium-sized telescopes at varying longitudes that have been organized to provide such constraints on terrestrial-planet formation processes and discuss the extention of near-term observations to other possible binary systems, as well. Finally, we discuss a more speculative, future observation that could be performed on the CM Draconis system that would be of exobiological as well as astrophysical interest.     

Observable consequences of planet formation models in systems with close-in terrestrial planets

To date, two planetary systems have been discovered with close-in, terrestrial-mass planets     . Many more such discoveries are anticipated in the coming years with radial velocity and transit searches. Here we investigate the different mechanisms that could form 'hot Earths' and their observable predictions. Models include: (1) in situ accretion; (2) formation at larger orbital distance followed by inward 'type 1' migration; (3) formation from material being 'shepherded' inward by a migrating gas giant planet; (4) formation from material being shepherded by moving secular resonances during dispersal of the protoplanetary disc; (5) tidal circularization of eccentric terrestrial planets with close-in perihelion distances and (6) photoevaporative mass-loss of a close-in giant planet. Models 1–4 have been validated in previous work. We show that tidal circularization can form hot Earths, but only for relatively massive planets     with very close-in perihelion distances (≲0.025 au), and even then the net inward movement in orbital distance is at most only 0.1–0.15 au. For planets of less than     , photoevaporation can remove the planet's envelope and leave behind the solid core on a Gyr time-scale, but only for planets inside 0.025–0.05 au. Using two quantities that are observable by current and upcoming missions, we show that these models each produce unique signatures, and can be observationally distinguished. These observables are the planetary system architecture (detectable with radial velocities, transits and transit timing) and the bulk composition of transiting close-in terrestrial planets (measured by transits via the planet's radius).     

The Monitor project: the search for transits in the open cluster NGC 2362

We present the results of a systematic search for transiting planets in a ∼5 Myr open cluster, NGC 2362. We observed ∼1200 candidate cluster members, of which ∼475 are believed to be genuine cluster members, for a total of ∼100 h. We identify 15 light curves with reductions in flux that pass all our detection criteria, and six of the candidates have occultation depths compatible with a planetary companion. The variability in these six light curves would require very large planets to reproduce the observed transit depth. If we assume that none of our candidates are, in fact, planets then we can place upper limits on the fraction of stars with hot Jupiters (HJs) in NGC 2362. We obtain 99 per cent confidence upper limits of 0.22 and 0.70 on the fraction of stars with HJs ( f _p) for 1–3 and 3–10 d orbits, respectively, assuming all HJs have a planetary radius of 1.5 R _Jup. These upper limits represent observational constraints on the number of stars with HJs at an age ≲10 Myr, when the vast majority of stars are thought to have lost their protoplanetary discs. Finally, we extend our results to the entire Monitor project, a survey searching young, open clusters for planetary transits, and find that the survey as currently designed should be capable of placing upper limits on f _p near the observed values of f _p in the solar neighbourhood.     

Searching for star-planet magnetic interaction in CoRoT observations

Close-in massive planets interact with their host stars through tidal and magnetic mechanisms. In this paper, we review circumstantial evidence for star-planet interaction as revealed by the photospheric magnetic activity in some of the CoRoT planet-hosting stars, notably CoRoT-2, 4, and 6. The phenomena are discussed in the general framework of activity-induced features in stars accompanied by hot Jupiters. The theoretical mechanisms proposed to explain the activity enhancements possibly related with hot Jupiters are also briefly reviewed with an emphasis on the possible effects at the photospheric level. The unique advantages of CoRoT and Kepler observations to test these models are pointed out.     

超短周期系外行星研究进展

超短周期(ultra-short-period,USP)行星是指轨道周期小于1 d的系外行星,是近年来系外行星研究领域中一个新的前沿目标。USP行星的搜寻与确认需要借助傅里叶变换(Fourier transform,FT)和盒最小二乘法(the box least,BLS)等光变曲线分析算法,以筛选和确认精准的周期信号。利用统计方法可得到目前USP行星的轨道周期、行星半径、宿主恒星类型等分布特征。大部分USP行星半径小于2R⊕,受行星质量限制,大多数USP行星无法通过视向速度信号测得精确的行星质量。根据已有的观测结果可算出,部分USP行星的质量小于10M⊕,由此推测这些USP的组成更接近金属与岩石混合的类地行星。由于密近轨道可能发生光致蒸发等物质损失过程,USP行星大气的存在情况尚不明确。目前,USP行星被认为起源于热木星(hot-Jupiters)或亚海王星(sub-Neptunes),但USP行星与热木星的主星金属丰度的分布存在较大差异,亚海王星的光致蒸发起源理论可能性更高。USP行星轨道演化机制包括低偏心率轨道迁移和潮汐耗散的原位起源模型等。     

A survey for planetary transits in the field of NGC 7789

We present results from 30 nights of observations of the open cluster NGC 7789 with the Wide Field Camera on the Isaac Newton Telescope, La Palma. From ∼900 epochs, we obtained light curves and Sloan   r '− i '  colours for ∼33 000 stars, with ∼2400 stars having better than 1 per cent precision. We expected to detect ∼2 transiting hot Jupiter planets if 1 per cent of stars host such a companion and a typical hot Jupiter radius is  ∼1.2  R _J  . We find 24 transit candidates, 14 of which we can assign a period. We rule out the transiting planet model for 21 of these candidates using various robust arguments. For two candidates, we are unable to decide on their nature, although it seems most likely that they are eclipsing binaries as well. We have one candidate exhibiting a single eclipse, for which we derive a radius of  1.81^+0.09_−0.00  R _J  . Three candidates remain that require follow-up observations in order to determine their nature.     

On the detection of (habitable) super-Earths around low-mass stars using Kepler and transit timing variation method

We present the results of an extensive study of the detectability of Earth-sized planets and super-Earths in the habitable zones of cool and low-mass stars using transit timing variation method. We have considered a system consisting of a star, a transiting giant planet, and a terrestrial-class perturber, and calculated TTVs for different values of the parameters of the system. To identify ranges of the parameters for which these variations would be detectable by Kepler, we considered the analysis presented by Ford et?al. (Transit timing observations from Kepler: I. Statistical analysis of the first four months. ArXiv:1102.0544, 2011) and assumed that a peak-to-peak variation of 20 s would be within the range of the photometric sensitivity of this telescope. We carried out simulations for resonant and non-resonant orbits, and identified ranges of the semimajor axes and eccentricities of the transiting and perturbing bodies for which an Earth-sized planet or a super-Earth in the habitable zone of a low-mass star would produce such TTVs. Results of our simulations indicate that in general, outer perturbers near first- and second-order resonances show a higher prospect for detection. Inner perturbers are potentially detectable only when near 1:2 and 1:3 mean-motion resonances. For a typical M star with a Jupiter-mass transiting planet, for instance, an Earth-mass perturber in the habitable zone can produce detectable TTVs when the orbit of the transiting planet is between 15 and 80 days. We present the details of our simulations and discuss the implication of the results for the detection of terrestrial planets around different low-mass stars.     

Long-term transit timing monitoring and homogenous study of WASP-32

We report new photometric observations of the transiting exoplanetary system WASP-32 made by using CCD cameras at Yunnan Observatories and Ho Koon Nature Education cum Astronomical Centre, China from 2010 to 2012. Following our usual procedure, the observed data are corrected for systematic errors according to the coarse decorrelation and SYSREM algorithms so as to enhance the signal of the transit events. Combined with radial velocity data presented in the literature, our newly observed data and earlier photometric data in the literature are simultaneously analyzed to derive the physical parameters describing the system by employing the Markov chain Monte Carlo technique. The derived parameters are consistent with the result published in the original paper about WASP-32b, but the uncertainties of the new parameters are smaller than those in the original paper. Moreover, our modeling result supports a circular orbit for WASP-32b. Through the analysis of all available mid-transit times, we have refined the orbital period of WASP-32b; no evident transit timing variation is found in these transit events.     

Astronomical evidence for the rapid growth of millimeter‐sized particles in protoplanetary disks

Abstract– I summarize recent surveys of protoplanetary disks at millimeter wavelengths and show that the distribution of luminosity, equivalent to the mass in small dust grains, declines rapidly. This contrasts with statistics on the lifetime of disks from infrared observations and the high occurrence of planets from radial velocity and transit surveys. I suggest that these disparate results can be reconciled if most of the dust in a disk is locked up in millimeter and larger‐sized particles within about 2 Myr. This statistical result on disk evolution agrees with detailed modeling of a small number of individual disks and with cosmochemical measurements of rapid planetesimal formation.