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B. Smalley

Publications and source records attributed to B. Smalley.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

TESS Cycle 2 observations of roAp stars with 2-min cadence data

We present the results of a systematic search of the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) 2-min cadence data for new rapidly oscillating Ap (roAp) stars observed during the Cycle 2 phase of its mission. We find seven new roAp stars previously unreported as such and present the analysis of a further 25 roAp stars that are already known. Three of the new stars show multiperiodic pulsations, while all new members are rotationally variable stars, leading to almost 70 per cent (22) of the roAp stars presented being $α^2$ CVn-type variable stars. We show that targeted observations of known chemically peculiar stars are likely to overlook many new roAp stars, and demonstrate that multi-epoch observations are necessary to see pulsational behaviour changes. We find a lack of roAp stars close to the blue edge of the theoretical roAp instability strip, and reaffirm that mode instability is observed more frequently with precise, space-based observations. In addition to the Cycle 2 observations, we analyse TESS data for all known roAp stars. This amounts to 18 further roAp stars observed by TESS. Finally, we list six known roAp stars that TESS is yet to observe. We deduce that the incidence of roAp stars amongst the Ap star population is just 5.5 per cent, raising fundamental questions about the conditions required to excite pulsations in Ap stars. This work, coupled with our previous work on roAp stars in Cycle 1 observations, presents the most comprehensive, homogeneous study of the roAp stars in the TESS nominal mission, with a collection of 112 confirmed roAp stars in total.

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TESS Cycle 1 observations of roAp stars with 2-min cadence data

We present the results of a systematic search for new rapidly oscillating Ap (roAp) stars using the 2-min cadence data collected by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) during its Cycle 1 observations. We identify 12 new roAp stars. Amongst these stars we discover the roAp star with the longest pulsation period, another with the shortest rotation period, and six with multiperiodic variability. In addition to these new roAp stars, we present an analysis of 44 known roAp stars observed by TESS during Cycle 1, providing the first high-precision and homogeneous sample of a significant fraction of the known roAp stars. The TESS observations have shown that almost 60 per cent (33) of our sample of stars are multiperiodic, providing excellent cases to test models of roAp pulsations, and from which the most rewarding asteroseismic results can be gleaned. We report four cases of the occurrence of rotationally split frequency multiplets that imply different mode geometries for the same degree modes in the same star. This provides a conundrum in applying the oblique pulsator model to the roAp stars. Finally, we report the discovery of non-linear mode interactions in $α$ Cir (TIC 402546736, HD 128898) around the harmonic of the principal mode -- this is only the second case of such a phenomenon.

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KIC5950759: a high-amplitude $δ$ Sct star with amplitude and frequency modulation near the terminal age main sequence

Amongst the intermediate mass pulsating stars known as $δ$ Sct stars is a subset of high-amplitude and predominantly radial-mode pulsators known as high-amplitude $δ$ Sct (HADS) stars. From more than 2000 $δ$ Sct stars observed by the Kepler space mission, only two HADS stars were detected. We investigate the more perplexing of these two HADS stars, KIC5950759. We study its variability using ground- and space-based photometry, determine its atmospheric parameters from spectroscopy and perform asteroseismic modelling to constrain its mass and evolutionary stage. From spectroscopy, we find that KIC5950759 is a metal-poor star, which is in agreement with the inferred metallicity needed to reproduce its pulsation mode frequencies from non-adiabatic pulsation models. Furthermore, we combine ground-based WASP and Kepler space photometry, and measure a linear change in period of order $\dot{P}/P \simeq 10^{-6}$ yr$^{-1}$ for both the fundamental and first overtone radial modes across a time base of several years, which is at least two orders of magnitude larger than predicted by evolution models, and is the largest measured period change in a $δ$ Sct star to date. Our analysis indicates that KIC5950759 is a metal-poor HADS star near the short-lived contraction phase and the terminal-age main sequence, with its sub-solar metallicity making it a candidate SX Phe star. KIC5950759 is a unique object amongst the thousands of known $δ$ Sct stars and warrants further study to ascertain why its pulsation modes are evolving remarkably faster than predicted by stellar evolution.

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WASP-186 and WASP-187: two hot Jupiters discovered by SuperWASP and SOPHIE with additional observations by TESS

We present the discovery of two new hot Jupiters identified from the WASP survey, WASP-186b and WASP-187b (TOI-1494.01 and TOI-1493.01). Their planetary nature was established from SOPHIE spectroscopic observations, and additional photometry was obtained from TESS. Stellar parameters for the host stars are derived from spectral line, IRFM, and isochrone placement analyses. These parameters are combined with the photometric and radial velocity data in an MCMC method to determine the planetary properties. WASP-186b is a massive Jupiter (4.22 +/- 0.18 M_J, 1.11 +/-0.03 R_J) orbiting a mid-F star on a 5.03 day eccentric (e=0.327 +/- 0.008) orbit. WASP-187b is a low density (0.80 +/- 0.09 M_J, 1.64 +/- 0.05 R_J) planet in a 5.15 day circular orbit around a slightly evolved early F-type star.

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Fundamental effective temperature measurements for eclipsing binary stars I. Development of the method and application to AI Phoenicis

Stars with accurate and precise effective temperature (T$_{\rm eff}$) measurements are needed to test stellar atmosphere models and calibrate empirical methods to determine T$_{\rm eff}$. There are few standard stars currently available to calibrate temperature indicators for dwarf stars. Gaia parallaxes now make it possible, in principle, to measure T$_{\rm eff}$ for many dwarf stars in eclipsing binaries. We aim to develop a method that uses high-precision measurements of detached eclipsing binary stars, Gaia parallaxes and multi-wavelength photometry to obtain accurate and precise fundamental effective temperatures that can be used to establish a set of benchmark stars. We select the well-studied binary AI Phoenicis to test our method, since it has very precise absolute parameters and extensive archival photometry. The method uses the stellar radii and parallax for stars in eclipsing binaries. We use a Bayesian approach to obtain the integrated bolometric fluxes for the two stars from observed magnitudes, colours and flux ratios. The fundamental effective temperature of two stars in AI Phoenicis are $6199\pm22$ K for the F7V component and $5094\pm16$ K for the K0IV component. The zero-point error in the flux scale leads to a systematic error of only 0.2% ($\approx$ 11K) in T$_{\rm eff}$. We find that these results are robust against the details of the analysis, such as the choice of model spectra. Our method can be applied to eclipsing binary stars with radius, parallax and photometric measurements across a range of wavelengths. Stars with fundamental effective temperatures determined with this method can be used as benchmarks in future surveys.

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Discovery and characterization of the exoplanets WASP-148b and c. A transiting system with two interacting giant planets

We present the discovery and characterization of WASP-148, a new extrasolar system that includes at least two giant planets. The host star is a slowly rotating inactive late-G dwarf with a V=12 magnitude. The planet WASP-148b is a hot Jupiter of 0.72 R_Jup and 0.29 M_Jup that transits its host with an orbital period of 8.80 days. We found the planetary candidate with the SuperWASP photometric survey, then characterized it with the SOPHIE spectrograph. Our radial velocity measurements subsequently revealed a second planet in the system, WASP-148c, with an orbital period of 34.5 days and a minimum mass of 0.40 M_Jup. No transits of this outer planet were detected. The orbits of both planets are eccentric and fall near the 4:1 mean-motion resonances. This configuration is stable on long timescales, but induces dynamical interactions so that the orbits differ slightly from purely Keplerian orbits. In particular, WASP-148b shows transit-timing variations of typically 15 minutes, making it the first interacting system with transit-timing variations that is detected on ground-based light curves. We establish that the mutual inclination of the orbital plane of the two planets cannot be higher than 35 degrees, and the true mass of WASP-148c is below 0.60 M_Jup. We present photometric and spectroscopic observations of this system that cover a time span of ten years. We also provide their Keplerian and Newtonian analyses; these analyses should be significantly improved through future TESS~observations.

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Spectroscopy of hot Gamma Doradus and A-F hybrid Kepler candidates close to the hot border of the Delta Scuti instability strip

If Gamma Dor-type pulsations are driven by the convective blocking mechanism, a convective envelope at a sufficient depth is essential. There are several hot Gamma Dor and hybrid star candidates in which there should not be an adequate convective envelope to excite theγDor-type oscillations. The existence of these hot objects needs an explanation. Therefore, we selected, observed and studied 24 hotγDor and hybrid candidates to investigate their properties. The atmospheric parameters, chemical abundances and vsini values of the candidates were obtained using medium-resolution (R= 46 000)spectra taken with the FIES instrument mounted at the NordicOptical Telescope. We also carried out frequency analyses of theKeplerlong- and short-cadence data to determine the exact pulsation contents. We found only five bona-fide hotγDor and three bona-fide hot hybrid stars in our sample. The other 16 stars were found to benormalγDor,δSct, or hybrid variables. No chemical peculiarity was detected in the spectra of the bona-fide hotγDor and hybrid stars. We investigated the interplay between rotation and pulsational modes. We also found that the hotγDor stars havehigherGaialuminosities and larger radii compared to main-sequence A-F stars.

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WASP-South hot Jupiters: WASP-178b, WASP-184b, WASP-185b & WASP-192b

We report on four new transiting hot Jupiters discovered by the WASP-South survey. WASP-178b transits a V = 9.9, A1V star with Teff = 9350 +/- 150 K, the second-hottest transit host known. It has a highly bloated radius of 1.81 +/- 0.09 Rjup, in line with the known correlation between high irradiation and large size. With an estimated temperature of 2470 +/- 60 K, the planet is one of the best targets for studying ultra-hot Jupiters that is visible from the Southern hemisphere. The three host stars WASP-184, WASP-185 and WASP-192 are all post-main-sequence G0 stars of ages 4-8 Gyr. The larger stellar radii (1.3-1.7 Msun) mean that the transits are relatively shallow (0.7-0.9%) even though the planets have moderately inflated radii of 1.2-1.3 Rjup. WASP-185b has an eccentric orbit (e = 0.24) and a relatively long orbital period of 9.4 d. A star that is 4.6 arcsec from WASP-185 and 4.4 mag fainter might be physically associated.

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The first view of $δ$ Scuti and $γ$ Doradus stars with the TESS mission

We present the first asteroseismic results for $δ$ Scuti and $γ$ Doradus stars observed in Sectors 1 and 2 of the TESS mission. We utilise the 2-min cadence TESS data for a sample of 117 stars to classify their behaviour regarding variability and place them in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram using Gaia DR2 data. Included within our sample are the eponymous members of two pulsator classes, $γ$ Doradus and SX Phoenicis. Our sample of pulsating intermediate-mass stars observed by TESS also allows us to confront theoretical models of pulsation driving in the classical instability strip for the first time and show that mixing processes in the outer envelope play an important role. We derive an empirical estimate of 74% for the relative amplitude suppression factor as a result of the redder TESS passband compared to the Kepler mission using a pulsating eclipsing binary system. Furthermore, our sample contains many high-frequency pulsators, allowing us to probe the frequency variability of hot young $δ$ Scuti stars, which were lacking in the Kepler mission data set, and identify promising targets for future asteroseismic modelling. The TESS data also allow us to refine the stellar parameters of SX Phoenicis, which is believed to be a blue straggler.

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WASP-180Ab: Doppler tomography of an hot Jupiter orbiting the primary star in a visual binary

We report the discovery and characterisation of WASP-180Ab, a hot Jupiter confirmed by the detection of its Doppler shadow and by measuring its mass using radial velocities. We find the 0.9 $\pm$ 0.1 $M_{\rm Jup}$, 1.24 $\pm$ 0.04 $R_{\rm Jup}$ planet to be in a misaligned, retrograde orbit around an F7 star with $T_{\rm eff}$ = 6500K and a moderate rotation speed of vsini = 19.9 km s$^{-1}$. The host star is the primary of a $V$ = 10.7 binary, where a secondary separated by 5$''$ ($\sim$1200 AU) contributes $\sim$30% of the light. WASP-180Ab therefore adds to a small sample of transiting hot Jupiters known in binary systems. A 4.6-day modulation seen in the WASP data is likely to be the rotational modulation of the companion star, WASP-180B.

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WASP-169, WASP-171, WASP-175 and WASP-182: three hot Jupiters and one bloated sub-Saturn mass planet discovered by WASP-south

We present the discovery of four new giant planets from \WASP, three hot Jupiters and one bloated sub-Saturn mass planet; WASP-169b, WASP-171b, WASP-175b and WASP-182b. Besides the discovery photometry from \wasp\ we use radial velocity measurements from CORALIE and HARPS as well as follow-up photometry from EulerCam, TRAPPIST-North and -South and SPECULOOS. WASP-169b is a low density Jupiter ($M=0.561 \pm 0.061~\mathrm{M_{Jup}}, R=1.304^{+0.150}_{-0.073} ~\mathrm{R_{Jup}}$) orbiting a V=12.17 F8 sub-giant in a 5.611~day orbit. WASP-171b is a typical hot Jupiter ($M=1.084 \pm 0.094~\mathrm{M_{Jup}}, R=0.98^{+0.07}_{-0.04} ~\mathrm{R_{Jup}}$, $P=3.82~\mathrm{days}$) around a V=13.05 G0 star. We find a linear drift in the radial velocities of WASP-171 spanning 3.5 years, indicating the possibility of an additional outer planet or stellar companion. WASP-175b is an inflated hot Jupiter ($M=0.99 \pm 0.13~\mathrm{M_{Jup}}, R=1.208 \pm 0.081 ~\mathrm{R_{Jup}}$, $P=3.07~\mathrm{days}$) around a V=12.04 F7 star, which possibly is part of a binary system with a star 7.9\arcsec\ away. WASP-182b is a bloated sub-Saturn mass planet ($M=0.148 \pm 0.011~\mathrm{M_{Jup}}, R=0.850\pm 0.030 ~\mathrm{R_{Jup}}$) around a metal rich V=11.98 G5 star ([Fe/H]$=0.27 \pm 0.11$). With a orbital period of $P=3.377~\mathrm{days}$, it sits right in the apex of the sub-Jovian desert, bordering the upper- and lower edge of the desert in both the mass-period and radius-period plane. WASP-169b, WASP-175b and WASP-182b are promising targets for atmospheric characterisation through transmission spectroscopy, with expected transmission signals of 121, 150 and 264 ppm respectively.

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WASP-166b: a bloated super-Neptune transiting a V = 9 star

We report the discovery of WASP-166b, a super-Neptune planet with a mass of 0.1 Mjup (1.9 Mnep) and a bloated radius of 0.63 Rjup. It transits a V = 9.36, F9V star in a 5.44-d orbit that is aligned with the stellar rotation axis (sky-projected obliquity angle lambda = 3 +/- 5 degrees). Variations in the radial-velocity measurements are likely the result of magnetic activity over a 12-d stellar rotation period. WASP-166b appears to be a rare object within the ``Neptune desert''.

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Rotation and pulsation in Ap stars: first light results from TESS sectors 1 and 2

We present the first results from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) on the rotational and pulsational variability of magnetic chemically peculiar A-type stars. We analyse TESS 2-min cadence data from sectors 1 and 2 on a sample of 83 stars. Five new rapidly oscillating Ap (roAp) stars are announced. One of these pulsates with periods around 4.7 min, making it the shortest period roAp star known to date. Four out of the five new roAp stars are multiperiodic. Three of these, and the singly-periodic one show the presence of rotational mode splitting. Individual frequencies are provided in all cases. In addition, seven previously known roAp stars are analysed. Additional modes of oscillation are found in some stars, while in others we are able to distinguish the true pulsations from possible aliases present in the ground-based data. We find that the pulsation amplitude in the TESS filter is typically a factor 6 smaller than that in the $B$ filter which is usually used for ground-based observations. For four roAp stars we set constraints on the inclination angle and magnetic obliquity, through the application of the oblique pulsator model. We also confirm the absence of roAp-type pulsations down to amplitude limits of 6 and 13 micromag, respectively, in two of the best characterised non-oscillating Ap (noAp) stars. We announce 27 new rotational variables along with their rotation periods, and provide different rotation periods for seven other stars. Finally, we discuss how these results challenge state-of-the-art pulsation models for roAp stars.

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The EBLM Project VI. The mass and radius of five low-mass stars in F+M binaries discovered by the WASP survey

Some M-dwarfs around F-/G-type stars have been measured to be hotter and larger than predicted by stellar evolution models. Inconsistencies between observations and models need addressing with more mass, radius and luminosity measurements of low-mass stars to test and refine evolutionary models. Our aim is to measure the masses, radii and ages of the stars in five low-mass eclipsing binary systems discovered by the WASP survey. We use WASP photometry to establish eclipse-time ephemerides and to obtain initial estimates for the transit depth and width. Radial velocity measurements were simultaneously fitted with follow-up photometry to find the best-fitting orbital solution. This solution was combined with measurements of atmospheric parameters to interpolate evolutionary models and estimate the mass of the primary star, and the mass and radius of the M-dwarf companion. We assess how the best fitting orbital solution changes if an alternative limb-darkening law is used and quantify the systematic effects of unresolved companions. We also gauge how the best-fitting evolutionary model changes if different values are used for the mixing length parameter and helium enhancement. We report the mass and radius of five M-dwarfs and find little evidence of inflation with respect to evolutionary models. The primary stars in two systems are near the ``blue hook'' stage of their post sequence evolution, resulting in two possible solutions for mass and age. We find that choices in helium enhancement and mixing-length parameter can introduce an additional 3-5\,\% uncertainty in measured M-dwarf mass. Unresolved companions can introduce an additional 3-8\% uncertainty in the radius of an M-dwarf, while the choice of limb-darkening law can introduce up to an additional 2\% uncertainty.

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Three Hot-Jupiters on the upper edge of the mass-radius distribution: WASP-177, WASP-181 and WASP-183

We present the discovery of 3 transiting planets from the WASP survey, two hot-Jupiters: WASP-177b (~0.5 M_Jup, ~1.6 R_Jup) in a 3.07-d orbit of a V = 12.6 K2 star, WASP-183b (~0.5 M_Jup, ~1.5 R_Jup) in a 4.11-d orbit of a V = 12.8 G9/K0 star; and one hot-Saturn planet WASP-181b (~0.3 M_Jup, ~1.2 R_Jup) in a 4.52-d orbit of a V = 12.9 G2 star. Each planet is close to the upper bound of mass-radius space and has a scaled semi-major axis, a/R_star, between 9.6 and 12.1. These lie in the transition between systems that tend to be in orbits that are well aligned with their host-star's spin and those that show a higher dispersion.

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WASP-190b: Tomographic discovery of a transiting hot Jupiter

We report the discovery of WASP-190b, an exoplanet on a 5.37-day orbit around a mildly-evolved F6 IV-V star with V = 11.7, T_eff = 6400 $\pm$ 100 K, M$_{*}$ = 1.35 $\pm$ 0.05 M_sun and R$_{*}$ = 1.6 $\pm$ 0.1 R_sun. The planet has a radius of R_p = 1.15 $\pm$ 0.09 R_Jup and a mass of M_p = 1.0 $\pm$ 0.1 M_Jup, making it a mildly inflated hot Jupiter. It is the first hot Jupiter confirmed via Doppler tomography with an orbital period >5 days. The orbit is also marginally misaligned with respect to the stellar rotation, with $λ$ = 21 $\pm$ 6$^{\circ}$ measured using Doppler tomography.

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Three transiting planet discoveries from the Wide Angle Search for Planets: WASP-85 A b; WASP-116 b, and WASP-149 b

(abridged) We report the discovery of three new transiting planets: WASP-85 A b, WASP-116 b, and WASP-149 b. WASP-85 b orbits its host star every 2.66 days, and has a mass of 1.25 M_Jup and a radius of 1.25 R_Jup. The host star is of G5 spectral type, with magnitude V = 11.2, and lies 141 pc distant. The system has a K-dwarf binary companion, WASP-85 B, at a separation of ~1.5". The close proximity of this companion leads to contamination of our photometry, decreasing the apparent transit depth that we account for during our analysis. Analysis of the Ca II H+K lines shows strong emission that implies that both binary components are strongly active. WASP-116 b is a warm, mildly inflated super-Saturn, with a mass of 0.59 M_Jup and a radius of 1.43 R_Jup. It was discovered orbiting a metal-poor ([Fe/H] = -0.28 dex), cool (T_eff = 5950 K) G0 dwarf every 6.61 days. WASP-149 b is a typical hot Jupiter, orbiting a G6 dwarf with a period of 1.33 days. The planet has a mass and radius of 1.05 M_Jup and 1.29 R_Jup, respectively. The stellar host has an effective temperature of T_eff = 5750 K and has a metallicity of [Fe/H] = 0.16 dex. WASP photometry of the system is contaminated by a nearby star; we therefore corrected the depth of the WASP transits using the measured dilution. WASP-149 lies inside the 'Neptune desert' identified in the planetary mass-period plane by Mazeh, Holczer & Faigler (2016). We model the modulation visible in the K2 lightcurve of WASP-85 using a simple three-spot model consisting of two large spots on WASP-85 A, and one large spot on WASP-85 B, finding rotation periods of 13.1+/-0.1 days for WASP-85 A and 7.5+/-0.03 days for WASP-85 B. We estimate stellar inclinations of I_A = 66.8+/-0.7 degrees and I_B = 39.7+/-0.2 degrees, and constrain the obliquity of WASP-85 A b to be psi<27 degrees. We therefore conclude that WASP-85 A b is very likely to be aligned.

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The discovery of WASP-134b, WASP-134c, WASP-137b, WASP-143b and WASP-146b: three hot Jupiters and a pair of warm Jupiters orbiting Solar-type stars

We report the discovery by WASP of five planets orbiting moderately bright ($V$ = 11.0-12.9) Solar-type stars. WASP-137b, WASP-143b and WASP-146b are typical hot Jupiters in orbits of 3-4 d and with masses in the range 0.68--1.11 $M_{\rm Jup}$. WASP-134 is a metal-rich ([Fe/H] = +0.40 $\pm$ 0.07]) G4 star orbited by two warm Jupiters: WASP-134b ($M_{\rm pl}$ = 1.41 $M_{\rm Jup}$; $P = 10.1$ d; $e = 0.15 \pm 0.01$; $T_{\rm eql}$ = 950 K) and WASP-134c ($M_{\rm pl} \sin i$ = 0.70 $M_{\rm Jup}$; $P = 70.0$ d; $e = 0.17 \pm 0.09$; $T_{\rm eql}$ = 500 K). From observations of the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect of WASP-134b, we find its orbit to be misaligned with the spin of its star ($λ= -44 \pm 10^\circ$). WASP-134 is a rare example of a system with a short-period giant planet and a nearby giant companion. In-situ formation or disc migration seem more likely explanations for such systems than does high-eccentricity migration.

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