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David Coria

Publications and source records attributed to David Coria.

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The Isotopic and Elemental Abundances of Planet-Host Star TRAPPIST-1

Elemental and isotopic abundances are key tracers of planet formation, stellar evolution, and Galactic chemical evolution. Very low-mass stars are particularly interesting in this regard, because unlike more massive or evolved stars their photospheric abundances retain the star's natal composition. Cool dwarf spectra have historically been challenging to use for measurements of chemical abundances because of the blending of molecular and atomic features. However, recent advances in molecular line lists, atmospheric models, fitting techniques and IR spectrographs have enabled the successful measurement of elemental and isotopic ratios in a few dozen very low-mass stars. Here, we present near-infrared high-resolution spectroscopy of TRAPPIST-1 covering the fundamental and overtone bands of carbon monoxide and its prominent isotopologues. From the joint analysis of the $K$-band (CFHT/SPIRou) and $M$-band (Keck/NIRSPEC) spectra, we derive the first stellar C/O ratio and the first carbon and oxygen isotope ratios for this star. We obtain a metallicity of $[\mathrm{M/H}] = 0.00 \pm 0.06$, a C/O ratio of $0.60 \pm 0.02$, $^{12}\mathrm{C}/^{13}\mathrm{C} = 154{}^{+17}_{-16}$, and $^{16}\mathrm{O}/^{18}\mathrm{O} = 490{}^{+78}_{-64}$. TRAPPIST-1 has generally solar-like elemental abundances, with a $^{12}\mathrm{C}/^{13}\mathrm{C}$ ratio that is higher than the solar value and may be modestly elevated relative to some nearby cool dwarfs at similar metallicity. While C/O is most tightly constrained by the $K$-band, the isotopic detections are driven by the $M$-band data.

astro-ph.SR

Elemental Abundances of the Super-Neptune WASP-107b's Host Star Using High-resolution, Near-infrared Spectroscopy

We present the first elemental abundance measurements of the K dwarf (K7V) exoplanet-host star WASP-107 using high-resolution (R = 45,000), near-infrared (H- and K-band) spectra taken from Gemini-S/IGRINS. We use the previously determined physical parameters of the star from the literature and infer the abundances of 15 elements: C, N, O, Na, Mg, Al, Si, K, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, and Ni, all with precision < 0.1 dex, based on model fitting using MARCS model atmospheres and the spectral synthesis code Turbospectrum. Our results show near-solar abundances and a carbon-to-oxygen ratio (C/O) of 0.50 (+/-0.10), consistent with the solar value of 0.54 (+/-0.09). The orbiting planet, WASP-107b, is a super Neptune with a mass in the Neptune regime (= 1.8 M_Nep) and a radius close to Jupiter's (= 0.94 R_Jup). This planet is also being targeted by four JWST Cycle 1 programs in transit and eclipse, which should provide highly precise measurements of atmospheric abundances. This will enable us to properly compare the planetary and stellar chemical abundances, which is essential in understanding the formation mechanisms, internal structure, and chemical composition of exoplanets. Our study is a proof-of-concept that will pave the way for such measurements to be made for all JWST's cooler exoplanet-host stars.

astro-ph.EP

GJ 1252b: A Hot Terrestrial Super-Earth With No Atmosphere

The increasing numbers of rocky, terrestrial exoplanets known to orbit nearby stars (especially M dwarfs) has drawn increased attention to the possibility of studying these planets' surface properties, and atmospheric compositions & escape histories. Here we report the detection of the secondary eclipse of the terrestrial exoplanet GJ1252b using the Spitzer Space Telescope's IRAC2 4.5 micron channel. We measure an eclipse depth of 149(+25/-32) ppm, corresponding to a day-side brightness temperature of 1410(+91/-125) K and consistent with the prediction for no atmosphere. Comparing our measurement to atmospheric models indicates that GJ1252b has a surface pressure of <10 bar, substantially less than Venus. Assuming energy-limited escape, even a 100 bar atmosphere would be lost in <1 Myr, far shorter than estimated age of 3.9+/-0.4 Gyr. The expected mass loss could be overcome by mantle outgassing, but only if the mantle's carbon content were >7% by mass - over two orders of magnitude greater than that found in Earth. We therefore conclude that GJ1252b has no significant atmosphere. Model spectra with granitoid or feldspathic surface composition, but with no atmosphere, are disfavored at >2 sigma. The eclipse occurs just +1.4(+2.8/-1.0) min after orbital phase 0.5, indicating e cos omega=+0.0025(+0.0049/-0.0018), consistent with a circular orbit. Tidal heating is therefore likely to be negligible to GJ1252b's global energy budget. Finally, we also analyze additional, unpublished TESS transit photometry of GJ1252b which improves the precision of the transit ephemeris by a factor of ten, provides a more precise planetary radius of 1.180+/-0.078 R_E, and rules out any transit timing variations with amplitudes <1 min.

astro-ph.EP