Searcharxiv⌕ Search

arXiv subjects

E. Jehin

Publications and source records attributed to E. Jehin.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources

WASP-94 A and B planets: hot-Jupiter cousins in a twin-star system

We report the discovery of two hot-Jupiter planets, each orbiting one of the stars of a wide binary system. WASP-94A (2MASS 20550794-3408079) is an F8 type star hosting a transiting planet with a radius of 1.72 +/- 0.06 R_Jup, a mass of 0.452 +/- 0.034 M_Jup, and an orbital period of 3.95 days. The Rossiter-McLaughlin effect is clearly detected, and the measured projected spin-orbit angle indicates that the planet occupies a retrograde orbit. WASP-94B (2MASS 20550915-3408078) is an F9 stellar companion at an angular separation of 15" (projected separation 2700 au), hosting a gas giant with a minimum mass of 0.618 +/- 0.028 M_Jup with a period of 2.008 days, detected by Doppler measurements. The orbital planes of the two planets are inclined relative to each other, indicating that at least one of them is inclined relative to the plane of the stellar binary. These hot Jupiters in a binary system bring new insights into the formation of close-in giant planets and the role of stellar multiplicity.

astro-ph.EP↗

The small binary asteroid (939) Isberga

In understanding the composition and internal structure of asteroids, their density is perhaps the most diagnostic quantity. We aim here to characterize the surface composition, mutual orbit, size, mass, and density of the small main-belt binary asteroid (939) Isberga. For that, we conduct a suite of multi-technique observations, including optical lightcurves over many epochs, near-infrared spectroscopy, and interferometry in the thermal infrared. We develop a simple geometric model of binary systems to analyze the interferometric data in combination with the results of the lightcurve modeling. From spectroscopy, we classify Ibserga as a Sq-type asteroid, consistent with the albedo of 0.14$^{+0.09}_{-0.06}$ (all uncertainties are reported as 3-$σ$ range) we determine (average albedo of S-types is 0.197 $\pm$ 0.153, Pravec et al., 2012, Icarus 221, 365-387). Lightcurve analysis reveals that the mutual orbit has a period of 26.6304 $\pm$ 0.0001 h, is close to circular, and has pole coordinates within 7 deg. of (225, +86) in ECJ2000, implying a low obliquity of 1.5 deg. The combined analysis of lightcurves and interferometric data allows us to determine the dimension of the system and we find volume-equivalent diameters of 12.4$^{+2.5}_{-1.2}$ km and 3.6$^{+0.7}_{-0.3}$ km for Isberga and its satellite, circling each other on a 33 km wide orbit. Their density is assumed equal and found to be $2.91^{+1.72}_{-2.01}$ g.cm$^{-3}$, lower than that of the associated ordinary chondrite meteorites, suggesting the presence of some macroporosity, but typical of S-types of the same size range (Carry, 2012, P\&SS 73, 98-118). The present study is the first direct measurement of the size of a small main-belt binary. Although the interferometric observations of Isberga are at the edge of MIDI capabilities, the method described here is applicable to others suites of instruments (e.g, LBT, ALMA).

astro-ph.EP↗

Three WASP-South transiting exoplanets: WASP-74b, WASP-83b & WASP-89b

We report the discovery of three new transiting hot Jupiters by WASP-South together with the TRAPPIST photometer and the Euler/CORALIE spectrograph. WASP-74b orbits a star of V = 9.7, making it one of the brighter systems accessible to Southern telescopes. It is a 0.95 M_Jup planet with a moderately bloated radius of 1.5 R_Jup in a 2-d orbit around a slightly evolved F9 star. WASP-83b is a Saturn-mass planet at 0.3 M_Jup with a radius of 1.0 R_Jup. It is in a 5-d orbit around a fainter (V = 12.9) G8 star. WASP-89b is a 6 M_Jup planet in a 3-d orbit with an eccentricity of e = 0.2. It is thus similar to massive, eccentric planets such as XO-3b and HAT-P-2b, except that those planets orbit F stars whereas WASP-89 is a K star. The V = 13.1 host star is magnetically active, showing a rotation period of 20.2 d, while star spots are visible in the transits. There are indications that the planet's orbit is aligned with the stellar spin. WASP-89 is a good target for an extensive study of transits of star spots.

astro-ph.EP↗

WISE J072003.20-084651.2: An Old and Active M9.5 + T5 Spectral Binary 6 pc from the Sun

[Abridged] We report observations of the recently discovered, nearby late-M dwarf WISE J072003.20-084651.2. Astrometric measurements obtained with TRAPPIST improve the distance measurement to 6.0$\pm$1.0 pc and confirm the low tangential velocity (3.5$\pm$0.6 km/s) reported by Scholz. Low-resolution optical spectroscopy indicates a spectral type of M9.5 and prominent H$α$ emission ( = -4.68$\pm$0.06), but no evidence of subsolar metallicity or Li I absorption. Near-infrared spectroscopy reveals subtle peculiarities indicating the presence of a T5 binary companion, and high-resolution laser guide star adaptive optics imaging reveals a faint ($Δ$H = 4.1) candidate source 0"14 (0.8 AU) from the primary. We measure a stable radial velocity of +83.8$\pm$0.3 km/s, indicative of old disk kinematics and consistent with the angular separation of the possible companion. We measure a projected rotational velocity of v sin i = 8.0$\pm$0.5 km/s, and find evidence of low-level variability (~1.5%) in a 13-day TRAPPIST lightcurve, but cannot robustly constrain the rotational period. We also observe episodic changes in brightness (1-2%) and occasional flare bursts (4-8%) with a 0.8% duty cycle, and order-of-magnitude variations in H$α$ line strength. Combined, these observations reveal WISE J0720-0846 to be an old, very low-mass binary whose components straddle the hydrogen burning minimum mass, and whose primary is a relatively rapid rotator and magnetically active. It is one of only two known binaries among late M dwarfs within 10 pc of the Sun, both harboring a mid T-type brown dwarf companion. While this specific configuration is rare (1.4% probability), roughly 25% of binary companions to late-type M dwarfs in the local population are likely low-temperature T or Y brown dwarfs.

astro-ph.SR↗

Six newly-discovered hot Jupiters transiting F/G stars: WASP-87b, WASP-108b, WASP-109b, WASP-110b, WASP-111b & WASP-112b

We present the discoveries of six transiting hot Jupiters: WASP-87b, WASP-108b, WASP-109b, WASP-110b, WASP-111b and WASP-112b. The planets have masses of 0.51--2.2 $M_{\rm Jup}$ and radii of 1.19--1.44 $R_{\rm Jup}$ and are in orbits of 1.68--3.78 d around stars with masses 0.81--1.50 $M_{\rm \odot}$. WASP-111b is in a prograde, near-aligned ($λ= -5 \pm 16^\circ$), near-circular ($e < 0.10$ at 2 $σ$) orbit around a mid-F star. As tidal alignment around such a hot star is thought to be inefficient, this suggests that either the planet migrated inwards through the protoplanetary disc or that scattering processes happened to leave it in a near-aligned orbit. WASP-111 appears to have transitioned from an active to a quiescent state between the 2012 and 2013 seasons, which makes the system a candidate for studying the effects of variable activity on a hot-Jupiter atmosphere. We find evidence that the mid-F star WASP-87 is a visual binary with a mid-G star. Two host stars are metal poor: WASP-112 has [Fe/H] = $-0.64 \pm 0.15$ and WASP-87 has [Fe/H] = $-0.41 \pm 0.10$. The low density of WASP-112 (0.81 $M_{\rm \odot}$, $0.80 \pm 0.04$ $ρ_{\rm \odot}$) cannot be matched by standard models for any reasonable value of the age of the star, suggesting it to be affected by the "radius anomaly".

astro-ph.EP↗

A ring system detected around the Centaur (10199) Chariklo

Until now, rings have been detected in the Solar System exclusively around the four giant planets. Here we report the discovery of the first minor-body ring system around the Centaur object (10199) Chariklo, a body with equivalent radius 124$\pm$9 km. A multi-chord stellar occultation revealed the presence of two dense rings around Chariklo, with widths of about 7 km and 3 km, optical depths 0.4 and 0.06, and orbital radii 391 and 405 km, respectively. The present orientation of the ring is consistent with an edge-on geometry in 2008, thus providing a simple explanation for the dimming of Chariklo's system between 1997 and 2008, and for the gradual disappearance of ice and other absorption features in its spectrum over the same period. This implies that the rings are partially composed of water ice. These rings may be the remnants of a debris disk, which were possibly confined by embedded kilometre-sized satellites.

astro-ph.EP↗

Forbidden oxygen lines at various nucleocentric distances in comets

To study the formation of the [OI] lines - i.e., 5577 A (the green line), 6300 A and 6364 A (the two red lines) - in the coma of comets and to determine the parent species of the oxygen atoms using the green to red-doublet emission intensity ratio (G/R ratio) and the lines velocity widths. We acquired at the ESO VLT high-resolution spectroscopic observations of comets C/2002 T7 (LINEAR), 73P-C/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3, 8P/Tuttle, and, 103P/Hartley 2 when they were close to the Earth (< 0.6 au). Using the observed spectra, we determined the intensities and the widths of the three [OI] lines. We have spatially extracted the spectra in order to achieve the best possible resolution of about 1-2", i.e., nucleocentric projected distances of 100 to 400 km depending on the geocentric distance of the comet. We have decontaminated the [OI] green line from C2 lines blends. It is found that the observed G/R ratio on all four comets varies as a function of nucleocentric projected distance. This is mainly due to the collisional quenching of O(1S) and O(1D) by water molecules in the inner coma. The observed green emission line width is about 2.5 km/s and decreases as the distance from the nucleus increases which can be explained by the varying contribution of CO2 to the O(1S) production in the innermost coma. The photodissociation of CO2 molecules seems to produce O(1S) closer to the nucleus while the water molecule forms all the O(1S) and O(1D) atoms beyond 1000 km. Thus we conclude that the main parent species producing O(1S) and O(1D) in the inner coma is not always the same. The observations have been interpreted in the framework of the coupled-chemistry-emission model of Bhardwaj & Raghuram (2012) and the upper limits of CO2 relative abundances are derived from the observed G/R ratios. Measuring the [OI] lines could indeed provide a new way to determine the CO2 relative abundance in comets.

astro-ph.EP↗

The binary near-Earth asteroid (175706) 1996 FG3 - An observational constraint on its orbital evolution

Using our photometric observations taken between 1996 and 2013 and other published data, we derived properties of the binary near-Earth asteroid (175706) 1996 FG3 including new measurements constraining evolution of the mutual orbit with potential consequences for the entire binary asteroid population. We also refined previously determined values of parameters of both components, making 1996 FG3 one of the most well understood binary asteroid systems. We determined the orbital vector with a substantially greater accuracy than before and we also placed constraints on a stability of the orbit. Specifically, the ecliptic longitude and latitude of the orbital pole are 266° and -83°, respectively, with the mean radius of the uncertainty area of 4°, and the orbital period is 16.1508 +/- 0.0002 h (all quoted uncertainties correspond to 3sigma). We looked for a quadratic drift of the mean anomaly of the satellite and obtained a value of 0.04 +/- 0.20 deg/yr^2, i.e., consistent with zero. The drift is substantially lower than predicted by the pure binary YORP (BYORP) theory of McMahon and Scheeres (McMahon, J., Scheeres, D. [2010]. Icarus 209, 494-509) and it is consistent with the theory of an equilibrium between BYORP and tidal torques for synchronous binary asteroids as proposed by Jacobson and Scheeres (Jacobson, S.A., Scheeres, D. [2011]. ApJ Letters, 736, L19). Based on the assumption of equilibrium, we derived a ratio of the quality factor and tidal Love number of Q/k = 2.4 x 10^5 uncertain by a factor of five. We also derived a product of the rigidity and quality factor of mu Q = 1.3 x 10^7 Pa using the theory that assumes an elastic response of the asteroid material to the tidal forces. This very low value indicates that the primary of 1996 FG3 is a 'rubble pile', and it also calls for a re-thinking of the tidal energy dissipation in close asteroid binary systems.

astro-ph.EP↗

WASP-104b and WASP-106b: two transiting hot Jupiters in 1.75-day and 9.3-day orbits

We report the discovery from the WASP survey of two exoplanetary systems, each consisting of a Jupiter-sized planet transiting an 11th magnitude (V) main-sequence star. WASP-104b orbits its star in 1.75 d, whereas WASP-106b has the fourth-longest orbital period of any planet discovered by means of transits observed from the ground, orbiting every 9.29 d. Each planet is more massive than Jupiter (WASP-104b has a mass of $1.27 \pm 0.05 \mathrm{M_{Jup}}$, while WASP-106b has a mass of $1.93 \pm 0.08 \mathrm{M_{Jup}}$). Both planets are just slightly larger than Jupiter, with radii of $1.14 \pm 0.04$ and $1.09 \pm 0.04 \mathrm{R_{Jup}}$ for WASP-104 and WASP-106 respectively. No significant orbital eccentricity is detected in either system, and while this is not surprising in the case of the short-period WASP-104b, it is interesting in the case of WASP-106b, because many otherwise similar planets are known to have eccentric orbits.

astro-ph.EP↗

WASP-117b: a 10-day-period Saturn in an eccentric and misaligned orbit

We report the discovery of WASP-117b, the first planet with a period beyond 10 days found by the WASP survey. The planet has a mass of $M_p= 0.2755 \pm 0.0089 \, M_{J}$, a radius of $R_p= 1.021_{-0.065}^{+0.076}\, R_{J}$ and is in an eccentric ($ e= 0.302 \pm 0.023 $), $ 10.02165 \pm 0.00055 $~d orbit around a main-sequence F9 star. The host star's brightness (V=10.15 mag) makes WASP-117 a good target for follow-up observations, and with a periastron planetary equilibrium temperature of $T_{eq}= 1225_{-39}^{+36}$ K and a low planetary mean density ($ρ_p= 0.259_{-0.048}^{+0.054} \, ρ_{J}$) it is one of the best targets for transmission spectroscopy among planets with periods around 10 days. From a measurement of the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect, we infer a projected angle between the planetary orbit and stellar spin axes of $β= -44 \pm 11$ deg, and we further derive an orbital obliquity of $ψ= 69.6 ^{+4.7}_{-4.1}$ deg. Owing to the large orbital separation, tidal forces causing orbital circularization and realignment of the planetary orbit with the stellar plane are weak, having had little impact on the planetary orbit over the system lifetime. WASP-117b joins a small sample of transiting giant planets with well characterized orbits at periods above ~8 days.

astro-ph.EP↗

Herschel observations of gas and dust in comet C/2006 W3 (Christensen) at 5 AU from the Sun

We aimed to measure the H2O and dust production rates in C/2006 W3 (Christensen) with the Herschel Space Observatory at a heliocentric distance of ~ 5 AU. We have searched for emission in the H2O and NH3 ground-state rotational transitions at 557 GHz and 572 GHz, simultaneously, with HIFI onboard Herschel on UT 1.5 September 2010. Photometric observations of the dust coma in the 70 and 160 μm channels were acquired with the PACS instrument on UT 26.5 August 2010. A tentative 4-σ H2O line emission feature was found in the spectra obtained with the HIFI wide-band and high-resolution spectrometers, from which we derive a water production rate of $2.0(5) \times 10^{27}$ molec. s$^{-1}$. A 3-σ upper limit for the ammonia production rate of <$1.5 \times 10^{27}$ molec. s$^{-1}$ is obtained taking into account the contribution from all hyperfine components. The blueshift of the water line detected by HIFI suggests preferential emission from the subsolar point. However, it is also possible that water sublimation occurs in small ice-bearing grains that are emitted from an active region on the nucleus surface at a speed of ~ 0.2 km s$^{-1}$. The dust thermal emission was detected in the 70 and 160 μm filters, with a more extended emission in the blue channel. The dust production rates, obtained for a dust size distribution index that explains the fluxes at the photocenters of the PACS images, lie in the range 70-110 kg s$^{-1}$. Scaling the CO production rate measured post-perihelion at 3.20 and 3.32 AU, these values correspond to a dust-to-gas production rate ratio in the range 0.3-0.4. The dust production rates derived in August 2010 are roughly one order of magnitude lower than in September 2009, suggesting that the dust-to-gas production rate ratio remained approximately constant during the period when the activity became increasingly dominated by CO outgassing.

astro-ph.EP↗

A Window on Exoplanet Dynamical Histories: Rossiter-McLaughlin Observations of WASP-13b and WASP-32b

We present Rossiter-McLaughlin observations of WASP-13b and WASP-32b and determine the sky-projected angle between the normal of the planetary orbit and the stellar rotation axis ($λ$). WASP-13b and WASP-32b both have prograde orbits and are consistent with alignment with measured sky-projected angles of $λ={8^{\circ}}^{+13}_{-12}$ and $λ={-2^{\circ}}^{+17}_{-19}$, respectively. Both WASP-13 and WASP-32 have $T_{\mathrm{eff}}<6250$K and therefore these systems support the general trend that aligned planetary systems are preferentially found orbiting cool host stars. A Lomb-Scargle periodogram analysis was carried out on archival SuperWASP data for both systems. A statistically significant stellar rotation period detection (above 99.9\% confidence) was identified for the WASP-32 system with $P_{\mathrm{rot}}=11.6 \pm 1.0 $ days. This rotation period is in agreement with the predicted stellar rotation period calculated from the stellar radius, $R_{\star}$, and $v \sin i$ if a stellar inclination of $i_{\star}=90^{\circ}$ is assumed. With the determined rotation period, the true 3D angle between the stellar rotation axis and the planetary orbit, $ψ$, was found to be $ψ=11^{\circ} \pm 14$. We conclude with a discussion on the alignment of systems around cool host stars with $T_{\mathrm{eff}}<6150$K by calculating the tidal dissipation timescale. We find that systems with short tidal dissipation timescales are preferentially aligned and systems with long tidal dissipation timescales have a broad range of obliquities.

astro-ph.EP↗

Instrumental Methods for Professional and Amateur Collaborations in Planetary Astronomy

Amateur contributions to professional publications have increased exponentially over the last decades in the field of Planetary Astronomy. Here we review the different domains of the field in which collaborations between professional and amateur astronomers are effective and regularly lead to scientific publications. We discuss the instruments, detectors, softwares and methodologies typically used by amateur astronomers to collect the scientific data in the different domains of interest. Amateur contributions to the monitoring of planets and interplanetary matter, characterization of asteroids and comets, as well as the determination of the physical properties of Kuiper Belt Objects and exoplanets are discussed.

astro-ph.IM↗

On the incidence of eclipsing Am binary systems in the SuperWASP survey

The results of a search for eclipsing Am star binaries using photometry from the SuperWASP survey are presented. The light curves of 1742 Am stars fainter than V = 8.0 were analysed for the presences of eclipses. A total of 70 stars were found to exhibit eclipses, with 66 having sufficient observations to enable orbital periods to be determined and 28 of which are newly identified eclipsing systems. Also presented are spectroscopic orbits for 5 of the systems. The number of systems and the period distribution is found to be consistent with that identified in previous radial velocity surveys of `classical' Am stars.

astro-ph.SR↗

A Monitoring Campaign for Luhman 16AB. I. Detection of Resolved Near-Infrared Spectroscopic Variability

[abbreviated] We report resolved near-infrared spectroscopic monitoring of the nearby L dwarf/T dwarf binary WISE J104915.57-531906.1AB (Luhman 16AB), as part of a broader campaign to characterize the spectral energy distribution and temporal variability of this system. A continuous 45-minute sequence of low-resolution IRTF/SpeX data spanning 0.8-2.4 micron were obtained, concurrent with combined-light optical photometry with ESO/TRAPPIST. Our spectral observations confirm the flux reversal of this binary, and we detect a wavelength-dependent decline in the relative spectral fluxes of the two components coincident with a decline in the combined-light optical brightness of the system over the course of the observation. These data are successfully modeled as a combination of brightness and color variability in the T0.5 Luhman 16B, consistent cloud variations; and no significant variability in L7.5 Luhman 16A. We estimate a peak-to-peak amplitude of 13.5% at 1.25 micron over the full lightcurve. Using a two-spot brightness temperature model, we infer an average cloud covering fraction of ~30-55% for Luhman 16B, varying by 15-30% over a rotation period. A Rhines scale interpretation for the size of the variable features explains an apparent correlation between period and amplitude for three highly variable T dwarfs, and predicts relatively fast winds (1-3 km/s) for Luhman 16B consistent with lightcurve evolution on an advective time scale (1-3 rotation periods). Our observations support the model of a patchy disruption of the mineral cloud layer as a universal feature of the L dwarf/T dwarf transition.

astro-ph.SR↗

Continued activity in P/2013 P5 PANSTARRS - The comet that should not be

P/2013 P5 PANSTARRS was discovered in Aug. 2013, displaying a cometary tail, but with orbital elements typical for a member of the inner asteroid Main Belt. We monitored the object from 2013 Aug. 30 until Oct. 05 using the CFHT, NTT, CA 1.23m, Perkins 1.8m (Lowell), and the 0.6m TRAPPIST telescopes. We measured its nuclear radius to be r < 0.25-0.29km, and its colours g-r = 0.58+/-0.05 and r-i = 0.23+/-0.06, typical for an S-class asteroid. We failed to detect any rotational light curve, with an amplitude < 0.05mag and a double-peaked rotation period < 20h. A detailed Finson-Probstein analysis of deep NTT and CFHT images indicated that the object was active since at least late January 2013 until the time of the latest observations in 2013 September, with at least two peaks of activity around 2013 June 14+/-10d and 2013 July 22+/-3d. The changes of activity level and the activity peaks were extremely sharp and short, shorter than the temporal resolution of our observations (about 1d). The dust distribution was similar during these two events, with dust grains covering at least the 1-1000μm range. The total mass ejected in grains <1mm was estimated to be 3.0 10$^6$kg and 2.6 10$^7$kg around the two activity peaks. Rotational disruption cannot be ruled out as the cause of the dust ejection. We also propose that the components of a contact binary might gently rub and produce the observed emission. Volatile sublimation might also explain what appears as cometary activity over a period of 8 months. However, while Main Belt comets best explained by ice sublimation are found in the outskirts of the Main Belt, where water ice is believed to be able to survive buried in moderately large objects for the age of the solar system deeply, the presence of volatiles in an object smaller than 300m in radius would be very surprising in the inner asteroid belt.

astro-ph.EP↗

High frequency A-type pulsators discovered using SuperWASP

We present the results of a survey using the WASP archive to search for high frequency pulsations in F-, A- and B-type stars. Over 1.5 million targets have been searched for pulsations with amplitudes greater than 0.5 millimagnitude. We identify over 350 stars which pulsate with periods less than 30 min. Spectroscopic follow-up of selected targets has enabled us to confirm 10 new rapidly oscillating Ap stars, 13 pulsating Am stars and the fastest known $δ$ Scuti star. We also observe stars which show pulsations in both the high-frequency domain and in the low-frequency $δ$ Scuti range. This work shows the power of the WASP photometric survey to find variable stars with amplitudes well below the nominal photometric precision per observation.

astro-ph.SR↗

Search for a habitable terrestrial planet transiting the nearby red dwarf GJ 1214

High-precision eclipse spectrophotometry of transiting terrestrial exoplanets represents a promising path for the first atmospheric characterizations of habitable worlds and the search for life outside our solar system. The detection of terrestrial planets transiting nearby late-type M-dwarfs could make this approach applicable within the next decade, with soon-to-come general facilities. In this context, we previously identified GJ 1214 as a high-priority target for a transit search, as the transit probability of a habitable planet orbiting this nearby M4.5 dwarf would be significantly enhanced by the transiting nature of GJ 1214 b, the super-Earth already known to orbit the star. Based on this observation, we have set up an ambitious high-precision photometric monitoring of GJ 1214 with the Spitzer Space Telescope to probe the inner part of its habitable zone in search of a transiting planet as small as Mars. We present here the results of this transit search. Unfortunately, we did not detect any other transiting planets. Assuming that GJ 1214 hosts a habitable planet larger than Mars that has an orbital period smaller than 20.9 days, our global analysis of the whole Spitzer dataset leads to an a posteriori no-transit probability of ~ 98%. Our analysis allows us to significantly improve the characterization of GJ 1214 b, to measure its occultation depth to be 70+-35 ppm at 4.5 microns, and to constrain it to be smaller than 205ppm (3-sigma upper limit) at 3.6 microns. In agreement with the many transmission measurements published so far for GJ 1214 b, these emission measurements are consistent with both a metal-rich and a cloudy hydrogen-rich atmosphere.

astro-ph.EP↗