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Ennio Poretti

Publications and source records attributed to Ennio Poretti.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
arXiv2019

Using HARPS-N to characterise the long-period planets in the PH-2 and Kepler-103 systems

We present confirmation of the planetary nature of PH-2b, as well as the first mass estimates for the two planets in the Kepler-103 system. PH-2b and Kepler-103c are both long-period and transiting, a sparsely-populated category of exoplanet. We use {\it Kepler} light-curve data to estimate a radius, and then use HARPS-N radial velocities to determine the semi-amplitude of the stellar reflex motion and, hence, the planet mass. For PH-2b we recover a 3.5-$σ$ mass estimate of $M_p = 109^{+30}_{-32}$ M$_\oplus$ and a radius of $R_p = 9.49\pm0.16$ R$_\oplus$. This means that PH-2b has a Saturn-like bulk density and is the only planet of this type with an orbital period $P > 200$ days that orbits a single star. We find that Kepler-103b has a mass of $M_{\text{p,b}} = 11.7^{+4.31}_{-4.72}$ M$_{\oplus}$ and Kepler-103c has a mass of $M_{\text{p,c}} = 58.5^{+11.2}_{-11.4}$ M$_{\oplus}$. These are 2.5$σ$ and 5$σ$ results, respectively. With radii of $R_{\text{p,b}} = 3.49^{+0.06}_{-0.05}$ R$_\oplus$, and $R_{\text{p,c}} = 5.45^{+0.18}_{-0.17}$ R$_\oplus$, these results suggest that Kepler-103b has a Neptune-like density, while Kepler-103c is one of the highest density planets with a period $P > 100$ days. By providing high-precision estimates for the masses of the long-period, intermediate-mass planets PH-2b and Kepler-103c, we increase the sample of long-period planets with known masses and radii, which will improve our understanding of the mass-radius relation across the full range of exoplanet masses and radii.

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arXiv2019

Activity and rotation of the X-ray emitting Kepler stars

The relation between magnetic activity and rotation in late-type stars provides fundamental information on stellar dynamos and angular momentum evolution. Rotation/activity studies found in the literature suffer from inhomogeneity in the measure of activity indexes and rotation periods. We overcome this limitation with a study of the X-ray emitting late-type main-sequence stars observed by XMM-Newton and Kepler. We measure rotation periods from photometric variability in Kepler light curves. As activity indicators, we adopt the X-ray luminosity, the number frequency of white-light flares, the amplitude of the rotational photometric modulation, and the standard deviation in the Kepler light curves. The search for X-ray flares in the light curves provided by the EXTraS (Exploring the X-ray Transient and variable Sky) FP-7 project allows us to identify simultaneous X-ray and white-light flares. A careful selection of the X-ray sources in the Kepler field yields 102 main-sequence stars with spectral types from A to M. We find rotation periods for 74 X-ray emitting main-sequence stars, 22 of which without period reported in the previous literature. In the X-ray activity/rotation relation, we see evidence for the traditional distinction of a saturated and a correlated part, the latter presenting a continuous decrease in activity towards slower rotators. For the optical activity indicators the transition is abrupt and located at a period of ~ 10 d but it can be probed only marginally with this sample which is biased towards fast rotators due to the X-ray selection. We observe 7 bona-fide X-ray flares with evidence for a white-light counterpart in simultaneous Kepler data. We derive an X-ray flare frequency of ~ 0.15 d^{-1} , consistent with the optical flare frequency obtained from the much longer Kepler time-series.

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arXiv2019

K2-291 b: A rocky super-Earth in a 2.2 day orbit

K2-291 (EPIC 247418783) is a solar-type star with a radius of R_star = 0.899 $\pm$ 0.034 R_sun and mass of M_star=0.934 $\pm$ 0.038 M_sun. From K2 C13 data, we found one super-Earth planet (R_p = 1.589+0.095-0.072 R_Earth) transiting this star on a short period orbit (P = 2.225177 +6.6e-5 -6.8e-5 days). We followed this system up with adaptive-optic imaging and spectroscopy to derive stellar parameters, search for stellar companions, and determine a planet mass. From our 75 radial velocity measurements using HIRES on Keck I and HARPS-N on Telescopio Nazionale Galileo, we constrained the mass of EPIC 247418783b to M_p = 6.49 $\pm$ 1.16 M_Earth. We found it necessary to model correlated stellar activity radial velocity signals with a Gaussian process in order to more accurately model the effect of stellar noise on our data; the addition of the Gaussian process also improved the precision of this mass measurement. With a bulk density of 8.84+2.50-2.03 g cm-3, the planet is consistent with an Earth-like rock/iron composition and no substantial gaseous envelope. Such an envelope, if it existed in the past, was likely eroded away by photo-evaporation during the first billion years of the star's lifetime.

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arXiv2019

A giant impact as the likely origin of different twins in the Kepler-107 exoplanet system

Measures of exoplanet bulk densities indicate that small exoplanets with radius less than 3 Earth radii ($R_\oplus$) range from low-density sub-Neptunes containing volatile elements to higher density rocky planets with Earth-like or iron-rich (Mercury-like) compositions. Such astonishing diversity in observed small exoplanet compositions may be the product of different initial conditions of the planet-formation process and/or different evolutionary paths that altered the planetary properties after formation. Planet evolution may be especially affected by either photoevaporative mass loss induced by high stellar X-ray and extreme ultraviolet (XUV) flux or giant impacts. Although there is some evidence for the former, there are no unambiguous findings so far about the occurrence of giant impacts in an exoplanet system. Here, we characterize the two innermost planets of the compact and near-resonant system Kepler-107. We show that they have nearly identical radii (about $1.5-1.6~R_\oplus$), but the outer planet Kepler-107c is more than twice as dense (about $12.6~\rm g\,cm^{-3}$) as the innermost Kepler-107b (about $5.3~\rm g\,cm^{-3}$). In consequence, Kepler-107c must have a larger iron core fraction than Kepler-107b. This imbalance cannot be explained by the stellar XUV irradiation, which would conversely make the more-irradiated and less-massive planet Kepler-107b denser than Kepler-107c. Instead, the dissimilar densities are consistent with a giant impact event on Kepler-107c that would have stripped off part of its silicate mantle. This hypothesis is supported by theoretical predictions from collisional mantle stripping, which match the mass and radius of Kepler-107c.

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arXiv2018

All-sky RR Lyrae Stars in the Gaia Data

The second Gaia data release is expected to contain data products from about 22 months of observation. Based on these data, we aim to provide an advance publication of a full-sky Gaia map of RR Lyrae stars. Although comprehensive, these data still contain a significant fraction of sources which are insufficiently sampled for Fourier series decomposition of the periodic light variations. The challenges in the identification of RR Lyrae candidates with (much) fewer than 20 field-of-view transits are described. General considerations of the results, their limitations, and interpretation are presented together with prospects for improvement in subsequent Gaia data releases.

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arXiv2018

Cyclic variations in the periods of RR Lyr stars

We report here on two types of cyclic variations that can be observed in the periods of RR Lyr stars, i.e., the Blazhko and the light-time effects. The former has been investigated by studying the amplitude variations recorded in RR Lyr itself, firstly by Kepler and then by the network of the "Very Tiny Telescopes" (VTTs). The latter on the basis of the new spectroscopic observations of the most promising candidate, KIC 2831097. The start of the search for binary candidates in the RR Lyr stars observed with the TAROT telescopes is also announced.

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arXiv2017

Interferometric and spectroscopic observations of the BRITE target Delta Cep

We used new HARPS-N spectra to revisitate the projection factor of Delta Cep and to directly measure the specific contribution of the velocity gradient within the atmosphere. By introducing an hydrodynamical model we could also determine the semi-theoretical values of the correction factor between the gas movement and the optical continuum by assuming radiative transfer in plane-parallel or sherically symmetric geometries, respectively.

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arXiv2016

Chromatic line-profile tomography to reveal exoplanetary atmospheres: application to HD 189733b

Transmission spectroscopy can be used to constrain the properties of exoplanetary atmospheres. During a transit, the light blocked from the atmosphere of the planet leaves an imprint in the light coming from the star. This has been shown for many exoplanets with different techniques, with both photometry and spectroscopy. We aim at testing chromatic line-profile tomography as a new tool to investigate exoplanetary atmospheres. The signal imprinted on the cross-correlation function (CCF) by a planet transiting its star is dependent on the planet-to-star radius ratio. We want to verify if the precision reachable on the CCF obtained from a subset of the spectral orders of the HARPS spectrograph is enough to discriminate the radius of a planet at different wavelengths. Methods. We analyze HARPS archival data of three transits of HD 189733b. We divide the HARPS spectral range in 7 broadbands, calculating for each band the ratio between the area of the out-of-transit CCF and the area of the signal imprinted by the planet on it during the full part of the transit. We take into account the effect of the limb darkening using the theoretical coefficients of a linear law. Averaging the results of three different transits allows us to obtain a good quality broadband transmission spectrum of HD 189733b, with a precision greater than that of the chromatic RM effect. Results. We proved chromatic line-profile tomography to be an interesting way to reveal broadband transmission spectra of exoplanets: our analysis of the atmosphere of HD 189733b is in agreement with other ground- and space-based observations. The independent analysis of different transits puts in evidence the probability that stellar activity plays a role in the extracted transmission spectrum. Care has thus to be taken when claiming for Rayleigh scattering in the atmosphere of exoplanets orbiting active stars using only one transit.

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arXiv2016

The magnificent past of RR Lyrae variables

The history of the observations of RR Lyr variables started in the XIXth century, more than 120 years ago. The very long time baseline of available data combined with the short period of RR Lyrae variables offer an unique opportunity to look at their past as a treasure of valuable information. At this purpose, the amateur/professional association Groupe Europeen d'Observations Stellaires (GEOS) has built a database aimed to gather all the published maxima. We could study the period changes due to stellar evolution. Most of the 123 scrutinized RRab stars does not show any significant period variation. This reflects the fact that the rapid evolution is confined in short evolutionary phases. Notwithstanding this, we could put in evidence period increases in 27 stars and decreases in 21 ones. We also used the GEOS database to study the Blazhko effect of galactic RRab stars. The closed curves representing the Blazhko effect are constructed by plotting the magnitudes at maximum vs. the O-C values. We obtained a variegate family of Blazhko "potatoes". We could also reconstruct the changes in the pulsational and Blazhko periods of RR Lyr itself, resulted to be completely decoupled. Moreover, the amplitude of the Blazhko effect decreased so much to be hardly detectable by looking at the maxima collected in 2014 only. The effect seems to start again in the 2015 data.

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arXiv2015

Global Architecture of Planetary Systems (GAPS), a project for the whole Italian Community

The GAPS project is running since 2012 with the goal to optimize the science return of the HARPS-N instrument mounted at Telescopio Nazionale Galileo. A large number of astronomers is working together to allow the Italian community to gain an international position adequate to the HARPS-N capabilities in the exoplanetary researches. Relevant scientific results are being obtained on both the main guidelines of the collaboration, i.e., the discovery surveys and the characterization studies. The planetary system discovered around the southern component of the binary XO-2 and its characterization together with that of the system orbiting the northern component are a good example of the completeness of the topics matched by the GAPS project. The dynamics of some planetary systems are investigated by studying the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect, while host stars are characterized by means of asteroseismology and star-planet interaction.

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arXiv2015

CoRoT space photometry of seven Cepheids

A few Galactic classical Cepheids were observed in the programmes of space missions as Coriolis, MOST and Kepler. An appealing opportunity was to detect additional nonradial modes, thus opening the possibility to perform asteroseismic studies and making the pulsational content of Galactic Cepheids more similar to that of Magellanic Clouds ones. However, only hints of cycle-to-cycle variations were found, without any strict periodicity. In this context the potential of the CoRoT exoplanetary data base was not fully exploited despite the wide area covered on the Galactic plane. Therefore, we investigated all the candidate Cepheids pointed out by the automatic classification of the CoRoT curves. At the end we could identify seven bona-fide Cepheids. The light curves were investigated to remove some instrumental effects. The frequency analysis was particularly delicate since these small effects can be enhanced by the large amplitude, resulting in the presence of significant, but spurious, peaks in the power spectrum. Indeed, the careful evaluation of a very attracting peak in the spectra of CoRoT 0102618121, allowed us to certify its spurious origin. Once that the instrumental effects were properly removed, no additional mode was detected. On the other hand, cycle-to-cycle variations of the Fourier parameters were observed, but very small and always within 3 sigma. Among the seven Cepheids, there are two Pop. I first-overtone pulsators, four Pop. I fundamental mode pulsators, and one Pop. II star. The CoRoT colours allowed us to measure that times of maximum brightness occur a little earlier (about 0.01 period) at short wavelengths than at long ones.

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arXiv2014

The CoRoT discovery of a unique triple-mode cepheid in the galaxy

The exploitation of the CoRoT treasure of stars observed in the exoplanetary field allowed the detection of a unusual triple-mode Cepheid in the Milky Way, CoRoT 0223989566. The two modes with the largest amplitudes and period ratio of 0.80 are identified with the first (P1=1.29 d) and second (P2=1.03 d) radial overtones. The third period, which has the smallest amplitude but able to produce combination terms with the other two, is the longest one (P3=1.89 d). The ratio of 0.68 between the first-overtone period and the third period is the unusual feature. Its identification with the fundamental radial or a nonradial mode is discussed with respect to similar cases in the Magellanic Clouds. In both cases the period triplet and the respective ratios make the star unique in our Galaxy. The distance derived from the period-luminosity relation and the galactic coordinates put CoRoT~0223989566 in the metal-rich environment of the "outer arm" of the Milky Way.

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arXiv2014

The red giants in NGC 6633 as seen with CoRoT, HARPS and SOPHIE

The open cluster NGC 6633 was observed with CoRoT in 2011 and simultaneous high-resolution spectroscopy was obtained with the SOPHIE and HARPS spectrographs. One of the four targets was not found to be a cluster member. For all stars we provide estimates of the seismic and spectroscopic parameters.

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arXiv2014

Refining the asteroseismic model for the young delta Scuti star HD 144277 using HARPS spectroscopy

HD 144277 was previously discovered by MOST space photometry to be a young and hot delta Scuti star showing regular groups of pulsation frequencies. The first asteroseismic models required lower than solar metallicity to fit the observed frequency range based on a purely photometric analysis. High-resolution, high S/N spectroscopic data obtained with the HARPS spectrograph were used to determine the fundamental parameters and chemical abundances of HD 144277. These values were put into context alongside the results from asteroseismic models. The effective temperature, Teff, of HD 144277 was determined as 8640(+300)(-100) K, log g is 4.14 +/- 0.15 and the projected rotational velocity, vsini, is 62.0 +/- 2.0 km/s. As the vsini value is significantly larger than previously assumed, we refined the first asteroseimic model accordingly. The overall metallicity Z was determined to be 0.011 where the light elements He, C, O, Na, and S show solar chemical composition, but the heavier elements are significantly underabundant. In addition, the radius of HD 144277 was determined to be 1.55 +/- 0.65 Rsun from spectral energy distribution fitting, based on photometric data taken from the literature. From the spectroscopic observations, we could confirm our previous assumption from asteroseismic models that HD 144277 has less than solar metallicity. The fundamental parameters derived from asteroseismology, Teff, log g, L/Lsun and R\Rsun, agree within one sigma to the values found from spectroscopic analysis. As the vsini value is significantly higher than assumed in the first analysis, near-degeneracies and rotational mode coupling were taken into account in the new models. These suggest that HD 144277 has an equatorial rotational velocity of about 80 km/s and is seen equator-on. The observed frequencies are identified as prograde modes.

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arXiv2012

Evolutionary changes in the periods of galactic RRab stars

Le Borgne et al. (2007) report on the determination of evolutionary changes in the periods of field RR Lyr stars. Thanks to the extension of the GEOS database, we could analyze a sample twice larger than the previous one. We obtained a different picture of the period changes, with a number of stars showing an increasing period greater than that of stars showing a decreasing period.

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arXiv2012

The spectroscopic observations of CoRoT asteroseismic targets with HARPS

CoRoT photometric measurements of asteroseismic targets need complementary ground-based spectroscopic observations. We are using the planet-hunter HARPS spectrograph attached to the 3.6m-ESO telescope in the framework of two consecutive Large Programmes. We discuss its use to study line-profile variations and we report on a specific result obtained for the Delta Sct star HD 170699.

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