Searcharxiv⌕ Search

arXiv subjects

J. M. Jenkins

Publications and source records attributed to J. M. Jenkins.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources

2D non-LTE modelling of a filament observed in the H_alpha line with the DST/IBIS spectropolarimeter

We study a fragment of a large quiescent filament observed on May 29, 2017 by the Interferometric BIdimensional Spectropolarimeter (IBIS) mounted at the Dunn Solar Telescope. We focus on its quiescent stage prior to its eruption. We analyse the spectral observations obtained in the H$α$ line to derive the thermodynamic properties of the plasma of the observed fragment of the filament. We used a 2D filament model employing radiative transfer computations under conditions that depart from the local thermodynamic equilibrium. We employed a forward modelling technique in which we used the 2D model to producesynthetic H_alpha line profiles that we compared with the observations. We then found the set of model input parameters, which produces synthetic spectra with the best agreement with observations. Our analysis shows that one part of the observed fragment of the filament is cooler, denser, and more dynamic than its other part that is hotter, less dense, and more quiescent. The derived temperatures in the first part range from 6,000 K to 10,000$ K and in the latter part from 11,000 K to 14,000 K. The gas pressure is 0.2-0.4 dyn/cm}^{2} in the first part and around 0.15 dyn/cm}^{2} in the latter part. The more dynamic nature of the first part is characterised by the line-of-sight velocities with absolute values of 6-7 km/s and microturbulent velocities of 8-9 km/s. On the other hand, the latter part exhibits line-of-sight velocities with absolute values 0-2.5 km/s and microturbulent velocities of 4-6 km/s.

astro-ph.SR↗

Planetary system around the nearby M dwarf GJ 357 including a transiting, hot, Earth-sized planet optimal for atmospheric characterization

We report the detection of a transiting Earth-size planet around GJ 357, a nearby M2.5V star, using data from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). GJ 357 b (TOI-562.01) is a transiting, hot, Earth-sized planet (Teq=525+-11 K) with a radius of Rb=1.217+-0.084 Re and an orbital period of Pb=3.93 d. Precise stellar radial velocities from CARMENES and PFS, as well as archival data from HIRES, UVES, and HARPS also display a 3.93-day periodicity, confirming the planetary nature and leading to a planetary mass of Mb=1.84+-0.31 Me. In addition to the radial velocity signal for GJ 357 b, more periodicities are present in the data indicating the presence of two further planets in the system: GJ 357 c, with a minimum mass of Mc=3.40+-0.46 Me in a 9.12 d orbit, and GJ 357 d, with a minimum mass of Md=6.1+-1.0 Me in a 55.7 d orbit inside the habitable zone. The host is relatively inactive and exhibits a photometric rotation period of Prot=78+-2 d. GJ 357 b is to date the second closest transiting planet to the Sun, making it a prime target for further investigations such as transmission spectroscopy. Therefore, GJ 357 b represents one of the best terrestrial planets suitable for atmospheric characterization with the upcoming JWST and ground-based ELTs.

astro-ph.EP↗

Two new HATNet hot Jupiters around A stars, and the first glimpse at the occurrence rate of hot Jupiters from TESS

Wide field surveys for transiting planets are well suited to searching diverse stellar populations, enabling a better understanding of the link between the properties of planets and their parent stars. We report the discovery of HAT-P-69b (TOI 625.01) and HAT-P-70b (TOI 624.01), two new hot Jupiters around A stars from the HATNet survey which have also been observed by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). HAT-P-69b has a mass of 3.58 +0.58/-0.58 MJup and a radius of 1.676 +0.051/-0.033 RJup, residing in a prograde 4.79-day orbit. HAT-P-70b has a radius of 1.87 +0.15/-0.10 RJup and a mass constraint of < 6.78 (3 sigma) MJup, and resides in a retrograde 2.74-day orbit. We use the confirmation of these planets around relatively massive stars as an opportunity to explore the occurrence rate of hot Jupiters as a function of stellar mass. We define a sample of 47,126 main-sequence stars brighter than Tmag=10 that yields 31 giant planet candidates, including 18 confirmed planets, 3 candidates, and 10 false positives. We find a net hot Jupiter occurrence rate of 0.41+/-0.10 % within this sample, consistent with the rate measured by Kepler for FGK stars. When divided into stellar mass bins, we find the occurrence rate to be 0.71+/-0.31% for G stars, 0.43+/-0.15% for F stars, and 0.26+/-0.11% for A stars. Thus, at this point, we cannot discern any statistically significant trend in the occurrence of hot Jupiters with stellar mass.

astro-ph.EP↗

Planetesimals Around Stars with TESS (PAST): I. Transient Dimming of a Binary Solar Analog at the End of the Planet Accretion Era

We report detection of quasi-periodic (1.5 day) dimming of HD 240779, the solar-mass primary in a 5" visual binary (also TIC 284730577), by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite. This dimming, as has been shown for other "dipper" stars, is likely due to occultation by circumstellar dust. The barycentric space motion, lithium abundance, rotation, and chromospheric emission of the stars in this system point to an age of ~125 Myr, and possible membership in the AB Doradus moving group. As such it occupies an important but poorly explored intermediate regime of stars with transient dimming between young stellar objects in star forming regions and main sequence stars, and between UX Orionis-type Ae/Be stars and M-type "dippers". HD 240779, but not its companion BD+10714B, has WISE-detected excess infrared emission at 12 and 22 microns indicative of circumstellar dust. We propose that infrared emission is produced by collisions of planetesimals during clearing of a residual disk at the end of rocky planet formation, and that quasi-periodic dimming is produced by the rapid disintegration of a 100 km planetesimal near the silicate evaporation radius. Further studies of this and similar systems will illuminate a poorly understood final phase of rocky planet formation like that which produced the inner Solar System.

astro-ph.EP↗

Hot, rocky and warm, puffy super-Earths orbiting TOI-402 (HD 15337)

TESS is revolutionising the search for planets orbiting bright and nearby stars. In sectors 3 and 4, TESS observed TOI-402 (TIC-120896927), a bright V=9.1 K1 dwarf also known as HD 15337, and found two transiting signals with period of 4.76 and 17.18 days and radius of 1.90 and 2.21\,\Rearth. This star was observed as part of the radial-velocity search for planets using the HARPS spectrometer, and 85 precise radial-velocity measurements were obtained over a period of 14 years. In this paper, we analyse the HARPS radial-velocity measurements in hand to confirm the planetary nature of these two signals. By reanalysing TESS photometry and host star parameters using EXOFASTv2, we find that TOI-402.01 and TOI-402.02 have periods of 4.75642$\pm$0.00021 and 17.1784$\pm$0.0016 days and radii of 1.70$\pm$0.06 and 2.52$\pm$0.11\,\Rearth\,(precision 3.6 and 4.2\%), respectively. By analysing the HARPS radial-velocity measurements, we find that those planets are both super-Earths with masses of 7.20$\pm$0.81 and 8.79$\pm$1.67\,\Mearth\,(precision 11.3 and 19.0\%), and small eccentricities compatible with zero at 2$σ$. Although having rather similar masses, the radius of these two planets is really different, putting them on different sides of the radius gap. With stellar irradiation 160 times more important than Earth for TOI-402.01 and only 29 times more for TOI-402.02, it is likely that photo-evaporation is at the origin of this radius difference. Those two planets, being in the same system and therefore being in the same irradiation environment are therefore extremely important to perform comparative exoplanetology across the evaporation valley and thus bring constraints on the mechanisms responsible for the radius gap.

astro-ph.EP↗

The Random Transiter -- EPIC 249706694/HD 139139

We have identified a star, EPIC 249706694 (HD 139139), that was observed during K2 Campaign 15 with the Kepler extended mission that appears to exhibit 28 transit-like events over the course of the 87-day observation. The unusual aspect of these dips, all but two of which have depths of $200 \pm 80$ ppm, is that they exhibit no periodicity, and their arrival times could just as well have been produced by a random number generator. We show that no more than four of the events can be part of a periodic sequence. We have done a number of data quality tests to ascertain that these dips are of astrophysical origin, and while we cannot be absolutely certain that this is so, they have all the hallmarks of astrophysical variability on one of two possible host stars (a likely bound pair) in the photometric aperture. We explore a number of ideas for the origin of these dips, including actual planet transits due to multiple or dust emitting planets, anomalously large TTVs, S- and P-type transits in binary systems, a collection of dust-emitting asteroids, `dipper-star' activity, and short-lived starspots. All transit scenarios that we have been able to conjure up appear to fail, while the intrinsic stellar variability hypothesis would be novel and untested.

astro-ph.EP↗

Characterization of the L 98-59 multi-planetary system with HARPS: two confirmed terrestrial planets and a mass upper limit on the third

L 98-59 (TIC 307210830, TOI-175) is a nearby M3 dwarf around which TESS revealed three terrestrial-sized transiting planets (0.80, 1.35, 1.57 Earth radii) in a compact configuration with orbital periods shorter than 7.5 days. Here we aim to measure the masses of the known transiting planets in this system using precise radial velocity (RV) measurements taken with the HARPS spectrograph. We consider both trained and untrained Gaussian process regression models of stellar activity to simultaneously model the RV data with the planetary signals. Our RV analysis is then supplemented with dynamical simulations to provide strong constraints on the planets' orbital eccentricities by requiring long-term stability. We measure the planet masses of the two outermost planets to be $2.46\pm 0.31$ and $2.26\pm 0.50$ Earth masses which confirms their bulk terrestrial compositions. We are able to place an upper limit on the mass of the smallest, innermost planet of $<0.98$ Earth masses with 95% confidence. Our RV plus dynamical stability analysis places strong constraints on the orbital eccentricities and reveals that each planet's orbit likely has $e<0.1$ to ensure a dynamically stable system. The L 98-59 compact system of three likely rocky planets offers a unique laboratory for studies of planet formation, dynamical stability, and comparative atmospheric planetology. Continued RV monitoring will help refine the characterization of the innermost planet and potentially reveal additional planets in the system at wider separations.

astro-ph.EP↗

WASP-4b Arrived Early for the TESS Mission

The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) recently observed 18 transits of the hot Jupiter WASP-4b. The sequence of transits occurred 81.6 $\pm$ 11.7 seconds earlier than had been predicted, based on data stretching back to 2007. This is unlikely to be the result of a clock error, because TESS observations of other hot Jupiters (WASP-6b, 18b, and 46b) are compatible with a constant period, ruling out an 81.6-second offset at the 6.4$σ$ level. The 1.3-day orbital period of WASP-4b appears to be decreasing at a rate of $\dot{P} = -12.6 \pm 1.2$ milliseconds per year. The apparent period change might be caused by tidal orbital decay or apsidal precession, although both interpretations have shortcomings. The gravitational influence of a third body is another possibility, though at present there is minimal evidence for such a body. Further observations are needed to confirm and understand the timing variation.

astro-ph.EP↗

A Jovian planet in an eccentric 11.5 day orbit around HD1397 discovered by TESS

The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite TESS has begun a new age of exoplanet discoveries around bright host stars. We present the discovery of HD 1397b (TOI-120.01), a giant planet in an 11.54day eccentric orbit around a bright (V=7.9) G-type subgiant. We estimate both host star and planetary parameters consistently using EXOFASTv2 based on TESS time-series photometry of transits and CORALIE radial velocity measurements. We find that HD 1397b is a Jovian planet, with a mass of $0.419\pm-0.024$ M$_{\rm Jup}$ and a radius of $1.023^{+0.023}_{-0.026$}$ R$_{\rm Jup}$. Characterising giant planets in short-period eccentric orbits, such as HD 1397b, is important for understanding and testing theories for the formation and migration of giant planets as well as planet-star interactions.

astro-ph.EP↗

HD2685 b: A Hot-Jupiter orbiting an early F-type star detected by TESS

We report on the confirmation of a transiting giant planet around the relatively hot (Teff = 6801 $\pm$ 56 K) star HD2685, whose transit signal was detected in Sector 1 data of the TESS mission. We confirmed the planetary nature of the transit signal by using Doppler velocimetric measurements with CHIRON, CORALIE and FEROS, as well as photometric data with CHAT and LCOGT. From the photometry and radial velocities joint analysis, we derived the following parameters for HD2685 $b$: $P$=4.12692$\pm$0.00004 days, M$_P$=1.18 $\pm$ 0.09 $M_J$ and $R_P$=1.44 $\pm$ 0.01 $R_J$. This system is a typical example of an inflated transiting Hot-Jupiter in a circular orbit. Given the host star apparent visual magnitude ($V$ = 9.6 mag), this is one of the brightest known stars hosting a transiting Hot-Jupiter, and a good example of the upcoming systems that will be detected by TESS during the two-year primary mission. This is also an excellent target for future ground and space based atmospheric characterization as well as a good candidate for measuring the projected spin-orbit misalignment angle via the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect.

astro-ph.EP↗

The PLATO 2.0 Mission

PLATO 2.0 has recently been selected for ESA's M3 launch opportunity (2022/24). Providing accurate key planet parameters (radius, mass, density and age) in statistical numbers, it addresses fundamental questions such as: How do planetary systems form and evolve? Are there other systems with planets like ours, including potentially habitable planets? The PLATO 2.0 instrument consists of 34 small aperture telescopes (32 with 25 sec readout cadence and 2 with 2.5 sec candence) providing a wide field-of-view (2232 deg2) and a large photometric magnitude range (4-16 mag). It focusses on bright (4-11 mag) stars in wide fields to detect and characterize planets down to Earth-size by photometric transits, whose masses can then be determined by ground-based radial-velocity follow-up measurements. Asteroseismology will be performed for these bright stars to obtain highly accurate stellar parameters, including masses and ages. The combination of bright targets and asteroseismology results in high accuracy for the bulk planet parameters: 2%, 4-10% and 10% for planet radii, masses and ages, respectively. The planned baseline observing strategy includes two long pointings (2-3 years) to detect and bulk characterize planets reaching into the habitable zone (HZ) of solar-like stars and an additional step-and-stare phase to cover in total about 50% of the sky. PLATO 2.0 will observe up to 1,000,000 stars and detect and characterize hundreds of small planets, and thousands of planets in the Neptune to gas giant regime out to the HZ. It will therefore provide the first large-scale catalogue of bulk characterized planets with accurate radii, masses, mean densities and ages. This catalogue will include terrestrial planets at intermediate orbital distances, where surface temperatures are moderate. Coverage of this parameter range with statistical numbers of bulk characterized planets is unique to PLATO 2.0.

astro-ph.EP↗

Kepler-62: A five-planet system with planets of 1.4 and 1.6 Earth radii in the Habitable Zone

We present the detection of five planets -- Kepler-62b, c, d, e, and f -- of size 1.31, 0.54, 1.95, 1.61 and 1.41 Earth radii, orbiting a K2V star at periods of 5.7, 12.4, 18.2, 122.4 and 267.3 days, respectively. The outermost planets (Kepler-62e & -62f) are super-Earth-size (1.25 < planet radius/earth radius < 2.0) planets in the habitable zone (HZ) of their host star, receiving 1.2 +- 0.2 and 0.41 +- 0.05 times the solar flux at Earth's orbit. Theoretical models of Kepler-62e and -62f for a stellar age of ~7 Gyr suggest that both planets could be solid: either with a rocky composition or composed of mostly solid water in their bulk.

astro-ph.EP↗

Ensemble Asteroseismology of Solar-Type Stars with the NASA Kepler Mission

In addition to its search for extra-solar planets, the NASA Kepler Mission provides exquisite data on stellar oscillations. We report the detections of oscillations in 500 solartype stars in the Kepler field of view, an ensemble that is large enough to allow statistical studies of intrinsic stellar properties (such as mass, radius and age) and to test theories of stellar evolution. We find that the distribution of observed masses of these stars shows intriguing differences to predictions from models of synthetic stellar populations in the Galaxy.

astro-ph.SR↗

An asteroseismic membership study of the red giants in three open clusters observed by Kepler: NGC6791, NGC6819, and NGC6811

Studying star clusters offers significant advances in stellar astrophysics due to the combined power of having many stars with essentially the same distance, age, and initial composition. This makes clusters excellent test benches for verification of stellar evolution theory. To fully exploit this potential, it is vital that the star sample is uncontaminated by stars that are not members of the cluster. Techniques for determining cluster membership therefore play a key role in the investigation of clusters. We present results on three clusters in the Kepler field of view based on a newly established technique that uses asteroseismology to identify fore- or background stars in the field, which demonstrates advantages over classical methods such as kinematic and photometry measurements. Four previously identified seismic non-members in NGC6819 are confirmed in this study, and three additional non-members are found -- two in NGC6819 and one in NGC6791. We further highlight which stars are, or might be, affected by blending, which needs to be taken into account when analysing these Kepler data.

astro-ph.SR↗

Predicting the detectability of oscillations in solar-type stars observed by Kepler

Asteroseismology of solar-type stars has an important part to play in the exoplanet program of the NASA Kepler Mission. Precise and accurate inferences on the stellar properties that are made possible by the seismic data allow very tight constraints to be placed on the exoplanetary systems. Here, we outline how to make an estimate of the detectability of solar-like oscillations in any given Kepler target, using rough estimates of the temperature and radius, and the Kepler apparent magnitude.

astro-ph.SR↗

Preparation of Kepler lightcurves for asteroseismic analyses

The Kepler mission is providing photometric data of exquisite quality for the asteroseismic study of different classes of pulsating stars. These analyses place particular demands on the pre-processing of the data, over a range of timescales from minutes to months. Here, we describe processing procedures developed by the Kepler Asteroseismic Science Consortium (KASC) to prepare light curves that are optimized for the asteroseismic study of solar-like oscillating stars in which outliers, jumps and drifts are corrected.

astro-ph.SR↗

Kepler photometry of the prototypical Blazhko star RR Lyr: An old friend seen in a new light

We present our analysis of the long cadence Kepler data for the well-studied Blazhko star RR Lyr, gathered during the first two quarters of the satellite's observations and covering a total of 127d. Besides being of great importance for our understanding of RR Lyrae stars in general, these RR Lyr data can be regarded as a case study for observations of bright stars with Kepler. Kepler can perform high-precision photometry on targets like RR Lyr, as the saturated flux is conserved to a very high degree. The Kepler data on RR Lyr are revolutionary in several respects. Even with long-cadence sampling (one measurement per 29.4 min), the unprecedented precision (< mmag) of the Kepler photometry allows the study of the star's extreme light curve variations in detail. The multiplet structures at the main frequency and its harmonics, typical for Blazhko stars, are clearly detected up to the quintuplets. For the first time, photometric data of RR Lyr reveal the presence of half-integer frequencies, linked to a period doubling effect. This phenomenon may be connected to the still unexplained Blazhko modulation. Moreover, with three observed Blazhko cycles at our disposal, we observe that there is no exact repetition in the light curve changes from one modulation cycle to the next for RR Lyr. This may be due to additional periodicities in the star, or to transient or quasi-periodic changes.

astro-ph.SR↗

Asteroseismology of red giants from the first four months of Kepler data: Global oscillation parameters for 800 stars

We have studied solar-like oscillations in ~800 red-giant stars using Kepler long-cadence photometry. The sample includes stars ranging in evolution from the lower part of the red-giant branch to the Helium main sequence. We investigate the relation between the large frequency separation (Delta nu) and the frequency of maximum power (nu_max) and show that it is different for red giants than for main-sequence stars, which is consistent with evolutionary models and scaling relations. The distributions of nu_max and Delta nu are in qualitative agreement with a simple stellar population model of the Kepler field, including the first evidence for a secondary clump population characterized by M ~> 2 M_sun and nu_max ~ 40-110 muHz. We measured the small frequency separations delta nu_02 and delta nu_01 in over 400 stars and delta nu_03 in over 40. We present C-D diagrams for l=1, 2 and 3 and show that the frequency separation ratios delta nu_02/Delta nu and delta nu_01/Delta nu have opposite trends as a function of Delta nu. The data show a narrowing of the l=1 ridge towards lower nu_max, in agreement with models predicting more efficient mode trapping in stars with higher luminosity. We investigate the offset epsilon in the asymptotic relation and find a clear correlation with Delta nu, demonstrating that it is related to fundamental stellar parameters. Finally, we present the first amplitude-nu_max relation for Kepler red giants. We observe a lack of low-amplitude stars for nu_max ~> 110 muHz and find that, for a given nu_max between 40-110 muHz, stars with lower Delta nu (and consequently higher mass) tend to show lower amplitudes than stars with higher Delta nu.

astro-ph.SR↗