arXiv subjects

J. Surdej

Publications and source records attributed to J. Surdej.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2015

Physical properties of the planetary systems WASP-45 and WASP-46 from simultaneous multi-band photometry

Accurate measurements of the physical characteristics of a large number of exoplanets are useful to strongly constrain theoretical models of planet formation and evolution, which lead to the large variety of exoplanets and planetary-system configurations that have been observed. We present a study of the planetary systems WASP-45 and WASP-46, both composed of a main-sequence star and a close-in hot Jupiter, based on 29 new high-quality light curves of transits events. In particular, one transit of WASP-45 b and four of WASP-46 b were simultaneously observed in four optical filters, while one transit of WASP-46 b was observed with the NTT obtaining precision of 0.30 mmag with a cadence of roughly three minutes. We also obtained five new spectra of WASP-45 with the FEROS spectrograph. We improved by a factor of four the measurement of the radius of the planet WASP-45 b, and found that WASP-46 b is slightly less massive and smaller than previously reported. Both planets now have a more accurate measurement of the density (0.959 +\- 0.077 ρJup instead of 0.64 +\- 0.30 ρJup for WASP-45 b, and 1.103 +\- 0.052 ρJup instead of 0.94 +\- 0.11 ρJup for WASP-46 b). We tentatively detected radius variations with wavelength for both planets, in particular in the case of WASP-45 b we found a slightly larger absorption in the redder bands than in the bluer ones. No hints for the presence of an additional planetary companion in the two systems were found either from the photometric or radial velocity measurements.

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arXiv2015

Red noise versus planetary interpretations in the microlensing event OGLE-2013-BLG-446

For all exoplanet candidates, the reliability of a claimed detection needs to be assessed through a careful study of systematic errors in the data to minimize the false positives rate. We present a method to investigate such systematics in microlensing datasets using the microlensing event OGLE-2013-BLG-0446 as a case study. The event was observed from multiple sites around the world and its high magnification (A_{max} \sim 3000) allowed us to investigate the effects of terrestrial and annual parallax. Real-time modeling of the event while it was still ongoing suggested the presence of an extremely low-mass companion (\sim 3M_\oplus ) to the lensing star, leading to substantial follow-up coverage of the light curve. We test and compare different models for the light curve and conclude that the data do not favour the planetary interpretation when systematic errors are taken into account.

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arXiv2015

Rotation periods and astrometric motions of the Luhman 16AB brown dwarfs by high-resolution lucky-imaging monitoring

Context. Photometric monitoring of the variability of brown dwarfs can provide useful information about the structure of clouds in their cold atmospheres. The brown-dwarf binary system Luhman 16AB is an interesting target for such a study, as its components stand at the L/T transition and show high levels of variability. Luhman 16AB is also the third closest system to the Solar system, allowing precise astrometric investigations with ground-based facilities. Aims. The aim of the work is to estimate the rotation period and study the astrometric motion of both components. Methods. We have monitored Luhman 16AB over a period of two years with the lucky-imaging camera mounted on the Danish 1.54m telescope at La Silla, through a special i+z long-pass filter, which allowed us to clearly resolve the two brown dwarfs into single objects. An intense monitoring of the target was also performed over 16 nights, in which we observed a peak-to-peak variability of 0.20 \pm 0.02 mag and 0.34 \pm 0.02 mag for Luhman 16A and 16B, respectively. Results. We used the 16-night time-series data to estimate the rotation period of the two components. We found that Luhman 16B rotates with a period of 5.1 \pm 0.1 hr, in very good agreement with previous measurements. For Luhman 16A, we report that it rotates slower than its companion and, even though we were not able to get a robust determination, our data indicate a rotation period of roughly 8 hr. This implies that the rotation axes of the two components are well aligned and suggests a scenario in which the two objects underwent the same accretion process. The 2-year complete dataset was used to study the astrometric motion of Luhman 16AB. We predict a motion of the system that is not consistent with a previous estimate based on two months of monitoring, but cannot confirm or refute the presence of additional planetary-mass bodies in the system.

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arXiv2015

Larger and faster: revised properties and a shorter orbital period for the WASP-57 planetary system from a pro-am collaboration

Transits in the WASP-57 planetary system have been found to occur half an hour earlier than expected. We present ten transit light curves from amateur telescopes, on which this discovery was based, thirteen transit light curves from professional facilities which confirm and refine this finding, and high-resolution imaging which show no evidence for nearby companions. We use these data to determine a new and precise orbital ephemeris, and measure the physical properties of the system. Our revised orbital period is 4.5s shorter than found from the discovery data alone, which explains the early occurrence of the transits. We also find both the star and planet to be larger and less massive than previously thought. The measured mass and radius of the planet are now consistent with theoretical models of gas giants containing no heavy-element core, as expected for the sub-solar metallicity of the host star. Two transits were observed simultaneously in four passbands. We use the resulting light curves to measure the planet's radius as a function of wavelength, finding that our data are sufficient in principle but not in practise to constrain its atmospheric properties. We conclude with a discussion of the current and future status of transmission photometry studies for probing the atmospheres of gas-giant transiting planets.

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arXiv2015

Spitzer Parallax of OGLE-2015-BLG-0966: A Cold Neptune in the Galactic Disk

We report the detection of a Cold Neptune m_planet=21+/-2MEarth orbiting a 0.38MSol M dwarf lying 2.5-3.3 kpc toward the Galactic center as part of a campaign combining ground-based and Spitzer observations to measure the Galactic distribution of planets. This is the first time that the complex real-time protocols described by Yee et al. (2015), which aim to maximize planet sensitivity while maintaining sample integrity, have been carried out in practice. Multiple survey and follow-up teams successfully combined their efforts within the framework of these protocols to detect this planet. This is the second planet in the Spitzer Galactic distribution sample. Both are in the near-to-mid disk and clearly not in the Galactic bulge.

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arXiv2015

Predicted multiply-imaged X-ray AGNs in the XXL survey

We estimate the incidence of multiply-imaged AGNs among the optical counterparts of X-ray selected point-like sources in the XXL field. We also derive the expected statistical properties of this sample, such as the redshift distribution of the lensed sources and of the deflectors that lead to the formation of multiple images, modelling the deflectors using both spherical (SIS) and ellipsoidal (SIE) singular isothermal mass distributions. We further assume that the XXL survey sample has the same overall properties as the smaller XMM-COSMOS sample restricted to the same flux limits and taking into account the detection probability of the XXL survey. Among the X-ray sources with a flux in the [0.5-2] keV band larger than 3.0x10$^{-15}$ erg cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$ and with optical counterparts brighter than an r-band magnitude of 25, we expect ~20 multiply-imaged sources. Out of these, ~16 should be detected if the search is made among the seeing-limited images of the X-ray AGN optical counterparts and only one of them should be composed of more than two lensed images. Finally, we study the impact of the cosmological model on the expected fraction of lensed sources.

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arXiv2015

Transits and starspots in the WASP-6 planetary system

We present updates to \textsc{prism}, a photometric transit-starspot model, and \textsc{gemc}, a hybrid optimisation code combining MCMC and a genetic algorithm. We then present high-precision photometry of four transits in the WASP-6 planetary system, two of which contain a starspot anomaly. All four transits were modelled using \textsc{prism} and \textsc{gemc}, and the physical properties of the system calculated. We find the mass and radius of the host star to be $0.836\pm 0.063\,{\rm M}_\odot$ and $0.864\pm0.024\,{\rm R}_\odot$, respectively. For the planet we find a mass of $0.485\pm 0.027\,{\rm M}_{\rm Jup}$, a radius of $1.230\pm0.035\,{\rm R}_{\rm Jup}$ and a density of $0.244\pm0.014\,ρ_{\rm Jup}$. These values are consistent with those found in the literature. In the likely hypothesis that the two spot anomalies are caused by the same starspot or starspot complex, we measure the stars rotation period and velocity to be $23.80 \pm 0.15$\,d and $1.78 \pm 0.20$\,km\,s$^{-1}$, respectively, at a co-latitude of 75.8$^\circ$. We find that the sky-projected angle between the stellar spin axis and the planetary orbital axis is $λ= 7.2^{\circ} \pm 3.7^{\circ}$, indicating axial alignment. Our results are consistent with and more precise than published spectroscopic measurements of the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect. These results suggest that WASP-6\,b formed at a much greater distance from its host star and suffered orbital decay through tidal interactions with the protoplanetary disc.

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arXiv2015

A Census of Variability in Globular Cluster M68 (NGC 4590)

We analyse 20 nights of CCD observations in the V and I bands of the globular cluster M68 (NGC 4590), using these to detect variable objects. We also obtained electron-multiplying CCD (EMCCD) observations for this cluster in order to explore its core with unprecedented spatial resolution from the ground. We reduced our data using difference image analysis, in order to achieve the best possible photometry in the crowded field of the cluster. In doing so, we showed that when dealing with identical networked telescopes, a reference image from any telescope may be used to reduce data from any other telescope, which facilitates the analysis significantly. We then used our light curves to estimate the properties of the RR Lyrae (RRL) stars in M68 through Fourier decomposition and empirical relations. The variable star properties then allowed us to derive the cluster's metallicity and distance. We determine new periods for the variable stars, and search for new variables, especially in the core of the cluster where our method performs particularly well. We detect an additional 4 SX Phe stars, and confirm the variability of another star, bringing the total number of confirmed variable stars in this cluster to 50. We also used archival data stretching back to 1951 in order to derive period changes for some of the single-mode RRL stars, and analyse the significant number of double-mode RRL stars in M68. Furthermore, we find evidence for double-mode pulsation in one of the SX Phe stars in this cluster. Using the different types of variables, we derived an estimate of the metallicity, [Fe/H]=$-2.07 \pm 0.06$ on the ZW scale, and 4 independent estimates of the distance modulus ($μ_0 \sim$ 15.00 mag) for this cluster. Thanks to the first use of difference image analysis on time-series observations of M68, we are now confident that we have a complete census of the RRL stars in this cluster.

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arXiv2015

Pathway to the Galactic Distribution of Planets: Combined Spitzer and Ground-Based Microlens Parallax Measurements of 21 Single-Lens Events

We present microlens parallax measurements for 21 (apparently) isolated lenses observed toward the Galactic bulge that were imaged simultaneously from Earth and Spitzer, which was ~1 AU West of Earth in projection. We combine these measurements with a kinematic model of the Galaxy to derive distance estimates for each lens, with error bars that are small compared to the Sun's Galactocentric distance. The ensemble therefore yields a well-defined cumulative distribution of lens distances. In principle it is possible to compare this distribution against a set of planets detected in the same experiment in order to measure the Galactic distribution of planets. Since these Spitzer observations yielded only one planet, this is not yet possible in practice. However, it will become possible as larger samples are accumulated.

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arXiv2015

Searching for variable stars in the cores of five metal rich globular clusters using EMCCD observations

In this paper, we present the analysis of time-series observations from 2013 and 2014 of five metal rich ([Fe/H] $>$ -1) globular clusters: NGC~6388, NGC~6441, NGC~6528, NGC~6638, and NGC~6652. The data have been used to perform a census of the variable stars in the central parts of these clusters. The observations were made with the electron multiplying CCD (EMCCD) camera at the Danish 1.54m Telescope at La Silla, Chile, and they were analysed using difference image analysis (DIA) to obtain high-precision light curves of the variable stars. It was possible to identify and classify all of the previously known or suspected variable stars in the central regions of the five clusters. Furthermore, we were able to identify, and in most cases classify 48, 49, 7, 8, and 2 previously unknown variables in NGC~6388, NGC~6441, NGC~6528, NGC~6638, and NGC~6652, respectively. Especially interesting is the case of NGC~6441, for which the variable star population of about 150 stars has been thoroughly examined by previous studies, including a Hubble Space Telescope study. In this paper we are able to present 49 new variable stars for this cluster, of which one (possibly two) are RR Lyrae stars, two are W Virginis stars, and the rest are long period semi-regular/irregular variables on the red giant branch. We have also detected the first double mode RR Lyrae in the cluster.

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arXiv2014

High-precision photometry by telescope defocussing. VII. The ultra-short period planet WASP-103

We present 17 transit light curves of the ultra-short period planetary system WASP-103, a strong candidate for the detection of tidally-induced orbital decay. We use these to establish a high-precision reference epoch for transit timing studies. The time of the reference transit midpoint is now measured to an accuracy of 4.8s, versus 67.4s in the discovery paper, aiding future searches for orbital decay. With the help of published spectroscopic measurements and theoretical stellar models, we determine the physical properties of the system to high precision and present a detailed error budget for these calculations. The planet has a Roche lobe filling factor of 0.58, leading to a significant asphericity; we correct its measured mass and mean density for this phenomenon. A high-resolution Lucky Imaging observation shows no evidence for faint stars close enough to contaminate the point spread function of WASP-103. Our data were obtained in the Bessell $RI$ and the SDSS $griz$ passbands and yield a larger planet radius at bluer optical wavelengths, to a confidence level of 7.3 sigma. Interpreting this as an effect of Rayleigh scattering in the planetary atmosphere leads to a measurement of the planetary mass which is too small by a factor of five, implying that Rayleigh scattering is not the main cause of the variation of radius with wavelength.

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arXiv2014

L'-band AGPM vector vortex coronagraph's first light on LBTI/LMIRCam

We present the first observations obtained with the L'-band AGPM vortex coronagraph recently installed on LBTI/LMIRCam. The AGPM (Annular Groove Phase Mask) is a vector vortex coronagraph made from diamond subwavelength gratings. It is designed to improve the sensitivity and dynamic range of high-resolution imaging at very small inner working angles, down to 0.09 arcseconds in the case of LBTI/LMIRCam in the L' band. During the first hours on sky, we observed the young A5V star HR\,8799 with the goal to demonstrate the AGPM performance and assess its relevance for the ongoing LBTI planet survey (LEECH). Preliminary analyses of the data reveal the four known planets clearly at high SNR and provide unprecedented sensitivity limits in the inner planetary system (down to the diffraction limit of 0.09 arcseconds).

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arXiv2014

High-precision photometry by telescope defocussing. VI. WASP-24, WASP-25 and WASP-26

We present time-series photometric observations of thirteen transits in the planetary systems WASP-24, WASP-25 and WASP-26. All three systems have orbital obliquity measurements, WASP-24 and WASP-26 have been observed with Spitzer, and WASP-25 was previously comparatively neglected. Our light curves were obtained using the telescope-defocussing method and have scatters of 0.5 to 1.2 mmag relative to their best-fitting geometric models. We used these data to measure the physical properties and orbital ephemerides of the systems to high precision, finding that our improved measurements are in good agreement with previous studies. High-resolution Lucky Imaging observations of all three targets show no evidence for faint stars close enough to contaminate our photometry. We confirm the eclipsing nature of the star closest to WASP-24 and present the detection of a detached eclipsing binary within 4.25 arcmin of WASP-26.

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arXiv2014

Physical properties of the WASP-67 planetary system from multi-colour photometry

The extrasolar planet WASP-67 b is the first hot Jupiter definitively known to undergo only partial eclipses. The lack of the second and third contact point in this planetary system makes it difficult to obtain accurate measurements of its physical parameters. Aims. By using new high-precision photometric data, we confirm that WASP-67 b shows grazing eclipses and compute accurate estimates of the physical properties of the planet and its parent star. Methods. We present high-quality, multi-colour, broad-band photometric observations comprising five light curves covering two transit events, obtained using two medium-class telescopes and the telescope-defocussing technique. One transit was observed through a Bessel-R filter and the other simultaneously through filters similar to Sloan griz. We modelled these data using jktebop. The physical parameters of the system were obtained from the analysis of these light curves and from published spectroscopic measurements. Results. All five of our light curves satisfy the criterion for being grazing eclipses. We revise the physical parameters of the whole WASP-67 system and, in particular, significantly improve the measurements of the planet's radius and density as compared to the values in the discovery paper. The transit ephemeris was also substantially refined. We investigated the variation of the planet's radius as a function of the wavelength, using the simultaneous multi-band data, finding that our measurements are consistent with a flat spectrum to within the experimental uncertainties.

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arXiv2014

X-ray AGN in the XMM-LSS galaxy clusters: no evidence of AGN suppression

We present a study of the overdensity of X-ray selected AGN in 33 galaxy clusters in the XMM-LSS field, up to redhift z=1.05. Previous studies have shown that the presence of X-ray selected AGN in rich galaxy clusters is suppressed. In the current study we investigate the occurrence of X-ray selected AGN in low and moderate X-ray luminosity galaxy clusters. Due to the wide contiguous XMM-LSS survey area we are able to extend the study to the cluster outskirts. We therefore determine the projected overdensity of X-ray point-like sources out to 6r_{500} radius. To provide robust statistical results we also use a stacking analysis of the cluster projected overdensities. We investigate whether the observed X-ray overdensities are to be expected by estimating also the corresponding optical galaxy overdensities. We find a positive X-ray projected overdensity at the first radial bin, which is however of the same amplitude as that of optical galaxies. Therefore, no suppression of X-ray AGN activity with respect to the field is found, implying that the mechanisms responsible for the suppression are not so effective in lower density environments. After a drop to roughly the background level between 2 and 3r_{500}, the X-ray overdensity exhibits a rise at larger radii, significantly larger than the corresponding optical overdensity. Finally, using redshift information of all optical counterparts, we derive the spatial overdensity profile of the clusters. We find that the agreement between X-ray and optical overdensities in the first radial bin is also suggested in the 3-dimensional analysis. However, we argue that the X-ray overdensity "bump" at larger radial distance is probably a result of flux boosting by gravitational lensing of background QSOs. For high redshift clusters an enhancement of X-ray AGN activity in their outskirts is still possible.

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arXiv2014

Physical properties and transmission spectrum of the WASP-80 planetary system from multi-colour photometry

WASP-80 is one of only two systems known to contain a hot Jupiter which transits its M-dwarf host star. We present eight light curves of one transit event, obtained simultaneously using two defocussed telescopes. These data were taken through the Bessell I, Sloan griz and near-infrared JHK passbands. We use our data to search for opacity-induced changes in the planetary radius, but find that all values agree with each other. Our data are therefore consistent with a flat transmission spectrum to within the observational uncertainties. We also measure an activity index of the host star of log R'_HK=-4.495, meaning that WASP-80A shows strong chromospheric activity. The non-detection of starspots implies that, if they exist, they must be small and symmetrically distributed on the stellar surface. We model all available optical transit light curves to obtain improved physical properties and orbital ephemerides for the system.

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arXiv2013

A Super-Jupiter orbiting a late-type star: A refined analysis of microlensing event OGLE-2012-BLG-0406

We present a detailed analysis of survey and follow-up observations of microlensing event OGLE-2012-BLG-0406 based on data obtained from 10 different observatories. Intensive coverage of the lightcurve, especially the perturbation part, allowed us to accurately measure the parallax effect and lens orbital motion. Combining our measurement of the lens parallax with the angular Einstein radius determined from finite-source effects, we estimate the physical parameters of the lens system. We find that the event was caused by a $2.73\pm 0.43\ M_{\rm J}$ planet orbiting a $0.44\pm 0.07\ M_{\odot}$ early M-type star. The distance to the lens is $4.97\pm 0.29$\ kpc and the projected separation between the host star and its planet at the time of the event is $3.45\pm 0.26$ AU. We find that the additional coverage provided by follow-up observations, especially during the planetary perturbation, leads to a more accurate determination of the physical parameters of the lens.

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arXiv2013

Physical properties, transmission and emission spectra of the WASP-19 planetary system from multi-colour photometry

We present new ground-based, multi-colour, broad-band photometric measurements of the physical parameters, transmission and emission spectra of the transiting extrasolar planet WASP-19b. The measurements are based on observations of 8 transits and four occultations using the 1.5m Danish Telescope, 14 transits at the PEST observatory, and 1 transit observed simultaneously through four optical and three near-infrared filters, using the GROND instrument on the ESO 2.2m telescope. We use these new data to measure refined physical parameters for the system. We find the planet to be more bloated and the system to be twice as old as initially thought. We also used published and archived datasets to study the transit timings, which do not depart from a linear ephemeris. We detected an anomaly in the GROND transit light curve which is compatible with a spot on the photosphere of the parent star. The starspot position, size, spot contrast and temperature were established. Using our new and published measurements, we assembled the planet's transmission spectrum over the 370-2350 nm wavelength range and its emission spectrum over the 750-8000 nm range. By comparing these data to theoretical models we investigated the theoretically-predicted variation of the apparent radius of WASP-19b as a function of wavelength and studied the composition and thermal structure of its atmosphere. We conclude that: there is no evidence for strong optical absorbers at low pressure, supporting the common idea that the planet's atmosphere lacks a dayside inversion; the temperature of the planet is not homogenized, because the high warming of its dayside causes the planet to be more efficient in re-radiating than redistributing energy to the night side; the planet seems to be outside of any current classification scheme.

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