Searcharxiv⌕ Search

arXiv subjects

Johanna K. Teske

Publications and source records attributed to Johanna K. Teske.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

Observations of Binary Stars with the Differential Speckle Survey Instrument. VIII. Measures of Metal-Poor Stars and Triple Stars from 2015 to 2018

We present 248 speckle observations of 43 binary and 19 trinary star systems chosen to make progress in two main areas of investigation: the fundamental properties of metal poor stars and star formation mechanisms. The observations were taken at the Gemini North and South telescopes during the period 2015 July to 2018 April, mainly with the Differential Speckle Survey Instrument (DSSI), but also with a few early results from the new 'Alopeke speckle camera at Gemini North. We find that the astrometry and photometry of these observations as a whole are consistent with previous work at Gemini. We present five new visual orbits for systems important in understanding metal-poor stars, three of which have orbital periods of less than 4 years, and we indicate the degree to which these and future observations can impact our knowledge of stellar properties and star formation. In particular, we find a decrease in mass at fixed spectral type for metal poor stars versus their solar-metallicity analogues that is consistent with predictions that are made from current stellar models.

astro-ph.SR↗

The Effects of Stellar Companions on Exoplanet Radius Distributions

Understanding the distribution and occurrence rate of small planets was a fundamental goal of the Kepler transiting exoplanet mission, and could be improved with K2 and TESS. Deriving accurate exoplanetary radii requires accurate measurements of the host star radii and the planetary transit depths, including accounting for any "third light" in the system due to nearby bound companions or background stars. High-resolution imaging of Kepler and K2 planet candidate hosts to detect very close (within ~0.5") background or bound stellar companions has been crucial for both confirming the planetary nature of candidates, and the determination of accurate planetary radii and mean densities. Here we present an investigation of the effect of close companions, both detected and undetected, on the observed (raw count) exoplanet radius distribution. We demonstrate that the recently detected "gap" in the observed radius distribution (also seen in the completeness-corrected distribution) is fairly robust to undetected stellar companions, given that all of the systems in the sample have undergone some kind of vetting with high-resolution imaging. However, while the gap in the observed sample is not erased or shifted, it is partially filled in after accounting for possible undetected stellar companions. These findings have implications for the most likely core composition, and thus formation location, of super-Earth and sub-Neptune planets. Furthermore, we show that without high-resolution imaging of planet candidate host stars, the shape of the observed exoplanet radius distribution will be incorrectly inferred, for both Kepler- and TESS-detected systems.

astro-ph.EP↗

Follow-up Imaging of Disk Candidates from the Disk Detective Citizen Science Project: New Discoveries and False-Positives in WISE Circumstellar Disk Surveys

The Disk Detective citizen science project aims to find new stars with excess 22-$μ$m emission from circumstellar dust in the AllWISE data release from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). We evaluated 261 Disk Detective objects of interest with imaging with the Robo-AO adaptive optics instrument on the 1.5m telescope at Palomar Observatory and with RetroCam on the 2.5m du Pont telescope at Las Campanas Observatory to search for background objects at 0.15''-12'' separations from each target. Our analysis of these data lead us to reject 7% of targets. Combining this result with statistics from our online image classification efforts implies that at most $7.9\% \pm 0.2\%$ of AllWISE-selected infrared excesses are good disk candidates. Applying our false positive rates to other surveys, we find that the infrared excess searches of McDonald et al. (2012), McDonald et al. (2017), and Marton et al. (2016) all have false positive rates $>70\%$. Moreover, we find that all thirteen disk candidates in Theissen & West (2014) with W4 signal-to-noise >3 are false positives. We present 244 disk candidates that have survived vetting by follow-up imaging. Of these, 213 are newly-identified disk systems. Twelve of these are candidate members of comoving pairs based on \textit{Gaia} astrometry, supporting the hypothesis that warm dust is associated with binary systems. We also note the discovery of 22 $μ$m excess around two known members of the Scorpius-Centaurus association, and identify known disk host WISEA J164540.79-310226.6 as a likely Sco-Cen member. Thirty-one of these disk candidates are closer than $\sim 125$ pc (including 27 debris disks), making them good targets for direct imaging exoplanet searches.

astro-ph.EP↗

Exoplanet Science Priorities from the Perspective of Internal and Surface Processes for Silicate and Ice Dominated Worlds

The geophysics of extrasolar planets is a scientific topic often regarded as standing largely beyond the reach of near-term observations. This reality in no way diminishes the central role of geophysical phenomena in shaping planetary outcomes, from formation, to thermal and chemical evolution, to numerous issues of surface and near-surface habitability. We emphasize that for a balanced understanding of extrasolar planets, it is important to look beyond the natural biases of current observing tools, and actively seek unique pathways to understand exoplanet interiors as best as possible during the long interim prior to a time when internal components are more directly accessible. Such pathways include but are not limited to: (a) enhanced theoretical and numerical modeling, (b) laboratory research on critical material properties, (c) measurement of geophysical properties by indirect inference from imprints left on atmospheric and orbital properties, and (d) the purpose-driven use of Solar System object exploration expressly for its value in comparative planetology toward exoplanet-analogs. Breaking down barriers that envision local Solar System exploration, including the study of Earth's own deep interior, as separate from and in financial competition with extrasolar planet research, may greatly improve the rate of needed scientific progress for exoplanet geophysics. As the number of known rocky and icy exoplanets grows in the years ahead, we expect demand for expertise in 'exogeoscience' will expand at a commensurately intense pace. We highlight key topics, including: how water oceans below ice shells may dominate the total habitability of our galaxy by volume, how free-floating nomad planets may often attain habitable subsurface oceans supported by radionuclide decay, and how deep interiors may critically interact with atmospheric mass loss via dynamo-driven magnetic fields.

astro-ph.EP↗

Magellan/PFS Radial Velocities of GJ 9827, a late K dwarf at 30 pc with Three Transiting Super-Earths

The Kepler mission showed us that planets with sizes between that of Earth and Neptune appear to be the most common type in our Galaxy. These "super-Earths" continue to be of great interest for exoplanet formation, evolution, and composition studies. However, the number of super-Earths with well-constrained mass and radius measurements remains small (40 planets with $σ_{\rm{mass}}<$ 25\%), due in part to the faintness of their host stars causing ground-based mass measurements to be challenging. Recently, three transiting super-Earth planets were detected by the K2 mission around the nearby star GJ 9827/HIP 115752, at only 30 pc away. The radii of the planets span the "radius gap"' detected by Fulton et al. (2017), and all orbit within ~6.5 days, easing follow-up observations. Here we report radial velocity (RV) observations of GJ 9827, taken between 2010 and 2016 with the Planet Finder Spectrograph on the Magellan II Telescope. We employ two different RV analysis packages, SYSTEMIC and RadVel, to derive masses and thus densities of the GJ 9827 planets. We also test a Gaussian Process regression analysis, but find the correlated stellar noise is not well constrained by the PFS data, and that the GP tends to over fit the RV semi-amplitudes resulting in a lower K value. Our RV observations are not able to place strong mass constraints on the two outer planets (c & d) but do indicate that planet b, at 1.64 R$_{\oplus}$ and ~8 M$_{\oplus}$, is one of the most massive (and dense) super-Earth planets detected to date.

astro-ph.EP↗

The test case of HD26965: difficulties disentangling weak Doppler signals from stellar activity

We report the discovery of a radial velocity signal that can be interpreted as a planetary-mass candidate orbiting the K dwarf HD26965, with an orbital period of 42.364$\pm$0.015 days, or alternatively, as the presence of residual, uncorrected rotational activity in the data. Observations include data from HIRES, PFS, CHIRON, and HARPS, where 1,111 measurements were made over 16 years. Our best solution for HD26965 $b$ is consistent with a super-Earth that has a minimum mass of 6.92$\pm$0.79 M$_{\oplus}$ orbiting at a distance of 0.215$\pm$0.008 AU from its host star. We have analyzed the correlation between spectral activity indicators and the radial velocities from each instrument, showing moderate correlations that we include in our model. From this analysis, we recover a $\sim$38 day signal, which matches some literature values of the stellar rotation period. However, from independent Mt. Wilson HK data for this star, we find evidence for a significant 42 day signal after subtraction of longer period magnetic cycles, casting doubt on the planetary hypothesis for this period. Although our statistical model strongly suggests that the 42-day signal is Doppler in origin, we conclude that the residual effects of stellar rotation are difficult to fully model and remove from this dataset, highlighting the difficulties to disentangle small planetary signals and photospheric noise, particularly when the orbital periods are close to the rotation period of the star. This study serves as an excellent test case for future works that aim to detect small planets orbiting `Sun-like' stars using radial velocity measurements.

astro-ph.EP↗

SDSS-V: Pioneering Panoptic Spectroscopy

SDSS-V will be an all-sky, multi-epoch spectroscopic survey of over six million objects. It is designed to decode the history of the Milky Way, trace the emergence of the chemical elements, reveal the inner workings of stars, and investigate the origin of planets. It will also create an integral-field spectroscopic map of the gas in the Galaxy and the Local Group that is 1,000x larger than the current state of the art and at high enough spatial resolution to reveal the self-regulation mechanisms of galactic ecosystems. SDSS-V will pioneer systematic, spectroscopic monitoring across the whole sky, revealing changes on timescales from 20 minutes to 20 years. The survey will thus track the flickers, flares, and radical transformations of the most luminous persistent objects in the universe: massive black holes growing at the centers of galaxies. The scope and flexibility of SDSS-V will be unique among extant and future spectroscopic surveys: it is all-sky, with matched survey infrastructures in both hemispheres; it provides near-IR and optical multi-object fiber spectroscopy that is rapidly reconfigurable to serve high target densities, targets of opportunity, and time-domain monitoring; and it provides optical, ultra-wide-field integral field spectroscopy. SDSS-V, with its programs anticipated to start in 2020, will be well-timed to multiply the scientific output from major space missions (e.g., TESS, Gaia, eROSITA) and ground-based projects. SDSS-V builds on the 25-year heritage of SDSS's advances in data analysis, collaboration infrastructure, and product deliverables. The project is now refining its science scope, optimizing the survey strategies, and developing new hardware that builds on the SDSS-IV infrastructure. We present here an overview of the current state of these developments as we seek to build our worldwide consortium of institutional and individual members.

astro-ph.GA↗

A Six-Planet System Around the Star HD 34445

We present a new precision radial velocity dataset that reveals a multi-planet system orbiting the G0V star HD 34445. Our 18-year span consists of 333 precision radial velocity observations, 56 of which were previously published, and 277 which are new data from Keck Observatory, Magellan at Las Campanas Observatory, and the Automated Planet Finder at Lick Observatory. These data indicate the presence of six planet candidates in Keplerian motion about the host star with periods of 1057, 215, 118, 49, 677, and 5700 days, and minimum masses of 0.63, 0.17, 0.1, 0.05, 0.12 and 0.38 Jupiter masses respectively. The HD 34445 planetary system, with its high degree of multiplicity, its long orbital periods, and its induced stellar radial velocity half-amplitudes in the range $2 \,{\rm m\, s^{-1}} \lesssim K \lesssim 5\,{\rm m\, s^{-1}}$ is fundamentally unlike either our own solar system (in which only Jupiter and Saturn induce significant reflex velocities for the Sun), or the Kepler multiple-transiting systems (which tend to have much more compact orbital configurations)

astro-ph.EP↗

The discovery and mass measurement of a new ultra-short-period planet: EPIC~228732031b

We report the discovery of a new ultra-short-period planet and summarize the properties of all such planets for which the mass and radius have been measured. The new planet, EPIC~228732031b, was discovered in {\it K2} Campaign 10. It has a radius of 1.81$^{+0.16}_{-0.12}~R_{\oplus}$ and orbits a G dwarf with a period of 8.9 hours. Radial velocities obtained with Magellan/PFS and TNG/HARPS-N show evidence for stellar activity along with orbital motion. We determined the planetary mass using two different methods: (1) the "floating chunk offset" method, based only on changes in velocity observed on the same night, and (2) a Gaussian process regression based on both the radial-velocity and photometric time series. The results are consistent and lead to a mass measurement of $6.5 \pm 1.6~M_{\oplus}$, and a mean density of $6.0^{+3.0}_{-2.7}$~g~cm$^{-3}$.

astro-ph.EP↗

Investigating the physical properties of transiting hot Jupiters with the 1.5-m Kuiper Telescope

We present new photometric data of 11 hot Jupiter transiting exoplanets (CoRoT-12b, HAT-P-5b, HAT-P-12b, HAT-P-33b, HAT-P-37b, WASP-2b, WASP-24b, WASP-60b, WASP-80b, WASP-103b, XO-3b) in order to update their planetary parameters and to constrain information about their atmospheres. These observations of CoRoT-12b, HAT-P-37b and WASP-60b are the first follow-up data since their discovery. Additionally, the first near-UV transits of WASP-80b and WASP-103b are presented. We compare the results of our analysis with previous work to search for transit timing variations (TTVs) and a wavelength dependence in the transit depth. TTVs may be evidence of a third body in the system and variations in planetary radius with wavelength can help constrain the properties of the exoplanet's atmosphere. For WASP-103b and XO-3b, we find a possible variation in the transit depths that may be evidence of scattering in their atmospheres. The B-band transit depth of HAT-P-37b is found to be smaller than its near-IR transit depth and such a variation may indicate TiO/VO absorption. These variations are detected from 2-4.6$σ$, so follow-up observations are needed to confirm these results. Additionally, a flat spectrum across optical wavelengths is found for 5 of the planets (HAT-P-5b, HAT-P-12b, WASP-2b, WASP-24b, WASP-80b), suggestive that clouds may be present in their atmospheres. We calculate a refined orbital period and ephemeris for all the targets, which will help with future observations. No TTVs are seen in our analysis with the exception of WASP-80b and follow-up observations are needed to confirm this possible detection.

astro-ph.EP↗

Stellar Chemical Clues As To The Rarity of Exoplanetary Tectonics

Earth's tectonic processes regulate the formation of continental crust, control its unique deep water and carbon cycles, and are vital to its surface habitability. A major driver of steady-state plate tectonics on Earth is the sinking of the cold subducting plate into the underlying mantle. This sinking is the result of the combined effects of the thermal contraction of the lithosphere and of metamorphic transitions within the basaltic oceanic crust and lithospheric mantle. The latter of these effects is dependent on the bulk composition of the planet, e.g., the major, terrestrial planet-building elements Mg, Si, Fe, Ca, Al, and Na, which vary in abundance across the Galaxy. We present thermodynamic phase-equilibria calculations of planetary differentiation to calculate both melt composition and mantle mineralogy, and show that a planet's refractory and moderately-volatile elemental abundances control a terrestrial planet's likelihood to produce mantle-derived, melt-extracted crusts that sink. Those planets forming with a higher concentration of Si and Na abundances are less likely to undergo sustained tectonics compared to the Earth. We find only 1/3 of the range of stellar compositions observed in the Galaxy is likely to host planets able to sustain density-driven tectonics compared to the Sun/Earth. Systems outside of this compositional range are less likely to produce planets able to tectonically regulate their climate and may be inhospitable to life as we know it.

astro-ph.EP↗

An ALMA and MagAO Study of the Substellar Companion GQ Lup B

Multi-wavelength observations provide a complementary view of the formation of young directly-imaged planet-mass companions. We report the ALMA 1.3 mm and Magellan adaptive optics (MagAO) H-alpha, i', z', and Ys observations of the GQ Lup system, a classical T Tauri star with a 10-40 Mjup substellar companion at ~110 AU projected separation. We estimate the accretion rates for both components from the observed H-alpha fluxes. In our 0.05 arcsec resolution ALMA map, we resolve GQ Lup A's disk in dust continuum, but no signal is found from the companion. The disk is compact, with a radius of ~22 AU, a dust mass of ~6 Earth masses, an inclination angle of ~56 deg, and a very flat surface density profile indicative of a radial variation in dust grain sizes. No gaps or inner cavity are found in the disk, so there is unlikely a massive inner companion to scatter GQ Lup B outward. Thus, GQ Lup B might have formed in situ via disk fragmentation or prestellar core collapse. We also show that GQ Lup A's disk is misaligned with its spin axis, and possibly with GQ Lup B's orbit. Our analysis on the tidal truncation radius of GQ Lup A's disk suggests that GQ Lup B's orbit might have a low eccentricity.

astro-ph.SR↗

Stellar Companions to the Exoplanet Host Stars HD 2638 and HD 164509

An important aspect of searching for exoplanets is understanding the binarity of the host stars. It is particularly important because nearly half of the solar-like stars within our own Milky Way are part of binary or multiple systems. Moreover, the presence of two or more stars within a system can place further constraints on planetary formation, evolution, and orbital dynamics. As part of our survey of almost a hundred host stars, we obtained images at 692 nm and 880 nm bands using the Differential Speckle Survey Instrument (DSSI) at the Gemini-North Observatory. From our survey, we detect stellar companions to HD 2638 and HD 164509. The stellar companion to HD 2638 has been previously detected, but the companion to HD 164509 is a newly discovered companion. The angular separation for HD 2638 is $0.512 \pm 0.002\arcsec$ and for HD 164509 is $0.697 \pm 0.002\arcsec$. This corresponds to a projected separation of $25.6 \pm 1.9$ AU and $36.5 \pm 1.9$ AU, respectively. By employing stellar isochrone models, we estimate the mass of the stellar companions of HD 2638 and HD 164509 to be $0.483 \pm 0.007$ $M_\sun$ and $0.416 \pm 0.007$ $M_\sun$, respectively, and their effective temperatures to be $3570 \pm 8$~K and $3450 \pm 7$~K, respectively. These results are consistent with the detected companions being late-type M dwarfs.

astro-ph.EP↗

The Magellan PFS Planet Search Program: Radial Velocity and Stellar Abundance Analyses of the 360 AU, Metal-Poor Binary "Twins" HD 133131A & B

We present a new precision radial velocity (RV) dataset that reveals multiple planets orbiting the stars in the $\sim$360 AU, G2$+$G2 "twin" binary HD 133131AB. Our 6 years of high-resolution echelle observations from MIKE and 5 years from PFS on the Magellan telescopes indicate the presence of two eccentric planets around HD 133131A with minimum masses of 1.43$\pm$0.03 and 0.63$\pm$0.15 $\mathcal{M}_{\rm J}$ at 1.44$\pm$0.005 and 4.79$\pm$0.92 AU, respectively. Additional PFS observations of HD 133131B spanning 5 years indicate the presence of one eccentric planet of minimum mass 2.50$\pm$0.05 $\mathcal{M}_{\rm J}$ at 6.40$\pm$0.59 AU, making it one of the longest period planets detected with RV to date. These planets are the first to be reported primarily based on data taken with PFS on Magellan, demonstrating the instrument's precision and the advantage of long-baseline RV observations. We perform a differential analysis between the Sun and each star, and between the stars themselves, to derive stellar parameters and measure a suite of 21 abundances across a wide range of condensation temperatures. The host stars are old (likely $\sim$9.5 Gyr) and metal-poor ([Fe/H]$\sim$-0.30), and we detect a $\sim$0.03 dex depletion in refractory elements in HD 133131A versus B (with standard errors $\sim$0.017). This detection and analysis adds to a small but growing sample of binary "twin" exoplanet host stars with precise abundances measured, and represents the most metal-poor and likely oldest in that sample. Overall, the planets around HD 133131A and B fall in an unexpected regime in planet mass-host star metallicity space and will serve as an important benchmark for the study of long period giant planets.

astro-ph.EP↗

A subtle IR excess associated with a young White Dwarf in the Edinburgh-Cape Blue Object Survey

We report the discovery of a subtle infrared excess associated with the young white dwarf EC\,05365--4749 at 3.35 and 4.6\,$μ$m. Follow-up spectroscopic observations are consistent with a hydrogen atmosphere white dwarf of effective temperature 22\,800\,K and log [\emph{g} (\,cm\,s$^{-2}$) ] = 8.19. High resolution spectroscopy reveals atmospheric metal pollution with logarithmic abundances of [Mg/H] = --5.36 and [Ca/H] = --5.75, confirming the white dwarf is actively accreting from a metal-rich source with an intriguing abundance pattern. We find that the infrared excess is well modeled by a flat, opaque debris disk, though disk parameters are not well constrained by the small number of infrared excess points. We further demonstrate that relaxing the assumption of a circular dusty debris disk to include elliptical disks expands the widths of acceptable disks, adding an alternative interpretation to the subtle infrared excesses commonly observed around young white dwarfs.

astro-ph.SR↗

Doppler Monitoring of five K2 Transiting Planetary Systems

In an effort to measure the masses of planets discovered by the NASA {\it K2} mission, we have conducted precise Doppler observations of five stars with transiting planets. We present the results of a joint analysis of these new data and previously published Doppler data. The first star, an M dwarf known as K2-3 or EPIC~201367065, has three transiting planets ("b", with radius $2.1~R_{\oplus}$; "c", $1.7~R_{\oplus}$; and "d", $1.5~R_{\oplus}$). Our analysis leads to the mass constraints: $M_{b}=8.1^{+2.0}_{-1.9}~M_{\oplus}$ and $M_{c}$ < $ 4.2~M_{\oplus}$~(95\%~conf.). The mass of planet d is poorly constrained because its orbital period is close to the stellar rotation period, making it difficult to disentangle the planetary signal from spurious Doppler shifts due to stellar activity. The second star, a G dwarf known as K2-19 or EPIC~201505350, has two planets ("b", $7.7~R_{\oplus}$; and "c", $4.9~R_{\oplus}$) in a 3:2 mean-motion resonance, as well as a shorter-period planet ("d", $1.1~R_{\oplus}$). We find $M_{b}$= $28.5^{+5.4}_{-5.0} ~M_{\oplus}$, $M_{c}$= $25.6^{+7.1}_{-7.1} ~M_{\oplus}$ and $M_{d}$ < $14.0~M_{\oplus} $~(95\%~conf.). The third star, a G dwarf known as K2-24 or EPIC~203771098, hosts two transiting planets ("b", $5.7~R_{\oplus}$; and "c", $7.8~R_{\oplus}$) with orbital periods in a nearly 2:1 ratio. We find $M_{b}$= $19.8^{+4.5}_{-4.4} ~M_{\oplus}$ and $M_{c}$ = $26.0^{+5.8}_{-6.1}~M_{\oplus}$.....

astro-ph.EP↗

Ground-based near-UV observations of 15 transiting exoplanets: Constraints on their atmospheres and no evidence for asymmetrical transits

Transits of exoplanets observed in the near-UV have been used to study the scattering properties of their atmospheres and possible star-planet interactions. We observed the primary transits of 15 exoplanets (CoRoT-1b, GJ436b, HAT-P-1b, HAT-P-13b, HAT-P-16b, HAT-P-22b, TrES-2b, TrES-4b, WASP-1b, WASP-12b, WASP-33b, WASP-36b, WASP-44b, WASP-48b, and WASP-77Ab) in the near-UV and several optical photometric bands to update their planetary parameters, ephemerides, search for a wavelength dependence in their transit depths to constrain their atmospheres, and determine if asymmetries are visible in their light curves. Here we present the first ground-based near-UV light curves for 12 of the targets (CoRoT-1b, GJ436b, HAT-P-1b, HAT-P-13b, HAT-P-22b, TrES-2b, TrES-4b, WASP-1b, WASP-33b, WASP-36b, WASP-48b, and WASP-77Ab). We find that none of the near-UV transits exhibit any non-spherical asymmetries, this result is consistent with recent theoretical predictions by Ben-Jaffel et al. and Turner et al. The multi-wavelength photometry indicates a constant transit depth from near-UV to optical wavelengths in 10 targets (suggestive of clouds), and a varying transit depth with wavelength in 5 targets (hinting at Rayleigh or aerosol scattering in their atmospheres). We also present the first detection of a smaller near-UV transit depth than that measured in the optical in WASP-1b and a possible opacity source that can cause such radius variations is currently unknown. WASP-36b also exhibits a smaller near-UV transit depth at 2.6$σ$. Further observations are encouraged to confirm the transit depth variations seen in this study.

astro-ph.EP↗

The Curious Case of Elemental Abundance Differences in the Dual Hot Jupiter Hosts WASP-94AB

Binary stars provide an ideal laboratory for investigating the potential effects of planet formation on stellar composition. Assuming the stars formed in the same environment/from the same material, any compositional anomalies between binary components might indicate differences in how material was sequestered in planets, or accreted by the star in the process of planet formation. We present here a study of the elemental abundance differences between WASP-94AB, a pair of stars that each host a hot Jupiter exoplanet. The two stars are very similar in spectral type (F8 and F9), and their ~2700 AU separation suggests their protoplanetary disks were likely not influenced by stellar interactions, but WASP-94Ab's orbit -- misaligned with the host star spin axis and likely retrograde -- points towards a dynamically active formation mechanism, perhaps different than that of WASP-94Bb, which is not misaligned and has nearly circular orbit. Based on our high-quality spectra and strictly relative abundance analysis, we detect a depletion of volatiles (~-0.02 dex, on average) and enhancement of refractories (~0.01 dex) in WASP-94A relative to B (standard errors are ~0.005 dex). This is different than every other published case of binary host star abundances, in which either no significant abundance differences are reported, or there is some degree of enhancement in all elements, including volatiles. Several scenarios that may explain the abundance trend are discussed, but none can be definitively accepted or rejected. Additional high-contrast imaging observations to search for companions that may be dynamically affecting the system, as well as a larger sample of binary host star studies, are needed to better understand the curious abundance trends we observe in WASP-94AB.

astro-ph.SR↗