arXiv subjects

Nuno C. Santos

Publications and source records attributed to Nuno C. Santos.

106 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

arXiv2011

Spin-orbit inclinations of the exoplanetary systems HAT-P-8, HAT-P-9, HAT-P-16 and HAT-P-23

We report the measurement of the spin-orbit angle of the extra-solar planets HAT-P-8 b, HAT-P-9 b, HAT-P-16 b and HAT-P-23 b, thanks to spectroscopic observations performed at the Observatoire de Haute-Provence with the SOPHIE spectrograph on the 1.93-m telescope. Radial velocity measurements of the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect show the detection of an apparent prograde, aligned orbit for all systems. The projected spin-orbit angles are found to be lambda=-17 deg (+9.2,-11.5), -16 deg (8), -10 deg (16), +15 deg (22) for HAT-P-8, HAT-P-9, HAT-P-16 and HAT-P-23 respectively, with corresponding projected rotational velocities of 14.5 (0.8), 12.5 (1.8), 3.9 (0.8), and 7.8 (1.6) km/s. These new results increase to 37 the number of accurately measured spin-orbit angles in transiting extrasolar systems. We conclude by drawing a tentative picture of the global behaviour of orbital alignement, involving the complexity and diversity of possible mechanisms.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2011

Spectroscopic characterization of a sample of metal-poor solar-type stars from the HARPS planet search program. Precise spectroscopic parameters and mass estimation

Stellar metallicity strongly correlates with the presence of planets and their properties. To check for new correlations between stars and the existence of an orbiting planet, we determine precise stellar parameters for a sample of metal-poor solar-type stars. This sample was observed with the HARPS spectrograph and is part of a program to search for new extrasolar planets. The stellar parameters were determined using an LTE analysis based on equivalent widths (EW) of iron lines and by imposing excitation and ionization equilibrium. The ARES code was used to allow automatic and systematic derivation of the stellar parameters. Precise stellar parameters and metallicities were obtained for 97 low metal-content stars. We also present the derived masses, luminosities, and new parallaxes estimations based on the derived parameters, and compare our spectroscopic parameters with an infra-red flux method calibration to check the consistency of our method in metal poor stars. Both methods seems to give the same effective temperature scale. Finally we present a new calibration for the temperature as a function of \textit{B-V} and [Fe/H]. This was obtained by adding these new metal poor stars in order to increase the range in metallicity for the calibration. The standard deviation of this new calibration is $\sim$ 50 K.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2010

Measuring Be depletion in cool stars with exoplanets

We present new UVES spectra of a sample of 14 mostly cool unevolved stars with planetary companions with the aim of studying possible differences in Be abundance with respect to stars without detected planets. We determine Be abundances for these stars that show an increase in Be depletion as we move to lower temperatures. We carry out a differential analysis of spectra of analog stars with and without planets to establish a possible difference in Be content. While for hot stars no measurable difference is found in Be, for the only cool (Teff ~ 5000 K) planet host star with several analogs in the sample we find enhanced Be depletion by 0.25 dex. This is a first indication that the extra-depletion of Li in solar-type stars with planets may also happen for Be, but shifted towards lower temperatures (Teff < 5500 K) due to the depth of the convective envelopes. The processes that take place in the formation of planetary systems may affect the mixing of material inside their host stars and hence the abundances of light elements.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2010

A Survey of M Stars in the Field of View of Kepler Space Telescope

M dwarfs constitute more than 70% of the stars in the solar neighborhood. They are cooler and smaller than Sun-like stars and have less-massive disks which suggests that planets around these stars are more likely to be Neptune-size or smaller. The transit depths and transit times of planets around M stars are large and well-matched to the Kepler temporal resolution. As a result, M stars have been of particular interest for searching for planets in both radial velocity and transit photometry surveys. We have recently started a project on searching for possible planet-hosting M stars in the publicly available data from Kepler space telescope. We have used four criteria, namely, the magnitude, proper motion, H-Ks and J-H colors, and searched for M stars in Q0 and Q1 data sets. We have been able to find 108 M stars among which 54 had not been previously identified among Kepler's targets. We discuss the details of our selection process and present the results.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2010

SOPHIE velocimetry of Kepler transit candidates. I. Detection of the low-mass white dwarf KOI-74b

The Kepler mission has detected transits and occultations of a hot compact object around an early-type star, the Kepler Object of Interest KOI 74. The mass of this transiting object was photometrically assessed in a previous study using the presence of the relativistic beaming effect (so-called `Doppler boosting') in the light curve. Our aim was to provide a spectroscopic validation of this pioneering approach. We measured the radial velocity variations of the A1V star KOI 74 with the SOPHIE spectrograph at the 1.93-m telescope of the Observatoire de Haute-Provence (France). Radial velocity measurements of this star are challenging because of the high level of stellar pulsations and the few available spectral lines. Using a technique dedicated to early-type main-sequence stars, we measured radial velocity variations compatible with a companion of mass 0.252+/-0.025 Msun, in good agreement with the value derived from the Kepler light curve. This work strengthens the scenario suggesting that KOI 74 is a blue straggler orbited by a stellar core despoiled of its envelope, the low-mass white dwarf KOI 74b.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2010

Planetary detection limits taking into account stellar noise. I. Observational strategies to reduce stellar oscillation and granulation effects

The radial velocity signature of stellar noise is small, around the meter-per-second, but already too much for the detection of Earth mass planets in habitable zones. In this paper, we address the important role played by observational strategies in averaging out the radial velocity signature of stellar noise. We also derive the planetary mass detection limits expected in presence of stellar noise. We start with HARPS asteroseismology measurements for 4 stars (beta Hyi, alpha Cen A, mu Ara and tau Ceti) available in the ESO archive plus very precise measurements of alpha Cen B. This sample covers different spectral types, from G2 to K1 and different evolutionary stage, from subgiant to dwarf stars. Since the span of our data ranges between 5 to 8 days, we will have access to oscillation modes and granulation phenomena, without important contribution of activity noise which is present at larger time scales. For those 5 stars, we generate synthetic radial velocity measurements after fitting corresponding models of stellar noise in Fourier space. These measurements allows us to study the radial velocity variation due to stellar noise for different observational strategies as well as the corresponding planetary mass detection limits. Applying 3 measurements per night of 10 minutes exposure each, 2 hours apart, seems to average out most efficiently the stellar noise considered. For quiet K1V stars as alpha Cen B, such a strategy allows us to detect planets of ~3 times the mass of Earth with an orbital period of 200 days, corresponding to the habitable zone of the star. Since activity is not yet included in our simulation, these detection limits correspond to a case, which exist, where the host star has few magnetic features. In this case stellar noise is dominated by oscillation modes and granulation phenomena.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2010

Chemical Clues on the Formation of Planetary Systems: C/O vs Mg/Si for HARPS GTO Sample

Theoretical studies suggest that C/O and Mg/Si are the most important elemental ratios in determining the mineralogy of terrestrial planets. The C/O ratio controls the distribution of Si among carbide and oxide species, while Mg/Si gives information about the silicate mineralogy. We present a detailed and uniform study of C, O, Mg and Si abundances for 61 stars with detected planets and 270 stars without detected planets from the homogeneous high-quality unbiased HARPS GTO sample, together with 39 more planet-host stars from other surveys. We determine these important mineralogical ratios and investigate the nature of the possible terrestrial planets that could have formed in those planetary systems. We find mineralogical ratios quite different from those of the Sun, showing that there is a wide variety of planetary systems which are not similar to Solar System. Many of planetary host stars present a Mg/Si value lower than 1, so their planets will have a high Si content to form species such as MgSiO$_{3}$. This type of composition can have important implications for planetary processes like plate tectonics, atmospheric composition or volcanism.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2010

Search for brown-dwarf companions of stars

The discovery of 9 new brown-dwarf candidates orbiting stars in the CORALIE and HARPS radial-velocity surveys is reported. New CORALIE radial velocities yielding accurate orbits of 6 previously-known hosts of potential brown-dwarf companions are presented. Including targets selected from the literature, 33 hosts of potential brown-dwarf companions are examined. Employing innovative methods, we use the new reduction of the Hipparcos data to fully characterise the astrometric orbits of 6 objects, revealing M-dwarf companions with masses between 90 M_Jup and 0.52 M_Sun. Additionally, the masses of two companions can be restricted to the stellar domain. The companion to HD 137510 is found to be a brown dwarf. At 95 % confidence, the companion of HD 190228 is also a brown dwarf. The remaining 23 companions persist as brown-dwarf candidates. Based on the CORALIE planet-search sample, we obtain an upper limit of 0.6 % for the frequency of brown-dwarf companions around Sun-like stars. We find that the companion-mass distribution function is rising at the lower end of the brown-dwarf mass range, suggesting that in fact we are detecting the high-mass tail of the planetary distribution.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2010

The HARPS search for southern extrasolar planets. XXIII. 8 planetary companions to low-activity solar-type stars

In this paper, we present our HARPS radial-velocity data for eight low-activity solar-type stars belonging to the HARPS volume-limited sample: HD6718, HD8535, HD28254, HD290327, HD43197, HD44219, HD148156, and HD156411. Keplerian fits to these data reveal the presence of low-mass companions around these targets. With minimum masses ranging from 0.58 to 2.54 MJup, these companions are in the planetary mass domain. The orbital periods of these planets range from slightly less than one to almost seven years. The eight orbits presented in this paper exhibit a wide variety of eccentricities: from 0.08 to above 0.8.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2010

The Earth as an extrasolar transiting planet: Earth's atmospheric composition and thickness revealed by Lunar eclipse observations

An important goal within the quest for detecting an Earth-like extrasolar planet, will be to identify atmospheric gaseous bio-signatures. Observations of the light transmitted through the Earth's atmosphere, as for an extrasolar planet, will be the first step for future comparisons. We have completed observations of the Earth during a Lunar eclipse, a unique situation similar to that of a transiting planet. We aim at showing what species could be detected in its atmosphere at optical wavelengths, where a lot of photons are available in the masked stellar light. We present observations of the 2008 August 16 Moon eclipse performed with the SOPHIE spectrograph at the Observatoire de Haute-Provence. Locating the spectrograph fibers in the penumbra of the eclipse, the Moon irradiance is then a mix of direct, unabsorbed Sun light and solar light that has passed through the Earth's limb. This mixture essentially reproduces what is recorded during the transit of an extrasolar planet. We report here the clear detection of several Earth atmospheric compounds in the transmission spectra, such as ozone, molecular oxygen, and neutral sodium as well as molecular nitrogen and oxygen through the Rayleigh signature. Moreover, we present a method that allows us to derive the thickness of the atmosphere versus the wavelength for penumbra eclipse observations. We quantitatively evaluate the altitude at which the atmosphere becomes transparent for important species like molecular oxygen and ozone, two species thought to be tightly linked to the presence of life. The molecular detections presented here are an encouraging first attempt, necessary to better prepare for the future of extremely-large telescopes and transiting Earth-like planets. Instruments like SOPHIE will be mandatory when characterizing the atmospheres of transiting Earth-like planets from the ground and searching for bio-marker signatures.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2007

The HARPS search for southern extra-solar planets. IX. Exoplanets orbiting HD 100777, HD 190647, and HD 221287

The HARPS high-resolution high-accuracy spectrograph is offered to the astronomical community since the second half of 2003. Since then, we have been using this instrument for monitoring radial velocities of a large sample of Solar-type stars (~1400 stars) in order to search for their possible low-mass companions. Amongst the goals of our survey, one is to significantly increase the number of detected extra-solar planets in a volume-limited sample to improve our knowledge of their orbital elements distributions and thus obtain better constraints for planet-formation models. In this paper, we present the HARPS radial-velocity data and orbital solutions for 3 Solar-type stars: HD 100777, HD 190647, and HD 221287. The radial-velocity data of HD 100777 is best explained by the presence of a 1.1 M_Jup planetary companion on a 384--day eccentric orbit (e=0.36). The orbital fit obtained for the slightly evolved star HD 190647 reveals the presence of a long-period (P=1038 d) 1.9 M_Jup planetary companion on a moderately eccentric orbit (e=0.18). HD 221287 is hosting a 3.1 M_Jup planet on a 456--day orbit. The shape of this orbit is not very well constrained because of our non-optimal temporal coverage and because of the presence of abnormally large residuals. We find clues for these large residuals to result from spectral line profile variations probably induced by stellar activity related processes.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2007

A "diamond-ring" star: the unusual morphologic structure of a young (multiple?) object

We have observed IRAS06468-0325 obtaining optical and infrared images through IJHKs and L' filters, K-band low-resolution spectroscopy, together with millimetre line observations of CO and CS. IRAS06468-0325 has a very unusual and enigmatic morphology with two components: a bright, close to point-like source (the diamond) and a sharp-edge ring-like structure (the ring). The source is not detected in the optical, at wavelengths shorter than the I-band. The diamond is seen in all the imaging bands observed. The ring-like structure in IRAS06468-0325 is clearly seen in the I, J, H, and Ks. It is not detected in the L'-band image. Infrared colours of the diamond are compatible with excess circumstellar emission and a young stellar nature. A strongly non-gaussian and moderately bright CO(1-0) and {13}CO(2-1) lines are seen towards IRAS06468-0325, at v_{LSR} of 30.5 km s{-1} (corresponding to a kinematic distance of 3 kpc). Very weak C{18}O(2-1) and CS(2-1) lines were detected. K-band spectra of the diamond and of the ring are similar both in the slope of the continuum and in the presence of lines supporting the idea that the ring is reflected light from the diamond. With the current data, a few different scenarios are possible to explain the morphology of this object. However, the available data seem to favour that the morphology of IRAS06468-0325 correspond to a young stellar multiple system in a transient stage where a binary co-exists with a circumbinary disc, similar to the case of GG Tau. In this case, the sharpness of the well-defined ring may be due to tidal truncation from dynamic interactions between components in a binary or multiple stellar system. IRAS06468-0325 may be an important rare case that illustrates a short-lived stage of the process of binary or multiple star formation.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2006

A correlation between the heavy element content of transiting extrasolar planets and the metallicity of their parent stars

Nine extrasolar planets with masses between 110 and 430M are known to transit their star. The knowledge of their masses and radii allows an estimate of their composition, but uncertainties on equations of state, opacities and possible missing energy sources imply that only inaccurate constraints can be derived when considering each planet separately. Aims: We seek to better understand the composition of transiting extrasolar planets by considering them as an ensemble, and by comparing the obtained planetary properties to that of the parent stars. Methods: We use evolution models and constraints on the stellar ages to derive the mass of heavy elements present in the planets. Possible additional energy sources like tidal dissipation due to an inclined orbit or to downward kinetic energy transport are considered. Results: We show that the nine transiting planets discovered so far belong to a quite homogeneous ensemble that is characterized by a mass of heavy elements that is a relatively steep function of the stellar metallicity, from less than 20 earth masses of heavy elements around solar composition stars, to up to 100M for three times the solar metallicity (the precise values being model-dependant). The correlation is still to be ascertained however. Statistical tests imply a worst-case 1/3 probability of a false positive. Conclusions: Together with the observed lack of giant planets in close orbits around metal-poor stars, these results appear to imply that heavy elements play a key role in the formation of close-in giant planets. The large masses of heavy elements inferred for planets orbiting metal rich stars was not anticipated by planet formation models and shows the need for alternative theories including migration and subsequent collection of planetesimals.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2005

Fundamental properties of pre-main sequence stars in young, southern star forming regions: metallicities

Aims: The primary motivation for this project is to search for metal-rich star forming regions, in which, stars of super-solar metallicity will be created, as hopefully, will be extra-solar planets orbiting them ! Results: We find (pre-main sequence) model-dependent isochronal ages of the Lupus, Chamaeleon and CrA targets to be $9.1 \pm 2.1$ Myr, $4.5 \pm 1.6$ Myr and $9.0 \pm 3.9$ Myr respectively. The majority of the stars have Li I 6707.8A equivalent widths similar to, or above those of, their similar mass Pleiades counterparts, confirming their youthfulness. Most stars are kinematic members, either single or binary, of their regions. We find a mean radial velocity for objects in the Lupus cloud to be ${\bar {RV}}=+2.6 \pm 1.8$ km s$^{-1}$, for the Chamaeleon I & II clouds, ${\bar {RV}}=+12.8 \pm 3.6$ km s$^{-1}$ whereas for the CrA cloud, we find ${\bar {RV}}=-1.1 \pm 0.5$ km s$^{-1}$. All stars are coronally and chromospherically active, exhibiting X-ray and H$α$ emission levels marginally less, approximately equal or superior to that of their older IC 2602/2391 and/or Pleiades counterparts. All bar three of the targets show little or no signature of accretion from a circumstellar environment, according to their positions in a J$-$K/H$-$K$^{'}$ diagram. We have performed a metallicity analysis for 5 stars in Chamaeleon, 4 stars in Lupus and 3 stars in the CrA star forming regions. These results show that all three regions are slightly metal-poor, with marginally sub-solar metallicities, with $<$[Fe/H]$> = -0.11 \pm 0.14$, $-0.10 \pm 0.04$ & $-0.04 \pm 0.05$ respectively.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2004

Detailed theoretical models for extra-solar planet-host stars: The "red stragglers" HD37124 and HD46375

In this paper we analyse and discuss the HR Diagram position of two extra-solar planet-host stars - HD37124 and HD46375 - by means of theoretical stellar evolution models. This work was triggered by the results obtained by Laws et al. (2003) who found that these stars were in contradiction to the expectation based on their high metallicity. Fixing the age of both stars with the value based on their chromospheric activity levels and computing our own evolutionary models using the CESAM code, we are able to reproduce the observed luminosity, effective temperature and metallicity of both stars for a set of stellar parameters that are astrophysically reliable even if it is non-trivial to interpret the absolute values for these parameters. Our results are discussed in the context of the stellar properties of low mass stars.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2001

Confirming the Metal-Rich Nature of Stars with Giant Planets

With the goal of confirming the metallicity ``excess'' observed in stars with planetary mass companions, we have conducted a high-precision spectroscopic study of a ``comparison'' sample of dwarfs included in the CORALIE extra-solar planet survey (Santos, Israelian, & Mayor 2001). The targets were chosen following two basic criteria: they make part of a limited volume and they do not present the signature of a planetary host companion. The spectroscopic analysis, done using the very same technique as previous works on the metallicity of stars with planets, permitted a direct and non-biased comparison of the samples. The results have revealed that metallicity plays an impressive role on the giant planet formation. The chemical composition of the molecular cloud is probably the key parameter to form giant planets. Some evidences exist, however, showing the possibility of accretion of matter in the stellar outer convective zone. These conclusions impose serious constraints on the planetary systems formation and evolution models.

astro-ph↗