Guest Observer Program Research Articles

The THESEUS space mission: science goals, requirements and mission concept

THESEUS, one of the two space mission concepts being studied by ESA as candidates for next M5 mission within its Comsic Vision programme, aims at fully exploiting Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRB) to solve key questions about the early Universe, as well as becoming a cornerstone of multi-messenger and time-domain astrophysics. By investigating the first billion years of the Universe through high-redshift GRBs, THESEUS will shed light on the main open issues in modern cosmology, such as the population of primordial low mass and luminosity galaxies, sources and evolution of cosmic re-ionization, SFR and metallicity evolution up to the “cosmic dawn” and across Pop-III stars. At the same time, the mission will provide a substantial advancement of multi-messenger and time-domain astrophysics by enabling the identification, accurate localisation and study of electromagnetic counterparts to sources of gravitational waves and neutrinos, which will be routinely detected in the late ‘20s and early ‘30s by the second and third generation Gravitational Wave (GW) interferometers and future neutrino detectors, as well as of all kinds of GRBs and most classes of other X/gamma-ray transient sources. Under all these respects, THESEUS will provide great synergies with future large observing facilities in the multi-messenger domain. A Guest Observer programme, comprising Target of Opportunity (ToO) observations, will expand the science return of the mission, to include, e.g., solar system minor bodies, exoplanets, and AGN.

Detailed design of the science operations for the XRISM mission

XRISM is an X-ray astronomical mission by the JAXA, NASA, ESA and other international participants, that is planned for launch in 2022 (Japanese fiscal year), to quickly restore high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy of astrophysical objects. To enhance the scientific outputs of the mission, the Science Operations Team (SOT) is structured independently from the instrument teams and the Mission Operations Team. The responsibilities of the SOT are divided into four categories: 1) guest observer program and data distributions, 2) distribution of analysis software and the calibration database, 3) guest observer support activities, and 4) performance verification and optimization activities. As the first step, lessons on the science operations learned from past Japanese X-ray missions are reviewed, and 15 kinds of lessons are identified. Among them, a) the importance of early preparation of the operations from the ground stage, b) construction of an independent team for science operations separate from the instrument development, and c) operations with well-defined duties by appointed members are recognized as key lessons. Then, the team structure and the task division between the mission and science operations are defined; the tasks are shared among Japan, US, and Europe and are performed by three centers, the SOC, SDC, and ESAC, respectively. The SOC is designed to perform tasks close to the spacecraft operations, such as spacecraft planning, quick-look health checks, pre-pipeline processing, etc., and the SDC covers tasks regarding data calibration processing, maintenance of analysis tools, etc. The data-archive and user-support activities are covered both by the SOC and SDC. Finally, the science-operations tasks and tools are defined and prepared before launch.

Upper Limits on Planet Occurrence around Ultracool Dwarfs with K2

Abstract The occurrence of planets orbiting ultracool dwarfs is poorly constrained. We present results from a guest observer program on NASA’s K2 spacecraft to search for transiting planets orbiting a sample of 827 ultracool dwarfs. Having found no transiting planets in our sample, we determined an upper limit on the occurrence of planets. We simulated planets orbiting our sample for a range of orbital periods and sizes. For the simulated planets that transit their host, we injected the transit light curve into the real K2 light curves, then attempted to recover the injected planets. For a given occurrence rate, we calculated the probability of seeing no planets, and use the results to place an upper limit on planet occurrence as a function of planet radius and orbital period. We find that short-period, mini-Neptune- and Jupiter-sized planets are rare around ultracool dwarfs, consistent with results for early- and mid-type M dwarf stars. We constrain the occurrence rate η for planets between 0.5 and 10 R ⊕ with orbital periods between 1 and 26.3 days.

Properties of 249 δ Scuti Variable Star Candidates Observed During the NASA K2 Mission

In the second phase of the NASA Kepler mission (K2), the Kepler spacecraft observed fields along the ecliptic plane for about 80 days each to search for planetary transits and monitor stellar variability. We analyzed the light curves of thousands of main-sequence stars observed as part of the Kepler Guest Observer program. Here we summarize the statistics of discovery and properties of the pulsation amplitude spectra for 249 delta Scuti variable stars or candidates observed during K2 Campaigns 4 through 17. delta Scuti variables are core or shell-hydrogen burning stars about twice as massive as the Sun, pulsating in many simultaneous radial and non-radial modes, with periods of about two hours. The growing collection of long time-series high signal-to-noise photometric data from space missions such as Kepler, combined with constraints from ground and space-based data, will be useful to constrain the interior structure of these types of variables. We hope that this list of delta Sct candidates observed by Kepler may be useful as a starting point for identifying promising targets for asteroseismic investigations.

Predictions of the WFIRST Microlensing Survey. I. Bound Planet Detection Rates

The Wide Field InfraRed Survey Telescope (WFIRST) is the next NASA astrophysics flagship mission, to follow the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). The WFIRST mission was chosen as the top-priority large space mission of the 2010 astronomy and astrophysics decadal survey in order to achieve three primary goals: to study dark energy via a wide-field imaging survey, to study exoplanets via a microlensing survey, and to enable a guest observer program. Here we assess the ability of the several WFIRST designs to achieve the goal of the microlensing survey to discover a large sample of cold, low-mass exoplanets with semimajor axes beyond roughly one AU, which are largely impossible to detect with any other technique. We present the results of a suite of simulations that span the full range of the proposed WFIRST architectures, from the original design envisioned by the decadal survey, to the current design, which utilizes a 2.4-m telescope donated to NASA. By studying such a broad range of architectures, we are able to determine the impact of design trades on the expected yields of detected exoplanets. In estimating the yields we take particular care to ensure that our assumed Galactic model predicts microlensing event rates that match observations, consider the impact that inaccuracies in the Galactic model might have on the yields, and ensure that numerical errors in lightcurve computations do not bias the yields for the smallest mass exoplanets. For the nominal baseline WFIRST design and a fiducial planet mass function, we predict that a total of ${\sim}1400$ bound exoplanets with mass greater than ${\sim}0.1~M_{\oplus}$ should be detected, including ${\sim}200$ with mass ${\lesssim}3~M_{\oplus}$. WFIRST should have sensitivity to planets with mass down to ${\sim}0.02~M_{\oplus}$, or roughly the mass of Ganymede.

XIPE, the X-ray imaging polarimetry explorer: Opening a new window in the X-ray sky

XIPE, the X-ray Imaging Polarimetry Explorer, is a candidate ESA fourth medium size mission, now in competitive phase A, aimed at time-spectrally-spatially-resolved X-ray polarimetry of a large number of celestial sources as a breakthrough in high energy astrophysics and fundamental physics. Its payload consists of three X-ray optics with a total effective area larger than one XMM mirror but with a low mass and of three Gas Pixel Detectors at their focus. The focal length is 4m and the whole satellite fits within the fairing of the Vega launcher without the need of an extendable bench. XIPE will be an observatory with 75% of the time devoted to a competitive guest observer program. Its consortium across Europe comprises Italy, Germany, Spain, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Poland, Sweden Until today, thanks to a dedicated experiment that dates back to the ’70, only the Crab Nebula showed a non-zero polarization with large significance [1] in X-rays. XIPE, with its innovative detector, promises to make significative measurements on hundreds of celestial sources.

The PLATO Mission

AbstractWe present the current status of the PLATO space mission, which is currently in its design phase. A brief overview of its capabilities is given, after introducing the core science goals of the mission. We also present the amount of observing time offered to the community as Guest Observer program. This will allow a wealth of complementary science in many areas of astro‐physics, ranging from stellar to extragalactic science and covering variability phenomena with time scales from a few seconds to years.

Amplitude variability in γ Dor and δ Sct stars observed by the Kepler spacecraft

AbstractThe NASA Kepler spacecraft data revealed a large number of multimode nonradially pulsating γ Dor and δ Sct variable star candidates. The Kepler high precision long time-series photometry makes it possible to study amplitude variations of the frequencies. We summarize recent literature on amplitude and frequency variations in pulsating variables. We are searching for amplitude variability in several dozen faint γ Doradus or δ Scuti variable-star candidates observed as part of the Kepler Guest Observer program. We apply several methods, including a Matlab-script wavelet analysis developed by J. Jackiewicz, and the wavelet technique of the VSTAR software (http://www.aavso.org/vstar-overview). Here we show results for two stars, KIC 2167444 and KIC 2301163. We discuss the magnitude and timescale of the amplitude variations, and the presence or absence of correlations between amplitude variations for different frequencies of a given star. Amplitude variations may be detectable using Kepler data even for stars with Kepler magnitude > 14 with low-amplitude frequencies (~100 ppm) using only one or a few quarters of long-cadence data. We discuss proposed causes of amplitude spectrum variability that will require further investigation.

Wide-Field InfraRed Survey Telescope (WFIRST) Mission and Synergies with LISA and LIGO-Virgo

The Wide-Field InfraRed Survey Telescope (WFIRST) is a NASA space mission in study for launch in 2024. It has a 2.4 m telescope, wide-field IR instrument operating in the 0.7 - 2.0 micron range and an exoplanet imaging coronagraph instrument operating in the 400 - 1000 nm range. The observatory will perform galaxy surveys over thousands of square degrees to J=27 AB for dark energy weak lensing and baryon acoustic oscillation measurements and will monitor a few square degrees for dark energy SN Ia studies. It will perform microlensing observations of the galactic bulge for an exoplanet census and direct imaging observations of nearby exoplanets with a pathfinder coronagraph. The mission will have a robust and well- funded guest observer program for 25% of the observing time. WFIRST will be a powerful tool for time domain astronomy and for coordinated observations with gravitational wave experiments. Gravitational wave events produced by mergers of nearby binary neutron stars (LIGO-Virgo) or extragalactic supermassive black hole binaries (LISA) will produce electromagnetic radiation that WFIRST can observe.

RESULTS OF A SEARCH FORγDOR ANDδSCT STARS WITH THEKEPLERSPACECRAFT

The light curves of 2768 stars with effective temperatures and surface gravities placing them near the gamma Doradus/delta Scuti instability region were observed as part of the Kepler Guest Observer program from Cycles 1 through 5. The light curves were analyzed in a uniform manner to search for gamma Doradus, delta Scuti, and hybrid star pulsations. The gamma Doradus, delta Scuti, and hybrid star pulsations extend asteroseismology to stars slightly more massive (1.4 to 2.5 solar masses) than our Sun. We find 207 gamma Doradus, 84 delta Scuti, and 32 hybrid candidate stars. Many of these stars are cooler than the red edge of the gamma Doradus instability strip as determined from ground-based observations made before Kepler. A few of our gamma Doradus candidate stars lie on the hot side of the ground-based gamma Doradus instability strip. The hybrid candidate stars cover the entire region between 6200 K and the blue edge of the ground-based delta Scuti instability strip. None of our candidate stars are hotter than the hot edge of the ground-based delta Scuti instability strip. Our discoveries, coupled with the work of others, shows that Kepler has discovered over 2000 gamma Doradus, delta Scuti, and hybrid star candidates in the 116 square degree Kepler field of view. We found relatively few variable stars fainter than magnitude 15, which may be because they are far enough away to lie between spiral arms in our Galaxy, where there would be fewer stars.

M dwarf search for pulsations within Kepler Guest Observer programme

We present the analysis of four M dwarf stars -plus one M giant that seeped past our selection criteria- observed in Cycle 3 of Kepler Guest Observer program (GO3) in a search for intrinsic pulsations. Stellar oscillations in M dwarfs were theoretically predicted by Rodr\'iguez-L\'opez et al. (2012) to be in the range ~20-40 min and ~4-8 h, depending on the age and the excitation mechanism. We requested Kepler short cadence observations to have an adequate sampling of the oscillations. The targets were chosen on the basis of detectable rotation in the initial Kepler results, biasing towards youth.The analysis reveals no oscillations attributable to pulsations at a detection limit of several parts per million, showing that either the driving mechanisms are not efficient in developing the oscillations to observable amplitudes, or that if pulsations are driven, the amplitudes are very low. The size of the sample, and the possibility that the instability strip is not pure, allowing the coexistence of pulsators and non-pulsators, prevent us from deriving definite conclusions. Inmediate plans include more M dwarfs photometric observations of similar precision with Kepler K2 mission and spectroscopic searches already underway within the Cool Tiny Beats Project (Anglada-Escud\'e et al. 2014, Berdi\~nas et al. 2014) with the high-resolution spectrographs HARPS and HARPS-N.

The Occurrence of Non-Pulsating Stars in the gamma Dor and delta Set Pulsation Instability Regions: Results fromKeplerQuarter 14-17 Data

In our October 2013 Astronomical Review article, we discussed the statistics of variability for 633 relatively faint (Kepler magnitude 14-16) spectral type A-F stars observed by the Kepler spacecraft as part of the Guest Observer program during Quarters 6-13 (June 2010-June 2012). We found six stars that showed no variability with with amplitude 20 ppm level or greater in the range 0.2 to 24.4 cycles/day, but whose positions in the log g – Teff plane put them in the delta Set or gamma Dor pulsation instability regions established from pre-Kepler groundbased observations.Here we present results for an additional 2100+ stars observed during Quarters 14-17 (June 2012-December 2013), until the second of Kepler’s four reaction-wheels failed, ending Kepler’s planet-search mission in the Cygnus-Lyra region. This sample is not unbiased, as we limited our target list to stars showing variability in Quarter 0 full-frame images to enhance our variable star discovery rate. We find that 46% of these stars show no frequencies in the Fourier transform of their light curves down to the 20-ppm level. We find 35 additional stars that lie within the ground-based gamma Dor /delta Set pulsation instability regions; their lack of pulsations requires explanation.In the analysis for our first paper, we included a +229 K offset to the Kepler Input Catalog Teff to take into account an average systematic difference between the KIC values and the Teff derived from SDSS color photometry for main-sequence F stars (Pinsonneault et al. 2012). Here we compare the KIC catalog Teff value and the Teff derived from spectroscopy taken by the LAMOST instrument (Molenda-Zakowicz et al. 2013) for 51 stars in common to determine whether the 229 K offset should be applied to our target stars, and the implications for the location of the constant stars relative to the instability region boundaries.Finally, we also review possible explanations for the constant stars that lie within the pulsation instability regions, and consider whether super-Nyquist frequencies (>24.4 cycles/day), if they existed, would have been detected in the long-cadence data via their reflections at low frequencies, as discussed by Murphy et al. (2013).

XMM‐Newton publication statistics

AbstractWe assessed the scientific productivity of XMM‐Newton by examining XMM‐Newton publications and data usage statistics. We analyse 3272 refereed papers, published until the end of 2012, that directly use XMM‐Newton data. The SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS) was used to provide additional information on each paper including the number of citations. For each paper, the XMM‐Newton observation identifiers and instruments used to provide the scientific results were determined. The identifiers were used to access the XMM‐Newton Science Archive (XSA) to provide detailed information on the observations themselves and on the original proposals. The information obtained from these sources was then combined to allow the scientific productivity of the mission to be assessed. Since around three years after the launch of XMM‐Newton there have been around 300 refereed papers per year that directly use XMM‐Newton data. After more than 13 years in operation, this rate shows no evidence that it is decreasing. Since 2002, around 100 scientists per year become lead authors for the first time on a refereed paper which directly uses XMM‐Newton data. Each refereed XMM‐Newton paper receives around four citations per year in the first few years with a long‐term citation rate of three citations per year, more than five years after publication. About half of the articles citing XMM‐Newton articles are not primarily X‐ray observational papers. The distribution of elapsed time between observations taken under the Guest Observer programme and first article peaks at 2 years with a possible second peak at 3.25 years. Observations taken under the Target of Opportunity programme are published significantly faster, after one year on average. The fraction of science time taken until the end of 2009 that has been used in at least one article is ∼90%. Most observations were used more than once, yielding on average a factor of two in usage on available observing time per year. About 20 % of all slew observations have been used in publications. The scientific productivity of XMM‐Newton measured by the publication rate, number of new authors and citation rate, remains extremely high with no evidence that it is decreasing after more than 13 years of operations.

The Occurrence of Non-pulsating Stars in the gamma Doradus/delta Scuti Pulsation Instability Region

As part of the NASA Kepler Guest Observer program, we requested and obtained long-cadence data on about 2700 faint (Kepler magnitude 14-16) stars with effective temperatures and surface gravities that lie near or within the pulsation instability region for main-sequence gamma Doradus and delta Scuti pulsating variables. These variables are of spectral type A-F with masses 1.4 to 2.5 solar masses. The delta Scuti stars pulsate in radial and non-radial acoustic modes, with periods of a few hours (frequencies ~10 cycles/day), while gamma Doradus variables pulsate in nonradial gravity modes with periods 0.3 to 3 days (frequencies ~1 cycle/day). Here we consider the light curves and Fourier transforms of 633 stars in an unbiased sample observed by Kepler in Quarters 6-13 (June 201 0-June 2012). We show the location of these stars in the log surface gravity-effective temperature diagram compared to the instability region limits established from ground-based observations, and taking into account uncertainties and biases in the Kepler Input Catalog TettValues. While hundreds of variables have been discovered in the Kepler data, about 60% of the stars in our sample do not show any frequencies between 0.2 and 24.4 cycles/day with amplitude above 20 parts per million. We find that six of these apparently constant stars lie within the instability region. We discuss some possible reasons that these stars do not show photometric variability in the Kepler data. We also comment on the 'nonconstant' stars, and find 26 variable star candidates, many of which also do not lie within the expected instability region.

The new age of spotted star research using Kepler and CHARA

AbstractWith the precise, nearly-continuous photometry from the Kepler satellite and the sub-milliarcsecond resolving capabilities of the CHARA Array, astronomy is entering a new age for the imaging and understanding of stellar magnetic activity. We present first results from our Guest Observer Program, where 180 single-epoch surface image reconstructions of KIC 5110407 have revealed differential rotation and hints of magnetic activity cycles based on both spot and flare variations. Analysis of our larger, full dataset will establish in unprecedented detail how surface magnetic activity correlates with stellar age and spectral type. In addition to Kepler work, we have harnessed the power of the world's largest infrared interferometer to “directly” image the spotted surfaces of a few of the closest RS CVn systems, allowing a comparison of contemporaneous Doppler and light-curve inversion imaging techniques.

The occurrence of non-pulsating stars in the γ Dor and δ Sct instability regions

AbstractWe examine the light curves of over 2700 stars observed in long cadence by the Kepler spacecraft as part of the Guest Observer program. Most of these stars are faint (Kepler magnitude > 14), and fall near or within the effective temperature and log g range of the γ Dor and δ Sct instability strips. We find that the pulsating stars are obvious from inspection of the light curves and power spectra, even for these faint stars. However, we find that a large number of stars are ‘constant’, i.e. show no frequencies in the 0.2 to 24 d−1 range above the 20 ppm level. We discuss the statistics for the constant stars, and some possible physical reasons for lack of pulsations. On the other hand, γ Dor and δ Sct candidates have been found in the Kepler data spread throughout and even outside of the instability regions of both types that were established from pre-Kepler ground-based observations. We revisit mechanisms to produce g- or p-mode pulsations in conditions when these modes are not expected to be unstable via the He-ionization κ effect (δ Sct) or convective blocking (γ Dor) pulsation driving mechanisms.

Searching for pulsations in Kepler eclipsing binary stars

AbstractEclipsing binaries can in principle provide additional constraints to facilitate asteroseismology of one or more pulsating components. We have identified 94 possible eclipsing binary systems in a sample of over 1800 stars observed in long cadence as part of the Kepler Guest Observer Program to search for γ Doradus and δ Scuti star candidates. We show the results of a procedure to fold the light curve to identify the potential binary period, subtract a fit to the binary light curve, and perform a Fourier analysis on the residuals to search for pulsation frequencies that may arise in one or both of the stellar components. From this sample, we have found a large variety of light curve types; about a dozen stars show frequencies consistent with δ Sct or γ Dor pulsations, or light curve features possibly produced by stellar activity (rotating spots). For several stars, the folded candidate ‘binary’ light curve resembles more closely that of an RR Lyr, Cepheid, or high-amplitude δ Sct star. We show highlights of our results and discuss the potential for asteroseismology of the most interesting objects.

Fundamental Properties of Eclipsing Binaries in the Kepler Field of View

As part of a Kepler Guest Observer program to search for tertiary companions to close eclipsing binaries via eclipse timing, we are determining fundamental properties of the central binaries through radial velocity and light curve analysis. We have obtained moderate resolution blue spectra of 41 systems to produce double-lined radial velocity curves and spectroscopic orbital solutions. In addition, we reconstruct the spectra of the individual binary components and compare them to libraries of synthetic spectra to determine effective temperatures, surface gravities, and rotational velocities. Using these data and constraints we then model the Kepler light curves to determine the fundamental properties of each system. Here we present parameters for KIC 5738698, two F-type stars orbiting with a 4.8-day period.

KEPLERCYCLE 1 OBSERVATIONS OF LOW-MASS STARS: NEW ECLIPSING BINARIES, SINGLE STAR ROTATION RATES, AND THE NATURE AND FREQUENCY OF STARSPOTS

We have analyzed Kepler light curves for 849 stars with T_eff < 5200 K from our Cycle 1 Guest Observer program. We identify six new eclipsing binaries, one of which has an orbital period of 29.91 d, and two of which are probably W UMa variables. In addition, we identify a candidate "warm Jupiter" exoplanet. We further examine a subset of 670 sources for variability. Of these objects, 265 stars clearly show periodic variability that we assign to rotation of the low-mass star. At the photometric precision level provided by Kepler, 251 of our objects showed no evidence for variability. We were unable to determine periods for 154 variable objects. We find that 79% of stars with T_eff < 5200 K are variable. The rotation periods we derive for the periodic variables span the range 0.31 < P_rot < 126.5 d. A considerable number of stars with rotation periods similar to the solar value show activity levels that are 100 times higher than the Sun. This is consistent with results for solar-like field stars. As has been found in previous studies, stars with shorter rotation periods generally exhibit larger modulations. This trend flattens beyond P_rot = 25 d, demonstrating that even long period binaries may still have components with high levels of activity and investigating whether the masses and radii of the stellar components in these systems are consistent with stellar models could remain problematic. Surprisingly, our modeling of the light curves suggests that the active regions on these cool stars are either preferentially located near the rotational poles, or that there are two spot groups located at lower latitudes, but in opposing hemispheres.

The Kepler Guest Observer Programme

AbstractThe Kepler Guest Observer Office is dedicated to the service of the broad science community, with a charter to promote the exploitation of Kepler data and broaden the scientific impact of the Kepler mission. There are four routes by which to gain access to Kepler data: the Guest Observer programme annual call for proposals, the quarterly call for Director's Discretionary Targets, the Kepler Asteroseismic Science Consortium, and by accessing the Kepler public data archive. The Guest Observer Office supports all users of Kepler data no matter which route they took to access data, and to that end have developed software tools which can be used by the community in their data analyses.