Planet-harbouring Stars Research Articles

Extrasolar planet searches at the TUG: Test observations and capabilities

A small group of collaborators was established at the end of 2007 with the objective of starting an extrasolar planet search at the TÜBİTAK National Observatory of Turkey. High resolution spectra of some radial velocity standards and planet-harbouring stars have since been obtained using an iodine (I2) absorption cell placed in front of the entrance slit of the Coude Echelle Spectrograph (CES) in the 1.5-m Russian-Turkish Telescope (RTT150). To determine precise radial velocity measurements for these stars, a new computer code was developed by one of the collaborators (MY) using an IDL (Interactive Data Language) programing platform specific to the RTT150’s CES+I2-cell data. This paper summarises the technical setup, the new code, the test observation results and the precision achieved in the radial velocity measurements. The results from radial velocity standards and planet-harbouring stars show that a precision of approximately 10ms−1 was achieved with the CES on the RTT150 during the three years of test observations. In addition, the instrumental profile (IP) characteristics of the CES on the RTT150 in this study were derived by modelling the observed B-star+I2 spectra. The observed instrumental profiles were a typical Gaussian shape and exhibited small variations that depended on the position on the CCD and also varied between exposures, which affected the precision of the radial velocity measurements.

Semi-empirical modelling of stellar magnetic activity

AbstractSince Galileo, for four hundred years, dark spots have been observed systematically on the surface of the Sun. The monitoring of the sunspot number has shown that their number varies periodically every 11 years. This is the well-known solar activity cycle that is caused by the periodic changes of the magnetic field of the Sun. Not only do spots vary in number on a timescale of a decade, but the total luminosity and other signatures of activity such as flares and coronal mass ejections also increase and decrease with the 11-year cycle. Still unexplained to the present date are periods of decades with almost an absence of activity, where the best known example is the Maunder Minimum. Other stars also exhibit signs of cyclic activity, however the level of activity is usually thousand times higher than the solar one. Obviously, this is due to the difficulty of observing activity at the solar level on most stars. Presently, a method has been developed to detect and study individual solar like spots on the surface of planet-harbouring stars. As the planet eclipses dark patches on the surface of the star, a detectable signature can be observed in the light curve of the star during the transit. The study of a different variety of stars allows for a better understanding of magnetic cycles and the evolution of stars.

Detectability of exoplanetary transits from radial velocity surveys

Of the known transiting extra-solar planets, a few have been detected through photometric follow-up observations of radial velocity planets. Perhaps the best known of these is the transiting exoplanet HD 209458b. For hot Jupiters (periods less than ~5 days), the a priori information that 10% of these planets will transit their parent star due to the geometric transit probability leads to an estimate of the expected transit yields from radial velocity surveys. The radial velocity information can be used to construct an effective photometric follow-up strategy which will provide optimal detection of possible transits. Since the planet-harbouring stars are already known in this case, one is only limited by the photometric precision achieveable by the chosen telescope/instrument. The radial velocity modelling code presented here automatically produces a transit ephemeris for each planet dataset fitted by the program. Since the transit duration is brief compared with the fitted period, we calculate the maximum window for obtaining photometric transit observations after the radial velocity data have been obtained, generalising for eccentric orbits. We discuss a typically employed survey strategy which may contribute to a possible radial velocity bias against detection of the very hot Jupiters which have dominated the transit discoveries. Finally, we describe how these methods can be applied to current and future radial velocity surveys.

Abundance ratios of volatile vs. refractory elements in planet-harbouring stars: hints of pollution?

We present the [ X /H] trends as a function of the elemental condensation temperature T C in 88 planet host stars and in a volume-limited comparison sample of 33 dwarfs without detected planetary companions. We gathered homogeneous abundance results for many volatile and refractory elements spanning a wide range of T C , from a few dozen to several hundred kelvin. We investigate possible anomalous trends of planet hosts with respect to comparison sample stars to detect evidence of possible pollution events. No significant differences are found in the behaviour of stars with and without planets. This is consistent with a “primordial” origin of the metal excess in planet host stars. However, a subgroup of 5 planet host and 1 comparison sample stars stands out as having particularly high [ X /H] vs. T C slopes.

The host stars of extrasolar planets have normal lithium abundances

The lithium abundances of planet-harbouring stars have been compared with the lithium abundances of open clusters and field stars. Young (chromospherically active) and subgiant stars have been eliminated from the comparison because they are at different stages of evolution and Li processing than the planet-harbouring stars, and hence have systematically higher Li abundances. The analysis showed that the Li abundances of the planet-harbouring stars are indistinguishable from those of non-planet-harbouring stars of the same age, temperature and composition. This conclusion is opposite to that arrived at by Gonzalez & Laws; it is believed that the field-star sample used by them contained too wide a range of ages, evolutionary types and temperatures to be accommodated by the model that they adopted to describe the dependence of Li on the parameters. The Li abundance does not appear set to provide key insights into the formation and evolution of planetary systems.