Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Topological Changes In The Magnetic Field Of Lq Hya During An Activity Minimum, Jyri J. Lehtinen, Maarit J. Käpylä, Thomas Hackman, Oleg Kochukhov, Teemu Willamo, Stephen C. Marsden, Sandra V. Jeffers, Gregory W. Henry, Lauri Jetsu

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Aims. Previous studies have related surface temperature maps, obtained with the Doppler imaging (DI) technique, of LQ Hya with long-term photometry. Here, we compare surface magnetic field maps, obtained with the Zeeman Doppler imaging (ZDI) technique, with contemporaneous photometry, with the aim of quantifying the star’s magnetic cycle characteristics.

Methods. We inverted Stokes IV spectropolarimetry, obtained with the HARPSpol and ESPaDOnS instruments, into magnetic field and surface brightness maps using a tomographic inversion code that models high signal-to-noise ratio mean line profiles produced by the least squares deconvolution (LSD) technique. The maps were compared against long-term ground-based photometry acquired with …

Nine Bright Γ Doradus Variables Discovered With Ground-Based Photometry, Gregory W. Henry, Francis C. Fekel, Michael H. Williamson

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We have used precise photometric and high-dispersion spectroscopic observations to study nine candidate γ Doradus (γ Dor) stars, identified as optically variable comparison stars in our photometric studies of Sun-like stars. In this paper, we confirm these nine candidates as new γ Dor variables. All exhibit sinusoidal variability with amplitudes between 6 and 65 mmag in Johnson B and periods from 0.28 to 1.13 days. All lie in the same region of the H-R diagram as our previously confirmed γ Dor stars. Of the nine systems, one is a single-lined spectroscopic binary (SB1), two are double-lined spectroscopic binaries (SB2), and …

The Expres Stellar Signals Project Ii. State Of The Field In Disentangling Photospheric Velocities, Lily L. Zhao, Debra A. Fischer, Eric B. Ford, Alex Wise, Michaël Cretignier, Suzanne Aigrain, Oscar Barragan, Megan Bedell, Lars A. Buchhave, João D. Camacho, Heather M. Cegla, Jessi Cisewski-Kehe, Andrew Collier Cameron, Zoe L. De Beurs, Sally Dodson-Robinson, Xavier Dumusque, João P. Faria, Christian Gilbertson, Charlotte Haley, Justin Harrell, David W. Hogg, Parker Holzer, Ancy Anna John, Baptiste Klein, Marina Lafarga, Florian Lienhard, Vinesh Maguire-Rajpaul, Annelies Mortier, Belinda Nicholson, Michael L. Palumbo Iii, Victor Ramirez Delgado, Christopher J. Shallue, Andrew Vanderburg, Pedro T. P. Viana, Jinglin Zhao, Norbert Zicher, Samuel H. C. Cabot, Gregory W. Henry, Rachael M. Roettenbacher, John M. Brewer, Joe Llama, Ryan R. Petersburg, Andrew E. Szymkowiak

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Measured spectral shifts due to intrinsic stellar variability (e.g., pulsations, granulation) and activity (e.g., spots, plages) are the largest source of error for extreme-precision radial-velocity (EPRV) exoplanet detection. Several methods are designed to disentangle stellar signals from true center-of-mass shifts due to planets. The Extreme-precision Spectrograph (EXPRES) Stellar Signals Project (ESSP) presents a self-consistent comparison of 22 different methods tested on the same extreme-precision spectroscopic data from EXPRES. Methods derived new activity indicators, constructed models for mapping an indicator to the needed radial-velocity (RV) correction, or separated out shape- and shift-driven RV components. Since no ground truth is known when …

Detection Of Ongoing Mass Loss From Hd 63433c, A Young Mini-Neptune, Michael Zhang, Heather A. Knutson, Lile Wang, Fei Dai, Leonardo A. Dos Santos, Luca Fossati, Gregory W. Henry, David Ehrenreich, Yann Alibert, Sergio Hoyer, Thomas G. Wilson, Andrea Bonfanti

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We detect Lyα absorption from the escaping atmosphere of HD 63433c, a R = 2.67R_⊕, P = 20.5 day mini-Neptune orbiting a young (440 Myr) solar analog in the Ursa Major Moving Group. Using Hubble Space Telescope (HST)/Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph, we measure a transit depth of 11.1 ± 1.5% in the blue wing and 8 ± 3% in the red. This signal is unlikely to be due to stellar variability, but should be confirmed by an upcoming second transit observation with HST. We do not detect Lyα absorption from the inner planet, a smaller …

Expres. Iii. Revealing The Stellar Activity Radial Velocity Signature Of Ε Eridani With Photometry And Interferometry, Rachael M. Roettenbacher, Samuel H. C. Cabot, Debra A. Fischer, John D. Monnier, Gregory W. Henry, Robert O. Harmon, Heidi Korhonen, John M. Brewer, Joe Llama, Ryan R. Petersburg, Lily L. Zhao, Stefan Kraus, Jean-Baptiste Le Bouquin, Narsireddy Anugu, Claire L. Davies, Tyler Gardner, Cyprien Lanthermann, Gail Schaefer, Benjamin Setterholm, Catherine A. Clark, Svetlana G. Jorstad, Kyler Kuehn, Stephen Levine

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The distortions of absorption line profiles caused by photospheric brightness variations on the surfaces of cool, main-sequence stars can mimic or overwhelm radial velocity (RV) shifts due to the presence of exoplanets. The latest generation of precision RV spectrographs aims to detect velocity amplitudes ≲ 10 cm s⁻¹, but requires mitigation of stellar signals. Statistical techniques are being developed to differentiate between Keplerian and activity-related velocity perturbations. Two important challenges, however, are the interpretability of the stellar activity component as RV models become more sophisticated, and ensuring the lowest-amplitude Keplerian signatures are not inadvertently accounted for in flexible …

The Emission Spectrum Of The Hot Jupiter Wasp-79b From Hst/Wfc3, Trevor O. Foote, Nikole K. Lewis, Brian M. Kilpatrick, Jayesh M. Goyal, Giovanni Bruno, Hannah R. Wakeford, Nina Robbins-Blanch, Tiffany Kataria, Ryan J. Macdonald, Mercedes López-Morales, David K. Sing, Thomas Mikal-Evans, Vincent Bourrier, Gregory Henry, Lars A. Buchhave

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Here we present a thermal emission spectrum of WASP-79b, obtained via Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 G141 observations as part of the PanCET program. As we did not observe the ingress or egress of WASP-79b's secondary eclipse, we consider two scenarios: a fixed mid-eclipse time based on the expected occurrence time, and a mid-eclipse time as a free parameter. In both scenarios, we can measure thermal emission from WASP-79b from 1.1 to 1.7 μm at 2.4σ confidence consistent with a 1900 K brightness temperature for the planet. We combine our observations with Spitzer dayside photometry (3.6 and 4.5 …

The Hubble Pancet Program: Transit And Eclipse Spectroscopy Of The Hot-Jupiter Wasp-74b, Guangwei Fu, Drake Deming, Erin May, Kevin Stevenson, David K. Sing, Joshua D. Lothringer, Hannah R. Wakeford, Nikolay Nikolov, Thomas Mikal-Evans, Vincent Bourrier, Leonardo A. Dos Santos, Munazza K. Alam, Gregory W. Henry, Antonio García Muñoz, Mercedes López-Morales

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Planets are like children with each one being unique and special. A better understanding of their collective properties requires a deeper understanding of each planet. Here we add the transit and eclipse spectra of hot-Jupiter WASP-74b into the ever growing data set of exoplanet atmosphere spectral library. With six transits and three eclipses using the Hubble Space Telescope and Spitzer Space Telescope (Spitzer), we present the most complete and precise atmospheric spectra of WASP-74b. We found no evidence for TiO/VO nor super-Rayleigh scattering reported in previous studies. The transit shows a muted water feature with strong Rayleigh scattering extending into …

Establishing Α Oph As A Prototype Rotator: Precision Orbit With New Keck, Chara, And Rv Observations, Tyler Gardner, John D. Monnier, Francis C. Fekel, Michael H. Williamson, Fabien Baron, Sasha Hinkley, Michael Ireland, Adam L. Kraus, Stefan Kraus, Rachael M. Roettenbacher, Gail Schaefer, Judit Sturmann, Laszlo Sturmann, Theo A. Ten Brummelaar

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Alpha Ophiuchi (Rasalhague) is a nearby rapidly rotating A5IV star that has been imaged by infrared interferometry. α Oph is also part of a known binary system, with a companion semimajor axis of ∼430 mas and a high eccentricity of 0.92. The binary companion provides the unique opportunity to measure the dynamical mass to compare with the results of rapid rotator evolution models. The lack of data near periastron passage limited the precision of mass measurements in previous work. We add new interferometric data from the MIRC combiner at the CHARA Array as well as new Keck adaptive optics imaging …

Hst Pancet Program: A Complete Near-Uv To Infrared Transmission Spectrum For The Hot Jupiter Wasp-79b, Alexander D. Rathcke, Ryan J. Macdonald, Joanna K. Barstow, Jayesh M. Goyal, Mercedes Lopez-Morales, João M. Mendonça, Jorge Sanz-Forcada, Gregory W. Henry, David K. Sing, Munazza K. Alam, Nikole K. Lewis, Katy L. Chubb, Jake Taylor, Nikolay Nikolov, Lars A. Buchhave

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We present a new optical transmission spectrum of the hot Jupiter WASP-79b. We observed three transits with the STIS instrument mounted on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), spanning 0.3–1.0 μm. Combining these transits with previous observations, we construct a complete 0.3–5.0 μm transmission spectrum of WASP-79b. Both HST and ground-based observations show decreasing transit depths toward blue wavelengths, contrary to expectations from Rayleigh scattering or hazes. We infer atmospheric and stellar properties from the full near-UV to infrared transmission spectrum of WASP-79b using three independent retrieval codes, all of which yield consistent results. Our retrievals confirm previous detections of H2O …

The Hubble Pancet Program: Transit And Eclipse Spectroscopy Of The Strongly Irradiated Giant Exoplanet Wasp-76b, Guangwei Fu, Drake Deming, Joshua Lothringer, Nikolay Nikolov, David K. Sing, Eliza M.-R. Kempton, Jegug Ih, Thomas M. Evans, Kevin Stevenson, Hannah R. Wakeford, Joseph E. Rodriguez, Jason D. Eastman, Keivan Stassun, Gregory W. Henry, Mercedes López-Morales, Monika Lendl, Dennis M. Conti, Chris Stockdale, Karen Collins, John Kielkopf, Joanna K. Barstow, Jorge Sanz-Forcada, David Ehrenreich, Vincent Bourrier, Leonardo A. Dos Santos

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Ultra-hot Jupiters with equilibrium temperatures greater than 2000 K are uniquely interesting targets as they provide us crucial insights into how atmospheres behave under extreme conditions. This class of giant planets receives intense radiation from their host star and usually has strongly irradiated and highly inflated atmospheres. At such a high temperature, cloud formation is expected to be suppressed and thermal dissociation of water vapor could occur. We observed the ultra-hot Jupiter WASP-76b with seven transits and five eclipses using the Hubble Space Telescope and the Spitzer Space Telescope (Spitzer) for a comprehensive study of its atmospheric chemical and physical …

California Legacy Survey. Ii. Occurrence Of Giant Planets Beyond The Ice Line, Benjamin J. Fulton, Lee J. Rosenthal, Lea A. Hirsch, Howard Isaacson, Andrew W. Howard, Cayla M. Dedrick, Ilya A. Sherstyuk, Sarah C. Blunt, Erik A. Petigura, Heather A. Knutson, Aida Behmard, Ashley Chontos, Justin R. Crepp, Ian J. M. Crossfield, Paul A. Dalba, Debra A. Fischer, Gregory W. Henry, Stephen R. Kane, Molly Kosiarek, Geoffrey W. Marcy, Ryan A. Rubenzahl, Lauren M. Weiss, Jason T. Wright

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We used high-precision radial velocity measurements of FGKM stars to determine the occurrence of giant planets as a function of orbital separation spanning 0.03–30 au. Giant planets are more prevalent at orbital distances of 1–10 au compared to orbits interior or exterior of this range. The increase in planet occurrence at ∼1 au by a factor of ∼4 is highly statistically significant. A fall-off in giant planet occurrence at larger orbital distances is favored over models with flat or increasing occurrence. We measure ${14.1}_{-1.8}^{+2.0}$ giant planets per 100 stars with semimajor axes of 2–8 au and ${8.9}_{-2.4}^{+3.0}$ giant planets per …

The California Legacy Survey. I. A Catalog Of 178 Planets From Precision Radial Velocity Monitoring Of 719 Nearby Stars Over Three Decades, Lee J. Rosenthal, Benjamin J. Fulton, Lea A. Hirsch, Howard Isaacson, Andrew W. Howard, Cayla M. Dedrick, Ilya A. Sherstyuk, Sarah C. Blunt, Erik A. Petigura, Heather Knutson, Aida Behmard, Ashley Chontos, Justin R. Crepp, Ian J. M. Crossfield, Paul A. Dalba, Debra A. Fischer, Gregory W. Henry, Stephen R. Kane, Molly Kosiarek, Geoffrey W. Marcy, Ryan A. Rubenzahl, Lauren M. Weiss, Jason T. Wright

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We present a high-precision radial velocity (RV) survey of 719 FGKM stars, which host 164 known exoplanets and 14 newly discovered or revised exoplanets and substellar companions. This catalog updated the orbital parameters of known exoplanets and long-period candidates, some of which have decades-longer observational baselines than they did upon initial detection. The newly discovered exoplanets range from warm sub-Neptunes and super-Earths to cold gas giants. We present the catalog sample selection criteria, as well as over 100,000 RV measurements, which come from the Keck-HIRES, APF-Levy, and Lick-Hamilton spectrographs. We introduce the new RV search pipeline RVSearch (https://california-planet-search.github.io/rvsearch/) that we …

Automated Photometry Of Γ Cassiopeiae: The Last Roundup, M. A. Smith, Gregory W. Henry

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γ Cassiopeiae (B0.5IVe) is the noted prototype of a subgroup of classical Be stars exhibiting hard thermal X-ray emission. This paper reports results from a 23 yr optical campaign on this star with an automated photometric telescope (APT). A series of unstable long cycles of length 56–91 days has nearly ceased over the last decade. Also, we revise the frequency of the dominant coherent signal at 0.82238 days−1. This signal's amplitude has nearly disappeared in the last 15 yr but has somewhat recovered its former strength. We confirm the presence of secondary nonradial pulsation signals found by other authors at …

The Hubble Pancet Program: Long-Term Chromospheric Evolution And Flaring Activity Of The M Dwarf Host Gj 3470★, Vincent Bourrier, Leonardo A. Dos Santos, Jorge Sanz-Forcada, Antonio García Muñoz, Gregory W. Henry, Panayotis Lavvas, Alain Lecavelier, Mercedes López-Morales, Thomas Mikal-Evans, David K. Sing, Hannah R. Wakeford, David Ehrenreich

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Neptune-size exoplanets seem particularly sensitive to atmospheric evaporation, making it essential to characterize the stellar high-energy radiation that drives this mechanism. This is particularly important with M dwarfs, which emit a large and variable fraction of their luminosity in the ultraviolet and can display strong flaring behavior. The warm Neptune GJ 3470b, hosted by an M2 dwarf, was found to harbor a giant exosphere of neutral hydrogen thanks to three transits observed with the Hubble Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (HST/STIS). Here we report on three additional transit observations from the Panchromatic Comparative Exoplanet Treasury program, obtained with the HST Cosmic …

Observations With The Differential Speckle Survey Instrument. X. Preliminary Orbits Of K-Dwarf Binaries And Other Stars, Elliott P. Horch, Kyle G. Broderick, Dana I. Casetti-Dinescu, Todd J. Henry, Francis C. Fekel, Matthew W. Muterspaugh, Daryl W. Willmarth, Jennifer G. Winters, Gerard T. Van Belle, Catherine A. Clark, Mark E. Everett

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This paper details speckle observations of binary stars taken at the Lowell Discovery Telescope, the WIYN telescope, and the Gemini telescopes between 2016 January and 2019 September. The observations taken at Gemini and Lowell were done with the Differential Speckle Survey Instrument (DSSI), and those done at WIYN were taken with the successor instrument to DSSI at that site, the NN-EXPLORE Exoplanet Star and Speckle Imager (NESSI). In total, we present 378 observations of 178 systems, and we show that the uncertainty in the measurement precision for the combined data set is ∼2 mas in separation, ∼1°–2° in position angle …

Interferometric Imaging Of Λ Andromedae: Evidence Of Starspots And Rotation, J. Robert Parks, Russel J. White, Frédérique Baron, John D. Monnier, Brian Kloppenborg, Gregory W. Henry, Gail Schaefer, Xiao Che, Ettore Pedretti, Nathalie Thureau, Ming Zhao, Theo Ten Brummelaar, Harold Mcalister, Stephen T. Ridgway, Nils Turner, Judit Sturmann, Laszlo Sturmann

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Presented are the first interferometric images of cool starspots on the chromospherically active giant λ Andromedae. Using the Michigan Infra-Red Combiner coupled to the Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy Array, 26 interferometric observations were made between 2008 August 17 and 2011 September 24. The photometric time series acquired at Fairborn Observatory spanning 2008 September 20 to 2011 January 20 is also presented. The angular diameter and power-law limb-darkening coefficient of this star are 2.759 ± 0.050 mas and 0.229 ± 0.111, respectively. Starspot properties are obtained from both modeled and SQUEEZE reconstructed images. The images from 2010 through 2011 …

Hst Pancet Program: Non-Detection Of Atmospheric Escape In The Warm Saturn-Sized Planet Wasp-29 B, Leonardo A. Dos Santos, Vincent Bourrier, David Ehrenreich, Jorge Sanz-Forcada, Mercedes López-Morales, David K. Sing, Antonio García Muñoz, Gregory W. Henry, Panayotis Lavvas, Alain Lecavelier, Thomas Mikal-Evans, Alfred Vidal-Madjar, Hannah R. Wakeford

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Short-period gas giant exoplanets are susceptible to intense atmospheric escape due to their large scale heights and strong high-energy irradiation. This process is thought to occur ubiquitously, but to date we have only detected direct evidence of atmospheric escape in hot Jupiters and warm Neptunes. The latter planets are particularly more sensitive to escape-driven evolution as a result of their lower gravities with respect to Jupiter-sized planets. But the paucity of cases for intermediate, Saturn-sized exoplanets at varying levels of irradiation precludes a detailed understanding of the underlying physics in atmospheric escape of hot gas giants. Aiming to address this …

How Much Has The Sun Influenced Northern Hemisphere Temperature Trends? An Ongoing Debate, Ronan Connolly, Willie Soon, Michael Connolly, Sallie Baliunas, Johan Berglund, C. John Butler, Rodolfo Gustavo Cionco, Ana G. Elias, Valery M. Fedorov, Hermann Harde, Gregory W. Henry, Douglas V. Hoyt, Ole Humlum, David R. Legates, Sebastian Lüning, Nicola Scafetta, Jan-Erik Solheim, László Szarka, Harry Van Loon, Víctor M. Velasco Herrera, Richard C. Willson, Hong Yan, Weijia Zhang

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In order to evaluate how much Total Solar Irradiance (TSI) has influenced Northern Hemisphere surface air temperature trends, it is important to have reliable estimates of both quantities. Sixteen different estimates of the changes in TSI since at least the 19th century were compiled from the literature. Half of these estimates are "low variability" and half are "high variability". Meanwhile, five largely-independent methods for estimating Northern Hemisphere temperature trends were evaluated using: 1) only rural weather stations; 2) all available stations whether urban or rural (the standard approach); 3) only sea surface temperatures; 4) tree-ring widths as temperature proxies; 5) …

Speckle Imaging Characterization Of Radial Velocity Exoplanet Systems, Paul A. Dalba, Stephen R. Kane, Steve B. Howell, Elliott P. Horch, Zhexing Li, Lea A. Hirsch, Jennifer Burt, Timothy D. Brandt, Teo Močnik, Gregory W. Henry, Mark E. Everett, Lee J. Rosenthal, Andrew W. Howard

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We conducted speckle imaging observations of 53 stellar systems that were members of long-term radial velocity (RV) monitoring campaigns and exhibited substantial accelerations indicative of planetary or stellar companions in wide orbits. Our observations were made with blue and red filters using the Differential Speckle Survey Instrument at Gemini-South and the NN-Explore Exoplanet Stellar Speckle Imager at the WIYN telescope. The speckle imaging identifies eight luminous companions within 2'' of the primary stars. In three of these systems—HD 1388, HD 87359, and HD 104304—the properties of the imaged companion are consistent with the RV measurements, suggesting that these companions may …

Observing The Changing Surface Structures Of The Active K Giant Σ Geminorum With Song★, Heidi Korhonen, Rachael M. Roettenbacher, Shenghong Gu, Frank Grundahl, Mads Fredslund Andersen, Gregory W. Henry, Jens Jessen-Hansen, Victoria L. Antoci, P. L. Pallé

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Aims. We aim to study the spot evolution and differential rotation in the magnetically active cool K-type giant star σ Gem from broadband photometry and continuous spectroscopic observations that span 150 nights.

Methods. We use high-resolution, high signal-to-noise ratio spectra obtained with the Hertzsprung SONG telescope to reconstruct surface (photospheric) temperature maps with Doppler imaging techniques. The 303 observations span 150 nights and allow for a detailed analysis of the spot evolution and surface differential rotation. The Doppler imaging results are compared to simultaneous broadband photometry from the Tennessee State University T3 0.4 m Automated Photometric Telescope. The activity from …

The Hubble Pancet Program: A Metal-Rich Atmosphere For The Inflated Hot Jupiter Hat-P-41b, Kyle B. Sheppard, Luis Welbanks, Avi M. Mandell, Nikku Madhusudhan, Nikolay Nikolov, Drake Deming, Gregory W. Henry, Michael H. Williamson, David K. Sing, Mercedes López-Morales, Jegug Ih, Jorge Sanz-Forcada, Panayotis Lavvas, Gilda E. Ballester, Thomas M. Evans, Antonio García Muñoz, Leonardo A. Dos Santos

Information Systems and Engineering Management Research Publications

We present a comprehensive analysis of the 0.3–5 μm transit spectrum for the inflated hot Jupiter HAT-P-41b. The planet was observed in transit with Hubble STIS and WFC3 as part of the Hubble Panchromatic Comparative Exoplanet Treasury (PanCET) program, and we combine those data with warm Spitzer transit observations. We extract transit depths from each of the data sets, presenting the STIS transit spectrum (0.29–0.93 μm) for the first time. We retrieve the transit spectrum both with a free-chemistry retrieval suite (AURA) and a complementary chemical equilibrium retrieval suite (PLATON) to constrain the atmospheric properties at the day–night terminator. Both …

Physical Parameters Of The Multiplanet Systems Hd 106315 And Gj 9827*†, Molly R. Kosiarek, David A. Berardo, Ian J. M. Crossfield, Cesar Laguna, Caroline Piaulet, Joseph M. Akana Murphy, Steve B. Howell, Gregory W. Henry, Howard Isaacson, Benjamin Fulton, Lauren M. Weiss, Erik A. Petigura, Aida Behmard, Lea A. Hirsch, Johanna Teske, Jennifer A. Burt, Sean M. Mills, Ashley Chontos, Teo Močnik, Andrew W. Howard, Michael Werner, John H. Livingston, Jessica Krick, Charles Beichman, Varoujan Gorjian, Laura Kreidberg, Caroline Morley, Jessie L. Christiansen, Farisa Y. Morales, Nicholas J. Scott, Jeffrey D. Crane, Sharon Xuesong Wang, Stephen A. Shectman, Lee J. Rosenthal, Samuel K. Grunblatt, Ryan A. Rubenzahl, Paul A. Dalba, Steven Giacalone, Chiara Dane Villanueva, Qingtian Liu, Fei Dai, Michelle L. Hill, Malena Rice, Stephen R. Kane, Andrew W. Mayo

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HD 106315 and GJ 9827 are two bright, nearby stars that host multiple super-Earths and sub-Neptunes discovered by K2 that are well suited for atmospheric characterization. We refined the planets' ephemerides through Spitzer transits, enabling accurate transit prediction required for future atmospheric characterization through transmission spectroscopy. Through a multiyear high-cadence observing campaign with Keck/High Resolution Echelle Spectrometer and Magellan/Planet Finder Spectrograph, we improved the planets' mass measurements in anticipation of Hubble Space Telescope transmission spectroscopy. For GJ 9827, we modeled activity-induced radial velocity signals with a Gaussian process informed by the Calcium II H&K lines in order to more accurately …

Armada. I. Triple Companions Detected In B-Type Binaries Α Del And Ν Gem, Tyler Gardner, John D. Monnier, Francis C. Fekel, Gail Schaefer, Keith J. C. Johnson, Jean-Baptiste Le Bouquin, Stefan Kraus, Narsireddy Anugu, Benjamin R. Setterholm, Aaron Labdon, Claire L. Davies, Cyprien Lanthermann, Jacob Ennis, Michael Ireland, Kaitlin M. Kratter, Theo Ten Brummelaar, Judit Sturmann, Laszlo Sturmann, Chris Farrington, Douglas R. Gies, Robert Klement, Fred C. Adams

Information Systems and Engineering Management Research Publications

Ground-based optical long-baseline interferometry has the power to measure the orbits of close binary systems at ∼10 μas precision. This precision makes it possible to detect "wobbles" in the binary motion due to the gravitational pull from additional short-period companions. We started the ARrangement for Micro-Arcsecond Differential Astrometry (ARMADA) survey with the Michigan Infra-Red Combiner (MIRC)/MIRC-X instrument at the Center for High Angular Resoloution Astronomy (CHARA) array for the purpose of detecting giant planets and stellar companions orbiting individual stars in binary systems. We describe our observations for the survey, and introduce the wavelength calibration scheme that delivers precision at …

Expres. Ii. Searching For Planets Around Active Stars: A Case Study Of Hd 101501, Samuel H. C. Cabot, Rachael M. Roettenbacher, Gregory W. Henry, Lily Zhao, Robert O. Harmon, Debra A. Fischer, John M. Brewer, Joe Llama, Ryan R. Petersburg, Andrew E. Szymkowiak

Information Systems and Engineering Management Research Publications

By controlling instrumental errors to below 10 cm s−1, the EXtreme PREcision Spectrograph (EXPRES) allows for a more insightful study of photospheric velocities that can mask weak Keplerian signals. Gaussian processes (GP) have become a standard tool for modeling correlated noise in radial velocity data sets. While GPs are constrained and motivated by physical properties of the star, in some cases they are still flexible enough to absorb unresolved Keplerian signals. We apply GP regression to EXPRES radial velocity measurements of the 3.5 Gyr old chromospherically active Sun-like star, HD 101501. We obtain tight constraints on the stellar rotation period …

A Collage Of Small Planets From The Lick–Carnegie Exoplanet Survey: Exploring The Super-Earth And Sub-Neptune Mass Regime, Jennifer Burt, Fabo Feng, Bradford Holden, Eric E. Mamajek, Chelsea X. Huang, Mickey M. Rosentha, Songhu Wang, R. Paul Butler, Steve S. Vogt, Gregory Laughlin, Gregory W. Henry, Johanna K. Teske, Sharon X. Wang, Jeffrey D. Crane, Steve A. Shectman

Information Systems and Engineering Management Research Publications

Analysis of new precision radial velocity (RV) measurements from the Lick Automated Planet Finder and Keck HIRES has yielded the discovery of three new exoplanet candidates orbiting the nearby stars HD 190007 and HD 216520. We also report new velocities from the APF and the Planet Finder Spectrograph and updated orbital fits for the known exoplanet host stars GJ 686 and HD 180617. Of the newly discovered planets, HD 190007 b has a period of P = 11.72 days, an RV semiamplitude of K = 5.64 ± 0.55 m s−1, a minimum mass of Mpl = 16.46 ± 1.66 M⊕, …

The M Supergiant High-Mass X-Ray Binary 4u 1954+31, Kenneth H. Hinkle, Thomas Lebzelter, Francis C. Fekel, Oscar Straniero, Richard Joyce, Lisa Prato, Nicole Karnath, Nolan Habel

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The X-ray binary 4U 1954+31 has been classified as a low-mass X-ray binary containing an M giant and a neutron star (NS). It has also been included in the rare class of X-ray symbiotic binaries. The Gaia parallax, infrared colors, spectral type, abundances, and orbital properties of the M star demonstrate that the cool star in this system is not a low-mass giant but a high-mass M supergiant. Thus, 4U 1954+31 is a high-mass X-ray binary (HMXB) containing a late-type supergiant. It is the only known binary system of this type. The mass of the M I is ${9}_{-2}^{+6}$ M⊙ …

Access: Confirmation Of No Potassium In The Atmosphere Of Wasp-31b, Chima D. Mcgruder, Mercedes López-Morales, Néstor Espinoza, Benjamin V. Rackham, Dániel Apai, Andrés Jordán, David J. Osip, Munazza K. Alam, Alex Bixel, Jonathan J. Fortney, Gregory W. Henry, James Kirk, Nikole K. Lewis, Florian Rodler, Ian C. Weaver

Information Systems and Engineering Management Research Publications

We present a new optical (400–950 nm) transmission spectrum of the hot Jupiter WASP-31b (M = 0.48 MJ; R = 1.54 RJ; P = 3.41 days), obtained by combining four transit observations. These transits were observed with IMACS on the Magellan Baade Telescope at Las Campanas Observatory as part of the ACCESS project. We investigate the presence of clouds/hazes in the upper atmosphere of this planet, as well as the contribution of stellar activity on the observed features. In addition, we search for absorption features of the alkali elements Na i and K i, with particular focus on K i, …

Lrg-Beasts: Ground-Based Detection Of Sodium And A Steep Optical Slope In The Atmosphere Of The Highly Inflated Hot-Saturn Wasp-21b, Lili Alderson, James Kirk, Mercedes López-Morales, Peter J. Wheatley, Ian Skillen, Gregory W. Henry, Chima Mcgruder, Matteo Brogi, Tom Louden, George King

Information Systems and Engineering Management Research Publications

We present the optical transmission spectrum of the highly inflated Saturn-mass exoplanet WASP-21b, using three transits obtained with the ACAM instrument on the William Herschel Telescope through the LRG-BEASTS survey (Low Resolution Ground-Based Exoplanet Atmosphere Survey using Transmission Spectroscopy). Our transmission spectrum covers a wavelength range of 4635–9000 Å, achieving an average transit depth precision of 197 ppm compared to one atmospheric scale height at 246 ppm. We detect Na i absorption in a bin width of 30 Å  at >4σ confidence, which extends over 100 Å. We see no evidence of absorption from K i. Atmospheric retrieval analysis of …

Expres. I. Hd 3651 As An Ideal Rv Benchmark, John M. Brewer, Debra A. Fischer, Ryan T. Blackman, Samuel H. C. Cabot, Allen B. Davis, Gregory Laughlin, Christopher Leet, J. M. Joel Ong, Ryan R. Petersburg, Andrew E. Szymkowiak, Lily L. Zhao, Gregory W. Henry, Joe Llama

Information Systems and Engineering Management Research Publications

The next generation of exoplanet-hunting spectrographs should deliver up to an order of magnitude improvement in radial velocity (RV) precision over the standard 1 ${\rm{m}}\ {{\rm{s}}}^{-1}$ state-of-the-art spectrographs. This advance is critical for enabling the detection of Earth-mass planets around Sun-like stars. New calibration techniques such as laser frequency combs and stabilized etalons ensure that the instrumental stability is well characterized. However, additional sources of error include stellar noise, undetected short-period planets, and telluric contamination. To understand and ultimately mitigate error sources, the contributing terms in the error budget must be isolated to the greatest extent possible. Here, we introduce …

Visual Orbits Of Spectroscopic Binaries With The Chara Array. Iii. Hd 8374 And Hd 24546, Kathryn V. Lester, Francis C. Fekel, Matthew W. Muterspaugh, Douglas R. Gies, Gail Schaefer, Chris D. Farrington, Zhao Guo, Rachel A. Matson, John D. Monnier, Theo A. Ten Brummelaar, Judit Sturmann, Samuel A. Weiss

Information Systems and Engineering Management Research Publications

We present the visual orbits of two long-period spectroscopic binary stars, HD 8374 and HD 24546, using interferometric observations acquired with the CHARA Array and the Palomar Testbed Interferometer. We also obtained new radial velocities from echelle spectra using the APO 3.5 m and Fairborn 2.0 m telescopes. By combining the visual and spectroscopic observations, we solve for the full, three-dimensional orbits and determine the stellar masses and distances to within 3% uncertainty. We then estimate the effective temperature and radius of each component star through Doppler tomography and spectral energy distribution analyses, in order to compare the observed stellar …