Browsing by Subject "planetary systems"
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Item Almost All Of Kepler's Multiple-Planet Candidates Are Planets(2012-05) Lissauer, Jack J.; Marcy, Geoffrey W.; Rowe, Jason F.; Bryson, Stephen T.; Adams, Elisabeth; Buchhave, Lars A.; Ciardi, David R.; Cochran, William D.; Fabrycky, D. C.; Ford, Eric B.; Fressin, Francois; Geary, John; Gilliland, Ronald L.; Holman, Matthew J.; Howell, Steve B.; Jenkins, Jon M.; Kinemuchi, Karen; Koch, David G.; Morehead, Robert C.; Ragozzine, Darin; Seader, Shawn E.; Tanenbaum, Peter G.; Torres, Guillermo; Twicken, Joseph D.; Cochran, William D.We present a statistical analysis that demonstrates that the overwhelming majority of Kepler candidate multiple transiting systems (multis) indeed represent true, physically associated transiting planets. Binary stars provide the primary source of false positives among Kepler planet candidates, implying that false positives should be nearly randomly distributed among Kepler targets. In contrast, true transiting planets would appear clustered around a smaller number of Kepler targets if detectable planets tend to come in systems and/or if the orbital planes of planets encircling the same star are correlated. There are more than one hundred times as many Kepler planet candidates in multi-candidate systems as would be predicted from a random distribution of candidates, implying that the vast majority are true planets. Most of these multis are multiple-planet systems orbiting the Kepler target star, but there are likely cases where (1) the planetary system orbits a fainter star, and the planets are thus significantly larger than has been estimated, or (2) the planets orbit different stars within a binary/multiple star system. We use the low overall false-positive rate among Kepler multis, together with analysis of Kepler spacecraft and ground-based data, to validate the closely packed Kepler-33 planetary system, which orbits a star that has evolved somewhat off of the main sequence. Kepler-33 hosts five transiting planets, with periods ranging from 5.67 to 41 days.Item An Ancient Extrasolar System With Five Sub-Earth-Size Planets(2015-02) Campante, T. L.; Barclay, Thomas; Swift, Jonathan J.; Huber, Daniel; Adibekyan, V. Z.; Cochran, William; Burke, C. J.; Isaacson, Howard; Quintana, Elisa V.; Davies, G. R.; Aguirre, V. S.; Ragozzine, D.; Riddle, R.; Baranec, C.; Basu, S.; Chaplin, W. J.; Christensen-Dalsgaard, J.; Metcalfe, T. S.; Bedding, T. R.; Handberg, R.; Stello, D.; Brewer, J. M.; Hekker, S.; Karoff, C.; Kolbl, R.; Law, N. M.; Lundkvist, M.; Miglio, A.; Rowe, Jason F.; Santos, N. C.; Van Laerhoven, C.; Arentoft, T.; Elsworth, Y. P.; Fischer, Debra A.; Kawaler, Steven D.; Kjeldsen, H.; Lund, M. N.; Marcy, Geoffrey W.; Sousa, S. G.; Sozzetti, A.; White, T. R.; Cochran, WilliamThe chemical composition of stars hosting small exoplanets (with radii less than four Earth radii) appears to be more diverse than that of gas-giant hosts, which tend to be metal-rich. This implies that small, including Earth-size, planets may have readily formed at earlier epochs in the universe's history when metals were more scarce. We report Kepler spacecraft observations of Kepler-444, a metal-poor Sun-like star from the old population of the Galactic thick disk and the host to a compact system of five transiting planets with sizes between those of Mercury and Venus. We validate this system as a true five-planet system orbiting the target star and provide a detailed characterization of its planetary and orbital parameters based on an analysis of the transit photometry. Kepler-444 is the densest star with detected solar-like oscillations. We use asteroseismology to directly measure a precise age of 11.2 +/- 1.0Gyr for the host star, indicating that Kepler-444 formed when the universe was less than 20% of its current age and making it the oldest known system of terrestrial-size planets. We thus show that Earth-size planets have formed throughout most of the universe's 13.8 billion year history, leaving open the possibility for the existence of ancient life in the Galaxy. The age of Kepler-444 not only suggests that thick-disk stars were among the hosts to the first Galactic planets, but may also help to pinpoint the beginning of the era of planet formation.Item Astrometry, Radial Velocity, And Photometry: The Hd 128311 System Remixed With Data From Hst, Het, And Apt(2014-11) McArthur, Barbara E.; Benedict, G. Fritz; Henry, Gregory W.; Hatzes, Artie; Cochran, William D.; Harrison, Thomas E.; Johns-Krull, Chris; Nelan, Ed; McArthur, Barbara E.; Benedict, G. Fritz; Cochran, William D.We have used high-cadence radial velocity measurements from the Hobby-Eberly Telescope with published velocities from the Lick 3 m Shane Telescope, combined with astrometric data from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Fine Guidance Sensors to refine the orbital parameters of the HD 128311 system, and determine an inclination of 55.degrees 95 +/- 14.degrees 55 and true mass of 3.789(+0.924)(-0.432) M-JUP for HD 128311 c. The combined radial velocity data also reveal a short period signal which could indicate a third planet in the system with an M sin i of 0.133 +/- 0.005 M-JUP or stellar phenomena. Photometry from the T12 0.8 m automatic photometric telescope at the Fairborn Observatory and HST are used to determine a photometric period close to, but not within the errors of the radial velocity signal. We performed a cross-correlation bisector analysis of the radial velocity data to look for correlations with the photometric period and found none. Dynamical integrations of the proposed system show long-term stability with the new orbital parameters of over 10 million years. Our new orbital elements do not support the claims of HD 128311 b and c being in mean motion resonance.Item The Beta Pictoris Disk Imaged By Herschel PACS And SPIRE(2010) Vandenbussche, B.; Sibthorpe, B.; Acke, B.; Pantin, E.; Olofsson, G.; Waelkens, C.; Dominik, C.; Barlow, M. J.; Blommaert, Jadl; Bouwman, J.; Brandeker, A.; Cohen, M.; De Meester, W.; Dent, W. R. F.; Exter, K.; Di Francesco, J.; Fridlund, M.; Gear, W. K.; Glauser, A. M.; Gomez, H. L.; Greaves, J. S.; Hargrave, P. C.; Harvey, P. M.; Henning, T.; Heras, A. M.; Hogerheijde, M. R.; Holland, W. S.; Huygen, R.; Ivison, R. J.; Jean, C.; Leeks, S. J.; Lim, T. L.; Liseau, R.; Matthews, B. C.; Naylor, D. A.; Pilbratt, G. L.; Polehampton, E. T.; Regibo, S.; Royer, P.; Sicilia-Aguilar, A.; Swinyard, B. M.; Walker, H. J.; Wesson, R.; Harvey, P. M.We obtained Herschel PACS and SPIRE images of the thermal emission of the debris disk around the A5V star beta Pic. The disk is well resolved in the PACS filters at 70, 100, and 160 mu m. The surface brightness profiles between 70 and 160 mu m show no significant asymmetries along the disk, and are compatible with 90% of the emission between 70 and 160 mu m originating in a region closer than 200 AU to the star. Although only marginally resolving the debris disk, the maps obtained in the SPIRE 250-500 mu m filters provide full-disk photometry, completing the SED over a few octaves in wavelength that had been previously inaccessible. The small far-infrared spectral index (beta = 0.34) indicates that the grain size distribution in the inner disk (<200 AU) is inconsistent with a local collisional equilibrium. The size distribution is either modified by non-equilibrium effects, or exhibits a wavy pattern, caused by an under-abundance of impactors which have been removed by radiation pressure.Item The California Planet Survey. I. Four New Giant Exoplanets(2010-10) Howard, Andrew W.; Johnson, John A.; Marcy, Geoffrey W.; Fischer, Debra A.; Wright, Jason T.; Bernat, David; Henry, Gregory W.; Peek, Kathryn M. G.; Isaacson, Howard; Apps, Kevin; Endl, Michael; Cochran, William D.; Valenti, Jeff A.; Anderson, Jay; Piskunov, Nikolai E.; Endl, Michael; Cochran, William D.We present precise Doppler measurements of four stars obtained during the past decade at Keck Observatory by the California Planet Survey (CPS). These stars, namely, HD 34445, HD 126614, HD 13931, and Gl 179, all show evidence for a single planet in Keplerian motion. We also present Doppler measurements from the Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET) for two of the stars, HD 34445 and Gl 179, that confirm the Keck detections and significantly refine the orbital parameters. These planets add to the statistical properties of giant planets orbiting near or beyond the ice line, and merit follow-up by astrometry, imaging, and space-borne spectroscopy. Their orbital parameters span wide ranges of planetary minimum mass (M sin i = 0.38-1.9 M(Jup)), orbital period (P = 2.87-11.5 yr), semimajor axis (a = 2.1-5.2 AU), and eccentricity (e = 0.02-0.41). HD 34445 b (P = 2.87 yr, M sin i = 0.79 MJup, e = 0.27) is a massive planet orbiting an old, G-type star. We announce a planet, HD 126614 Ab, and an M dwarf, HD 126614 B, orbiting the metal-rich star HD 126614 (which we now refer to as HD 126614 A). The planet, HD 126614 Ab, has minimum mass M sin i = 0.38 MJup and orbits the stellar primary with period P = 3.41 yr and orbital separation a = 2.3 AU. The faint M dwarf companion, HD 126614 B, is separated from the stellar primary by 489 mas (33 AU) and was discovered with direct observations using adaptive optics and the PHARO camera at Palomar Observatory. The stellar primary in this new system, HD 126614 A, has the highest measured metallicity ([ Fe/ H] = + 0.56) of any known planet-bearing star. HD 13931 b (P = 11.5 yr, M sin i = 1.88 MJup, e = 0.02) is a Jupiter analog orbiting a near solar twin. Gl 179 b (P = 6.3 yr, M sin i = 0.82 M(Jup), e = 0.21) is a massive planet orbiting a faint M dwarf. The high metallicity of Gl 179 is consistent with the planet-metallicity correlation among M dwarfs, as documented recently by Johnson & Apps.Item Characteristics Of Planetary Candidates Observed By Kepler. II. Analysis Of The First Four Months Of Data(2011-07) Borucki, William J.; Koch, David G.; Basri, Gibor; Batalha, Natalie; Brown, Timothy M.; Bryson, Stephen T.; Caldwell, Douglas; Christensen-Dalsgaard, Jorgen; Cochran, William D.; DeVore, Edna; Dunham, Edward W.; Gautier, Thomas N., III; Geary, John C.; Gilliland, Ronald; Gould, Alan; Howell, Steve B.; Jenkins, Jon M.; Latham, David W.; Lissauer, Jack J.; Marcy, Geoffrey W.; Rowe, Jason; Sasselov, Dimitar; Boss, Alan; Charbonneau, David; Ciardi, David; Doyle, Laurance; Dupree, Andrea K.; Ford, Eric B.; Fortney, Jonathan; Holman, Matthew J.; Seager, Sara; Steffen, Jason H.; Tarter, Jill; Welsh, William F.; Allen, Christopher; Buchhave, Lars A.; Christiansen, Jessie L.; Clarke, Bruce D.; Das, Santanu; Desert, Jean-Michel; Endl, Michael; Fabrycky, Daniel; Fressin, Francois; Haas, Michael; Horch, Elliott; Howard, Andrew; Isaacson, Howard; Kjeldsen, Hans; Kolodziejczak, Jeffery; Kulesa, Craig; Li, Jie; Lucas, Philip W.; Machalek, Pavel; McCarthy, Donald; MacQueen, Phillip; Meibom, Soren; Miquel, Thibaut; Prsa, Andrej; Quinn, Samuel N.; Quintana, Elisa V.; Ragozzine, Darin; Sherry, William; Shporer, Avi; Tenenbaum, Peter; Torres, Guillermo; Twicken, Joseph D.; Van Cleve, Jeffrey; Walkowicz, Lucianne; Witteborn, Fred C.; Still, Martin; Cochran, William D.; Endl, MichaelOn 2011 February 1 the Kepler mission released data for 156,453 stars observed from the beginning of the science observations on 2009 May 2 through September 16. There are 1235 planetary candidates with transit-like signatures detected in this period. These are associated with 997 host stars. Distributions of the characteristics of the planetary candidates are separated into five class sizes: 68 candidates of approximately Earth-size (R-p < 1.25 R-circle plus), 288 super-Earth-size (1.25 R-circle plus <= R-p < 2 R-circle plus), 662 Neptune-size (2 R-circle plus <= R-p < 6 R-circle plus), 165 Jupiter-size (6 R-circle plus <= R-p < 15 R-circle plus), and 19 up to twice the size of Jupiter (15 R-circle plus <= R-p < 22 R-circle plus). In the temperature range appropriate for the habitable zone, 54 candidates are found with sizes ranging from Earth-size to larger than that of Jupiter. Six are less than twice the size of the Earth. Over 74% of the planetary candidates are smaller than Neptune. The observed number versus size distribution of planetary candidates increases to a peak at two to three times the Earth-size and then declines inversely proportional to the area of the candidate. Our current best estimates of the intrinsic frequencies of planetary candidates, after correcting for geometric and sensitivity biases, are 5% for Earth-size candidates, 8% for super-Earth-size candidates, 18% for Neptune-size candidates, 2% for Jupiter-size candidates, and 0.1% for very large candidates; a total of 0.34 candidates per star. Multi-candidate, transiting systems are frequent; 17% of the host stars have multi-candidate systems, and 34% of all the candidates are part of multi-candidate systems.Item Characterization Of The HD 17156 Planetary System(2009-08) Barbieri, M.; Alonso, R.; Desidera, S.; Sozzetti, A.; Fiorenzano, A. F. M.; Almenara, J. M.; Cecconi, M.; Claudi, R. U.; Charbonneau, D.; Endl, M.; Granata, V.; Gratton, R.; Laughlin, G.; Loeillet, B.; Exoplanet Amateur, Consortium; Endl, M.Aims. We present data to improve the known parameters of the HD 17156 system (peculiar due to the eccentricity and long orbital period of its transiting planet) and constrain the presence of stellar companions. Methods. Photometric data were acquired for 4 transits, and high precision radial velocity measurements were simultaneously acquired with the SARG spectrograph at TNG for one transit. The template spectra of HD 17156 was used to derive effective temperature, gravity, and metallicity. A fit of the photometric and spectroscopic data was performed to measure the stellar and planetary radii, and the spin-orbit alignment. Planet orbital elements and ephemeris were derived from the fit. Near infrared adaptive optic images were acquired with the AdOpt module of TNG. Results. We found that the star has a radius of R(S) = 1.44 +/- 0.03 R(circle dot) and the planet R(P) = 1.02 +/- 0.08 R(J). The transit ephemeris is T(c) = 2 454 756.73134 +/- 0.00020 + N . 21.21663 +/- 0.00045 BJD. Analysis of the Rossiter-Mclaughlin effect shows that the system is spin orbit aligned with an angle beta = 4.8 degrees +/- 5.3 degrees. The analysis of high resolution images did not reveal any stellar companion with a projected separation between of 150 and 1 000 AU from HD 17156.Item Chemical Signatures Of Planets: Beyond Solar-Twins(2014-01) Ramirez, I.; Melendez, J.; Asplund, M.; Ramirez, I.Context. Elemental abundance studies of solar twin stars suggest that the solar chemical composition contains signatures of the formation of terrestrial planets in the solar system, namely small but significant depletions of the refractory elements. Aims. To test whether these chemical signatures of planets are real, we study stars which, compared to solar twins, have less massive convective envelopes (therefore increasing the amplitude of the predicted effect) or are, arguably, more likely to host planets (thus increasing the frequency of signature detections). Methods. We measure relative atmospheric parameters and elemental abundances of two groups of stars: a >warm> late-F type dwarf sample (52 stars), and a sample of >metal-rich> solar analogs (59 stars). The strict differential approach that we adopt allows us to determine with high precision (errors similar to 0.01 dex) the degree of refractory element depletion in our stars independently of Galactic chemical evolution. By examining relative abundance ratio versus condensation temperature plots we are able to identify stars with >pristine> composition in each sample and to determine the degree of refractory-element depletion for the rest of our stars. We calculate what mixture of Earth-like and meteorite-like material corresponds to these depletions. Results. We detect refractory-element depletions with amplitudes up to about 0.15 dex. The distribution of depletion amplitudes for stars known to host gas giant planets is not different from that of the rest of stars. The maximum amplitude of depletion increases with effective temperature from 5650 K to 5950 K, while it appears to be constant for warmer stars (up to 6300 K). The depletions observed in solar twin stars have a maximum amplitude that is very similar to that seen here for both of our samples. Conclusions. Gas giant planet formation alone cannot explain the observed distributions of refractory-element depletions, leaving the formation of rocky material as a more likely explanation of our observations. More rocky material is necessary to explain the data of solar twins than metal-rich stars, and less for warm stars. However, the sizes of the stars' convective envelopes at the time of planet formation could be regulating these amplitudes. Our results could be explained if disk lifetimes were shorter in more massive stars, as independent observations indeed seem to suggest. Nevertheless, to reach stronger conclusions we will need a detailed knowledge of extrasolar planetary systems down to at least one Earth mass around a significant number of stars.Item A Correlation Between The Eclipse Depths Of Kepler Gas Giant Candidates And The Metallicities Of Their Parent Stars(2012-06) Dodson-Robinson, Sarah E.; Dodson-Robinson, Sarah E.Previous studies of the interior structure of transiting exoplanets have shown that the heavy-element content of gas giants increases with host star metallicity. Since metal-poor planets are less dense and have larger radii than metal-rich planets of the same mass, one might expect that metal-poor stars host a higher proportion of gas giants with large radii than metal-rich stars. Here I present evidence for a negative correlation at the 2.3 sigma level between eclipse depth and stellar metallicity in the Kepler gas giant candidates. Based on Kendall's tau statistics, the probability that eclipse depth depends on star metallicity is 0.981. The correlation is consistent with planets orbiting low-metallicity stars being, on average, larger in comparison with their host stars than planets orbiting metal-rich stars. Furthermore, since metal-rich stars have smaller radii than metal-poor stars of the same mass and age, a uniform population of planets should show a rise in median eclipse depth with [M/H]. The fact that I find the opposite trend indicates that substantial changes in the gas giant interior structure must accompany increasing [M/H]. I investigate whether the known scarcity of giant planets orbiting low-mass stars could masquerade as an eclipse depth-metallicity correlation, given the degeneracy between metallicity and temperature for cool stars in the Kepler Input Catalog. While the eclipse depth-metallicity correlation is not yet on firm statistical footing and will require spectroscopic [Fe/H] measurements for validation, it is an intriguing window into how the interior structure of planets and even the planet formation mechanism may be changing with Galactic chemical evolution.Item Detection Of A Third Planet In The HD 74156 System Using The Hobby-Eberly Telescope(2008-01) Bean, Jacob L.; McArthur, Barbara E.; Benedict, G. Fritz; Armstrong, Amber; Bean, Jacob L.; McArthur, Barbara E.; Benedict, G. Fritz; Armstrong, AmberWe report the discovery of a third planetary-mass companion to the G0 star HD 74156. High-precision radial velocity measurements made with the Hobby-Eberly Telescope aided the detection of this object. The best-fit triple-Keplerian model to all the available velocity data yields an orbital period of 347 days and a minimum mass of 0.4 M-Jup for the new planet. We determine revised orbital periods of 51.7 and 2477 days and minimum masses of 1.9 and 8.0 M-Jup, respectively, for the previously known planets. Preliminary calculations indicate that the derived orbits are stable, although all three planets have significant orbital eccentricities (e = 0.64, 0.43, and 0.25). With our detection, HD 74156 becomes the eighth normal star known to host three or more planets. Further study of this system's dynamical characteristics will likely give important insight into planet formation and evolutionary processes.Item Discovery of a Close Substellar Companion to the Hot Subdwarf Star HD 149382-the Decisive Influence of Substellar Objects on Late Stellar Evolution(2009-09) Geier, S.; Edelmann, H.; Heber, U.; Morales-Rueda, L.; Edelmann, H.Substellar objects, like planets and brown dwarfs orbiting stars, are by-products of the star Formation process. The evolution of their host stars may have an enormous impact on these small companions. Vice versa a planet might also influence stellar evolution as has recently been argued. Here, we report the discovery of an 8-23 Jupiter-mass substellar object orbiting the hot subdwarf HD 149382 in 2.391 d at a distance of only about five solar radii. Obviously, the companion must have survived engulfment in the red giant envelope. Moreover, the substellar companion has triggered envelope ejection and enabled the sdB star to form. Hot subdwarf stars have been identified as the sources of the unexpected ultraviolet (UV) emission in elliptical galaxies, but the Formation of these stars is not fully understood. Being the brightest star of its class, HD 149382 offers the best conditions to detect the substellar companion. Hence, undisclosed substellar companions offer a natural solution for the long-standing Formation problem of apparently single hot subdwarf stars. Planets and brown dwarfs may therefore alter the evolution of old stellar populations and may also significantly affect the UV emission of elliptical galaxies.Item Discovery Of A Low-Mass Companion To The Solar-Type Star Tyc 2534-698-1(2009-02) Kane, Steven R.; Mahadevan, Suvrath; Cochran, William D.; Street, Rachel A.; Sivarani, Thirupathi; Henry, Gregory W.; Williamson, Michael H.; Cochran, William D.Brown dwarfs and low-mass stellar companions are interesting objects to study since they occupy the mass region between deuterium and hydrogen burning. We report here the serendipitous discovery of a low-mass companion in an eccentric orbit around a solar-type main-sequence star. The stellar primary, TYC 2534-698-1, is a G2V star that was monitored both spectroscopically and photometrically over the course of several months. Radial velocity observations indicate a minimum mass of 0.037 M(circle dot) and an orbital period of similar to 103 days for the companion. Photometry outside of the transit window shows the star to be stable to within similar to 6 millimags. The semimajor axis of the orbit places the companion in the "brown dwarf desert" and we discuss potential follow-up observations that could constrain the mass of the companion.Item The Discovery Of Hd 37605C And A Dispositive Null Detection Of Transits Of Hd 37605B(2012-12) Wang, Sharon Xuesong; Wright, Jason T.; Cochran, William; Kane, Steven R.; Henry, Gregory W.; Payne, Matthew J.; Endl, Michael; MacQueen, Phillip J.; Valenti, Jeff A.; Antoci, Victoria; Dragomir, Diana; Matthews, Jaymie M.; Howard, Andrew W.; Marcy, Geoffrey W.; Isaacson, Howard; Ford, Eric B.; Mahadevan, Suvrath; von Braun, Kaspar; Cochran, William; Endl, Michael; MacQueen, PhillipWe report the radial velocity discovery of a second planetary mass companion to the K0 V star HD 37605, which was already known to host an eccentric, P similar to 55 days Jovian planet, HD 37605b. This second planet, HD 37605c, has a period of similar to 7.5 years with a low eccentricity and an M sin i of similar to 3.4 M-Jup. Our discovery was made with the nearly 8 years of radial velocity follow-up at the Hobby-Eberly Telescope and Keck Observatory, including observations made as part of the Transit Ephemeris Refinement and Monitoring Survey effort to provide precise ephemerides to long-period planets for transit follow-up. With a total of 137 radial velocity observations covering almost 8 years, we provide a good orbital solution of the HD 37605 system, and a precise transit ephemeris for HD 37605b. Our dynamic analysis reveals very minimal planet-planet interaction and an insignificant transit time variation. Using the predicted ephemeris, we performed a transit search for HD 37605b with the photometric data taken by the T12 0.8 m Automatic Photoelectric Telescope (APT) and the MOST satellite. Though the APT photometry did not capture the transit window, it characterized the stellar activity of HD 37605, which is consistent of it being an old, inactive star, with a tentative rotation period of 57.67 days. The MOST photometry enabled us to report a dispositive null detection of a non-grazing transit for this planet. Within the predicted transit window, we exclude an edge-on predicted depth of 1.9% at the >> 10 sigma level, and exclude any transit with an impact parameter b > 0.951 at greater than 5 sigma. We present the BOOTTRAN package for calculating Keplerian orbital parameter uncertainties via bootstrapping. We made a comparison and found consistency between our orbital fit parameters calculated by the RVLIN package and error bars by BOOTTRAN with those produced by a Bayesian analysis using MCMC.Item Discovery of the Transiting Planet Kepler-5B(2010-04) Koch, David G.; Borucki, William J.; Rowe, Jason F.; Batalha, Natalie M.; Brown, Timothy M.; Caldwell, Douglas A.; Caldwell, John; Cochran, William D.; DeVore, Edna; Dunham, Edward W.; Dupree, Andrea K.; Gautier, Thomas N., III; Geary, John C.; Gilliland, Ron L.; Howell, Steve B.; Jenkins, Jon M.; Latham, David W.; Lissauer, Jack J.; Marcy, Geoff W.; Morrison, David; Tarter, Jill; Cochran, William D.We present 44 days of high duty cycle, ultra precise photometry of the 13th magnitude star Kepler-5 (KIC 8191672, T(eff) = 6300 K, log g = 4.1), which exhibits periodic transits with a depth of 0.7%. Detailed modeling of the transit is consistent with a planetary companion with an orbital period of 3.548460 +/- 0.000032 days and a radius of 1.431(-0.052)(+0.041) R(J). Follow-up radial velocity measurements with the Keck HIRES spectrograph on nine separate nights demonstrate that the planet is more than twice as massive as Jupiter with a mass of 2.114(-0.059)(+0.056) M(J) and a mean density of 0.894 +/- 0.079 g cm(-3).Item Doppler Tomography Of Transiting Exoplanets: A Prograde, Low-Inclined Orbit For The Hot Jupiter CoRoT-11B(2012-07) Gandolfi, D.; Cameron, A. C.; Endl, M.; Lanza, A. F.; Damiani, C.; Alonso, R.; Cochran, W. D.; Deleuil, M.; Fridlund, M.; Hatzes, A. P.; Guenther, E. W.; Endl, M.We report the detection of the Doppler shadow of the transiting hot Jupiter CoRoT-11b. Our analysis is based on line-profile tomography of time-series, Keck/HIRES high-resolution spectra acquired during the transit of the planet. We measured a sky-projected, spin-orbit angle lambda = 0.1 degrees +/- 2.6 degrees, which is consistent with a very low-inclined orbit with respect to the stellar rotation axis. We refined the physical parameters of the system using a Markov chain Monte Carlo simultaneous fitting of the available photometric and spectroscopic data. An analysis of the tidal evolution of the system shows how the currently measured obliquity and its uncertainty translate into an initial absolute value of less than about 10 degrees on the zero-age main sequence, for an expected average modified tidal quality factor of the star < Q'(*)> greater than or similar to 4 x 10(6). This is indicative of an inward migration scenario that would not have perturbed the primordial low obliquity of CoRoT-11b. Taking into account the effective temperature and mass of the planet host star (T-eff = 6440 K, M-* = 1.23 M-circle dot), the system can be considered a new telling exception to the recently proposed trend, according to which relatively hot and massive stars (T-eff > 6250 K, M-* > 1.2 M-circle dot) seem to be preferentially orbited by hot Jupiters with high obliquity.Item The Evolving Activity Of The Dynamically Young Comet C/2009 P1 (Garradd)(2014-05) Bodewits, D.; Farnham, T. L.; A'Hearn, M. F.; Feaga, L. M.; McKay, A.; Schleicher, D. G.; Sunshine, J. M.; McKay, A.We used the Ultraviolet-Optical Telescope on board Swift to observe the dynamically young comet C/2009 P1 (Garradd) from a heliocentric distance of 3.5 AU pre-perihelion until 4.0 AU outbound. At 3.5 AU pre-perihelion, comet Garradd had one of the highest dust-to-gas ratios ever observed, matched only by comet Hale-Bopp. The evolving morphology of the dust in its coma suggests an outburst that ended around 2.2 AU pre-perihelion. Comparing slit-based measurements and observations acquired with larger fields of view indicated that between 3 AU and 2 AU pre-perihelion a significant extended source started producing water in the coma. We demonstrate that this source, which could be due to icy grains, disappeared quickly around perihelion. Water production by the nucleus may be attributed to a constantly active source of at least 75 km(2), estimated to be > 20% of the surface. Based on our measurements, the comet lost 4 x 10(11) kg of ice and dust during this apparition, corresponding to at most a few meters of its surface. Even though this was likely not the comet's first passage through the inner solar system, the activity of Garradd was complex and changed significantly during the time it was observed.Item A First Comparison of Kepler Planet Candidates in Single and Multiple Systems(2011-05) Latham, David W.; Rowe, Jason F.; Quinn, Samuel N.; Batalha, Natalie M.; Borucki, William J.; Brown, Timothy M.; Bryson, Stephen T.; Buchhave, Lars A.; Caldwell, Douglas A.; Carter, Joshua A.; Christiansen, Jessie L.; Ciardi, David R.; Cochran, William D.; Dunham, Edward W.; Fabrycky, Daniel C.; Ford, Eric B.; Gautier, Thomas N., III; Gilliland, Ronald L.; Holman, Matthew J.; Howell, Steve B.; Ibrahim, Khadeejah A.; Isaacson, Howard; Jenkins, Jon M.; Koch, David G.; Lissauer, Jack J.; Marcy, Geoffrey W.; Quintana, Elisa V.; Ragozzine, Darin; Sasselov, Dimitar; Shporer, Avi; Steffen, Jason H.; Welsh, William F.; Wohler, Bill; Cochran, William D.In this Letter, we present an overview of the rich population of systems with multiple candidate transiting planets found in the first four months of Kepler data. The census of multiples includes 115 targets that show two candidate planets, 45 with three, eight with four, and one each with five and six, for a total of 170 systems with 408 candidates. When compared to the 827 systems with only one candidate, the multiples account for 17% of the total number of systems, and one-third of all the planet candidates. We compare the characteristics of candidates found in multiples with those found in singles. False positives due to eclipsing binaries are much less common for the multiples, as expected. Singles and multiples are both dominated by planets smaller than Neptune; 69(-3)(+2) % for singles and 86(-5)(+2)% for multiples. This result, that systems with multiple transiting planets are less likely to include a transiting giant planet, suggests that close-in giant planets tend to disrupt the orbital inclinations of small planets in flat systems, or maybe even prevent the Formation of such systems in the first place.Item Five Kepler Target Stars That Show Multiple Transiting Exoplanet Candidates(2010-12) Steffen, Jason H.; Batalha, Natalie M.; Borucki, William J.; Buchhave, Lars A.; Caldwell, Douglas A.; Cochran, William D.; Endl, Michael; Fabrycky, Daniel C.; Fressin, Francois; Ford, Eric B.; Fortney, Jonathan J.; Haas, Michael J.; Holman, Matthew J.; Howell, Steve B.; Isaacson, Howard; Jenkins, Jon M.; Koch, David; Latham, David W.; Lissauer, Jack J.; Moorhead, Althea V.; Morehead, Robert C.; Marcy, Geoffrey; MacQueen, Phillip J.; Quinn, Samuel N.; Ragozzine, Darin; Rowe, Jason F.; Sasselov, Dimitar D.; Seager, Sara; Torres, Guillermo; Welsh, William F.; Cochran, William D.; Endl, Michael; MacQueen, Phillip J.We present and discuss five candidate exoplanetary systems identified with the Kepler spacecraft. These five systems show transits from multiple exoplanet candidates. Should these objects prove to be planetary in nature, then these five systems open new opportunities for the field of exoplanets and provide new insights into the formation and dynamical evolution of planetary systems. We discuss the methods used to identify multiple transiting objects from the Kepler photometry as well as the false-positive rejection methods that have been applied to these data. One system shows transits from three distinct objects while the remaining four systems show transits from two objects. Three systems have planet candidates that are near mean motion commensurabilities-two near 2:1 and one just outside 5:2. We discuss the implications that multi-transiting systems have on the distribution of orbital inclinations in planetary systems, and hence their dynamical histories, as well as their likely masses and chemical compositions. A Monte Carlo study indicates that, with additional data, most of these systems should exhibit detectable transit timing variations (TTVs) due to gravitational interactions, though none are apparent in these data. We also discuss new challenges that arise in TTV analyses due to the presence of more than two planets in a system.Item The Formation Mechanism Of Gas Giants On Wide Orbits(2009-12) Dodson-Robinson, Sarah E.; Veras, Dimitri; Ford, Eric B.; Beichman, Charles A.; Dodson-Robinson, Sarah E.The recent discoveries of massive planets on ultra-wide orbits of HR 8799 and Fomalhaut present a new challenge for planet formation theorists. Our goal is to figure out which of three giant planet formation mechanisms core accretion (with or without migration), scattering from the inner disk, or gravitational instability-could be responsible for Fomalhaut b, HR 8799 b, c and d, and similar planets discovered in the future. This paper presents the results of numerical experiments comparing the long-period planet formation efficiency of each possible mechanism in model A star, G star, and M star disks. First, a simple core accretion simulation shows that planet cores forming beyond 35 AU cannot reach critical mass, even under the most favorable conditions one can construct. Second, a set of N-body simulations demonstrates that planet-planet scattering does not create stable, wide-orbit systems such as HR 8799. Finally, a linear stability analysis verifies previous work showing that global spiral instabilities naturally arise in high-mass disks. We conclude that massive gas giants on stable orbits with semimajor axes a greater than or similar to 35 AU form by gravitational instability in the disk. We recommend that observers examine the planet detection rate as a function of stellar age, controlling for the planets' dimming with time. Any age trend would indicate that planets on wide orbits are transient relics of scattering from the inner disk. If planet detection rate is found to be independent of stellar age, it would confirm our prediction that gravitational instability is the dominant mode of producing detectable planets on wide orbits. We also predict that the occurrence ratio of long-period to short-period gas giants should be highest for M dwarfs due to the inefficiency of core accretion and the expected small fragment mass (similar to 10 M(Jup)) in their disks.Item A Four-Planet System Orbiting The K0V Star HD 141399(2014-06) Vogt, Steven S.; Butler, R. Paul; Rivera, Eugenio J.; Kibrick, Robert; Burt, Jennifer; Hanson, Russell; Meschiari, Stefano; Henry, Gregory W.; Laughlin, Gregory; Meschiari, StefanoWe present precision radial velocity (RV) data sets from Keck-HIRES and from Lick Observatory's new Automated Planet Finder Telescope and Levy Spectrometer on Mt. Hamilton that reveal a multiple-planet system orbiting the nearby, slightly evolved, K-type star HD 141399. Our 91 observations over 10.5 yr suggest the presence of four planets with orbital periods of 94.35, 202.08, 1070.35, and 3717.35 days and minimum masses of 0.46, 1.36, 1.22, and 0.69M(J), respectively. The orbital eccentricities of the three inner planets are small, and the phase curves are well sampled. The inner two planets lie just outside the 2:1 resonance, suggesting that the system may have experienced dissipative evolution during the protoplanetary disk phase. The fourth companion is a Jupiter-like planet with a Jupiter-like orbital period. Its orbital eccentricity is consistent with zero, but more data will be required for an accurate eccentricity determination.