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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

The TESS–Keck Survey. I. A Warm Sub-Saturn-mass Planet and a Caution about Stray Light in TESS Cameras

We report the detection of a Saturn-size exoplanet orbiting HD 332231 (TOI 1456) in light curves from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). HD 332231—an F8 dwarf star with a V-band magnitude of 8.56—was observed by TESS in Sectors 14 and 15. We detect a single-transit event in the Sector 15 presearch data conditioning (PDC) light curve. We obtain spectroscopic follow-up observations of HD 332231 with the Automated Planet Finder, Keck I, and SONG telescopes. The orbital period we infer from radial velocity (RV) observations leads to the discovery of another transit in Sector 14 that was masked by PDC due to scattered light contamination. A joint analysis of the transit and RV data confirms the planetary nature of HD 332231 b, a Saturn-size (0.867{sub −0.025}{sup +0.027} R{sub J}), sub-Saturn-mass (0.244±0.021 M{sub J}) exoplanet on a 18.71 day circular orbit. The low surface gravity of HD 332231 b and the relatively low stellar flux it receives make it a compelling target for transmission spectroscopy. Also, the stellar obliquity is likely measurable via the Rossiter–McLaughlin effect, an exciting prospect given the 0.14 au orbital separation of HD 332231 b. The spectroscopic observations do not provide substantial evidence for any additional planets in the HD 332231 system, but continued RV monitoring is needed to further characterize this system. We also predict that the frequency and duration of masked data in the PDC light curves for TESS Sectors 14–16 could hide transits of some exoplanets with orbital periods between 10.5 and 17.5 days.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Properties of F Stars with Stable Radial Velocity Timeseries: A Useful Metric for Selecting Low-jitter F Stars

In a companion paper, we have conducted an in-depth analysis of radial velocity jitter of over 600 stars, examining the astrophysical origins including stellar granulation, oscillation, and magnetic activity. In this paper, we highlight a subsample of those stars, specifically the main sequence and “retired” F stars—which we refer to as “MSRF” stars—that show low levels of RV jitter (<10 m s{sup −1}). We describe the observational signatures of these stars that allow them to be identified in radial velocity planet programs, for instance, those performing follow-up of transiting planets discovered by TESS. We introduce a “jitter metric” that combines the two competing effects of RV jitter with age: activity and convection. Using thresholds in the jitter metric, we can select both “complete” and “pure” samples of low jitter F stars. We also provide recipes for identifying these stars using only Gaia colors and magnitudes. Finally, we describe a region in the Gaia color–magnitude diagram where low jitter F stars are most highly concentrated. By fitting a ninth-order polynomial to the Gaia main sequence, we use the height above the main sequence as a proxy for evolution, allowing for a crude selection of low jitter MSRF stars when activity measurements are otherwise unavailable.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Multiple Explanations for the Single Transit of KIC 5951458 Based on Radial Velocity Measurements Extracted with a Novel Matched-template Technique

Planetary systems that show single-transit events are a critical pathway to increasing the yield of long-period exoplanets from transit surveys. From the primary Kepler mission, KIC 5951458 b (Kepler-456b) was thought to be a single-transit giant planet with an orbital period of 1310 days. However, radial velocity (RV) observations of KIC 5951458 from the HIRES instrument on the Keck telescope suggest that the system is far more complicated. To extract precise RVs for this V≈13 star, we develop a novel matched-template technique that takes advantage of a broad library of template spectra acquired with HIRES. We validate this technique and measure its noise floor to be 4–8 m s{sup −1} (in addition to internal RV error) for most stars that would be targeted for precision RVs. For KIC 5951458, we detect a long-term RV trend that suggests the existence of a stellar companion with an orbital period greater than a few thousand days. We also detect an additional signal in the RVs that is possibly caused by a planetary or brown dwarf companion with mass in the range of 0.6–82 M {sub Jup} and orbital period below a few thousand days. Curiously, from just the data on hand, it is not possible to determine which object caused the single “transit” event. We demonstrate how a modest set of RVs allows us to update the properties of this unusual system and predict the optimal timing for future observations.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

EXPRES. I. HD 3651 as an Ideal RV Benchmark

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 m s{sup −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 a new high-cadence RV program, the Extreme Precision Spectrograph (EXPRES) 100 Earths Survey, which aims to identify rocky planets around bright, nearby G and K dwarfs. We also present a benchmark case: the 62 day orbit of a Saturn-mass planet orbiting the chromospherically quiet star, HD 3651. The combination of high eccentricity (0.6) and a moderately long orbital period ensures significant dynamical clearing of any inner planets. Our Keplerian model for this planetary orbit has a residual rms of 58 cm s{sup −1} over a ∼6 month time baseline. By eliminating significant contributors to the RV error budget, HD 3651 serves as a standard for evaluating the long-term precision of extreme precision RV programs.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Detection Limits of Low-mass, Long-period Exoplanets Using Gaussian Processes Applied to HARPS-N Solar Radial Velocities

Radial velocity (RV) searches for Earth-mass exoplanets in the habitable zone around Sun-like stars are limited by the effects of stellar variability on the host star. In particular, suppression of convective blueshift and brightness inhomogeneities due to photospheric faculae/plage and starspots are the dominant contribution to the variability of such stellar RVs. Gaussian process (GP) regression is a powerful tool for statistically modeling these quasi-periodic variations. We investigate the limits of this technique using 800 days of RVs from the solar telescope on the High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher for the Northern hemisphere (HARPS-N) spectrograph. These data provide a well-sampled time series of stellar RV variations. Into this data set, we inject Keplerian signals with periods between 100 and 500 days and amplitudes between 0.6 and 2.4 m s{sup −1}. We use GP regression to fit the resulting RVs and determine the statistical significance of recovered periods and amplitudes. We then generate synthetic RVs with the same covariance properties as the solar data to determine a lower bound on the observational baseline necessary to detect low-mass planets in Venus-like orbits around a Sun-like star. Our simulations show that discovering planets with a larger mass (∼0.5 m s{sup −1}) using current-generation spectrographs and GP regression will require more than 12 yr of densely sampled RV observations. Furthermore, even with a perfect model of stellar variability, discovering a true exo-Venus (∼0.1 m s{sup −1}) with current instruments would take over 15 yr. Therefore, next-generation spectrographs and better models of stellar variability are required for detection of such planets.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2021

Stellar Activity Manifesting at a One-year Alias Explains Barnard b as a False Positive

Barnard’s star is among the most studied stars given its proximity to the Sun. It is often considered the radial velocity (RV) standard for fully convective stars due to its RV stability and equatorial decl. Recently, an Msin i=3.3M{sub ⊕} super-Earth planet candidate with a 233 day orbital period was announced by Ribas et al. New observations from the near-infrared Habitable-zone Planet Finder (HPF) Doppler spectrometer do not show this planetary signal. We ran a suite of experiments on both the original data and a combined original + HPF data set. These experiments include model comparisons, periodogram analyses, and sampling sensitivity, all of which show the signal at the proposed period of 233 days is transitory in nature. The power in the signal is largely contained within 211 RVs that were taken within a 1000 day span of observing. Our preferred model of the system is one that features stellar activity without a planet. We propose that the candidate planetary signal is an alias of the 145 day rotation period. This result highlights the challenge of analyzing long-term, quasi-periodic activity signals over multiyear and multi-instrument observing campaigns.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2021

Giant Outer Transiting Exoplanet Mass (GOT ‘EM) Survey. II. Discovery of a Failed Hot Jupiter on a 2.7 Yr, Highly Eccentric Orbit

Radial velocity (RV) surveys have discovered giant exoplanets on au-scale orbits with a broad distribution of eccentricities. Those with the most eccentric orbits are valuable laboratories for testing theories of high-eccentricity migration. However, few such exoplanets transit their host stars, thus removing the ability to apply constraints on formation from their bulk internal compositions. We report the discovery of Kepler-1704 b, a transiting 4.15 M {sub J} giant planet on a 988.88 day orbit with an extreme eccentricity of 0.921{sub -0.015}{sup +0.010}. Our decade-long RV baseline from the Keck I telescope allows us to measure the orbit and bulk heavy-element composition of Kepler-1704 b and place limits on the existence of undiscovered companions. A failed hot Jupiter, Kepler-1704 b was likely excited to high eccentricity by scattering events that possibly began during its gas accretion phase. Its final periastron distance was too large to allow for tidal circularization, so now it orbits its host from distances spanning 0.16–3.9 au. The maximum difference in planetary equilibrium temperature resulting from this elongated orbit is over 700 K. A simulation of the thermal phase curve of Kepler-1704 b during periastron passage demonstrates that it is a remarkable target for atmospheric characterization from the James Webb Space Telescope, which could potentially also measure the planet’s rotational period as the hot spot from periastron rotates in and out of view. Continued characterization of the Kepler-1704 system promises to refine theories explaining the formation of hot Jupiters and cool giant planets like those in the solar system.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2021

WASP-107b’s Density Is Even Lower: A Case Study for the Physics of Planetary Gas Envelope Accretion and Orbital Migration

With a mass in the Neptune regime and a radius of Jupiter, WASP-107b presents a challenge to planet formation theories. Meanwhile, the planet’s low surface gravity and the star’s brightness also make it one of the most favorable targets for atmospheric characterization. Here, we present the results of an extensive 4 yr Keck/HIRES radial-velocity (RV) follow-up program of the WASP-107 system and provide a detailed study of the physics governing the accretion of the gas envelope of WASP-107b. We reveal that WASP-107b’s mass is only 1.8 Neptune masses (M {sub b} = 30.5 ± 1.7 M {sub ⊕}). The resulting extraordinarily low density suggests that WASP-107b has a H/He envelope mass fraction of >85% unless it is substantially inflated. The corresponding core mass of <4.6 M {sub ⊕} at 3σ is significantly lower than what is traditionally assumed to be necessary to trigger massive gas envelope accretion. We demonstrate that this large gas-to-core mass ratio most plausibly results from the onset of accretion at ≳1 au onto a low-opacity, dust-free atmosphere and subsequent migration to the present-day a {sub b} = 0.0566 ± 0.0017 au. Beyond WASP-107b, we also detect a second, more massive planet (M{sub c}sin i=0.36±0.04M{sub J}) on a wide eccentric orbit (e {sub c} = 0.28 ± 0.07) that may have influenced the orbital migration and spin–orbit misalignment of WASP-107b. Overall, our new RV observations and envelope accretion modeling provide crucial insights into the intriguing nature of WASP-107b and the system’s formation history. Looking ahead, WASP-107b will be a keystone planet to understand the physics of gas envelope accretion.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2022

Modelling stellar activity with Gaussian process regression networks

ABSTRACT Stellar photospheric activity is known to limit the detection and characterization of extrasolar planets. In particular, the study of Earth-like planets around Sun-like stars requires data analysis methods that can accurately model the stellar activity phenomena affecting radial velocity (RV) measurements. Gaussian Process Regression Networks (GPRNs) offer a principled approach to the analysis of simultaneous time series, combining the structural properties of Bayesian neural networks with the non-parametric flexibility of Gaussian Processes. Using HARPS-N solar spectroscopic observations encompassing three years, we demonstrate that this framework is capable of jointly modelling RV data and traditional stellar activity indicators. Although we consider only the simplest GPRN configuration, we are able to describe the behaviour of solar RV data at least as accurately as previously published methods. We confirm the correlation between the RV and stellar activity time series reaches a maximum at separations of a few days, and find evidence of non-stationary behaviour in the time series, associated with an approaching solar activity minimum.

Camacho, J. D. (ORCID:0000000151215560)↗
DOE OSTI2023

Discovery and characterization of two Neptune-mass planets orbiting HD 212729 with TESS

ABSTRACT We report the discovery of two exoplanets orbiting around HD 212729 (TOI 1052, TIC 317060587), a Teff = 6146 K star with V = 9.51 observed by TESS in Sectors 1 and 13. One exoplanet, TOI-1052b, is Neptune-mass and transits the star, and an additional planet TOI-1052c is observed in radial velocities but not seen to transit. We confirm the planetary nature of TOI-1052b using precise radial velocity observations from HARPS and determined its parameters in a joint RV and photometry analysis. TOI-1052b has a radius of $2.87^{+0.29}_{-0.24}$ R⊕, a mass of 16.9 ± 1.7 M⊕, and an orbital period of 9.14 d. TOI-1052c does not show any transits in the TESS data, and has a minimum mass of $34.3^{+4.1}_{-3.7}$ M⊕ and an orbital period of 35.8 d, placing it just interior to the 4:1 mean-motion resonance. Both planets are best fit by relatively high but only marginally significant eccentricities of $0.18^{+0.09}_{-0.07}$ for planet b and $0.24^{+0.09}_{-0.08}$ for planet c. We perform a dynamical analysis and internal structure model of the planets as well as deriving stellar parameters and chemical abundances. The mean density of TOI-1052b is $3.9^{+1.7}_{-1.3}$ g cm−3 consistent with an internal structure similar to Neptune. A nearby star is observed in Gaia DR3 with the same distance and proper motion as TOI-1052, at a sky projected separation of $\scriptstyle \sim$1500 au, making this a potential wide binary star system.

Armstrong, David J. (ORCID:0000000250804117)↗
DOE OSTI2022

The GAPS programme at TNG

Neptunes represent one of the main types of exoplanets and have chemical-physical characteristics halfway between rocky and gas giant planets. Therefore, their characterization is important for understanding and constraining both the formation mechanisms and the evolution patterns of planets. We investigate the exoplanet candidate TOI-1422 b, which was discovered by the TESS space telescope around the high proper-motion G2 V star TOI-1422 (V = 10.6 mag), 155 pc away, with the primary goal of confirming its planetary nature and characterising its properties. We monitored TOI-1422 with the HARPS-N spectrograph for 1.5 yr to precisely quantify its radial velocity (RV) variation. We analyse these RV measurements jointly with TESS photometry and check for blended companions through high-spatial resolution images using the AstraLux instrument. We estimate that the parent star has a radius of R$_\star$ = 1.019 -0.013 +0.014 R ⊙ , and a mass of M$_\star$ = 1.019 -0.013 +0.014 M ⊙ . Our analysis confirms the planetary nature of TOI-1422 b and also suggests the presence of a Neptune-mass planet on a more distant orbit, the candidate TOI-1422 c, which is not detected in TESS light curves. The inner planet, TOI-1422 b, orbits on a period of P b = 12.9972 ± 0.0006 days and has an equilibrium temperature of T eq,b = 867 ± 17 K. With a radius of R b = 3.96 -0.11 +0.13 R ⊕ , a mass of M b = 9.0 -2.0 +2.3 M ⊕ and, consequently, a density of ρ b = 0.795 -0.235 +0.290 g cm -3 , it can be considered a warm Neptune-sized planet. Compared to other exoplanets of a similar mass range, TOI-1422 b is among the most inflated, and we expect this planet to have an extensive gaseous envelope that surrounds a core with a mass fraction around 10% – 25% of the total mass of the planet. The outer non-transiting planet candidate, TOI-1422 c, has an orbital period of P c = 29.29 -0.20 +0.21 days, a minimum mass, M c sin i, of 11.1 -2.3 +2.6 M ⊕ , an equilibrium temperature of T eq,c = 661 ± 13 K and, therefore, if confirmed, could be considered as another warm Neptune.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

HATS-47b, HATS-48Ab, HATS-49b, and HATS-72b: Four Warm Giant Planets Transiting K Dwarfs

We report the discovery of four transiting giant planets around K dwarfs. The planets HATS-47b, HATS-48Ab, HATS-49b, and HATS-72b have masses of 0.369{sub −0.021}{sup +0.031} M{sub J}, 0.243{sub −0.030}{sup +0.022} M{sub J}, 0.353{sub −0.027}{sup +0.038} M{sub J}, and 0.1254±0.0039 M{sub J}, respectively, and radii of 1.117±0.014 R{sub J}, 0.800±0.015 R{sub J}, 0.765±0.013 R{sub J}, and 0.7224±0.0032 R{sub J}, respectively. The planets orbit close to their host stars with orbital periods of 3.9228 days, 3.1317 days, 4.1480 days, and 7.3279 days, respectively. The hosts are main-sequence K dwarfs with masses of 0.674{sub −0.012}{sup +0.016} M{sub ⊙}, 0.7279 ±0.0066 M{sub ⊙}, 0.7133±0.0075 M{sub ⊙}, and 0.7311±0.0028, and with V-band magnitudes of V=14.829±0.010, 14.35±0.11, 14.998±0.040 and 12.469±0.010. The super-Neptune HATS-72b (a.k.a. WASP-191b and TOI 294.01) was independently identified as a transiting planet candidate by the HATSouth, WASP, and TESS surveys, and we present a combined analysis of all of the data gathered by each of these projects (and their follow-up programs). An exceptionally precise mass is measured for HATS-72b thanks to high-precision radial velocity (RV) measurements obtained with VLT/ESPRESSO, FEROS, HARPS, and Magellan/PFS. We also incorporate TESS observations of the warm Saturn–hosting systems HATS-47 (a.k.a. TOI 1073.01), HATS-48A, and HATS-49. HATS-47 was independently identified as a candidate by the TESS team, while the other two systems were not previously identified from the TESS data. The RV orbital variations are measured for these systems using Magellan/PFS. HATS-48A has a resolved [[Formula]] neighbor in Gaia DR2, which is a common-proper-motion binary star companion to HATS-48A with a mass of 0.22 M{sub ⊙} and a current projected physical separation of ∼1400 au.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Follow-up of Young Stars Identified with BANYAN Σ: New Low-mass Members of Nearby Moving Groups

The characterization of moving groups offers a powerful means to identify large populations of young stars. In this paper, we present a sample of follow-up observations for 56 systems that have previously been proposed as members of young stellar associations through the application of the BANYAN Σ kinematic classification tool. Our measurements, which probe seven different associations, provide a sample of 39 stellar systems that either are confirmed or appear consistent with being young members of their respective associations. Nineteen of these are single M dwarfs. This sample expands our knowledge of Upper Centaurus Lupus, Coma Berenices, and AB Doradus Major to cooler temperatures and also significantly increases the known population of the Carina-Near association. The young systems present excellent targets for future planet searches and would also be valuable for studies of star formation and evolution. Additionally, we find two stellar systems that show indications of being rare instances of late-stage circumstellar accretion. Lastly, our follow-up measurements serve as a test of BANYAN Σ, finding an overall contamination rate that is consistent with previous findings (29% for systems with RV measurements, 37% without).

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Red Noise–based False Alarm Thresholds for Astrophysical Periodograms via Whittle’s Approximation to the Likelihood

Astronomers who search for periodic signals using Lomb–Scargle periodograms rely on false alarm level (FAL) estimates to identify statistically significant peaks. Although FALs are often calculated from white noise models, many astronomical time series suffer from red noise. Prewhitening is a statistical technique in which a continuum model is subtracted from the log power spectrum estimate, after which the observer can proceed with a white-noise treatment. Here we present a prewhitening-based method of calculating frequency-dependent FALs. We fit power laws and autoregressive models of order 1 to each Lomb–Scargle periodogram by minimizing the Whittle approximation to the negative log-likelihood (NLL), then calculate FALs based on the best-fit model power spectrum. Our technique is a novel extension of the Whittle NLL to datasets with uneven time sampling. We demonstrate FAL calculations using observations of α Cen B, GJ 581, HD 192310, synthetic data from the radial velocity (RV) fitting challenge, and Kepler observations of a differential rotator. The Kepler data analysis shows that only true rotation signals are detected by red noise FALs, while white noise FALs suggest all spurious peaks in the low-frequency range are significant. A high-frequency sinusoid injected into α Cen B logR$'$ HK observations exceeds the 1% red noise FAL despite having only 8.9% of the power of the dominant rotation signal. In a periodogram of HD 192310 RVs, peaks associated with differential rotation and planets are detected against the 5% red noise FAL without iterative model fitting or subtraction. The software for calculating red noise–based FALs is available on GitHub.

Astrostatistics (1882)↗
DOE OSTI2022

Survey of Surveys: I. The largest compilation of radial velocities for the Galaxy

In the present-day panorama of large spectroscopic surveys, the amount, diversity, and complexity of the available data continuously increase. The overarching goal of studying the formation and evolution of our Galaxy is hampered by the heterogeneity of instruments, selection functions, analysis methods, and measured quantities. Here, we present a comprehensive catalogue, the Survey of Surveys (SoS), built by homogeneously merging the radial velocity (RV) determinations of the largest ground-based spectroscopic surveys to date, such as APOGEE, GALAH, Gaia-ESO, RAVE, and LAMOST, using Gaia as a reference. This pilot study serves to prove the concept and to test the methodology that we plan to apply in the future to the stellar parameters and abundance ratios as well. We have devised a multi-staged procedure that includes: (i) the cross match between Gaia and the spectroscopic surveys using the official Gaia cross-match algorithm, (ii) the normalisation of uncertainties using repeated measurements or the three-cornered hat method, (iii) the cross calibration of the RVs as a function of the main parameters on which depend (magnitude, effective temperature, surface gravity, metallicity, and signal-to-noise ratio) to remove trends and zero point offsets, and (iv) the comparison with external high-resolution samples, such as the Gaia RV standards and the Geneva-Copenhagen survey, to validate the homogenisation procedure and to calibrate the RV zero-point of the SoS catalogue. We provide the largest homogenised RV catalogue to date, containing almost 11 million stars, of which about half come exclusively from Gaia and half in combination with the ground-based surveys. We estimate the accuracy of the RV zero-point to be about 0.16–0.31 km s –1 and the RV precision to be in the range 0.05–1.50 km s –1 depending on the type of star and on its survey provenance. We validate the SoS RVs with open clusters from a high resolution homogeneous samples and provide the systemic velocity of 55 individual open clusters. Additionally, we provide median RVs for 532 clusters recently discovered by Gaia data. The SoS is publicly available and ready to be applied to various research projects, such as the study of star clusters, Galactic archaeology, stellar streams, or the characterisation of planet-hosting stars, to name a few. We also plan to include survey updates and more data sources in future versions of the SoS.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

TESS giants transiting giants V – two hot Jupiters orbiting red giant hosts

ABSTRACT In this work, we present the discovery and confirmation of two hot Jupiters orbiting red giant stars, TOI-4377 b and TOI-4551 b, observed by Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite in the Southern ecliptic hemisphere and later followed-up with radial-velocity (RV) observations. For TOI-4377 b, we report a mass of $0.957^{+0.089}_{-0.087} \ M_\mathrm{J}$ and a inflated radius of 1.348 ± 0.081 RJ orbiting an evolved intermediate-mass star (1.36 M⊙ and 3.52 R⊙; TIC 394918211) on a period of of 4.378 d. For TOI-4551 b, we report a mass of 1.49 ± 0.13 MJ and a radius that is not obviously inflated of $1.058^{+0.110}_{-0.062} \ R_\mathrm{J}$, also orbiting an evolved intermediate-mass star (1.31 M⊙ and 3.55 R⊙; TIC 204650483) on a period of 9.956 d. We place both planets in context of known systems with hot Jupiters orbiting evolved hosts, and note that both planets follow the observed trend of the known stellar incident flux-planetary radius relation observed for these short-period giants. Additionally, we produce planetary interior models to estimate the heating efficiency with which stellar incident flux is deposited in the planet’s interior, estimating values of $1.91 \pm 0.48~{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ and $2.19 \pm 0.45~{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ for TOI-4377 b and TOI-4551 b, respectively. These values are in line with the known population of hot Jupiters, including hot Jupiters orbiting main-sequence hosts, which suggests that the radii of our planets have re-inflated in step with their parent star’s brightening as they evolved into the post-main sequence. Finally, we evaluate the potential to observe orbital decay in both systems.

Pereira, Filipe (ORCID:0000000221577146)↗
DOE OSTI2023

Density streams in the disc winds of Classical T Tauri stars

ABSTRACT Spectral and photometric variability of the Classical T Tauri stars RY Tau and SU Aur from 2013 to 2022 is analysed. We find that in SU Aur the H α line’s flux at radial velocity RV = −50 ± 7 km s−1 varies with a period P = 255 ± 5 d. A similar effect previously discovered in RY Tau is confirmed with these new data: P = 21.6 d at RV = −95 ± 5 km s. In both stars, the radial velocity of these variations, the period, and the mass of the star turn out to be related by Kepler’s law, suggesting structural features on the disc plane orbiting at radii of 0.2 au in RY Tau and 0.9 au in SU Aur, respectively. Both stars have a large inclination of the accretion disc to the line of sight – so that the line of sight passes through the region of the disc wind. We propose there is an azimuthal asymmetry in the disc wind, presumably in the form of ‘density streams,’ caused by substructures of the accretion disc surface. These streams cannot dissipate until they go beyond the Alfven surface in the disc’s magnetic field. These findings open up the possibility to learn about the structure of the inner accretion disc of CTTS on scales less than 1 au and to reveal the orbital distances related to the planet’s formation.

Petrov, P. P. (ORCID:0000000155514963)↗
DOE OSTI2021

TOI–1278 B: SPIRou Unveils a Rare Brown Dwarf Companion in Close-in Orbit around an M Dwarf

We present the discovery of an 18.5 ± 0.5 M {sub Jup} brown dwarf (BD) companion to the M0V star TOI–1278. The system was first identified through a percent-deep transit in Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite photometry; further analysis showed it to be a grazing transit of a Jupiter-sized object. Radial velocity (RV) follow-up with the SPIRou near-infrared high-resolution velocimeter and spectropolarimeter in the framework of the 300-night SPIRou Legacy Survey carried out at the Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope led to the detection of a Keplerian RV signal with a semi-amplitude of 2306 ± 10 m s{sup -1} in phase with the 14.5 day transit period, with a slight but nonzero eccentricity. The intermediate-mass ratio (M {sub &middot;}/M {sub comp} ~ 31) is unique for having such a short separation (0.095 ± 0.001 au) among known M-dwarf systems. Interestingly, M-dwarf–BD systems with similar mass ratios exist with separations of tens to thousands of astronomical unit.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗