S. Holmes

Metals in the Exosphere of the Highly Irradiated Planet WASP-12b

We present near-UV transmission spectroscopy of the highly irradiated transiting exoplanet WASP-12b, obtained with the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph on the Hubble Space Telescope. The spectra cover three distinct wavelength ranges: NUVA (2539-2580 angstrom), NUVB (2655-2696 angstrom), and NUVC (2770-2811 angstrom). Three independent methods all reveal enhanced transit depths attributable to absorption by resonance lines of metals in the exosphere of WASP-12b. Light curves of total counts in the NUVA and NUVC wavelength ranges show a detection at a 2.5 sigma level. We detect extra absorption in the Mg II lambda lambda 2800 resonance line cores at the 2.8 sigma level. The NUVA, NUVB, and NUVC light curves imply effective radii of 2.69 +/- 0.24 R-J, 2.18 +/- 0.18 R-J, and 2.66 +/- 0.22 R-J respectively, suggesting the planet is surrounded by an absorbing cloud which overfills the Roche lobe. We detect enhanced transit depths at the wavelengths of resonance lines of neutral sodium, tin, and manganese, and at singly ionized ytterbium, scandium, manganese, aluminum, vanadium, and magnesium. We also find the statistically expected number of anomalous transit depths at wavelengths not associated with any known resonance line. Our data are limited by photon noise, but taken as a whole the results are strong evidence for an extended absorbing exosphere surrounding the planet. The NUVA data exhibit an early ingress, contrary to model expectations; we speculate this could be due to the presence of a disk of previously stripped material.

NEAR-ULTRAVIOLET ABSORPTION, CHROMOSPHERIC ACTIVITY, AND STAR-PLANET INTERACTIONS IN THE WASP-12 SYSTEM*

Extended gas clouds have been previously detected surrounding the brightest known close-in transiting hot Jupiter exoplanets, HD 209458 b and HD 189733 b; we observed the distant but more extreme close-in hot Jupiter system, WASP-12, with Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Near-UV (NUV) transits up to three times deeper than the optical transit of WASP-12 b reveal extensive diffuse gas, extending well beyond the Roche lobe. The distribution of absorbing gas varies between visits. The deepest NUV transits are at wavelength ranges with strong stellar photospheric absorption, implying that the absorbing gas may have temperature and composition similar to those of the stellar photosphere. Our spectra reveal significantly enhanced absorption (greater than 3σ below the median) at ~200 individual wavelengths on each of two HST visits; 65 of these wavelengths are consistent between the two visits, using a strict criterion for velocity matching that excludes matches with velocity shifts exceeding ~20 km s–1. Excess transit depths are robustly detected throughout the inner wings of the Mg II resonance lines independently on both HST visits. We detected absorption in Fe II λ2586, the heaviest species yet detected in an exoplanet transit. The Mg II line cores have zero flux, emission cores exhibited by every other observed star of similar age and spectral type are conspicuously absent. WASP-12 probably produces normal Mg II profiles, but the inner portions of these strong resonance lines are likely affected by extrinsic absorption. The required Mg+ column is an order of magnitude greater than expected from the interstellar medium, though we cannot completely dismiss that possibility. A more plausible source of absorption is gas lost by WASP-12 b. We show that planetary mass loss can produce the required column. Our Visit 2 NUV light curves show evidence for a stellar flare. We show that some of the possible transit detections in resonance lines of rare elements may be due instead to non-resonant transitions in common species. We present optical observations and update the transit ephemeris.

Short period eclipsing binary candidates identified using SuperWASP

We present light curves and periods of 53 candidates for short period eclipsing binary stars identified by SuperWASP. These include 48 newly identified objects with periods <2 × 10^4 s (~0.23 d), as well as the shortest period binary known with main sequence components (GSC2314–0530 = 1SWASP J022050.85 + 332047.6) and four other previously known W UMa stars (although the previously reported periods for two of these four are shown to be incorrect). The period distribution of main sequence contact binaries shows a sharp cut-off at a lower limit of around 0.22 d, but until now, very few systems were known close to this limit. These new candidates will therefore be important for understanding the evolution of low mass stars and to allow investigation of the cause of the period cut-off.

WASP-37b: A 1.8 M J Exoplanet Transiting a Metal-poor Star

We report on the discovery of WASP-37b, a transiting hot Jupiter orbiting an m(v) = 12.7 G2-type dwarf, with a period of 3.577469 +/- 0.000011 d, transit epoch T-0 = 2455338.6188 +/- 0.0006 (HJD; dates throughout the paper are given in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC)), and a transit duration 0.1304(-0.0017)(+0.0018) d. The planetary companion has a mass M-p = 1.80 +/- 0.17 M-J and radius R-p = 1.16(-0.06)(+0.07) R-J, yielding a mean density of 1.15(-0.15)(+0.12) rho(J). From a spectral analysis, we find that the host star has M-star = 0.925 +/- 0.120 M-circle dot, R-star = 1.003 +/- 0.053 R-circle dot, T-eff = 5800 +/- 150 K, and [Fe/H] = -0.40 +/- 0.12. WASP-37 is therefore one of the lowest metallicity stars to host a transiting planet.

PIRATE: A Remotely Operable Telescope Facility for Research and Education

We introduce PIRATE, a new remotely operable telescope facility for use in research and education, constructed from off-the-shelf hardware, operated by The Open University. We focus on the PIRATE Mark 1 operational phase, in which PIRATE was equipped with a widely used 0.35 m Schmidt-Cassegrain system (now replaced with a 0.425 m corrected Dall-Kirkham astrograph). Situated at the Observatori Astronomic de Mallorca, PIRATE is currently used to follow up potential transiting extrasolar planet candidates produced by the SuperWASP North experiment, as well as to hunt for novae in M31 and other nearby galaxies. It is operated by a mixture of commercially available software and proprietary software developed at the Open University. We discuss problems associated with performing precision time-series photometry when using a German Equatorial Mount, investigating the overall performance of such off-the-shelf solutions in both research and teaching applications. We conclude that PIRATE is a cost-effective research facility, and it also provides exciting prospects for undergraduate astronomy. PIRATE has broken new ground in offering practical astronomy education to distance-learning students in their own homes.

Discovery of WASP-65b and WASP-75b: Two Hot Jupiters Without Highly Inflated Radii

We report the discovery of two transiting hot Jupiters, WASP-65b (Mpl = 1.55 ± 0.16 MJ; Rpl = 1.11 ± 0.06 RJ), and WASP-75b (Mpl = 1.07 ± 0.05 MJ; Rpl = 1.27 ± 0.05 RJ). They orbit their host star every ∼2.311, and ∼2.484 days, respectively. The planet host WASP-65 is a G6 star (Teff = 5600 K, [Fe/H] = −0.07 ± 0.07, age 8 Gyr); WASP-75 is an F9 star (Teff = 6100 K, [Fe/H] = 0.07 ± 0.09, age ∼ 3 Gyr). WASP-65b is one of the densest known exoplanets in the mass range 0.1 and 2.0 MJ (ρpl = 1.13 ± 0.08 ρJ), a mass range where a large fraction of planets are found to be inflated with respect to theoretical planet models. WASP-65b is one of only a handful of planets with masses of ∼1.5 MJ, a mass regime surprisingly underrepresented among the currently known hot Jupiters. The radius of WASP-75b is slightly inflated (10%) as compared to theoretical planet models with no core, and has a density similar to that of Saturn (ρpl = 0.52 ± 0.06 ρJ).

WASP-92b, WASP-93b and WASP-118b: three new transiting close-in giant planets

We present the discovery of three new transiting giant planets, first detected with the WASP telescopes, and establish their planetary nature with follow up spectroscopy and ground-based photometric lightcurves. WASP-92 is an F7 star, with a moderately inflated planet orbiting with a period of 2.17 days, which has Rp = 1.461 ± 0.077RJ and Mp = 0.805 ± 0.068MJ. WASP-93b orbits its F4 host star every 2.73 days and has Rp = 1.597 ± 0.077RJ and Mp = 1.47 ± 0.029MJ. WASP-118b also has a hot host star (F6) and is moderately inflated, where Rp = 1.440 ± 0.036RJ and Mp = 0.513 ± 0.041MJ and the planet has an orbital period of 4.05 days. They are bright targets (V = 13.18, 10.97 and 11.07 respectively) ideal for further characterisation work, particularly WASP-118b, which is being observed by K2 as part of campaign 8. WASP-93b is expected to be tidally migrating outwards, which is divergent from the tidal behaviour of the majority of hot Jupiters discovered.

WASP-35b, WASP-48b, and HAT-P-30b/WASP-51b: Two New Planets and an Independent Discovery of a Hat Planet

We report the detection of WASP-35b, a planet transiting a metal-poor ([Fe/H] = ?0.15) star in the Southern hemisphere, WASP-48b, an inflated planet which may have spun-up its slightly evolved host star of 1.75 R ? in the Northern hemisphere, and the independent discovery of HAT-P-30b/WASP-51b, a new planet in the Northern hemisphere. Using WASP, RISE, Faulkes Telescope South, and TRAPPIST photometry, with CORALIE, SOPHIE, and NOT spectroscopy, we determine that WASP-35b has a mass of 0.72 ? 0.06 MJ and radius of 1.32 ? 0.05RJ , and orbits with a period of 3.16 days, WASP-48b has a mass of 0.98 ? 0.09 MJ , radius of 1.67 ? 0.10 RJ , and orbits in 2.14 days, while HAT-P-30b/WASP-51b, with an orbital period of 2.81 days, is found to have a mass of 0.76 ? 0.05 MJ and radius of 1.42 ? 0.03 RJ , agreeing with values of 0.71 ? 0.03 MJ and 1.34 ? 0.07 RJ reported for HAT-P-30b.

Independent discovery and refined parameters of the transiting exoplanet HAT-P-14b

We present SuperWASP observations of HAT-P-14b, a hot Jupiter discovered by Torres et al. The planet was found independently by the SuperWASP team and named WASP-27b after follow-up observations had secured the discovery, but prior to the publication by Torres et al. Our analysis of HAT-P-14/WASP-27 is in good agreement with the values found by Torres et al. and we provide additional evidence against astronomical false positives. Due to the brightness of the host star, V mag = 10, HAT-P-14b is an attractive candidate for further characterization observations. The planet has a high impact parameter and the primary transit is close to grazing. This could readily reveal small deviations in the orbital parameters indicating the presence of a third body in the system, which may be causing the small but significant orbital eccentricity. Our results suggest that the planet may undergo a grazing secondary eclipse. However, even a non-detection would tightly constrain the system parameters.

WASP-35b, WASP-48b and WASP-51b: Two new planets and an independent discovery of HAT-P-30b

We report the detection of WASP-35b, a planet transiting a metal-poor ([Fe/H] = ?0.15) star in the Southern hemisphere, WASP-48b, an inflated planet which may have spun-up its slightly evolved host star of 1.75 R ? in the Northern hemisphere, and the independent discovery of HAT-P-30b/WASP-51b, a new planet in the Northern hemisphere. Using WASP, RISE, Faulkes Telescope South, and TRAPPIST photometry, with CORALIE, SOPHIE, and NOT spectroscopy, we determine that WASP-35b has a mass of 0.72 ? 0.06 MJ and radius of 1.32 ? 0.05RJ , and orbits with a period of 3.16 days, WASP-48b has a mass of 0.98 ? 0.09 MJ , radius of 1.67 ? 0.10 RJ , and orbits in 2.14 days, while HAT-P-30b/WASP-51b, with an orbital period of 2.81 days, is found to have a mass of 0.76 ? 0.05 MJ and radius of 1.42 ? 0.03 RJ , agreeing with values of 0.71 ? 0.03 MJ and 1.34 ? 0.07 RJ reported for HAT-P-30b.