We present the confirmation of a new sub-Neptune close to the transition between Super-Earths and sub-Neptunes transiting the M2 dwarf TOI-269. The exoplanet candidate is identified in multiple TESS sectors and is validated with high-precision spectroscopy from HARPS and ground-based photometric follow-up from ExTrA and LCO-CTIO. We determine mass, radius and bulk density of the exoplanet by jointly modeling both photometry and radial velocities with juliet. The transiting exoplanet has an orbital period of P=3.7 days, a radius of 2.77+/-0.12R_{Earth}_, and a mass of 8.8+/-1.4M_{Earth}_. Since TOI-269 b lies among the best targets of its category for atmospheric characterization, it would be interesting to probe the atmosphere of this exoplanet with transmission spectroscopy in order to compare it to other sub-Neptunes. With an eccentricity e=0.425^+0.082^_-0.086_, TOI-269 b has one of the highest eccentricity among exoplanets with periods less than 10 days. The star being likely a few Gyr old, this system does not appear to be dynamically young. We surmise TOI-269 b may have acquired a high eccentricity as it migrated inward through planet-planet interactions.
Small planets on close-in orbits tend to exhibit envelope mass fractions of either effectively zero or up to a few percent depending on their size and orbital period. Models of thermally driven atmospheric mass loss and of terrestrial planet formation in a gas-poor environment make distinct predictions regarding the location of this rocky/nonrocky transition in period-radius space. Here we present the confirmation of TOI-1235b (P=3.44days, r_p_=1.738_-0.076_^+0.087^R_{Earth}_), a planet whose size and period are intermediate between the competing model predictions, thus making the system an important test case for emergence models of the rocky/nonrocky transition around early M dwarfs (R_s_=0.630{+/-}0.015R_{sun}_, M_s_=0.640{+/-}0.016M_{sun}_). We confirm the TESS planet discovery using reconnaissance spectroscopy, ground-based photometry, high- resolution imaging, and a set of 38 precise radial velocities (RVs) from HARPS-N and HIRES. We measure a planet mass of 6.91_-0.85_^+0.75^M_{Earth}_, which implies an iron core mass fraction of 20_-12_^+15^% in the absence of a gaseous envelope. The bulk composition of TOI-1235b is therefore consistent with being Earth-like, and we constrain an H/He envelope mass fraction to be <0.5% at 90% confidence. Our results are consistent with model predictions from thermally driven atmospheric mass loss but not with gas-poor formation, suggesting that the former class of processes remains efficient at sculpting close-in planets around early M dwarfs. Our RV analysis also reveals a strong periodicity close to the first harmonic of the photometrically determined stellar rotation period that we treat as stellar activity, despite other lines of evidence favoring a planetary origin (P=21.8_-0.8_^+0.9^days, m_p_sini=13.0_-5.3_^+3.8^M_{Earth}_) that cannot be firmly ruled out by our data.
Determining the architecture of multi-planetary systems is one of the cornerstones of understanding planet formation and evolution. Resonant systems are especially important as the fragility of their orbital configuration ensures that no significant scattering or collisional event has taken place since the earliest formation phase when the parent protoplanetary disc was still present. In this context, TOI-178 has been the subject of particular attention since the first TESS observations hinted at the possible presence of a near 2:3:3 resonant chain. Here we report the results of observations from CHEOPS, ESPRESSO, NGTS, and SPECULOOS with the aim of deciphering the peculiar orbital architecture of the system. We show that TOI-178 harbours at least six planets in the super-Earth to mini-Neptune regimes, with radii ranging from 1.152_-0.070_^+0.073^ to 2.87_-0.13_^+0.14^ Earth radii and periods of 1.91, 3.24, 6.56, 9.96, 15.23, and 20.71-days. All planets but the innermost one form a 2:4:6:9:12 chain of Laplace resonances, and the planetary densities show important variations from planet to planet, jumping from 1.02^+0.28^_-0.23_ to 0.177^+0.055^_-0.061_ times the Earth's density between planets c and d. Using Bayesian interior structure retrieval models, we show that the amount of gas in the planets does not vary in a monotonous way, contrary to what one would expect from simple formation and evolution models and unlike other known systems in a chain of Laplace resonances. The brightness of TOI-178 (H=8.76mag, J=9.37mag, V=11.95mag) allows for a precise characterisation of its orbital architecture as well as of the physical nature of the six presently known transiting planets it harbours. The peculiar orbital configuration and the diversity in average density among the planets in the system will enable the study of interior planetary structures and atmospheric evolution, providing important clues on the formation of super-Earths and mini-Neptunes.
Several authors have claimed that less luminous active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are not capable of sustaining a dusty torus structure. Thus, a gradual resizing of the torus is expected when the AGN luminosity decreases. Our aim is to examine mid-infrared observations of local AGNs of different luminosities for the gradual resizing and disappearance of the torus. We applied the decomposition method described by Hernan-Caballero+ (2015, J/ApJ/803/109) to a sample of ~100 Spitzer/IRS spectra of low-luminosity AGNs and powerful Seyferts in order to decontaminate the torus component from other contributors. We have also included Starburst objects to ensure secure decomposition of the Spitzer/IRS spectra. We have used the affinity propagation (AP) method to cluster the data into five groups within the sample according to torus contribution to the 5-15{mu}m range (C_torus_) and bolometric luminosity (L_bol_).
The goal of the Turn-Off Primordial Stars survey (TOPoS) project is to find and analyse turn-off (TO) stars of extremely low metallicity. To select the targets for spectroscopic follow-up at high spectral resolution, we relied on low-resolution spectra from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). In this paper, we use the metallicity estimates we obtained from our analysis of the SDSS spectra to construct the metallicity distribution function (MDF) of the Milky Way, with special emphasis on its metal-weak tail. The goal is to provide the underlying distribution out of which the TOPoS sample was extracted. We made use of SDSS photometry, Gaia photometry, and distance estimates derived from the Gaia parallaxes to derive a metallicity estimate for a large sample of over 24 million TO stars. This sample was used to derive the metallicity bias of the sample for which SDSS spectra are available. We determined that the spectroscopic sample is strongly biased in favour of metal-poor stars, as intended. A comparison with the unbiased photometric sample allows us to correct for the selection bias. We selected a sub-sample of stars with reliable parallaxes for which we combined the SDSS radial velocities with Gaia proper motions and parallaxes to compute actions and orbital parameters in the Galactic potential. This allowed us to characterise the stars dynamically, and in particular to select a sub-sample that belongs to the Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus (GSE) accretion event. We are thus also able to provide the MDF of GSE. The metal-weak tail derived in our study is very similar to that derived in the H3 survey and in the Hamburg/ESO Survey. This allows us to average the three MDFs and provide an error bar for each metallicity bin. Inasmuch as the GSE structure is representative of the progenitor galaxy that collided with the Milky Way, that galaxy appears to be strongly deficient in metal-poor stars compared to the Milky Way, suggesting that the metal-weak tail of the latter has been largely formed by accretion of low-mass galaxies rather than massive galaxies, such as the GSE progenitor.
Observations of the Earthshine o the Moon allow for the unique opportunity to measure the large-scale Earth atmosphere. Another opportunity is realized during a total lunar eclipse which, if seen from the Moon, is like a transit of the Earth in front of the Sun. We thus aim at transmission spectroscopy of an Earth transit by tracing the solar spectrum during the total lunar eclipse of January 21, 2019. Time series spectra of the Tycho crater were taken with the Potsdam Echelle Polarimetric and Spectroscopic Instrument (PEPSI) at the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) in its polarimetric mode in Stokes IQUV at a spectral resolution of 130000 (0.06{AA}). In particular, the spectra cover the red parts of the optical spectrum between 7419-9067{AA}. The spectrograph's exposure meter was used to obtain a light curve of the lunar eclipse. The brightness of the Moon dimmed by 10.75m during umbral eclipse. We found both branches of the O_2_ A-band almost completely saturated as well as a strong increase of H_2_O absorption during totality. A pseudo O_2_ emission feature remained at a wavelength of 7618{AA}, but it is actually only a residual from different P-branch and R-branch absorptions. It nevertheless traces the eclipse. The deep penumbral spectra show significant excess absorption from the NaI 5890{AA} doublet, the CaII infrared triplet around 8600{AA}, and the KI line at 7699{AA} in addition to several hyper-fine-structure lines of MnI and even from BaII. The detections of the latter two elements are likely due to an untypical solar center-to-limb eect rather than Earth's atmosphere. The absorption in CaII and KI remained visible throughout umbral eclipse. Our radial velocities trace a wavelength dependent Rossiter-McLaughlin eect of the Earth eclipsing the Sun as seen from the Tycho crater and thereby confirm earlier observations. A small continuum polarization of the O_2_ A-band of 0.12% during umbral eclipse was detected at 6.3. No line polarization of the O_2_ A-band, or any other spectral-line feature, is detected outside nor inside eclipse. It places an upper limit of 0.2% on the degree of line polarization during transmission through Earth's atmosphere and magnetosphere.
We aim to study the spectroscopic and ionized structural evolution of T Pyx during its 2011 outburst, and also study the variation in degree of polarization during its early phase. Optical spectroscopic data of this system obtained from day 1.28-2415.62 since discovery, and optical, broadband imaging polarimetric observations obtained from day 1.36-29.33 during the early phases of the outburst were used in the study. The physical conditions and the geometry of the ionized structure of the nova ejecta was modelled for a few epochs using the photo-ionization code, CLOUDY in 1D and pyCloudy in 3D. The spectral evolution of the nova ejecta during its 2011 outburst is similar to that of the previous outbursts. The variation in the line profiles is seen very clearly in the early stages due to good coverage during this period. The line profiles vary from P Cygni (narrower, deeper, and sharper) to emission profiles that are broader and structured, which later become narrower and sharper in the late post-outburst phase. The average ejected mass is estimated to be 7.03x10^-6^M_{sun}_. The ionized structure of the ejecta is found to be a bipolar conical structure with equatorial rings, with a low inclination angle of 14.75+/-0.65{deg}.
We present a deep and very spatially extended CTIO/DECam g and r photometric catalogue of point-sources (reaching out to ~2 magnitudes below the oldest main-sequence turn-off and covering ~20deg^2^) around the Sextans dwarf spheroidal galaxy, together with another catalogue of literature spectroscopic measurements (Walker et al., 2009, Cat. J/AJ/137/3100 and Battaglia et al., 2011, Cat. J/MNRAS/411/1013) with updated membership probabilities.
The occurrence of a planet transiting in front of its host star offers the opportunity to observe the planet's atmosphere filtering starlight. The fraction of occulted stellar flux is roughly proportional to the optically thick area of the planet, the extent of which depends on the opacity of the planet's gaseous envelope at the observed wavelengths. Chemical species, haze, and clouds are now routinely detected in exoplanet atmospheres through rather small features in transmission spectra, i.e., collections of planet-to-star area ratios across multiple spectral bins and/or photometric bands. Technological advances have led to a shrinking of the error bars down to a few tens of parts per million (ppm) per spectral point for the brightest targets. The upcoming James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is anticipated to deliver transmission spectra with precision down to 10ppm. The increasing precision of measurements requires a reassessment of the approximations hitherto adopted in astrophysical models, including transit light-curve models. Recently, it has been shown that neglecting the planet's thermal emission can introduce significant biases in the transit depth measured with the JWST/Mid-InfraRed Instrument, integrated between 5 and 12{mu}m. In this paper, we take a step forward by analyzing the effects of the approximation on transmission spectra over the 0.6-12{mu}m wavelength range covered by various JWST instruments. We present open-source software to predict the spectral bias, showing that, if not corrected, it may affect the inferred molecular abundances and thermal structure of some exoplanet atmospheres.
We report the discovery of HAT-P-8b, a transiting planet with mass M_p_=1.52^+0.18^_-0.16_M_J_, radius R_p_=1.50^+0.08^_-0.06_R_J_, and photometric period P=3.076days. HAT-P-8b has a somewhat inflated radius for its mass, and a somewhat large mass for its period. The host star is a solar-metallicity F dwarf, with mass M_*_=1.28+/-0.04M_{sun}_ and R_*_=1.58^+0.08^_-0.06R_{sun}_. HAT-P-8b was initially identified as one of the 32 transiting-planet candidates in HATNet field G205. We describe the procedures that we have used to follow up these candidates with spectroscopic and photometric observations, and we present a status report on our interpretation for 28 of the candidates. Eight are eclipsing binaries with orbital solutions whose periods are consistent with their photometric ephemerides; two of these spectroscopic orbits are single-lined and six are double-lined.
