Claire Moutou

Astronomy & Astrophysics (A&A) is an international journal which publishes papers on all aspects of astronomy and astrophysics

We present high-precision radial-velocity measurements of three solar-type stars: HD 13908, HD 159243, and HIP 91258. The observations were made with the SOPHIE spectrograph at the 1.93 m telescope of the Observatoire de Haute-Provence (France). They show that these three bright stars host exoplanetary systems composed of at least two companions. HD 13908 b is a planet with a minimum mass of 0.865 ± 0.035M Jup on a circular orbit with a period of 19.382 ± 0.006 days. There is an outer massive companion in the system with a period of 931 ± 17 days, e = 0.12 ± 0.02, and a minimum mass of 5.13 ± 0.25M Jup . The star HD 159243 also has two detected companions with respective masses, periods, and eccentricities of M p= 1.13 ± 0.05 and 1.9 ± 0.13M Jup , P = 12.620 ± 0.004 and 248.4 ± 4.9 days, and e = 0.02 ± 0.02 and 0.075 ± 0.05. Finally, the star HIP 91258 has a planetary companion with a minimum mass of 1.068 ± 0.038M Jup , an orbital period of 5.0505 ± 0.0015 days, and a quadratic trend indicating an outer planetary or stellar companion that is as yet uncharacterized. The planet-hosting stars HD 13908, HD 159243, and HIP 91258 are main-sequence stars of spectral types F8V, G0V, and G5V, respectively, with moderate activity levels. HIP 91258 is slightly over-metallic, while the other two stars have solar-like metallicity. The three systems are discussed in the frame of formation and dynamical evolution models of systems composed of several giant planets.

Astronomy & Astrophysics (A&A) is an international journal which publishes papers on all aspects of astronomy and astrophysics

We report the discovery of a long-period brown-dwarf transiting companion of the solar-type star KOI-415. The transits were detected by the Kepler space telescope. We conducted Doppler measurements using the SOPHIE spectrograph at the Observatoire de Haute-Provence. The photometric and spectroscopic signals allow us to characterize a 62.14+-2.69 Mjup, brown-dwarf companion of an evolved 0.94+-0.06 Msun star in a highly eccentric orbit of P = 166.78805+-0.00022 days and e = 0.698+-0.002. The radius of KOI-415 b is 0.79 (-0.07,+0.12) Rjup, a value that is compatible with theoretical predictions for a 10 Gyr, low-metallicity and non-irradiated object.

One of the objectives of the CoRoT mission is the search for transiting extrasolar planets using high-precision photometry, and the accurate characterization of their fundamental parameters. The CoRoT satellite consecutively observes crowded stellar fields since February 2007, in high-cadence precise photometry; periodic eclipses are detected and analysed in the stellar light curves. Then complementary observations using ground-based facilities allows establishing the nature of the transiting body and its mass. CoRoT has acquired more than 163,000 light curves and detected about 500 planet candidates. A fraction of them (5%) are confirmed planets whose masses are independently measured. Main highlights of the CoRoT discoveries are: i) the variety of internal structures in close-in giant planets, ii) the characterisation of the first known transiting rocky planet, CoRoT-7 b, iii) multiple constraints on the formation, evolution, role of tides in planetary systems.

We report the measurement of the spin-orbit angle of the extra-solar planets HAT-P-8 b, HAT-P-9 b, HAT-P-16 b, and HAT-P-23 b, based on spectroscopic observations performed at the Observatoire de Haute-Provence with the SOPHIE spectrograph on the 1.93-m telescope. Radial velocity measurements of the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect show the detection of an apparent prograde, aligned orbit for all systems. The projected spin-orbit angles are found to be λ = −17°, −16° ± 8°, –10° ± 16°, and +15° ± 22° for HAT-P-8, HAT-P-9, HAT-P-16, and HAT-P-23, respectively, with corresponding projected rotational velocities of 14.5 ± 0.8, 12.5 ± 1.8, 3.9 ± 0.8, and 7.8 ± 1.6 km s-1. These new results increase to 37 the number of accurately measured spin-orbit angles in transiting extrasolar systems. We conclude by drawing a tentative picture of the global behaviour of orbital alignement, involving the complexity and diversity of possible mechanisms.

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 M_J and radius of 1.32 ± 0.05R_J , and orbits with a period of 3.16 days, WASP-48b has a mass of 0.98 ± 0.09 M_J , radius of 1.67 ± 0.10 R_J , 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 M_J and radius of 1.42 ± 0.03 R_J , agreeing with values of 0.71 ± 0.03 M_J and 1.34 ± 0.07 R_J reported for HAT-P-30b.