Barry Smalley

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

The bright binary system YZ Cassiopeiae is a remarkable laboratory for studying the Am phenomenon. It consists of a metallic-lined A2 star and an F2 dwarf on a circular orbit, which undergo total and annular eclipses. We present an analysis of 15 published light curves and 42 new high-quality échelle spectra, resulting in measurements of the masses, radii, effective temperatures and photospheric chemical abundances of the two stars. The masses and radii are measured to 0.5 per cent precision: M_A = 2.263 ± 0.012 M_⊙, M_B = 1.325 ± 0.007 M_⊙, R_A = 2.525 ± 0.011 R_⊙ and R_B = 1.331 ± 0.006 R_⊙. We determine the abundance of 20 elements for the primary star, of which all except scandium are supersolar by up to 1 dex. The temperature of this star (9520 ± 120 K) makes it one of the hottest Am stars. We also measure the abundances of 25 elements for its companion (T_eff = 6880 ± 240 K), finding all to be solar or slightly above solar. The photospheric abundances of the secondary star should be representative of the bulk composition of both stars. Theoretical stellar evolutionary models are unable to match these properties: the masses, radii and temperatures imply a half-solar chemical composition (Z = 0.009 ± 0.003) and an age of 490–550 Myr. YZ Cas therefore presents a challenge to stellar evolutionary theory.

We report detection of thermal emission from the exoplanet WASP-19b at 3.6, 4.5, 5.8 and 8.0 μm. We used the InfraRed Array Camera on the Spitzer Space Telescope to observe two occultations of WASP-19b by its host star. We combine our new detections with previous measurements of WASP-19b's emission at 1.6 and 2.09 μm to construct a spectral energy distribution of the planet's dayside atmosphere. By comparing this with model-atmosphere spectra, we find that the dayside atmosphere of WASP-19b lacks a strong temperature inversion. As WASP-19 is an active star (log R′_HK = −4.50 ± 0.03), this finding supports the hypothesis of Knutson, Howard and Isaacson that inversions are suppressed in hot Jupiters orbiting active stars. The available data are unable to differentiate between a carbon-rich and an oxygen-rich atmosphere.

We report the discovery of a transiting planet with an orbital period of 1.36 days orbiting the brighter component of the visual binary star BD 07 436. The host star, WASP-77 A, is a moderately bright G8 V star (V=10.3) with a metallicity close to solar ([Fe/H] = 0.0 ± 0.1). The companion star, WASP-77 B, is a K-dwarf approximately 2 mag fainter at a separation of approximately 3″. The spectrum of WASP-77 A shows emission in the cores of the Caii H and K lines, indicative of moderate chromospheric activity. The Wide Angle Search for Planets (WASP) light curves show photometric variability with a period of 15.3 days and an amplitude of about 0.3% that is probably due to the magnetic activity of the host star. We use an analysis of the combined photometric and spectroscopic data to derive the mass and radius of the planet (1.76 ± 0.06 MJup, 1.21 ± 0.02 RJup). The age of WASP-77 A estimated from its rotation rate (˜1 Gyr) agrees with the age estimated in a similar way for WASP-77 B (˜0.6 Gyr) but is in poor agreement with the age inferred by comparing its effective temperature and density to stellar models (˜8 Gyr). Follow-up observations of WASP-77 Ab will make a useful contribution to our understanding of the influence of binarity and host star activity on the properties of hot Jupiters.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe