The Warm Neptune GJ 3470b Has a Polar Orbit

The Astrophysical Journal Letters · 2022 · 77 citations

• Computer Science
• Algorithm
• Geology

Abstract The warm Neptune GJ 3470b transits a nearby ( d = 29 pc) bright slowly rotating M1.5-dwarf star. Using spectroscopic observations during two transits with the newly commissioned NEID spectrometer on the WIYN 3.5 m Telescope at Kitt Peak Observatory, we model the classical Rossiter–McLaughlin effect, yielding a sky-projected obliquity of <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mi>λ</mml:mi> <mml:mo>=</mml:mo> <mml:msubsup> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>98</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>−</mml:mo> <mml:mn>12</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>+</mml:mo> <mml:mn>15</mml:mn> <mml:mspace width="0.33em"/> <mml:mo>◦</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> </mml:msubsup> </mml:math> and a <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mi>v</mml:mi> <mml:mi>sin</mml:mi> <mml:mi>i</mml:mi> <mml:mo>=</mml:mo> <mml:msubsup> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>0.85</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>−</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0.33</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>+</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0.27</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msubsup> <mml:mspace width="0.25em"/> <mml:mi>km</mml:mi> <mml:mspace width="0.25em"/> <mml:msup> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">s</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>−</mml:mo> <mml:mn>1</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msup> </mml:math> . Leveraging information about the rotation period and size of the host star, our analysis yields a true obliquity of <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mi>ψ</mml:mi> <mml:mo>=</mml:mo> <mml:msubsup> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>95</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>−</mml:mo> <mml:mn>8</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>+</mml:mo> <mml:mn>9</mml:mn> <mml:mspace width="0.33em"/> <mml:mo>◦</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> </mml:msubsup> </mml:math> , revealing that GJ 3470b is on a polar orbit. Using radial velocities from HIRES, HARPS, and the Habitable-zone Planet Finder, we show that the data are compatible with a long-term radial velocity (RV) slope of <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mover accent="true"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>γ</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>̇</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> </mml:mover> <mml:mo>=</mml:mo> <mml:mo>−</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0.0022</mml:mn> <mml:mo>±</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0.0011</mml:mn> <mml:mspace width="0.25em"/> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">m</mml:mi> <mml:mspace width="0.25em"/> <mml:msup> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">s</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>−</mml:mo> <mml:mn>1</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msup> <mml:mspace width="0.25em"/> <mml:msup> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>day</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>−</mml:mo> <mml:mn>1</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msup> </mml:math> over a baseline of 12.9 yr. If the RV slope is due to acceleration from another companion in the system, we show that such a companion is capable of explaining the polar and mildly eccentric orbit of GJ 3470b using two different secular excitation models. The existence of an outer companion can be further constrained with additional RV observations, Gaia astrometry, and future high-contrast imaging observations. Lastly, we show that tidal heating from GJ 3470b’s mild eccentricity has most likely inflated the radius of GJ 3470b by a factor of ∼1.5–1.7, which could help account for its evaporating atmosphere.

Evidence for He i 10830 Å Absorption during the Transit of a Warm Neptune around the M-dwarf GJ 3470 with the Habitable-zone Planet Finder

The Astrophysical Journal · 2020 · 83 citations

• Physics
• Astrobiology
• Astronomy

Abstract Understanding the dynamics and kinematics of outflowing atmospheres of hot and warm exoplanets is crucial to understanding the origins and evolutionary history of the exoplanets near the evaporation desert. Recently, ground-based measurements of the meta-stable helium atom’s resonant absorption at 10830 Å has become a powerful probe of the base environment which is driving the outflow of exoplanet atmospheres. We report evidence for the He i 10830 Å in absorption (equivalent width ∼0.012 ± 0.002 Å) in the exosphere of a warm Neptune orbiting the M-dwarf GJ 3470, during three transits using the Habitable Zone Planet Finder near-infrared spectrograph. This marks the first reported evidence for He i 10830 Å atmospheric absorption for a planet orbiting an M-dwarf. Our detected absorption is broad and its blueshifted wing extends to −36 km s −1 , the largest reported in the literature to date. We modeled the state of helium atoms in the exosphere of GJ3470b based on assumptions on the UV and X-ray flux of GJ 3470, and found our measurement of flux-weighted column density of meta-stable state helium , derived from our transit observations, to be consistent with the model, within its uncertainties. The methodology developed here will be useful to study and constrain the atmospheric outflow models of other exoplanets like GJ 3470b, which are near the edge of the evaporation desert.

When Do Stalled Stars Resume Spinning Down? Advancing Gyrochronology with Ruprecht 147

The Astrophysical Journal · 2020 · 123 citations

• Physics
• Astrophysics
• Astronomy

Recent measurements of rotation periods () in the benchmark open clusters Praesepe (670 Myr), NGC 6811 (1 Gyr), and NGC 752 (1.4 Gyr) demonstrate that, after converging onto a tight sequence of slowly rotating stars in mass-period space, stars temporarily stop spinning down. These data also show that the duration of this epoch of stalled spin-down increases toward lower masses. To determine when stalled stars resume spinning down, we use data from the K2 mission and the Palomar Transient Factory to measure for 58 dwarf members of the 2.7 Gyr old cluster Ruprecht 147, 39 of which satisfy our criteria designed to remove short-period or near-equal-mass binaries. Combined with the Kepler data for the approximately coeval cluster NGC 6819 (30 stars with M ∗ > 0.85, our new measurements more than double the number of ≈2.5 Gyr benchmark rotators and extend this sample down to ≈0.55. The slowly rotating sequence for this joint sample appears relatively flat (22 ± 2 days) compared to sequences for younger clusters. This sequence also intersects the Kepler intermediate-period gap, demonstrating that this gap was not created by a lull in star formation. We calculate the time at which stars resume spinning down and find that 0.55 stars remain stalled for at least 1.3 Gyr. To accurately age-date low-mass stars in the field, gyrochronology formulae must be modified to account for this stalling timescale. Empirically tuning a core-envelope coupling model with open cluster data can account for most of the apparent stalling effect. However, alternative explanations, e.g., a temporary reduction in the magnetic braking torque, cannot yet be ruled out.