TESTS OF THE PLANETARY HYPOTHESIS FOR PTFO 8-8695b
Name
Yu-2015-TESTS OF THE PLANETA.pdf
Size
4.86 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
4dbca73a2e31e6d9d8f3c3b1a933c3cb
Author(s)
Yu, Liang
Gillon, Michaël
Albrecht, Simon
Bieryla, Allyson
Dai, Fei
Delrez, Laetitia
Hillenbrand, Lynne
Holman, Matthew J.
Howard, Andrew W.
Huang, Chelsea X.
Date Issued
October 2015
Journal
The Astrophysical Journal
Publisher
IOP Publishing
Citation
Yu, Liang, Joshua N. Winn, Michaël Gillon, Simon Albrecht, Saul Rappaport, Allyson Bieryla, Fei Dai, et al. “TESTS OF THE PLANETARY HYPOTHESIS FOR PTFO 8-8695b.” The Astrophysical Journal 812, no. 1 (October 8, 2015): 48. © 2015 The American Astronomical Society
Version
Final published version
Abstract
The T Tauri star PTFO 8-8695 exhibits periodic fading events that have been interpreted as the transits of a giant planet on a precessing orbit. Here we present three tests of the planet hypothesis. First, we sought evidence for the secular changes in light-curve morphology that are predicted to be a consequence of orbital precession. We observed 28 fading events spread over several years and did not see the expected changes. Instead, we found that the fading events are not strictly periodic. Second, we attempted to detect the planet's radiation, based on infrared observations spanning the predicted times of occultations. We ruled out a signal of the expected amplitude. Third, we attempted to detect the Rossiter–McLaughlin effect by performing high-resolution spectroscopy throughout a fading event. No effect was seen at the expected level, ruling out most (but not all) possible orientations for the hypothetical planetary orbit. Our spectroscopy also revealed strong, time-variable, high-velocity Hα and Ca H & K emission features. All these observations cast doubt on the planetary hypothesis, and suggest instead that the fading events represent starspots, eclipses by circumstellar dust, or occultations of an accretion hotspot.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics
MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research
Terms of Use
Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637x/812/1/48
