The Transit Light-curve Project. Xiv. Confirmation of Anomalous Radii for the Exoplanets TrES-4b, HAT-P-3b, and WASP-12b

Abstract

We present transit photometry of three exoplanets, TrES-4b, HAT-P-3b, and WASP-12b, allowing for refined estimates of the systems' parameters. TrES-4b and WASP-12b were confirmed to be "bloated" planets, with radii of 1.706 ± 0.056R [subscript Jup] and 1.736 ± 0.092R [subscript Jup] , respectively. These planets are too large to be explained with standard models of gas giant planets. In contrast, HAT-P-3b has a radius of 0.827 ± 0.055R [subscript Jup], smaller than a pure hydrogen-helium planet and indicative of a highly metal-enriched composition. Analyses of the transit timings revealed no significant departures from strict periodicity. For TrES-4, our relatively recent observations allow for improvement in the orbital ephemerides, which is useful for planning future observations.