General
The principal objectives of this project are: 1) to study the structure and dynamics of the solar interior, 2) to extend this study to other stars, 3) to search for extrasolar planets using photometric methods (primarily by transits of their host stars) and their characterization (using radial velocity information) and 4) the study of the planetary atmospheres.
To reach our first objective, we use Global Helioseismology (analysis of the solar oscillation eigenmodes) and Local Helioseismology (that uses travel waves). Solar seismology allows to accurately infer information about the internal structure and dynamics of the Sun,. This project covers the various necessary aspects to attain the aforementioned objectives: instrumental, observational, reduction, analysis and interpretation of data and, finally, theoretical developments of inversion techniques and development of structure and evolution models.
On the other hand, the Astroseismology aims to obtain a similar knowledge of other stars. Thanks to the huge number of stars observed by CoRoT, Kepler and TESS space missions it is possible to extract seismic global parameters of hundreds of stars; both solar type and red giants. Furthermore, the recent deployment and beginning of observations with the high precision spectrographs of the SONG (Stellar Observations Network Group) ground-based telescopes will substantially improve the characterization of the eigenmodes spectrum in bright stars.
The strategy of using planetary transits to discover new planets around other stars consists of the photometric detection of the dimming of the light of the star when one of its planets passes, or ‘transits’ in front of it. Currently this method is the preferred one for the study of small planets, not only due to its sensitivity, but also because this method allows a more detailed investigation of the planets found (e.g. Planetary atmospheres). This technique is similar to the one that is used for helio- and asteroseismology and so some of its methods are a logical extension from that. However, it is also important to develop new algorithms and observing methods for the unequivocal detection and analysis of planets and to be able to distinguish them from false alarms.
The current horizon for studies of exoplanets with space missions involves new missions, beginning with the launch of CHEOPS, followed by TESS, JWST and in 2026, PLATO. Thus, there is presently a window of opportunity for ground-based facilities, and we are pursuing observations using mainly TNG, NOT y GTC.
Members
Results
Milestones
- Members of the team (P. G. Beck, H. Deeg, S. Mathur, F. H. Perez, C. Regulo) were involved in the discovery and characterization of a warm Saturn transiting a slightly evolved solar-like star (HD 89345) observed with the NASA K2 mission and confirmed with RV measurements. The seismic analysis of the star led to precise estimates of the stellar parameters.
- P.G.Beck lead two papers on binary systems hosting red-giant binaries, using asteroseismic techniques and data from the Kepler space telescope. Beck et al (2018a,b) allow a better understanding of the stellar structure of the stellar components, and the tidal interaction in binary systems. The internal mixing was investigated through measurements lithium.
- S. Mathur participated in the analysis of the first planet discovered with the NASA TESS mission, orbiting the star Pi Men. The seismic analysis led to a very marginal detection but gave a hint of the asteroseismic potential with the TESS data (Gandolfi et al. 2018).
- Project "Solar-SONG". For the first time, stellar instrumentation (SONG spectrograph) has been used to obtain precise measurements of the radial velocity of the Sun with high temporal cadence (4 sec.) and long duration (57 consecutive days) to allow the detailed study of the spectrum of oscillations ( p-modes) and obtain their global parameters
- The researchers Hans J. Deeg and Juan Antonio Belmonte coordinated the edition of the "Handbook of Exoplanets", four volumes with 160 articles by more than 300 specialists in exoplanetology. Three years of intensive work have resulted in a complete documentation on the state of the art of the studies of the planets beyond the Solar System.
Scientific activity
Related publications
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A devil in the detail: parameter cross-talk from the solar cycle and estimation of solar p-mode frequencies
Frequencies, powers and damping rates of the solar p modes are all observed to vary over the 11-yr solar activity cycle. Here, we show that simultaneous variations in these parameters give rise to a subtle cross-talk effect, which we call the `devil in the detail', that biases p-mode frequencies estimated from analysis of long power frequency
Chaplin, W. J. et al.Advertised on:
42008 -
Using Stellar Densities to Evaluate Transiting Exoplanetary Candidates
One of the persistent complications in searches for transiting exoplanets is the low percentage of the detected candidates that ultimately prove to be planets, which significantly increases the load on the telescopes used for the follow-up observations to confirm or reject candidates. Several attempts have been made at creating techniques that can
Tingley, B. et al.Advertised on:
12011 -
Transiting exoplanets from the CoRoT space mission. XXIII. CoRoT-21b: a doomed large Jupiter around a faint subgiant star
CoRoT-21, a F8IV star of magnitude V = 16 mag, was observed by the space telescope CoRoT during the Long Run 01 (LRa01) in the first winter field (constellation Monoceros) from October 2007 to March 2008. Transits were discovered during the light curve processing. Radial velocity follow-up observations, however, were performed mainly by the 10-m
Pätzold, M. et al.Advertised on:
92012 -
Transiting exoplanets from the CoRoT space mission. XXII. CoRoT-16b: a hot Jupiter with a hint of eccentricity around a faint solar-like star
Aims: We report the discovery of CoRoT-16b, a low density hot jupiter that orbits a faint G5V star (mV = 15.63) in 5.3523 ± 0.0002 days with slight eccentricity. A fit of the data with no a priori assumptions on the orbit leads to an eccentricity of 0.33 ± 0.1. We discuss this value and also derive the mass and radius of the planet. Methods: We
Ollivier, M. et al.Advertised on:
52012 -
Transiting exoplanets from the CoRoT space mission. XXI. CoRoT-19b: a low density planet orbiting an old inactive F9V-star
Context. Observations of transiting extrasolar planets are of key importance to our understanding of planets because their mass, radius, and mass density can be determined. These measurements indicate that planets of similar mass can have very different radii. For low-density planets, it is generally assumed that they are inflated owing to their
Guenther, E. W. et al.Advertised on:
12012 -
Transiting exoplanets from the CoRoT space mission. XX. CoRoT-20b: A very high density, high eccentricity transiting giant planet
We report the discovery by the CoRoT space mission of a new giant planet, CoRoT-20b. The planet has a mass of 4.24 ± 0.23 MJup and a radius of 0.84 ± 0.04 RJup. With a mean density of 8.87 ± 1.10 g cm-3, it is among the most compact planets known so far. Evolutionary models for the planet suggest a mass of heavy elements of the order of 800 M⊕ if
Deleuil, M. et al.Advertised on:
22012 -
Transiting exoplanets from the CoRoT space mission. XVIII. CoRoT-18b: a massive hot Jupiter on a prograde, nearly aligned orbit
We report the detection of CoRoT-18b, a massive hot Jupiter transiting in front of its host star with a period of 1.9000693 ± 0.0000028 days. This planet was discovered thanks to photometric data secured with the CoRoT satellite combined with spectroscopic and photometric ground-based follow-up observations. The planet has a mass Mp = 3.47 ± 0.38
Hébrard, G. et al.Advertised on:
92011 -
Transiting exoplanets from the CoRoT space mission. XVII. The hot Jupiter CoRoT-17b: a very old planet
We report on the discovery of a hot Jupiter-type exoplanet, CoRoT-17b, detected by the CoRoT satellite. It has a mass of 2.43 ± 0.30 MJup and a radius of 1.02 ± 0.07 RJup, while its mean density is 2.82 ± 0.38 g/cm3. CoRoT-17b is in a circular orbit with a period of 3.7681 ± 0.0003 days. The host star is an old (10.7 ± 1.0 Gyr) main-sequence star
Csizmadia, Sz. et al.Advertised on:
72011 -
Transiting exoplanets from the CoRoT space mission. XVI. CoRoT-14b: an unusually dense very hot Jupiter
In this paper, the CoRoT ExoplanetScience Team announces its 14th discovery. Herein, we discuss the observations and analyses that allowed us to derive the parameters of this system: a hot Jupiter with a mass of 7.6 ± 0.6 Jupiter masses orbiting a solar-type star (F9V) with a period of only 1.5 d, less than 5 stellar radii from its parent star. It
Tingley, B. et al.Advertised on:
42011 -
Transiting exoplanets from the CoRoT space mission. XV. CoRoT-15b: a brown-dwarf transiting companion
We report the discovery by the CoRoT space mission of a transiting brown dwarf orbiting a F7V star with an orbital period of 3.06 days. CoRoT-15b has a radius of 1.12+0.30-0.15 {R}_Jup and a mass of 63.3 ± 4.1 {M}_Jup, and is thus the second transiting companion lying in the theoretical mass domain of brown dwarfs. CoRoT-15b is either very young or
Bouchy, F. et al.Advertised on:
12011 -
Transiting exoplanets from the CoRoT space mission. XIV. CoRoT-11b: a transiting massive ``hot-Jupiter'' in a prograde orbit around a rapidly rotating F-type star
The CoRoT exoplanet science team announces the discovery of CoRoT-11b, a fairly massive hot-Jupiter transiting a V = 12.9 mag F6 dwarf star (M_* = 1.27±0.05 M&sun;, R_* = 1.37±0.03 R&sun;, Teff = 6440±120 K), with an orbital period of P = 2.994329±0.000011 days and semi-major axis a = 0.0436±0.005 AU. The detection of part of the radial velocity
Gandolfi, D. et al.Advertised on:
122010 -
Transiting exoplanets from the CoRoT space mission. XII. CoRoT-12b: a short-period low-density planet transiting a solar analog star
We report the discovery by the CoRoT satellite of a new transiting giant planet in a 2.83 days orbit about a V = 15.5 solar analog star (M_* = 1.08 ± 0.08 M_&sun;, R_* = 1.1 ± 0.1 R_&sun;, Teff = 5675 ± 80 K). This new planet, CoRoT-12b, has a mass of 0.92 ± 0.07 MJup and a radius of 1.44 ± 0.13 RJup. Its low density can be explained by standard
Gillon, M. et al.Advertised on:
92010 -
Transiting exoplanets from the CoRoT space mission. XI. CoRoT-8b: a hot and dense sub-Saturn around a K1 dwarf
Aims: We report the discovery of CoRoT-8b, a dense small Saturn-class exoplanet that orbits a K1 dwarf in 6.2 days, and we derive its orbital parameters, mass, and radius. Methods: We analyzed two complementary data sets: the photometric transit curve of CoRoT-8b as measured by CoRoT and the radial velocity curve of CoRoT-8 as measured by the HARPS
Bordé, P. et al.Advertised on:
92010 -
Transiting exoplanets from the CoRoT space mission. X. CoRoT-10b: a giant planet in a 13.24 day eccentric orbit
Context. The space telescope CoRoT searches for transiting extrasolar planets by continuously monitoring the optical flux of thousands of stars in several fields of view. Aims: We report the discovery of CoRoT-10b, a giant planet on a highly eccentric orbit (e = 0.53 ± 0.04) revolving in 13.24 days around a faint (V = 15.22) metal-rich K1V star
Bonomo, A. S. et al.Advertised on:
92010 -
Transiting exoplanets from the CoRoT space mission. VIII. CoRoT-7b: the first super-Earth with measured radius
Aims: We report the discovery of very shallow (Δ F/F ≈ 3.4× 10-4), periodic dips in the light curve of an active V = 11.7 G9V star observed by the CoRoT satellite, which we interpret as caused by a transiting companion. We describe the 3-colour CoRoT data and complementary ground-based observations that support the planetary nature of the companion
Léger, A. et al.Advertised on:
102009 -
Transiting exoplanets from the CoRoT space mission. VII. The ``hot-Jupiter''-type planet CoRoT-5b
Aims: The CoRoT space mission continues to photometrically monitor about 12 000 stars in its field-of-view for a series of target fields to search for transiting extrasolar planets ever since 2007. Deep transit signals can be detected quickly in the “alarm-mode” in parallel to the ongoing target field monitoring. CoRoT's first planets have been
Rauer, H. et al.Advertised on:
102009 -
Transiting exoplanets from the CoRoT space mission. V. CoRoT-Exo-4b: stellar and planetary parameters
Aims: The CoRoT satellite has announced its fourth transiting planet (Aigrain et al. 2008, A&A, 488, L43) with space photometry. We describe and analyse complementary observations of this system performed to establish the planetary nature of the transiting body and to estimate the fundamental parameters of the planet and its parent star. Methods
Moutou, C. et al.Advertised on:
92008 -
Transiting exoplanets from the CoRoT space mission. IX. CoRoT-6b: a transiting ``hot Jupiter'' planet in an 8.9d orbit around a low-metallicity star
The CoRoT satellite exoplanetary team announces its sixth transiting planet in this paper. We describe and discuss the satellite observations as well as the complementary ground-based observations - photometric and spectroscopic - carried out to assess the planetary nature of the object and determine its specific physical parameters. The discovery
Fridlund, M. et al.Advertised on:
32010 -
Transiting exoplanets from the CoRoT space mission. IV. CoRoT-Exo-4b: a transiting planet in a 9.2 day synchronous orbit
CoRoT, the first space-based transit search, provides ultra-high-precision light curves with continuous time-sampling over periods of up to 5 months. This allows the detection of transiting planets with relatively long periods, and the simultaneous study of the host star's photometric variability. In this Letter, we report the discovery of the
Aigrain, S. et al.Advertised on:
92008 -
Transiting exoplanets from the CoRoT space mission. III. The spectroscopic transit of CoRoT-Exo-2b with SOPHIE and HARPS
We report on the spectroscopic transit of the massive hot-Jupiter CoRoT-Exo-2b observed with the high-precision spectrographs SOPHIE and HARPS. By modeling the radial velocity anomaly occurring during the transit due to the Rossiter-McLaughlin (RM) effect, we determine the sky-projected angle between the stellar spin and the planetary orbital axis
Bouchy, F. et al.Advertised on:
52008
