Physical properties of the 0.94-day period transiting planetary system WASP-18

Details Physical properties of the 0.94-day period transiting planetary system WASP-18 Physical properties of the 0.94-day period transiting planetary system WASP-18

2009-10-26

arxiv.org/abs/0910.4875v1

Astrophys.J.707:167-172,2009; Erratum-ibid.723:1829,2010

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics

6 pages, 2 figures, 4 tables. Accepted for publication in ApJ. Data can be obtained from http://www.astro.keele.ac.uk/~jkt/

Scientific paper

10.1088/0004-637X/707/1/167 10.1

We present high-precision photometry of five consecutive transits of WASP-18, an extrasolar planetary system with one of the shortest orbital periods known. Through the use of telescope defocussing we achieve a photometric precision of 0.47 to 0.83 mmag per observation over complete transit events. The data are analysed using the JKTEBOP code and three different sets of stellar evolutionary models. We find the mass and radius of the planet to be M_b = 10.43 +/- 0.30 +/- 0.24 Mjup R_b = 1.165 +/- 0.055 +/- 0.014 Rjup (statistical and systematic errors) respectively. The systematic errors in the orbital separation and the stellar and planetary masses, arising from the use of theoretical predictions, are of a similar size to the statistical errors and set a limit on our understanding of the WASP-18 system. We point out that seven of the nine known massive transiting planets (M_b > 3 Mjup) have eccentric orbits, whereas significant orbital eccentricity has been detected for only four of the 46 less massive planets. This may indicate that there are two different populations of transiting planets, but could also be explained by observational biases. Further radial velocity observations of low-mass planets will make it possible to choose between these two scenarios.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

Physical properties of the 0.94-day period transiting planetary system WASP-18 does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Physical properties of the 0.94-day period transiting planetary system WASP-18, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Physical properties of the 0.94-day period transiting planetary system WASP-18 will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-562887