The HAT-P-13 Exoplanetary System: Evidence for Spin-Orbit Alignment and a Third Companion

Details The HAT-P-13 Exoplanetary System: Evidence for Spin-Orbit Alignment and a Third Companion The HAT-P-13 Exoplanetary System: Evidence for Spin-Orbit Alignment and a Third Companion

2010-03-23

arxiv.org/abs/1003.4512v2

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics

To appear in ApJ [20 pages] - v2: Includes new RV data, refined parameter estimates

Scientific paper

We present new radial-velocity measurements of HAT-P-13, a star with two previously known companions: a transiting giant planet "b" with an orbital period of 3 days, and a more massive object "c" on a 1.2 yr, highly eccentric orbit. For this system, dynamical considerations would lead to constraints on planet b's interior structure, if it could be shown that the orbits are coplanar and apsidally locked. By modeling the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect, we show that planet b's orbital angular momentum vector and the stellar spin vector are well-aligned on the sky (lambda = -0.9 +/- 8.5 deg), suggesting that the planetary orbits are also well-aligned. The refined orbital solution favors a slightly eccentric orbit for planet b (e = 0.0142_{-0.0044}^{+0.0052}), although it is not clear whether it is apsidally locked with c's orbit (\Delta\omega = 48_{-38}^{+25} deg). We find a long-term trend in the star's radial velocity and interpret it as evidence for an additional body "d", which may be another planet or a low-mass star. The next inferior conjunction of c, when a transit may happen, is expected on JD 2,455,315.2 +/- 1.9 (centered on UT 17h 2010 April 28).

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