Measurement of Spin-Orbit Alignment in an Extrasolar Planetary System

Details Measurement of Spin-Orbit Alignment in an Extrasolar Planetary System Measurement of Spin-Orbit Alignment in an Extrasolar Planetary System

2005-04-25

arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0504555v3

Astrophys.J.631:1215-1226,2005

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

21 pages, 6 figures. To match the version accepted by ApJ. Errors have been corrected in Table 1. (In previous versions, some

Scientific paper

10.1086/432571

We determine the stellar, planetary, and orbital properties of the transiting planetary system HD 209458, through a joint analysis of high-precision radial velocities, photometry, and timing of the secondary eclipse. Of primary interest is the strong detection of the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect, the alteration of photospheric line profiles that occurs because the planet occults part of the rotating surface of the star. We develop a new technique for modeling this effect, and use it to determine the inclination of the planetary orbit relative to the apparent stellar equator [lambda = (-4.4 +/- 1.4) degrees], and the line-of-sight rotation speed of the star [v*sin(I) = (4.70 +/- 0.16) km/s]. The uncertainty in these quantities has been reduced by an order of magnitude relative to the pioneering measurements by Queloz and collaborators. The small but nonzero misalignment is probably a relic of the planet formation epoch, because the expected timescale for tidal coplanarization is larger than the age of the star. Our determination of v*sin(I) is a rare case in which rotational line broadening has been isolated from other broadening mechanisms.

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