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Holman, Matthew

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Holman

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Matthew

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Holman, Matthew
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    Transit timing observations from Kepler: III. Confirmation of four multiple planet systems by a Fourier-domain study of anticorrelated transit timing variations
    (Oxford University Press (OUP), 2012) Steffen, Jason H.; Fabrycky, Daniel C.; Ford, Eric B.; Carter, Joshua A.; Désert, Jean-Michel; Fressin, Francois; Holman, Matthew; Lissauer, Jack J.; Moorhead, Althea V.; Rowe, Jason F.; Ragozzine, Darin; Welsh, William F.; Batalha, Natalie M.; Borucki, William J.; Buchhave, Lars A.; Bryson, Steve; Caldwell, Douglas A.; Charbonneau, David; Ciardi, David R.; Cochran, William D.; Endl, Michael; Everett, Mark E.; Gautier, Thomas N.; Gilliland, Ron L.; Girouard, Forrest R.; Jenkins, Jon M.; Horch, Elliott; Howell, Steve B.; Isaacson, Howard; Klaus, Todd C.; Koch, David G.; Latham, David; Li, Jie; Lucas, Philip; MacQueen, Phillip J.; Marcy, Geoffrey W.; McCauliff, Sean; Middour, Christopher K.; Morris, Robert L.; Mullally, Fergal R.; Quinn, Samuel N.; Quintana, Elisa V.; Shporer, Avi; Still, Martin; Tenenbaum, Peter; Thompson, Susan E.; Twicken, Joseph D.; Van Cleve, Jeffery
    We present a method to confirm the planetary nature of objects in systems with multiple transiting exoplanet candidates. This method involves a Fourier-Domain analysis of the deviations in the transit times from a constant period that result from dynamical interactions within the system. The combination of observed anti-correlations in the transit times and mass constraints from dynamical stability allow us to claim the discovery of four planetary systems Kepler-25, Kepler-26, Kepler-27, and Kepler-28, containing eight planets and one additional planet candidate.
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    Kepler-20: A Sun-like Star with Three Sub-Neptune Exoplanets and Two Earth-size Candidates
    (IOP Publishing, 2012) Gautier, Thomas N.; Charbonneau, David; Rowe, Jason F.; Marcy, Geoffrey W.; Isaacson, Howard; Torres, Guillermo; Fressin, Francois; Rogers, Leslie A.; Désert, Jean-Michel; Buchhave, Lars A.; Latham, David; Quinn, Samuel N.; Ciardi, David R.; Fabrycky, Daniel C.; Ford, Eric B.; Gilliland, Ronald L.; Walkowicz, Lucianne M.; Bryson, Stephen T.; Cochran, William D.; Endl, Michael; Fischer, Debra A.; Howell, Steve B.; Horch, Elliott P.; Barclay, Thomas; Batalha, Natalie; Borucki, William J.; Christiansen, Jessie L.; Geary, John; Henze, Christopher E.; Holman, Matthew; Ibrahim, Khadeejah; Jenkins, Jon M.; Kinemuchi, Karen; Koch, David G.; Lissauer, Jack J.; Sanderfer, Dwight T.; Sasselov, Dimitar; Seager, Sara; Silverio, Kathryn; Smith, Jeffrey C.; Still, Martin; Stumpe, Martin C.; Tenenbaum, Peter; Van Cleve, Jeffrey
    We present the discovery of the Kepler-20 planetary system, which we initially identified through the detection of five distinct periodic transit signals in the Kepler light curve of the host star 2MASS J19104752+4220194. From high-resolution spectroscopy of the star, we find a stellar effective temperature T eff = 5455 ± 100 K, a metallicity of [Fe/H] = 0.01 ± 0.04, and a surface gravity of log g = 4.4 ± 0.1. We combine these estimates with an estimate of the stellar density derived from the transit light curves to deduce a stellar mass of M sstarf = 0.912 ± 0.034 M ☉ and a stellar radius of R sstarf = 0.944+0.060 –0.095 R ☉. For three of the transit signals, we demonstrate that our results strongly disfavor the possibility that these result from astrophysical false positives. We accomplish this by first identifying the subset of stellar blends that reproduce the precise shape of the light curve and then using the constraints on the presence of additional stars from high angular resolution imaging, photometric colors, and the absence of a secondary component in our spectroscopic observations. We conclude that the planetary scenario is more likely than that of an astrophysical false positive by a factor of 2 × 105 (Kepler-20b), 1 × 105 (Kepler-20c), and 1.1 × 103 (Kepler-20d), sufficient to validate these objects as planetary companions. For Kepler-20c and Kepler-20d, the blend scenario is independently disfavored by the achromaticity of the transit: from Spitzer data gathered at 4.5 μm, we infer a ratio of the planetary to stellar radii of 0.075 ± 0.015 (Kepler-20c) and 0.065 ± 0.011 (Kepler-20d), consistent with each of the depths measured in the Kepler optical bandpass. We determine the orbital periods and physical radii of the three confirmed planets to be 3.70 days and 1.91+0.12 –0.21 R ⊕ for Kepler-20b, 10.85 days and 3.07+0.20 –0.31 R ⊕ for Kepler-20c, and 77.61 days and 2.75+0.17 –0.30 R ⊕ for Kepler-20d. From multi-epoch radial velocities, we determine the masses of Kepler-20b and Kepler-20c to be 8.7 ± 2.2 M ⊕ and 16.1 ± 3.5 M ⊕, respectively, and we place an upper limit on the mass of Kepler-20d of 20.1 M ⊕ (2σ).
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    Two Earth-sized planets orbiting Kepler-20
    (Springer Nature, 2011) Fressin, Francois; Torres, Guillermo; Rowe, Jason F.; Charbonneau, David; Rogers, Leslie A.; Ballard, Sarah; Batalha, Natalie M.; Borucki, William J.; Bryson, Stephen T.; Buchhave, Lars A.; Ciardi, David R.; Désert, Jean-Michel; Dressing, Courtney D.; Fabrycky, Daniel C.; Ford, Eric B.; Gautier III, Thomas N.; Henze, Christopher E.; Holman, Matthew; Howard, Andrew; Howell, Steve B.; Jenkins, Jon M.; Koch, David G.; Latham, David; Lissauer, Jack J.; Marcy, Geoffrey W.; Quinn, Samuel N.; Ragozzine, Darin; Sasselov, Dimitar; Seager, Sara; Barclay, Thomas; Mullally, Fergal; Seader, Shawn E.; Still, Martin; Twicken, Joseph D.; Thompson, Susan E.; Uddin, Kamal
    Since the discovery of the first extrasolar giant planets around Sun-like stars1,2, evolving observational capabilities have brought us closer to the detection of true Earth analogues. The size of an exoplanet can be determined when it periodically passes in front of (transits) its parent star, causing a decrease in starlight proportional to its radius. The smallest exoplanet hitherto discovered3 has a radius 1.42 times that of the Earth’s radius (R⊕), and hence has 2.9 times its volume. Here we report the discovery of two planets, one Earth-sized (1.03R⊕) and the other smaller than the Earth (0.87R⊕), orbiting the star Kepler-20, which is already known to host three other, larger, transiting planets4 . The gravitational pull of the new planets on the parent star is too small to measure with current instrumentation. We apply a statistical method to show that the likelihood of the planetary interpretation of the transit signals is more than three orders of magnitude larger than that of the alternative hypothesis that the signals result from an eclipsing binary star. Theoretical considerations imply that these planets are rocky, with a composition of iron and silicate. The outer planet could have developed a thick water vapour atmosphere.
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    Transit Timing Observations From Kepler: Ii. Confirmation of Two Multiplanet Systems via a Non-Parametric Correlation Analysis
    (IOP Publishing, 2012) Ford, Eric B.; Fabrycky, Daniel C.; Steffen, Jason H.; Carter, Joshua A.; Fressin, Francois; Holman, Matthew; Lissauer, Jack J.; Moorhead, Althea V.; Morehead, Robert C.; Ragozzine, Darin; Rowe, Jason F.; Welsh, William F.; Allen, Christopher; Batalha, Natalie M.; Borucki, William J.; Bryson, Stephen T.; Buchhave, Lars A.; Burke, Christopher J.; Caldwell, Douglas A.; Charbonneau, David; Clarke, Bruce D.; Cochran, William D.; Désert, Jean-Michel; Endl, Michael; Everett, Mark E.; Fischer, Debra A.; Gautier, Thomas N.; Gilliland, Ron L.; Jenkins, Jon M.; Haas, Michael R.; Horch, Elliott; Howell, Steve B.; Ibrahim, Khadeejah A.; Isaacson, Howard; Koch, David G.; Latham, David; Li, Jie; Lucas, Philip; MacQueen, Phillip J.; Marcy, Geoffrey W.; McCauliff, Sean; Mullally, Fergal R.; Quinn, Samuel N.; Quintana, Elisa; Shporer, Avi; Still, Martin; Tenenbaum, Peter; Thompson, Susan E.; Torres, Guillermo; Twicken, Joseph D.; Wohler, Bill
    We present a new method for confirming transiting planets based on the combination of transit timing variations (TTVs) and dynamical stability. Correlated TTVs provide evidence that the pair of bodies is in the same physical system. Orbital stability provides upper limits for the masses of the transiting companions that are in the planetary regime. This paper describes a non-parametric technique for quantifying the statistical significance of TTVs based on the correlation of two TTV data sets. We apply this method to an analysis of the TTVs of two stars with multiple transiting planet candidates identified by Kepler. We confirm four transiting planets in two multiple-planet systems based on their TTVs and the constraints imposed by dynamical stability. An additional three candidates in these same systems are not confirmed as planets, but are likely to be validated as real planets once further observations and analyses are possible. If all were confirmed, these systems would be near 4:6:9 and 2:4:6:9 period commensurabilities. Our results demonstrate that TTVs provide a powerful tool for confirming transiting planets, including low-mass planets and planets around faint stars for which Doppler follow-up is not practical with existing facilities. Continued Kepler observations will dramatically improve the constraints on the planet masses and orbits and provide sensitivity for detecting additional non-transiting planets. If Kepler observations were extended to eight years, then a similar analysis could likely confirm systems with multiple closely spaced, small transiting planets in or near the habitable zone of solar-type stars.
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    Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite
    (SPIE-Intl Soc Optical Eng, 2014) Ricker, George R.; Winn, Joshua N.; Vanderspek, Roland; Latham, David; Bakos, Gáspár Á.; Bean, Jacob L.; Berta-Thompson, Zachory K.; Brown, Timothy M.; Buchhave, Lars; Butler, Nathaniel R.; Butler, R. Paul; Chaplin, William J.; Charbonneau, David; Christensen-Dalsgaard, Jørgen; Clampin, Mark; Deming, Drake; Doty, John; De Lee, Nathan; Dressing, Courtney Danielle; Dunham, Edward W.; Endl, Michael; Fressin, Francois; Ge, Jian; Henning, Thomas; Holman, Matthew; Howard, Andrew W.; Ida, Shigeru; Jenkins, Jon M.; Jernigan, Garrett; Johnson, John; Kaltenegger, Lisa; Kawai, Nobuyuki; Kjeldsen, Hans; Laughlin, Gregory; Levine, Alan M.; Lin, Douglas; Lissauer, Jack J.; MacQueen, Phillip; Marcy, Geoffrey; McCullough, Peter R.; Morton, Timothy D.; Narita, Norio; Paegert, Martin; Palle, Enric; Pepe, Francesco; Pepper, Joshua; Quirrenbach, Andreas; Rinehart, Stephen A.; Sasselov, Dimitar; Sato, Bun’ei; Seager, Sara; Sozzetti, Alessandro; Stassun, Keivan G.; Sullivan, Peter; Szentgyorgyi, Andrew; Torres, Guillermo; Udry, Stephane; Villasenor, Joel
    The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) will search for planets transiting bright and nearby stars. TESS has been selected by NASA for launch in 2017 as an Astrophysics Explorer mission. The spacecraft will be placed into a highly elliptical 13.7-day orbit around the Earth. During its 2-year mission, TESS will employ four wide-field optical charge-coupled device cameras to monitor at least 200,000 main-sequence dwarf stars with IC≈4−13IC≈4−13 for temporary drops in brightness caused by planetary transits. Each star will be observed for an interval ranging from 1 month to 1 year, depending mainly on the star’s ecliptic latitude. The longest observing intervals will be for stars near the ecliptic poles, which are the optimal locations for follow-up observations with the James Webb Space Telescope. Brightness measurements of preselected target stars will be recorded every 2 min, and full frame images will be recorded every 30 min. TESS stars will be 10 to 100 times brighter than those surveyed by the pioneering Kepler mission. This will make TESS planets easier to characterize with follow-up observations. TESS is expected to find more than a thousand planets smaller than Neptune, including dozens that are comparable in size to the Earth. Public data releases will occur every 4 months, inviting immediate community-wide efforts to study the new planets. The TESS legacy will be a catalog of the nearest and brightest stars hosting transiting planets, which will endure as highly favorable targets for detailed investigations.
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    A New Spectroscopic and Photometric Analysis of the Transiting Planet Systems TrES-3 and TrES-4
    (Institute of Physics, 2009) Sozzetti, Alessandro; Torres, Guillermo; Charbonneau, David; Winn, Joshua N.; Korzennik, Sylvain; Holman, Matthew; Latham, David; Laird, John B.; Fernandez, Jose; O'Donovan, Francis T.; Mandushev, Georgi; Dunham, Edward; Everett, Mark E.; Esquerdo, Gilbert A.; Rabus, Markus; Belmonte, Juan A.; Deeg, Hans J.; Brown, Timothy N.; Hidas, Marton G.; Baliber, Nairn
    We report new spectroscopic and photometric observations of the parent stars of the recently discovered transiting planets TrES-3 and TrES-4. A detailed abundance analysis based on high-resolution spectra yields [Fe/H] = –0.19 ± 0.08, T eff = 5650 ± 75 K, and log g = 4.4 ± 0.1 for TrES-3, and [Fe/H] = +0.14 ± 0.09, T eff = 6200 ± 75 K, and log g = 4.0 ± 0.1 for TrES-4. The accuracy of the effective temperatures is supported by a number of independent consistency checks. The spectroscopic orbital solution for TrES-3 is improved with our new radial velocity measurements of that system, as are the light-curve parameters for both systems based on newly acquired photometry for TrES-3 and a reanalysis of existing photometry for TrES-4. We have redetermined the stellar parameters taking advantage of the strong constraint provided by the light curves in the form of the normalized separation a/R sstarf (related to the stellar density) in conjunction with our new temperatures and metallicities. The masses and radii we derive are M sstarf = 0.928+0.028 –0.048 M sun, R sstarf = 0.829+0.015 –0.022 R sun, and M sstarf = 1.404+0.066 –0.134 M sun, R sstarf = 1.846+0.096 –0.087 R sun for TrES-3 and TrES-4, respectively. With these revised stellar parameters, we obtain improved values for the planetary masses and radii. We find Mp = 1.910+0.075 –0.080 M Jup, Rp = 1.336+0.031 –0.036 R Jup for TrES-3, and Mp = 0.925 ± 0.082 M Jup, Rp = 1.783+0.093 –0.086 R Jup for TrES-4. We confirm TrES-4 as the planet with the largest radius among the currently known transiting hot Jupiters.
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    Transit Infrared Spectroscopy of the Hot Neptune Around GJ 436 with the Hubble Space Telescope
    (John Wiley & Sons, 2008) Pont, Frederic; Gilliland, R. L.; Knutson, H.; Holman, Matthew; Charbonneau, David
    The nearby transiting system GJ 436b offers a unique opportunity to probe the structure and atmosphere of an extrasolar ‘hot Neptune’. In this Letter, we present the main results of observations covering two transit events with the Near Infrared Camera and Multi Object Spectrograph (NICMOS) camera on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The data consist in high-cadence time series of grism spectra covering the 1.1–1.9 μm spectral range. We find Rpl= 4.04 ± 0.10 R⊕ and R*= 0.446 ± 0.011 R⊙ for the planet and star radius, confirming and improving earlier measurements with a ground-based photometry and a Spitzer light curve at 8 μm, as opposed to a much higher value obtained with the Fine Guidance Sensor on the HST. We measure no departure from strict periodicity in the transits to the level of ∼7 s. This strongly disfavours the proposed explanation of the orbital eccentricity of GJ 436b in terms of the perturbation by another close-by planet. We measure a flat transmission spectrum at the level of a few parts per 10 000 in flux, with no significant signal in the 1.4-μm water band to a level comparable to the maximum amplitude of the effect predicted by planetary atmosphere models.
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    A Super-Earth Transiting a Nearby Low-Mass Star
    (Nature Publishing Group, 2009) Charbonneau, David; Berta, Zachory; Irwin, Jonathan; Burke, Christopher J.; Nutzman, Philip; Buchhave, Lars A.; Lovis, Christophe; Bonfils, Xavier; Latham, David; Udry, Stéphane; Murray-Clay, Ruth; Holman, Matthew; Falco, Emilio E.; Winn, Joshua N.; Queloz, Didier; Pepe, Francesco; Mayor, Michel; Delfosse, Xavier; Forveille, Thierry
    A decade ago, the detection of the first transiting extrasolar planet provided a direct constraint on its composition and opened the door to spectroscopic investigations of extrasolar planetary atmospheres. Because such characterization studies are feasible only for transiting systems that are both nearby and for which the planet-to-star radius ratio is relatively large, nearby small stars have been surveyed intensively. Doppler studies and microlensing have uncovered a population of planets with minimum masses of 1.9–10 times the Earth’s mass (Mcircle plus), called super-Earths. The first constraint on the bulk composition of this novel class of planets was afforded by CoRoT-7b , but the distance and size of its star preclude atmospheric studies in the foreseeable future. Here we report observations of the transiting planet GJ 1214b, which has a mass of 6.55Mcircle plus and a radius 2.68 times Earth’s radius (Rcircle plus), indicating that it is intermediate in stature between Earth and the ice giants of the Solar System. We find that the planetary mass and radius are consistent with a composition of primarily water enshrouded by a hydrogen–helium envelope that is only 0.05% of the mass of the planet. The atmosphere is probably escaping hydrodynamically, indicating that it has undergone significant evolution during its history. The star is small and only 13 parsecs away, so the planetary atmosphere is amenable to study with current observatories.