scholarly journals High-energy environment of super-Earth 55 Cancri e

2018 ◽  
Vol 615 ◽  
pp. A117 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Bourrier ◽  
D. Ehrenreich ◽  
A. Lecavelier des Etangs ◽  
T. Louden ◽  
P. J. Wheatley ◽  
...  

The high-energy X-ray to ultraviolet (XUV) irradiation of close-in planets by their host star influences their evolution and might be responsible for the existence of a population of ultra-short period planets eroded to their bare core. In orbit around a bright, nearby G-type star, the super-Earth 55 Cnc e offers the possibility to address these issues through transit observations at UV wavelengths. We used the Hubble Space Telescope to observe the transit in the far-ultraviolet (FUV) over three epochs in April 2016, January 2017, and February 2017. Together, these observations cover nearly half of the orbital trajectory in between the two quadratures, and reveal significant short- and long-term variability in 55 Cnc chromospheric emission lines. In the last two epochs, we detected a larger flux in the C III, Si III, and Si IV lines after the planet passed the approaching quadrature, followed by a flux decrease in the Si IV doublet. In the second epoch these variations are contemporaneous with flux decreases in the Si II and C II doublets. All epochs show flux decreases in the N V doublet as well, albeit at different orbital phases. These flux decreases are consistent with absorption from optically thin clouds of gas, are mostly localized at low and redshifted radial velocities in the star rest frame, and occur preferentially before and during the planet transit. These three points make it unlikely that the variations are purely stellar in origin, yet we show that the occulting material is also unlikely to originate from the planet. We thus tentatively propose that the motion of 55 Cnc e at the fringes of the stellar corona leads to the formation of a cool coronal rain. The inhomogeneity and temporal evolution of the stellar corona would be responsible for the differences between the three visits. Additional variations are detected in the C II doublet in the first epoch and in the O I triplet in all epochs with a different behavior that points toward intrinsic stellar variability. Further observations at FUV wavelengths are required to disentangle definitively between star-planet interactions in the 55 Cnc system and the activity of the star.

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (S329) ◽  
pp. 432-432
Author(s):  
Atsuo T. Okazaki

AbstractAbout one half of high-mass X-ray binaries host a Be star [an OB star with a viscous decretion (slowly outflowing) disk]. These Be/X-ray binaries exhibit two types of X-ray outbursts (Stella et al. 1986), normal X-ray outbursts (LX~1036−37 erg s−1) and occasional giant X-ray outbursts (LX > 1037 erg s−1). The origin of giant X-ray outbursts is unknown. On the other hand, a half of gamma-ray binaries have a Be star as the optical counterpart. One of these systems [LS I +61 303 (Porb = 26.5 d)] shows the superorbital (1,667 d) modulation in radio through X-ray bands. No consensus has been obtained for its origin. In this paper, we study a possibility that both phenomena are caused by a long-term, cyclic evolution of a highly misaligned Be disk under the influence of a compact object, by performing 3D hydrodynamic simulations. We find that the Be disk cyclically evolves in mildly eccentric, short-period systems. Each cycle consists of the following stages: 1)As the Be disk grows with time, the initially circular disk becomes eccentric by the Kozai-Lidov mechanism.2)At some point, the disk is tidally torn off near the base and starts precession.3)Due to precession, a gap opens between the disk base and mass ejection region, which allows the formation of a new disk in the stellar equatorial plane (see Figure 1).4)The newly formed disk finally replaces the precessing old disk. Such a cyclic disk evolution has interesting implications for the long-term behavior of high energy emission in Be/X-ray and gamma-ray binaries.


2019 ◽  
Vol 489 (4) ◽  
pp. 5076-5086 ◽  
Author(s):  
K K Singh ◽  
B Bisschoff ◽  
B van Soelen ◽  
A Tolamatti ◽  
J P Marais ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT In this work, we present a multiwavelength study of the blazar 1ES 1218+304 using near simultaneous observations over 10 yr during the period 2008 September 1 to 2018 August 31 (MJD 54710–58361). We have analysed data from Swift-UVOT, Swift-XRT, and Fermi-LAT to study the long term behaviour of 1ES 1218+304 in different energy bands over the last decade. We have also used the archival data from OVRO, MAXI, and Swift-BAT available during the above period. The near simultaneous data on 1ES 1218+304 suggest that the long term multiwavelength emission from the source is steady and does not show any significant change in the source activity. The optical/UV fluxes are found to be dominated by the host galaxy emission and can be modelled using the pegase code. However, the time averaged X-ray and γ-ray emissions from the source are reproduced using a single zone leptonic model with log-parabolic distribution for the radiating particles. The intrinsic very high energy γ-ray emission during a low activity state of the source is broadly consistent with the predictions of the leptonic model for blazars. We have investigated the physical properties of the jet and the mass of the supermassive black hole at the centre of the host galaxy using long term X-ray observations from the Swift-XRT which is in agreement with the value derived using blackbody approximation of the host galaxy. We also discuss the extreme nature of the source on the basis of X-ray and γ-ray observations.


2019 ◽  
Vol 623 ◽  
pp. A82 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. A. Kriss ◽  
N. Arav ◽  
D. Edmonds ◽  
J. Ely ◽  
J. S. Kaastra ◽  
...  

Aims. To elucidate the location, physical conditions, mass outflow rate, and kinetic luminosity of the outflow from the active nucleus of the Seyfert 1 galaxy Mrk 509, we used coordinated UV and X-ray spectral observations in 2012 to follow up our lengthier campaign conducted in 2009. Methods. We observed Mrk 509 with the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) on 2012-09-03 and 2012-10-11 coordinated with X-ray observations using the High Energy Transmission Grating on the Chandra X-ray Observatory. Our far-ultraviolet spectra used grating G140L on COS to cover wavelengths from 920–2000 Å at a resolving power of ∼2000, and gratings G130M and G160M to cover 1160–1750 Å at a resolving power of ∼15, 000. Results. We detect variability in the blueshifted UV absorption lines on timescales spanning 3–12 years. The inferred densities in the absorbing gas are greater than log n cm−3 ∼ 3. For ionization parameters ranging over log U = −1.5 to −0.2, we constrain the distances of the absorbers to be closer than 220 pc to the active nucleus. Conclusions. The impact on the host galaxy appears to be confined to the nuclear region.


2020 ◽  
Vol 493 (1) ◽  
pp. 559-579 ◽  
Author(s):  
V Bourrier ◽  
P J Wheatley ◽  
A Lecavelier des Etangs ◽  
G King ◽  
T Louden ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT In this third paper of the MOVES (Multiwavelength Observations of an eVaporating Exoplanet and its Star) programme, we combine Hubble Space Telescope far-ultraviolet (FUV) observations with XMM–Newton/Swift X-ray observations to measure the emission of HD 189733 in various FUV lines, and its soft X-ray spectrum. Based on these measurements we characterize the interstellar medium towards HD 189733 and derive semisynthetic XUV spectra of the star, which are used to study the evolution of its high-energy emission at five different epochs. Two flares from HD 189733 are observed, but we propose that the long-term variations in its spectral energy distribution have the most important consequences for the environment of HD 189733b. Reduced coronal and wind activity could favour the formation of a dense population of Si2+ atoms in a bow-shock ahead of the planet, responsible for pre- and in-transit absorption measured in the first two epochs. In-transit absorption signatures are detected in the Lyman α line in the second, third, and fifth epochs, which could arise from the extended planetary thermosphere and a tail of stellar wind protons neutralized via charge-exchange with the planetary exosphere. We propose that increases in the X-ray irradiation of the planet, and decreases in its EUV irradiation causing lower photoionization rates of neutral hydrogen, favour the detection of these signatures by sustaining larger densities of H0 atoms in the upper atmosphere and boosting charge-exchanges with the stellar wind. Deeper and broader absorption signatures in the last epoch suggest that the planet entered a different evaporation regime, providing clues as to the link between stellar activity and the structure of the planetary environment.


2019 ◽  
Vol 627 ◽  
pp. A2
Author(s):  
Gregor Rauw ◽  
Yaël Nazé ◽  
Fran Campos

Aims. The Cyg OB2 #5 system is thought to consist of a short-period (6.6 d) eclipsing massive binary orbited by an OB-star with a period of ~6.7 yr; these stars in turn are orbited by a distant early B-star with a period of thousands of years. However, while the inner binary has been studied many times, information is missing on the other stars, in particular the third star whose presence was indirectly postulated from recurrent modulations in the radio domain. Besides, to this date, the X-ray light curve could not be fully interpreted, for example in the framework of colliding-wind emission linked to one of the systems. Methods. We obtained new optical and X-ray observations of Cyg OB2 #5, which we combined to archival data. We performed a thorough and homogeneous investigation of all available data, notably revisiting the times of primary minimum in photometry. Results. In the X-ray domain, XMM-Newton provides scattered exposures over ~5000 d whilst Swift provides a nearly continuous monitoring for the last couple of years. Although the X-ray light curve reveals clear variability, no significant period can be found hence the high-energy emission cannot be explained solely in terms of colliding winds varying along either the short or intermediate orbits. The optical data reveal for the first time clear signs of reflex motion. The photometry indicates the presence of a 2366 d (i.e. 6.5 yr) period while the associated radial velocity changes are detected at the 3σ level in the systemic velocity of the He II λ 4686 emission line. With the revised period, the radio light curve is interpreted consistently in terms of a wind interaction between the inner binary and the tertiary star. From these optical and radio data, we derive constraints on the physical properties of the tertiary star and its orbit.


2014 ◽  
Vol 798 (1) ◽  
pp. 27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naoki Isobe ◽  
Ryosuke Sato ◽  
Yoshihiro Ueda ◽  
Masaaki Hayashida ◽  
Megumi Shidatsu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
X Ray ◽  
Γ Ray ◽  

1984 ◽  
Vol 16 (5-7) ◽  
pp. 561-569 ◽  
Author(s):  
B J Cosby

A model identification procedure is presented based on an extended Kaiman filter (EKF) applied to the oxygen mass balance equation of a stream. The procedure is used with data from a small Danish stream to discriminate among eight mathematical models of the photosynthesis-light (P-I) response of macrophytes in the stream. Each model was tested for adequacy using objective criteria based on the expected behavior of the innovations sequence (the time series of differences between predicted and observed oxygen concentrations) derived from the EKF. Temporal variation of the model parameters was also examined using the EKF. The maximum photosynthetic rate (Pm) varied slowly over the year but was essentially stationary within any three to six day period. The low light efficiency of photosynthesis (Eo) varied from day to day within any short period, but three to six day means of Eo were essentially stationary over the year. The ratio (Ik = Pm/Eo) was highly correlated with both short and long term variations in daily mean light intensity.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonardo A. dos Santos ◽  
David Ehrenreich ◽  
Vincent Bourrier ◽  
Romain Allart ◽  
George King ◽  
...  

<div class="page" title="Page 1"> <div class="layoutArea"> <div class="column"> <p>Large-scale exoplanet search surveys have shown evidence that atmospheric escape is a ubiquitous process that shapes the evolution and demographics of planets. However, we lack a detailed understanding of this process because very few exoplanets discovered to date could be probed for signatures of atmospheric escape. Recently, the metastable helium triplet at 1.083 μm has been shown to be a viable window for the presence of He-rich escaping envelopes around short-period exoplanets. Our objective is to use, for the first time, the Phoenix spectrograph to search for helium in the upper atmosphere of the inflated hot Jupiter WASP-127 b. We observed one transit and reduced the data manually since there is no pipeline available. We did not find a significant in-transit absorption signal indicative of the presence of helium around WASP-127 b, and set a 90% confidence upper limit for excess absorption at 0.87% in a 0.75 Å passband covering the He triplet. Given the large scale height of this planet, the lack of a detectable feature is likely due to unfavorable photoionization conditions to populate the metastable He I triplet. This conclusion is supported by the inferred low coronal and chromospheric activity of the host star and the old age of the system, which result in a relatively mild high-energy environment around the planet.</p> </div> </div> </div>


Author(s):  
Graeme H. Smith ◽  
Mason Hargrave ◽  
Elliot Eckholm

AbstractThe far-ultraviolet magnitudes of late-F, G and early-K dwarfs with (B − V) ⩾ 0.50 as measured by the GALEX satellite are shown to correlate with soft X-ray luminosity. This result indicates that line and continuum emission from stellar active regions make significant contributions to the flux in the GALEX FUV band for late-F, G and K dwarfs. By contrast, detection of a correlation between FUV brightness and soft X-ray luminosity among early-F dwarfs requires subtraction of the photospheric component from the FUV flux. The range in (B − V) among F and G dwarfs over which a correlation between uncorrected FUV magnitude and X-ray luminosity is detected coincides with the range in colour over which coronal and chromospheric emission correlates with stellar rotation.


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