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The abundance distribution of stars with planets
We present the results of a uniform, high-precision spectroscopicmetallicity study of 136 G-type stars from the Anglo-Australian PlanetSearch, 20 of which are known to harbour extrasolar planets (as at 2005July). Abundances in Fe, C, Na, Al, Si, Ca, Ti and Ni are presented,along with Strömgen photometric metallicities. This study is one ofseveral recent studies examining the metallicities of a sample ofplanet-host and non-planet-host stars that were obtained from a singlesample, and analysed in an identical manner, providing an unbiasedestimate of the metallicity trends for planet-bearing stars. We findthat non-parametric tests of the distribution of metallicities forplanet-host and non-planet-host stars are significantly different at alevel of 99.4 per cent confidence. We confirm the previously observedtrend for planet-host stars to have higher mean metallicities thannon-planet-host stars, with a mean metallicity for planet-host stars of[Fe/H] = 0.06 +/- 0.03dex compared with [Fe/H] = -0.09 +/- 0.01dex fornon-host-stars in our sample. This enrichment is also seen in the otherelements studied. Based on our findings, we suggest that this observedenhancement is more likely a relic of the original gas cloud from whichthe star and its planets formed, rather than being due to `pollution' ofthe stellar photosphere.
| A rigorous statistical test for the existence of supermetallicity in F, G and K dwarfs
In this paper, the first statistically rigorous test is performed todetermine whether there are dwarfs in the solar neighbourhood with[Fe/H] > +0.2 dex. The possibility that no such stars exist isrejected with a confidence limit exceeding 99.994 per cent. If thethreshold value is raised to +0.38 dex, the corresponding hypothesis isrejected with a confidence limit of 98.5 per cent. It is tentativelyfound that this upper limit does not depend on the presence or absenceof planets orbiting metal-rich stars. In a result that is unchanged froma previous paper, the upper limit for the known metallicities of giantsis found to be about 0.2 dex lower than the limit for dwarfs. Stars thatmight be observed to improve the upper metallicity limit for dwarfs arelisted.
| Spectroscopic Properties of Cool Stars (SPOCS). I. 1040 F, G, and K Dwarfs from Keck, Lick, and AAT Planet Search Programs
We present a uniform catalog of stellar properties for 1040 nearby F, G,and K stars that have been observed by the Keck, Lick, and AAT planetsearch programs. Fitting observed echelle spectra with synthetic spectrayielded effective temperature, surface gravity, metallicity, projectedrotational velocity, and abundances of the elements Na, Si, Ti, Fe, andNi, for every star in the catalog. Combining V-band photometry andHipparcos parallaxes with a bolometric correction based on thespectroscopic results yielded stellar luminosity, radius, and mass.Interpolating Yonsei-Yale isochrones to the luminosity, effectivetemperature, metallicity, and α-element enhancement of each staryielded a theoretical mass, radius, gravity, and age range for moststars in the catalog. Automated tools provide uniform results and makeanalysis of such a large sample practical. Our analysis method differsfrom traditional abundance analyses in that we fit the observed spectrumdirectly, rather than trying to match equivalent widths, and wedetermine effective temperature and surface gravity from the spectrumitself, rather than adopting values based on measured photometry orparallax. As part of our analysis, we determined a new relationshipbetween macroturbulence and effective temperature on the main sequence.Detailed error analysis revealed small systematic offsets with respectto the Sun and spurious abundance trends as a function of effectivetemperature that would be inobvious in smaller samples. We attempted toremove these errors by applying empirical corrections, achieving aprecision per spectrum of 44 K in effective temperature, 0.03 dex inmetallicity, 0.06 dex in the logarithm of gravity, and 0.5 kms-1 in projected rotational velocity. Comparisons withprevious studies show only small discrepancies. Our spectroscopicallydetermined masses have a median fractional precision of 15%, but theyare systematically 10% higher than masses obtained by interpolatingisochrones. Our spectroscopic radii have a median fractional precisionof 3%. Our ages from isochrones have a precision that variesdramatically with location in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. We planto extend the catalog by applying our automated analysis technique toother large stellar samples.
| The Planet-Metallicity Correlation
We have recently carried out spectral synthesis modeling to determineTeff, logg, vsini, and [Fe/H] for 1040 FGK-type stars on theKeck, Lick, and Anglo-Australian Telescope planet search programs. Thisis the first time that a single, uniform spectroscopic analysis has beenmade for every star on a large Doppler planet search survey. We identifya subset of 850 stars that have Doppler observations sufficient todetect uniformly all planets with radial velocity semiamplitudes K>30m s-1 and orbital periods shorter than 4 yr. From this subsetof stars, we determine that fewer than 3% of stars with-0.5<[Fe/H]<0.0 have Doppler-detected planets. Above solarmetallicity, there is a smooth and rapid rise in the fraction of starswith planets. At [Fe/H]>+0.3 dex, 25% of observed stars have detectedgas giant planets. A power-law fit to these data relates the formationprobability for gas giant planets to the square of the number of metalatoms. High stellar metallicity also appears to be correlated with thepresence of multiple-planet systems and with the total detected planetmass. This data set was examined to better understand the origin of highmetallicity in stars with planets. None of the expected fossilsignatures of accretion are observed in stars with planets relative tothe general sample: (1) metallicity does not appear to increase as themass of the convective envelopes decreases, (2) subgiants with planetsdo not show dilution of metallicity, (3) no abundance variations for Na,Si, Ti, or Ni are found as a function of condensation temperature, and(4) no correlations between metallicity and orbital period oreccentricity could be identified. We conclude that stars with extrasolarplanets do not have an accretion signature that distinguishes them fromother stars; more likely, they are simply born in higher metallicitymolecular clouds.Based on observations obtained at Lick and Keck Observatories, operatedby the University of California, and the Anglo-Australian Observatories.
| Improved Astrometry and Photometry for the Luyten Catalog. II. Faint Stars and the Revised Catalog
We complete construction of a catalog containing improved astrometry andnew optical/infrared photometry for the vast majority of NLTT starslying in the overlap of regions covered by POSS I and by the secondincremental Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) release, approximately 44%of the sky. The epoch 2000 positions are typically accurate to 130 mas,the proper motions to 5.5 mas yr-1, and the V-J colors to0.25 mag. Relative proper motions of binary components are measured to 3mas yr-1. The false-identification rate is ~1% for11<~V<~18 and substantially less at brighter magnitudes. Theseimprovements permit the construction of a reduced proper-motion diagramthat, for the first time, allows one to classify NLTT stars intomain-sequence (MS) stars, subdwarfs (SDs), and white dwarfs (WDs). We inturn use this diagram to analyze the properties of both our catalog andthe NLTT catalog on which it is based. In sharp contrast to popularbelief, we find that NLTT incompleteness in the plane is almostcompletely concentrated in MS stars, and that SDs and WDs are detectedalmost uniformly over the sky δ>-33deg. Our catalogwill therefore provide a powerful tool to probe these populationsstatistically, as well as to reliably identify individual SDs and WDs.
| Extrasolar planets around HD 196050, HD 216437 and HD 160691
We report precise Doppler measurements of the stars HD 216437, HD 196050and HD 160691 obtained with the Anglo-Australian Telescope using theUCLES spectrometer together with an iodine cell as part of theAnglo-Australian Planet Search. Our measurements reveal periodicKeplerian velocity variations that we interpret as evidence for planetsin orbit around these solar type stars. HD 216437 has a period of 1294+/- 250 d, a semi-amplitude of 38 +/- 3 m s-1 and aneccentricity of 0.33 +/- 0.09. The minimum (M sin i) mass of thecompanion is 2.1 +/- 0.3 MJUP and the semi-major axis is 2.4+/- 0.5 au. HD 196050 has a period of 1300 +/- 230 d, a semi-amplitudeof 49 +/- 8 m s-1 and an eccentricity of 0.19 +/- 0.09. Theminimum mass of the companion is 2.8 +/- 0.5 MJUP and thesemi-major axis is 2.4 +/- 0.5 au. We also report further observationsof the metal-rich planet bearing star HD 160691. Our new solutionconfirms the previously reported planet and shows a trend indicating asecond, longer-period companion. These discoveries add to the growingnumbers of mildly eccentric, long-period extrasolar planets aroundmetal-rich Sun-like stars.
| Mining the Metal-rich Stars for Planets
We examine the correlation between stellar metallicity and the presenceof short-period planets. It appears that approximately 1% of dwarf starsin the solar neighborhood harbor short-period planets characterized bynear-circular orbits and orbital periods P<20 days. However, amongthe most metal-rich stars (defined as having [Fe/H]>0.2 dex), itappears that the fraction increases to 10%. Using the Hipparcos databaseand the Hauck & Mermilliod compilation of Strömgren uvbyphotometry, we identify a sample of 206 metal-rich stars of spectraltype K, G and F which have an enhanced probability of harboringshort-period planets. Many of these stars would be excellent candidatesfor addition to radial velocity surveys. We have searched the Hipparcosepoch photometry for transiting planets within our 206 star catalog. Wefind that the quality of the Hipparcos data is not high enough to permitunambiguous transit detections. It is, however, possible to identifycandidate transit periods. We then discuss various ramifications of thestellar metallicity-planet connection. First, we show that there ispreliminary evidence for increasing metallicity with increasing stellarmass among known planet-bearing stars. This trend can be explained by ascenario in which planet-bearing stars accrete an average of 30M⊕ of rocky material after the gaseous protoplanetarydisk phase has ended. We present dynamical calculations which suggestthat a survey of metallicities of spectroscopic binary stars can be usedto understand the root cause of the stellar metallicity-planetconnection.
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Observation and Astrometry data
| Constellation: | Οκρίβας |
| Right ascension: | 04h56m18.31s |
| Declination: | -51°02'51.1" |
| Apparent magnitude: | 8.243 |
| Distance: | 52.493 parsecs |
| Proper motion RA: | 183.4 |
| Proper motion Dec: | -139.2 |
| B-T magnitude: | 9.224 |
| V-T magnitude: | 8.324 |
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