The N2K consortium. II. A transiting hot saturn around HD 149026 with a large dense core

Bun'ei Sato, Debra A. Fischer, Gregory W. Henry, Greg Laughlin, R. Paul Butler, Geoffrey W. Marcy, Steven S. Vogt, Peter Bodenheimer, Shigeru Ida, Eri Toyota, Aaron Wolf, Jeff A. Valenti, Louis J. Boyd, John A. Johnson, Jason T. Wright, Mark Ammons, Sarah Robinson, Jay Strader, Chris McCarthy, K. L. TahDante Minniti

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

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Abstract

Doppler measurements from Subaru and Keck have revealed radial velocity variations in the V = 8.15, G0 IV star HD 149026 consistent with a Saturn-mass planet in a 2.8766 day orbit. Photometric observations at Fairborn Observatory have detected three complete transit events with depths of 0.003 mag at the predicted times of conjunction. HD 149026 is now the second-brightest star with a transiting extrasolar planet. The mass of the star, based on interpolation of stellar evolutionary models, is 1.3 ± 0.1 Modot;; together with the Doppler amplitude K1 = 43.3 m s-1, we derive a planet mass M sin i = 0.36MJ and orbital radius 0.042 AU. HD 149026 is chromospherically inactive and metal-rich with spectroscopically derived [Fe/H] = +0.36, Teff- = 6147 K, log g = 4.26, and v sin i = 6.0 km s-1. Based on Teff and the stellar luminosity of 2.72 L, we derive a stellar radius of 1.45 R. Modeling of the three photometric transits provides an orbital inclination of 85°3 ±1°0 and (including the uncertainty in the stellar radius) a planet radius of (0.725 ± 0.05)RJ. Models for this planet mass and radius suggest the presence of a ∼67 M core composed of elements heavier than hydrogen and helium. This substantial planet core would be difficult to construct by gravitational instability.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)465-473
Number of pages9
JournalAstrophysical Journal
Volume633
Issue number1 I
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 1 2005

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
  • Space and Planetary Science

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