High-precision transit observations of the exoplanet WASP-13b with the RISE instrument

作者：Barros S C C^*; Pollacco D L; Gibson N P; Keenan F P; Skillen I; Steele I A

来源：Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2012, 419(2): 1248-1253.

DOI：10.1111/j.1365-2966.2011.19784.x

• methods: data analysis
• methods: observational
• techniques: photometric
• stars: individual: WASP-13
• planetary systems

WASP-13b is a sub-Jupiter mass exoplanet orbiting a G1V type star with a period of 4.35 d. The current uncertainty in its impact parameter (0 %26lt; b %26lt; 0.46) results in poorly defined stellar and planetary radii. To better constrain the impact parameter, we have obtained high-precision transit observations with the rapid imager to search for exoplanets (RISE) instrument mounted on 2.0-m Liverpool Telescope. We present four new transits which are fitted with a Markov chain Monte Carlo routine to derive accurate system parameters. We found an orbital inclination of 85.2 +/- 0.3 resulting in stellar and planetary radii of 1.56 +/- 0.04 R circle dot and 1.39 +/- 0.05RJup, respectively. This suggests that the host star has evolved off the main sequence and is in the hydrogen-shell-burning phase. We also discuss how the limb darkening affects the derived system parameters. With a density of 0.17 rho J, WASP-13b joins the group of low-density planets whose radii are too large to be explained by standard irradiation models. We derive a new ephemeris for the system, T0= 245 5575.5136 +/- 0.0016 (HJD) and P= 4.353 011 +/- 0.000 013 d. The planet equilibrium temperature (Tequ= 1500 K) and the bright host star (V= 10.4 mag) make it a good candidate for follow-up atmospheric studies.

• 出版日期2012-1