Constraining the properties of HD 206893 B. A combination of radial velocity, direct imaging, and astrometry data
Abstract:
Context. High contrast imaging enables the determination of orbital parameters for substellar companions (planets, brown dwarfs) from the observed relative astrometry and the estimation of model and age-dependent masses from their observed magnitudes or spectra. Combining astrometric positions with radial velocity gives direct constraints on the orbit and on the dynamical masses of companions. A brown dwarf was discovered with the VLT/SPHERE instrument at the Very Large Telescope (VLT) in 2017, which orbits at ∼11 au around HD 206893. Its mass was estimated between 12 and 50 MJ from evolutionary models and its photometry. However, given the significant uncertainty on the age of the system and the peculiar spectrophotometric properties of the companion, this mass is not well constrained.
Aims. We aim at constraining the orbit and dynamical mass of HD 206893 B.
Methods. We combined radial velocity data obtained with HARPS spectra and astrometric data obtained with the high contrast imaging VLT/SPHERE and VLT/NaCo instruments, with a time baseline less than three years. We then combined those data with astrometry data obtained by HIPPARCOS and Gaiawith a time baseline of 24 yr. We used a Markov chain Monte Carlo approach to estimate the orbital parameters and dynamical mass of the brown dwarf from those data.
Results. We infer a period between 21 and 33 yr and an inclination in the range 20−41° from pole-on from HD 206893 B relative astrometry. The RV data show a significant RV drift over 1.6 yr. We show that HD 206893 B cannot be the source of this observed RV drift as it would lead to a dynamical mass inconsistent with its photometry and spectra and with HIPPARCOS and Gaia data. An additional inner (semimajor axis in the range 1.4–2.6 au) and massive (∼15 MJ) companion is needed to explain the RV drift, which is compatible with the available astrometric data of the star, as well as with the VLT/SPHERE and VLT/NaCo nondetection.
Stellar activity and rotation of the planet host Kepler-17 from long-term space-borne photometry
Abstract:
Context. The study of young Sun-like stars is fundamental to understanding the magnetic activity and rotational evolution of the Sun. Space-borne photometry by the Kepler telescope provides unprecedented datasets to investigate these phenomena in Sun-like stars.
Aims. We present a new analysis of the entire Kepler photometric time series of the moderately young Sun-like star Kepler-17 accompanied by a transiting hot Jupiter.
Methods. We applied a maximum-entropy spot model to the long-cadence out-of-transit photometry of the target to derive maps of the starspot filling factor versus the longitude and the time. These maps are compared to the spots occulted during transits to validate our reconstruction and derive information on the latitudes of the starspots.
Results. We find two main active longitudes on the photosphere of Kepler-17, one of which has a lifetime of at least ∼1400 days although with a varying level of activity. The latitudinal differential rotation is of solar type, that is, with the equator rotating faster than the poles. We estimate a minimum relative amplitude ΔΩ/Ω between ∼0.08 ± 0.05 and 0.14 ± 0.05, our determination being affected by the finite lifetime of individual starspots and depending on the adopted spot model parameters. We find marginal evidence of a short-term intermittent activity cycle of ∼48 days and an indication of a longer cycle of 400−600 days characterized by an equatorward migration of the mean latitude of the spots as in the Sun. The rotation of Kepler-17 is likely to be significantly affected by the tides raised by its massive close-by planet.
Conclusions. We confirm the reliability of maximum-entropy spot models to map starspots in young active stars and characterize the activity and differential rotation of this young Sun-like planetary host.