Transiting planets of intermediate-mass stars

• Applicant: Dr. Eike W. Guenther
• Subject Area: Astrophysics and Astronomy
• Term: from 2012 to 2013
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 230668157

In contrast to planets of solar-like stars, very little is known about close-in planets of intermediate mass stars (1.3-2.1 Msun). The detection of a (several) close-in planet(s) of main-sequence stars of intermediate-mass would show that the formation and migration time of planets must be short, because the life time of the proto-planetary disks of such stars is short. It would also allow us to find out whether planets of such stars have different properties than planets of solar like stars (e.g. higher mass, higher density), as predicted by theory of planet-formation. We focus on transiting planet-candidates discovered by CoRoT with orbital periods less than 4 days. A feasibility study with the shows that it is possible to detect planets with masses greater than 2 MJup around these types of stars.In order to study transiting planets of intermediate-mass stars, we have analyzed high-precision light-curves obtained with the CoRoT-satellite. After identifying suitable candidates, we carried out a first observing run using the 2.1-m telescope at McDonald observatory. These observations showed that it is possible to measure the radial-velocity of intermediate-mass stars and we identified suitable candidates. We then submitted a proposal to the Spanish-German-astronomical centre (DSAZ) in order to observe these objects with a higher precision with the new Cafe-echelle spectrograph mounted on the 2.2-m telescope.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants