Larger and faster: revised properties and a shorter orbital period for the WASP-57 planetary system from a pro-am collaboration

Southworth, John; Mancini, L.; Tregloan-Reed, J.; Calchi Novati, S.; Ciceri, S.; D'Ago, G.; Delrez, L.; Dominik, M.; Evans, D.F.; Gillon, M.; Jehin, E.; Jørgensen, U.G.; Haugbølle, T.; Lendl, M.; Arena, C.; Barbieri, L.; Barbieri, M.; Corfini, G.; Lopresti, C.; Marchini, A.; Marino, G.; Alsubai, K.A.; Bozza, V.; Bramich, D.M.; Figuera Jaimes, R.; Hinse, T.C.; Th. Henning; Hundertmark, M.; Juncher, D.; Korhonen, H.; Popovas, A.; Rabus, M.; Rahvar, S.; Schmidt, R.W.; Skottfelt, J.; Snodgrass, C.; Starkey, D.; Surdej, J.; Wertz, O.

Abstract

Transits in the WASP-57 planetary system have been found to occur half an hour earlier than expected. We present 10 transit light curves from amateur telescopes, on which this discovery was based, 13 transit light curves from professional facilities which confirm and refine this finding, and high-resolution imaging which show no evidence for nearby companions. We use these data to determine a new and precise orbital ephemeris, and measure the physical properties of the system. Our revised orbital period is 4.5 s shorter than found from the discovery data alone, which explains the early occurrence of the transits. We also find both the star and planet to be larger and less massive than previously thought. The measured mass and radius of the planet are now consistent with theoretical models of gas giants containing no heavy-element core, as expected for the subsolar metallicity of the host star. Two transits were observed simultaneously in four passbands. We use the resulting light curves to measure the planet’s radius as a function of wavelength, finding that our data are sufficient in principle but not in practise to constrain its atmospheric properties. We conclude with a discussion of the current and future status of transmission photometry studies for probing the atmospheres of gas-giant transiting planets.

Citation

Southworth, J., Mancini, L., Tregloan-Reed, J., Calchi Novati, S., Ciceri, S., D'Ago, G., …Wertz, O. (2015). Larger and faster: revised properties and a shorter orbital period for the WASP-57 planetary system from a pro-am collaboration. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 454(3), 3094 -3107. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stv2183

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 18, 2015
• Online Publication Date: Oct 16, 2015
• Publication Date: Dec 11, 2015
• Publicly Available Date: May 26, 2023
• Journal: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
• Print ISSN: 0035-8711
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 454
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 3094 -3107
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stv2183
• Keywords: astrophysics, stars, fundamental parameters, individual, WASP-57, planetary systems
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stv2183