The Massive Star Population of Cygnus OB2 (2015)
Journal Article
Wright. (2015). The Massive Star Population of Cygnus OB2. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 741-760. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stv323

We have compiled a significantly updated and comprehensive census of massive stars in the nearby Cygnus OB2 association by gathering and homogenizing data from across the literature. The census contains 169 primary OB stars, including 52 O-type stars... Read More about The Massive Star Population of Cygnus OB2.

SPECTROSCOPIC ORBITAL PERIODS FOR 29 CATACLYSMIC VARIABLES FROM THE SLOAN DIGITAL SKY SURVEY (2015)
Journal Article
Thorstensen, J. R., Taylor, C. J., Peters, C. S., Skinner, J. N., Southworth, J., & Gänsicke, B. T. (2015). SPECTROSCOPIC ORBITAL PERIODS FOR 29 CATACLYSMIC VARIABLES FROM THE SLOAN DIGITAL SKY SURVEY. Astronomical Journal, 149(4), 128. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-6256/149/4/128

We report follow-up spectroscopy of 29 cataclysmic variables from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), 22 of which were discovered by SDSS and seven of which are previously known systems that were recovered in SDSS. The periods for 16 of these object... Read More about SPECTROSCOPIC ORBITAL PERIODS FOR 29 CATACLYSMIC VARIABLES FROM THE SLOAN DIGITAL SKY SURVEY.

The UK Infrared Telescope M33 monitoring project - IV. Variable red giant stars across the galactic disc (2015)
Journal Article
Van Loon. (2015). The UK Infrared Telescope M33 monitoring project - IV. Variable red giant stars across the galactic disc. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 3973 -3991. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stu2637

We have conducted a near-infrared monitoring campaign at the UK InfraRed Telescope, of the Local Group spiral galaxy M33 (Triangulum). The main aim was to identify stars in the very final stage of their evolution, and for which the luminosity is more... Read More about The UK Infrared Telescope M33 monitoring project - IV. Variable red giant stars across the galactic disc.

The GAPS programme with HARPS-N at TNG V. A comprehensive analysis of the XO-2 stellar and planetary systems (2015)
Journal Article
Damasso, M., Biazzo, K., Bonomo, A., Desidera, S., Lanza, A., Nascimbeni, V., Esposito, M., Scandariato, G., Sozzetti, A., Cosentino, R., Gratton, R., Malavolta, L., Rainer, M., Gandolfi, D., Poretti, E., Zanmar Sanchez, R., Ribas, I., Santos, N., Affer, L., Andreuzzi, G., …Southworth, J. (2015). The GAPS programme with HARPS-N at TNG V. A comprehensive analysis of the XO-2 stellar and planetary systems. Astronomy & Astrophysics, 575, Article A111. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201425332

Aims. XO-2 is the first confirmed wide stellar binary system where the almost twin components XO-2N and XO-2S have planets, and it is a peculiar laboratory in which to investigate the diversity of planetary systems. This stimulated a detailed charact... Read More about The GAPS programme with HARPS-N at TNG V. A comprehensive analysis of the XO-2 stellar and planetary systems.

The GAPS programme with HARPS-N at TNG VI. The curious case of TrES-4b (2015)
Journal Article
Sozzetti, A., Bonomo, A., Biazzo, K., Mancini, L., Damasso, M., Desidera, S., Gratton, R., Lanza, A., Poretti, E., Rainer, M., Malavolta, L., Affer, L., Barbieri, M., Bedin, L., Boccato, C., Bonavita, M., Borsa, F., Ciceri, S., Claudi, R., Gandolfi, D., …Southworth, J. (2015). The GAPS programme with HARPS-N at TNG VI. The curious case of TrES-4b. Astronomy & Astrophysics, 575, Article L15. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201425570

We update the TrES-4 system parameters using high-precision HARPS-N radial-velocity measurements and new photometric light curves. A combined spectroscopic and photometric analysis allows us to determine a spectroscopic orbit with a semi-amplitude K... Read More about The GAPS programme with HARPS-N at TNG VI. The curious case of TrES-4b.

High-precision multiband time series photometry of exoplanets Qatar-1b and TrES-5b (2015)
Journal Article
Mislis, D., Mancini, L., Tregloan-Reed, J., Ciceri, S., Taylor, J., D'Ago, G., Bruni, I., Baştürk, Ö., Alsubai, K., Bachelet, E., Bramich, D., Th. Henning, Hinse, T., Iannella, A., Parley, N., & Schroeder, T. (2015). High-precision multiband time series photometry of exoplanets Qatar-1b and TrES-5b. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 448(3), 2617 -2623. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stv197

We present an analysis of the Qatar-1 and TrES-5 transiting exoplanetary systems, which contain Jupiter-like planets on short-period orbits around K-dwarf stars. Our data comprise a total of 20 transit light curves obtained using five medium-class te... Read More about High-precision multiband time series photometry of exoplanets Qatar-1b and TrES-5b.

The Gaia-ESO Survey: A globular cluster escapee in the Galactic halo (2015)
Journal Article
Jeffries. (2015). The Gaia-ESO Survey: A globular cluster escapee in the Galactic halo. Astronomy & Astrophysics, https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201425554

A small fraction of the halo field is made up of stars that share the light element (Z = 13) anomalies characteristic of second generation globular cluster (GC) stars. The ejected stars shed light on the formation of the Galactic halo by tracing the... Read More about The Gaia-ESO Survey: A globular cluster escapee in the Galactic halo.

WASP-20b and WASP-28b: a hot Saturn and a hot Jupiter in near-aligned orbits around solar-type stars (2015)
Journal Article
Hellier, Smalley, & Maxted. (2015). WASP-20b and WASP-28b: a hot Saturn and a hot Jupiter in near-aligned orbits around solar-type stars. Astronomy & Astrophysics, https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201423591

We report the discovery of the planets WASP-20b and WASP-28b along with measurements of their sky-projected orbital obliquities. WASP-20b is an inflated, Saturn-mass planet (0.31?MJup; 1.46?RJup) in a 4.9-day, near-aligned (? = 12.7 ± 4.2°) orbit aro... Read More about WASP-20b and WASP-28b: a hot Saturn and a hot Jupiter in near-aligned orbits around solar-type stars.

Star formation rates from young-star counts and the structure of the ISM across the NGC 346/N66 complex in the SMC (2015)
Journal Article
Hony, S., Gouliermis, D., Galliano, F., Galametz, M., Cormier, D., Chen, C.-H., Dib, S., Hughes, A., Klessen, R., Roman-Duval, J., Smith, L., Bernard, J.-P., Bot, C., Carlson, L., Gordon, K., Indebetouw, R., Lebouteiller, V., Lee, M.-Y., Madden, S., Meixner, M., …Wu, R. (2015). Star formation rates from young-star counts and the structure of the ISM across the NGC 346/N66 complex in the SMC. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 448(2), 1847 - 1862. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stv107

The rate at which interstellar gas is converted into stars, and its dependence on environment, is one of the pillars on which our understanding of the visible Universe is build. We present a comparison of the surface density of young stars (S?) and d... Read More about Star formation rates from young-star counts and the structure of the ISM across the NGC 346/N66 complex in the SMC.

Galaxy evolution: black hole feedback in the luminous quasar PDS 456 (2015)
Journal Article
(2015). Galaxy evolution: black hole feedback in the luminous quasar PDS 456. Science, 860 -863. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1259202

The evolution of galaxies is connected to the growth of supermassive black holes in their centers. During the quasar phase, a huge luminosity is released as matter falls onto the black hole, and radiation-driven winds can transfer most of this energy... Read More about Galaxy evolution: black hole feedback in the luminous quasar PDS 456.

Bayesian mass and age estimates for transiting exoplanet host stars (2015)
Journal Article
Maxted, P., Serenelli, A., & Southworth, J. (2015). Bayesian mass and age estimates for transiting exoplanet host stars. Astronomy & Astrophysics, 575, Article A36. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201425331

The mean density of a star transited by a planet, brown dwarf or low mass star can be accurately measured from its light curve. This measurement can be combined with other observations to estimate its mass and age by comparison with stellar models. O... Read More about Bayesian mass and age estimates for transiting exoplanet host stars.

Spots on Am stars (2015)
Journal Article
Balona, L., Catanzaro, G., Abedigamba, O., Ripepi, V., & Smalley, B. (2015). Spots on Am stars. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 1378 - 1388. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stv076

We investigate the light variations of 15 Am stars using four years of high-precision photometry from the Kepler spacecraft and an additional 14 Am stars from the K2 Campaign 0 field. We find that most of the Am stars in the Kepler field have light c... Read More about Spots on Am stars.

The well-aligned orbit of Wasp-84b: evidence for disk migration of a hot Jupiter (2015)
Journal Article
Smalley, Hellier, & Maxted. (2015). The well-aligned orbit of Wasp-84b: evidence for disk migration of a hot Jupiter. Astrophysical Journal Letters, https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/800/1/L9

We report the sky-projected orbital obliquity (spin–orbit angle) of WASP-84 b, a 0.69${{M}_{{\rm Jup}}}$ planet in an 8.52 day orbit around a G9V/K0V star, to be ? = -0.3 ± 1.7°. We obtain a true obliquity of ? = 17.3 ± 7.7° from a measurement of the... Read More about The well-aligned orbit of Wasp-84b: evidence for disk migration of a hot Jupiter.

Probing the local bubble with diffuse interstellar abnds. II. The Dib properties in the northern hemisphere (2015)
Journal Article
Van Loon. (2015). Probing the local bubble with diffuse interstellar abnds. II. The Dib properties in the northern hemisphere. Astrophysical Journal, https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/800/1/64

We present a new high signal-to-noise ratio spectroscopic survey of the Northern hemisphere to probe the Local Bubble and its surroundings using the ?5780 Å and ?5797 Å diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs). We observed 432 sightlines to a distance of 20... Read More about Probing the local bubble with diffuse interstellar abnds. II. The Dib properties in the northern hemisphere.

Probing the local bubble with diffuse interstellar bands. III. The northern hemisphere data and catalog (2015)
Journal Article
Van Loon. (2015). Probing the local bubble with diffuse interstellar bands. III. The northern hemisphere data and catalog. Astrophysical Journal, 33. https://doi.org/10.1088/0067-0049/216/2/33

We present new high signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) observations of the diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) in the Local Bubble and its surroundings. We observed 432 sightlines and obtain the equivalent widths of the ?5780 and ?5797 Å DIBs up to a distance... Read More about Probing the local bubble with diffuse interstellar bands. III. The northern hemisphere data and catalog.

An infrared census of dust in nearby galaxies with Spitxer (Dustings). II. Discovery of metal-poor dusty AGB stars (2015)
Journal Article
Van Loon. (2015). An infrared census of dust in nearby galaxies with Spitxer (Dustings). II. Discovery of metal-poor dusty AGB stars. Astrophysical Journal, 51. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/800/1/51

The DUSTiNGS survey (DUST in Nearby Galaxies with Spitzer) is a 3.6 and 4.5 µm imaging survey of 50 nearby dwarf galaxies designed to identify dust-producing asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars and massive stars. Using two epochs, spaced approximatel... Read More about An infrared census of dust in nearby galaxies with Spitxer (Dustings). II. Discovery of metal-poor dusty AGB stars.

Characterizing K2 Planet Discoveries: A Super-earth Transiting The Bright K Dwarf HIP 116454 (2015)
Journal Article
Hellier. (2015). Characterizing K2 Planet Discoveries: A Super-earth Transiting The Bright K Dwarf HIP 116454. Astrophysical Journal, https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/800/1/59

We report the first planet discovery from the two-wheeled Kepler (K2) mission: HIP 116454 b. The host star HIP 116454 is a bright (V = 10.1, K = 8.0) K1 dwarf with high proper motion and a parallax-based distance of 55.2 ± 5.4 pc. Based on high-resol... Read More about Characterizing K2 Planet Discoveries: A Super-earth Transiting The Bright K Dwarf HIP 116454.

The Gaia-ESO survey: Discovery of a spatially extended low-mass population in the Vela OB2 association (2015)
Journal Article
Jeffries. (2015). The Gaia-ESO survey: Discovery of a spatially extended low-mass population in the Vela OB2 association. Astronomy & Astrophysics, https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201425367

The nearby (distance ~ 350–400 pc), rich Vela OB2 association, includes ?2 Velorum, one of the most massive binaries in the solar neighbourhood and an excellent laboratory for investigating the formation and early evolution of young clusters. Recent... Read More about The Gaia-ESO survey: Discovery of a spatially extended low-mass population in the Vela OB2 association.

In situ apparatus for the study of clathrate hydrates relevant to solar system bodies using synchrotron X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy (Research Note) (2015)
Journal Article
(2015). In situ apparatus for the study of clathrate hydrates relevant to solar system bodies using synchrotron X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy (Research Note). Astronomy & Astrophysics, https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201424482

Context. Clathrate hydrates are believed to play a significant role in various solar system environments, e.g. comets, and the surfaces and interiors of icy satellites. However, the structural factors governing their formation and dissociation are po... Read More about In situ apparatus for the study of clathrate hydrates relevant to solar system bodies using synchrotron X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy (Research Note).

A search for non-pulsating, chemically normal stars in the delta Scuti instability strip using Kepler data (2015)
Journal Article
Murphy, S. J., Bedding, T. R., Niemczura, E., Kurtz, D. W., & Smalley, B. (2015). A search for non-pulsating, chemically normal stars in the delta Scuti instability strip using Kepler data. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 447(4), 3948 -3959. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stu2749

We identify stars in the d Sct instability strip that do not pulsate in p modes at the 50-µmag limit, using Kepler data. Spectral classification and abundance analyses from high-resolution spectroscopy allow us to identify chemically peculiar stars,... Read More about A search for non-pulsating, chemically normal stars in the delta Scuti instability strip using Kepler data.