A search for starlight reflected from upsilon And's innermost planet

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Abstract

In data from three clear nights of echelle spectroscopy in 2000 October/November, and using improved Doppler tomographic signal-analysis techniques, we have carried out a deep search for starlight reflected from the innermost of v (upsilon) And's three planets. We place upper limits on the planet's radius R-P as functions of its projected orbital velocity K-P approximate to 139 sin i km s (1) for various assumptions about the wavelength-dependent geometric albedo spectrum p(lambda) of its atmosphere. For a grey albedo p we find Rprootp < 0.98 R-j, with 0.1 per cent false-alarm probability (4&sigma;). For a Sudarsky, Burrows & Pinto Class V model atmosphere, the mean albedo in our 380-676 nm bandpass is [p] &SIM; 0.42, requiring R-P < 1.51 R-J, whereas an (isolated) Class IV model with [p] similar to 0.19 requires R-P < 2.23 R-J. The star's v(rot) sin i &SIM; 10 km s(-1) and estimated rotation period P-rot &SIM; 10 d suggest a high orbital inclination i &SIM; 70&DEG;-80&DEG;. We also develop methods for assessing the false-alarm probabilities of faint candidate detections, and for extracting information about the albedo spectrum and other planetary parameters from faint reflected-light signals.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)187-204
Number of pages18
JournalMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Volume330
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 11 Feb 2002

Keywords

  • methods : data analysis
  • techniques : spectroscopic
  • stars : individual : upsilon And
  • planetary systems
  • EXTRASOLAR GIANT PLANETS
  • TAU-BOOTIS
  • STARS
  • ANDROMEDAE
  • COMPANIONS
  • EXTRACTION
  • SPECTRA

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