A giant planet orbiting the 'extreme horizontal branch' star V 391 Pegasi

After the initial discoveries fifteen years ago, over 200 extrasolar planets have now been detected. Most of them orbit main-sequence stars similar to our Sun, although a few planets orbiting red giant stars have been recently found. When the hydrogen in their cores runs out, main-sequence stars undergo an expansion into red-giant stars. This expansion can modify the orbits of planets and can easily reach and engulf the inner planets. The same will happen to the planets of our Solar System in about five billion years and the fate of the Earth is matter of debate. Here we report the discovery of a planetary-mass body (Msini = 3.2M(Jupiter)) orbiting the star V 391 Pegasi at a distance of about 1.7 astronomical units (au), with a period of 3.2 years. This star is on the extreme horizontal branch of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, burning helium in its core and pulsating. The maximum radius of the red-giant precursor of V 391 Pegasi may have reached 0.7 au, while the orbital distance of the planet during the stellar main-sequence phase is estimated to be about 1 au. This detection of a planet orbiting a post-red-giant star demonstrates that planets with orbital distances of less than 2 au can survive the red-giant expansion of their parent stars.     

Transiting extrasolar planetary candidates in the Galactic bulge

More than 200 extrasolar planets have been discovered around relatively nearby stars, primarily through the Doppler line shifts owing to reflex motions of their host stars, and more recently through transits of some planets across the faces of the host stars. The detection of planets with the shortest known periods, 1.2-2.5 days, has mainly resulted from transit surveys which have generally targeted stars more massive than 0.75 M(o), where M(o) is the mass of the Sun. Here we report the results from a planetary transit search performed in a rich stellar field towards the Galactic bulge. We discovered 16 candidates with orbital periods between 0.4 and 4.2 days, five of which orbit stars of masses in the range 0.44-0.75 M(o). In two cases, radial-velocity measurements support the planetary nature of the companions. Five candidates have orbital periods below 1.0 day, constituting a new class of ultra-short-period planets, which occur only around stars of less than 0.88 M(o). This indicates that those orbiting very close to more-luminous stars might be evaporatively destroyed or that jovian planets around stars of lower mass might migrate to smaller radii.     

Evidence for planet engulfment by the star HD82943

Current models of the evolution of the known extrasolar planetary systems need to incorporate orbital migration and/or gravitational interactions among giant planets to explain the presence of large bodies close to their parent stars. These processes could also lead to planets being ingested by their parent stars, which would alter the relative abundances of elements heavier than helium in the stellar atmospheres. In particular, the abundance of the rare 6Li isotope, which is normally destroyed in the early evolution of solar-type stars but preserved intact in the atmospheres of giant planets, would be boosted substantially. 6Li has not hitherto been observed reliably in a metal-rich star, where metallicity refers to the total abundance of elements heavier than helium. Here we report the discovery of 6Li in the atmosphere of the metal-rich solar-type star HD82943, which is known to have an orbiting giant planet. The presence of 6Li can probably be interpreted as evidence for a planet (or planets) having been engulfed by the parent star.     

An extrasolar giant planet in a close triple-star system

Hot Jupiters are gas-giant planets orbiting with periods of 3-9 days around Sun-like stars. They are believed to form in a disk of gas and condensed matter at or beyond approximately 2.7 astronomical units (au-the Sun-Earth distance) from their parent star. At such distances, there exists a sufficient amount of solid material to produce a core capable of capturing enough gas to form a giant planet. Subsequently, they migrate inward to their present close orbits. Here I report the detection of an unusual hot Jupiter orbiting the primary star of a triple stellar system, HD 188753. The planet has an orbital period of 3.35 days and a minimum mass of 1.14 times that of Jupiter. The primary star's mass is 1.06 times that of the Sun, 1.06 M(\circ). The secondary star, itself a binary stellar system, orbits the primary at an average distance of 12.3 au with an eccentricity of 0.50. The mass of the secondary pair is 1.63 M(\circ). Such a close and massive secondary would have truncated a disk around the primary to a radius of only approximately 1.3 AU (ref. 4) and might have heated it up to temperatures high enough to prohibit giant-planet formation, leaving the origin of this planet unclear.     

A young massive planet in a star-disk system

There is a general consensus that planets form within disks of dust and gas around newly born stars. Details of their formation process, however, are still a matter of ongoing debate. The timescale of planet formation remains unclear, so the detection of planets around young stars with protoplanetary disks is potentially of great interest. Hitherto, no such planet has been found. Here we report the detection of a planet of mass (9.8+/-3.3)M(Jupiter) around TW Hydrae (TW Hya), a nearby young star with an age of only 8-10 Myr that is surrounded by a well-studied circumstellar disk. It orbits the star with a period of 3.56 days at 0.04 au, inside the inner rim of the disk. This demonstrates that planets can form within 10 Myr, before the disk has been dissipated by stellar winds and radiation.     

A closely packed system of low-mass, low-density planets transiting Kepler-11

When an extrasolar planet passes in front of (transits) its star, its radius can be measured from the decrease in starlight and its orbital period from the time between transits. Multiple planets transiting the same star reveal much more: period ratios determine stability and dynamics, mutual gravitational interactions reflect planet masses and orbital shapes, and the fraction of transiting planets observed as multiples has implications for the planarity of planetary systems. But few stars have more than one known transiting planet, and none has more than three. Here we report Kepler spacecraft observations of a single Sun-like star, which we call Kepler-11, that reveal six transiting planets, five with orbital periods between 10 and 47?days and a sixth planet with a longer period. The five inner planets are among the smallest for which mass and size have both been measured, and these measurements imply substantial envelopes of light gases. The degree of coplanarity and proximity of the planetary orbits imply energy dissipation near the end of planet formation.     

Water vapour and hydrogen in the terrestrial-planet-forming region of a protoplanetary disk

Planetary systems (ours included) formed in disks of dust and gas around young stars. Disks are an integral part of the star and planet formation process, and knowledge of the distribution and temperature of inner-disk material is crucial for understanding terrestrial planet formation, giant planet migration, and accretion onto the central star. Although the inner regions of protoplanetary disks in nearby star-forming regions subtend only a few nano-radians, near-infrared interferometry has recently enabled the spatial resolution of these terrestrial zones. Most observations have probed only dust, which typically dominates the near-infrared emission. Here I report spectrally dispersed near-infrared interferometric observations that probe the gas (which dominates the mass and dynamics of the inner disk), in addition to the dust, within one astronomical unit (1 au, the Sun-Earth distance) of the young star MWC 480. I resolve gas, including water vapour and atomic hydrogen, interior to the edge of the dust disk; this contrasts with results of previous spectrally dispersed interferometry observations. Interactions of this accreting gas with migrating planets may lead to short-period exoplanets like those detected around main-sequence stars. The observed water vapour is probably produced by the sublimation of migrating icy bodies, and provides a potential reservoir of water for terrestrial planets.     

A compact system of small planets around a former red-giant star

Planets that orbit their parent star at less than about one astronomical unit (1?AU is the Earth-Sun distance) are expected to be engulfed when the star becomes a red giant. Previous observations have revealed the existence of post-red-giant host stars with giant planets orbiting as close as 0.116?AU or with brown dwarf companions in tight orbits, showing that these bodies can survive engulfment. What has remained unclear is whether planets can be dragged deeper into the red-giant envelope without being disrupted and whether the evolution of the parent star itself could be affected. Here we report the presence of two nearly Earth-sized bodies orbiting the post-red-giant, hot B subdwarf star KIC 05807616 at distances of 0.0060 and 0.0076?AU, with orbital periods of 5.7625 and 8.2293 hours, respectively. These bodies probably survived deep immersion in the former red-giant envelope. They may be the dense cores of evaporated giant planets that were transported closer to the star during the engulfment and triggered the mass loss necessary for the formation of the hot B subdwarf, which might also explain how some stars of this type did not form in binary systems.     

Images of a fourth planet orbiting HR 8799

High-contrast near-infrared imaging of the nearby star HR 8799 has shown three giant planets. Such images were possible because of the wide orbits (>25?astronomical units, where 1?au is the Earth-Sun distance) and youth (<100?Myr) of the imaged planets, which are still hot and bright as they radiate away gravitational energy acquired during their formation. An important area of contention in the exoplanet community is whether outer planets (>10?au) more massive than Jupiter form by way of one-step gravitational instabilities or, rather, through a two-step process involving accretion of a core followed by accumulation of a massive outer envelope composed primarily of hydrogen and helium. Here we report the presence of a fourth planet, interior to and of about the same mass as the other three. The system, with this additional planet, represents a challenge for current planet formation models as none of them can explain the in situ formation of all four planets. With its four young giant planets and known cold/warm debris belts, the HR 8799 planetary system is a unique laboratory in which to study the formation and evolution of giant planets at wide (>10?au) separations.     

Survival of a brown dwarf after engulfment by a red giant star

Many sub-stellar companions (usually planets but also some brown dwarfs) orbit solar-type stars. These stars can engulf their sub-stellar companions when they become red giants. This interaction may explain several outstanding problems in astrophysics but it is unclear under what conditions a low mass companion will evaporate, survive the interaction unchanged or gain mass. Observational tests of models for this interaction have been hampered by a lack of positively identified remnants-that is, white dwarf stars with close, sub-stellar companions. The companion to the pre-white dwarf AA Doradus may be a brown dwarf, but the uncertain history of this star and the extreme luminosity difference between the components make it difficult to interpret the observations or to put strong constraints on the models. The magnetic white dwarf SDSS J121209.31 + 013627.7 may have a close brown dwarf companion but little is known about this binary at present. Here we report the discovery of a brown dwarf in a short period orbit around a white dwarf. The properties of both stars in this binary can be directly observed and show that the brown dwarf was engulfed by a red giant but that this had little effect on it.     

55Cancri系中类海王星行星的轨道稳定性

55 Cancri系是已发现的太阳系外众多行星系中的一个,其中心天体类似太阳,周围有4颗巨行星.最内部的行星e是2004年新发现的,质量与海王星类似,但到中心天体的距离却仅为水星到太阳的1/10.这类行星在外太阳系具有典型性.为了探索该类行星的轨道稳定性问题,本文对行星e进行了106年的轨道演化数值模拟.结果表明:除了与相邻行星的2:11共振点外,行星e半长径在小于0.0388AU范围内的轨道都是稳定的.该结果意味着,在类太阳恒星的周围,类海王星质量的行星可以稳定在近距离的轨道上.     

Infrared radiation from an extrasolar planet

A class of extrasolar giant planets--the so-called 'hot Jupiters' (ref. 1)--orbit within 0.05 au of their primary stars (1 au is the Sun-Earth distance). These planets should be hot and so emit detectable infrared radiation. The planet HD 209458b (refs 3, 4) is an ideal candidate for the detection and characterization of this infrared light because it is eclipsed by the star. This planet has an anomalously large radius (1.35 times that of Jupiter), which may be the result of ongoing tidal dissipation, but this explanation requires a non-zero orbital eccentricity (approximately 0.03; refs 6, 7), maintained by interaction with a hypothetical second planet. Here we report detection of infrared (24 microm) radiation from HD 209458b, by observing the decrement in flux during secondary eclipse, when the planet passes behind the star. The planet's 24-microm flux is 55 +/- 10 microJy (1sigma), with a brightness temperature of 1,130 +/- 150 K, confirming the predicted heating by stellar irradiation. The secondary eclipse occurs at the midpoint between transits of the planet in front of the star (to within +/- 7 min, 1sigma), which means that a dynamically significant orbital eccentricity is unlikely.     

One or more bound planets per Milky Way star from microlensing observations

Most known extrasolar planets (exoplanets) have been discovered using the radial velocity or transit methods. Both are biased towards planets that are relatively close to their parent stars, and studies find that around 17-30% (refs 4, 5) of solar-like stars host a planet. Gravitational microlensing, on the other hand, probes planets that are further away from their stars. Recently, a population of planets that are unbound or very far from their stars was discovered by microlensing. These planets are at least as numerous as the stars in the Milky Way. Here we report a statistical analysis of microlensing data (gathered in 2002-07) that reveals the fraction of bound planets 0.5-10?AU (Sun-Earth distance) from their stars. We find that 17(+6)(-9)% of stars host Jupiter-mass planets (0.3-10?M(J), where M(J) = 318?M(⊕) and M(⊕) is Earth's mass). Cool Neptunes (10-30?M(⊕)) and super-Earths (5-10?M(⊕)) are even more common: their respective abundances per star are 52(+22)(-29)% and 62(+35)(-37)%. We conclude that stars are orbited by planets as a rule, rather than the exception.     

A collimated jet of molecular gas from a star on the asymptotic giant branch

Evolved stars of about one solar mass are in general spherically symmetric, yet the planetary nebulae that they produce in the next phase of their evolution tend not to exhibit such symmetry. Collimated 'jets' and outflows of material have been observed up to approximately 0.3 parsec from the central stars of planetary nebulae, and precession of those jets has been proposed to explain the observed asymmetries. Moreover, it has recently been shown theoretically that magnetic fields could launch and collimate such jets. Here we report the detection of a collimated and precessing jet of molecular gas that is traced by water-vapour maser spots approximately 500 astronomical units (au) from the star W43A in Aquila. We conclude that the jet is formed in the immediate vicinity of the star, and infer that elongated planetary nebulae are formed by jets during the short period, of less than 1,000 years, when the star makes its transition through the proto-planetary nebula phase to become a planetary nebula.     

CO and H(3)(+) in the protoplanetary disk around the star HD141569

Massive planets have now been found orbiting about 80 stars. A long outstanding question critical to theories of planet formation has been the timescale on which gas-giant planets form; in particular, stars more massive than the Sun may blow away the surrounding gas associated with their formation more quickly than it can be accumulated by the protoplanetary cores. Evidence for a protoplanet around a Herbig AeBe star (such stars are 2 3 times more massive than the Sun) would constrain the timescale of planet formation. Here we report the detection of CO and H(3)(+) emission from the 5-10-million-year-old Herbig AeBe star HD141569. We interpret the CO data as indicating that the inner disk surrounding the star is past the early phase of accretion and planetesimal formation, and that most of the gas has been cleared out to a distance of more than 17 astronomical units. CO effectively destroys H(3)(+) (ref. 2), so their presence in the same source is surprising. Moreover, H(3)(+) line emission has previously been detected only from the atmospheres of the giant planets in the Solar System. The H(3)(+) and CO may therefore be distributed in the disk at different circumstellar distances, or, alternatively, H(3)(+) may be located in the extended envelope of a protoplanet.     

A map of the day-night contrast of the extrasolar planet HD 189733b

'Hot Jupiter' extrasolar planets are expected to be tidally locked because they are close (<0.05 astronomical units, where 1 au is the average Sun-Earth distance) to their parent stars, resulting in permanent daysides and nightsides. By observing systems where the planet and star periodically eclipse each other, several groups have been able to estimate the temperatures of the daysides of these planets. A key question is whether the atmosphere is able to transport the energy incident upon the dayside to the nightside, which will determine the temperature at different points on the planet's surface. Here we report observations of HD 189733, the closest of these eclipsing planetary systems, over half an orbital period, from which we can construct a 'map' of the distribution of temperatures. We detected the increase in brightness as the dayside of the planet rotated into view. We estimate a minimum brightness temperature of 973 +/- 33 K and a maximum brightness temperature of 1,212 +/- 11 K at a wavelength of 8 mum, indicating that energy from the irradiated dayside is efficiently redistributed throughout the atmosphere, in contrast to a recent claim for another hot Jupiter. Our data indicate that the peak hemisphere-integrated brightness occurs 16 +/- 6 degrees before opposition, corresponding to a hotspot shifted east of the substellar point. The secondary eclipse (when the planet moves behind the star) occurs 120 +/- 24 s later than predicted, which may indicate a slightly eccentric orbit.     

Infall of gas as the formation mechanism of stars up to 20 times more massive than the Sun

Theory predicts and observations confirm that low-mass stars (like the Sun) in their early life grow by accreting gas from the surrounding material. But for stars approximately 10 times more massive than the Sun (approximately 10M(o)), the powerful stellar radiation is expected to inhibit accretion and thus limit the growth of their mass. Clearly, stars with masses >10M(o) exist, so there must be a way for them to form. The problem may be solved by non-spherical accretion, which allows some of the stellar photons to escape along the symmetry axis where the density is lower. The recent detection of rotating disks and toroids around very young massive stars has lent support to the idea that high-mass ( > 8M(o)) stars could form in this way. Here we report observations of an ammonia line towards a high-mass star forming region. We conclude that the gas is falling inwards towards a very young star of approximately 20M(o), in line with theoretical predictions of non-spherical accretion.     

A dynamical calibration of the mass-luminosity relation at very low stellar masses and young ages

Mass is the most fundamental parameter of a star, yet it is also one of the most difficult to measure directly. In general, astronomers estimate stellar masses by determining the luminosity and using the 'mass-luminosity' relationship, but this relationship has never been accurately calibrated for young, low-mass stars and brown dwarfs. Masses for these low-mass objects are therefore constrained only by theoretical models. A new high-contrast adaptive optics camera enabled the discovery of a young (50 million years) companion only 0.156 arcseconds (2.3 au) from the more luminous (> 120 times brighter) star AB Doradus A. Here we report a dynamical determination of the mass of the newly resolved low-mass companion AB Dor C, whose mass is 0.090 +/- 0.005 solar masses. Given its measured 1-2-micrometre luminosity, we have found that the standard mass-luminosity relations overestimate the near-infrared luminosity of such objects by about a factor of approximately 2.5 at young ages. The young, cool objects hitherto thought to be substellar in mass are therefore about twice as massive, which means that the frequency of brown dwarfs and planetary mass objects in young stellar clusters has been overestimated.     

Two Earth-sized planets orbiting Kepler-20

Since the discovery of the first extrasolar giant planets around Sun-like stars, evolving observational capabilities have brought us closer to the detection of true Earth analogues. The size of an exoplanet can be determined when it periodically passes in front of (transits) its parent star, causing a decrease in starlight proportional to its radius. The smallest exoplanet hitherto discovered has a radius 1.42 times that of the Earth's radius (R(⊕)), and hence has 2.9 times its volume. Here we report the discovery of two planets, one Earth-sized (1.03R(⊕)) and the other smaller than the Earth (0.87R(⊕)), orbiting the star Kepler-20, which is already known to host three other, larger, transiting planets. The gravitational pull of the new planets on the parent star is too small to measure with current instrumentation. We apply a statistical method to show that the likelihood of the planetary interpretation of the transit signals is more than three orders of magnitude larger than that of the alternative hypothesis that the signals result from an eclipsing binary star. Theoretical considerations imply that these planets are rocky, with a composition of iron and silicate. The outer planet could have developed a thick water vapour atmosphere.     

Transiting circumbinary planets Kepler-34 b and Kepler-35 b

Most Sun-like stars in the Galaxy reside in gravitationally bound pairs of stars (binaries). Although long anticipated, the existence of a 'circumbinary planet' orbiting such a pair of normal stars was not definitively established until the discovery of the planet transiting (that is, passing in front of) Kepler-16. Questions remained, however, about the prevalence of circumbinary planets and their range of orbital and physical properties. Here we report two additional transiting circumbinary planets: Kepler-34 (AB)b and Kepler-35 (AB)b, referred to here as Kepler-34 b and Kepler-35 b, respectively. Each is a low-density gas-giant planet on an orbit closely aligned with that of its parent stars. Kepler-34 b orbits two Sun-like stars every 289?days, whereas Kepler-35 b orbits a pair of smaller stars (89% and 81% of the Sun's mass) every 131?days. The planets experience large multi-periodic variations in incident stellar radiation arising from the orbital motion of the stars. The observed rate of circumbinary planets in our sample implies that more than ～1% of close binary stars have giant planets in nearly coplanar orbits, yielding a Galactic population of at least several million.