55 Cancri: stellar astrophysical parameters, a planet in the habitable zone, and implications for the radius of a transiting super-earth
Article
Article Title | 55 Cancri: stellar astrophysical parameters, a planet in the habitable zone, and implications for the radius of a transiting super-earth |
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ERA Journal ID | 1057 |
Article Category | Article |
Authors | von Braun, Kaspar (Author), Boyajian, Tabetha S. (Author), ten Brummelaar, Theo A. (Author), Kane, Stephen R. (Author), van Belle, Gerard T. (Author), Ciardi, David R. (Author), Raymond, Sean N. (Author), Lopez-Morales, Mercedes (Author), McAlister, Harold A. (Author), Schaefer, Gail (Author), Ridgway, Stephen T. (Author), Sturmann, Laszlo (Author), Sturmann, Judit (Author), White, Russel (Author), Turner, Nils H. (Author), Farrington, Chris (Author) and Goldfinger, P. J. (Author) |
Journal Title | The Astrophysical Journal: an international review of astronomy and astronomical physics |
Journal Citation | 740 (1), pp. 49-54 |
Article Number | 49 |
Number of Pages | 6 |
Year | 2011 |
Publisher | IOP Publishing |
Place of Publication | United States |
ISSN | 0004-637X |
1538-4357 | |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/740/1/49 |
Web Address (URL) | http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0004-637X/740/1/49 |
Abstract | The bright star 55 Cancri is known to host five planets, including a transiting super-Earth. The study presented here yields directly determined values for 55Cnc's stellar astrophysical parameters based on improved interferometry: R = 0.943 ± 0.010 R ∞, T EFF = 5196 ± 24K. We use isochrone fitting to determine 55Cnc's age to be 10.2 ± 2.5Gyr, implying a stellar mass of 0.905 ± 0.015 M ∞. Our analysis of the location and extent of the system's habitable zone (HZ; 0.67-1.32AU) shows that planet f, with period 260days and Msin i = 0.155 M Jupiter, spends the majority of the duration of its elliptical orbit in the circumstellar HZ. Though planet f is too massive to harbor liquid water on any planetary surface, we elaborate on the potential of alternative low-mass objects in planet f's vicinity: a large moon and a low-mass planet on a dynamically stable orbit within the HZ. Finally, our direct value for 55 Cancri's stellar radius allows for a model-independent calculation of the physical diameter of the transiting super-Earth 55Cnc e (∼2.05 ±0.15 R ⊕), which, depending on the planetary mass assumed, implies a bulk density of 0.76 ρ⊕ or 1.07 ρ⊕. |
Keywords | infrared stars; planetary systems; fundamental parameters; stars: stars; 55 Cnc; late-type stars; interferometric techniques |
Contains Sensitive Content | Does not contain sensitive content |
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020 | 510109. Stellar astronomy and planetary systems |
Public Notes | For access to this article, please click on the URL link provided. |
Byline Affiliations | California Institute of Technology (Caltech), United States |
Georgia State University, United States | |
Mount Wilson Observatory, United States | |
European Southern Observatory (ESO), Germany | |
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), United States | |
University of Bordeaux, France | |
Carnegie Institution of Washington, United States | |
National Optical Astronomy Observatory, United States | |
Institution of Origin | University of Southern Queensland |
https://research.usq.edu.au/item/q4336/55-cancri-stellar-astrophysical-parameters-a-planet-in-the-habitable-zone-and-implications-for-the-radius-of-a-transiting-super-earth
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