A Multi-year Search for Transits of Proxima Centauri. I. Light Curves Corresponding to Published Ephemerides
Article
Article Title | A Multi-year Search for Transits of Proxima Centauri. I. Light Curves Corresponding to Published Ephemerides |
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ERA Journal ID | 1048 |
Article Category | Article |
Authors | Blank, David L., Feliz, Dax, Collins, Karen A., White, Graeme L., Stassun, Keivan G., Curtis, Ivan A., Hart, Rhodes, Kielkopf, John F., Nelson, Peter, Relles, Howard, Stockdale, Christopher, Jayawardene, Bandupriya, Pennypacker, Carlton R., Shankland, Paul, Reichart, Daniel E., Haislip, Joshua B. and Kouprianov, Vladimir V. |
Journal Title | The Astronomical Journal |
Journal Citation | 155 (6), pp. 1-15 |
Article Number | 228 |
Number of Pages | 15 |
Year | 2018 |
Publisher | IOP Publishing |
Place of Publication | United States |
ISSN | 0004-6256 |
1538-3881 | |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/aabded |
Web Address (URL) | https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-3881/aabded |
Abstract | Proxima Centauri has become the subject of intense study since the radial-velocity (RV) discovery by Anglada-Escudé et al. of a planet orbiting this nearby M dwarf every ∼11.2 days. If Proxima Centauri b transits its host star, independent confirmation of its existence is possible, and its mass and radius can be measured in units of the stellar host mass and radius. To date, there have been three independent claims of possible transit-like event detections in light curve observations obtained by the MOST satellite (in 2014-15), the Bright Star Survey Telescope telescope in Antarctica (in 2016), and the Las Campanas Observatory (in 2016). The claimed possible detections are tentative, due in part to the variability intrinsic to the host star, and in the case of the ground-based observations, also due to the limited duration of the light curve observations. Here, we present preliminary results from an extensive photometric monitoring campaign of Proxima Centauri, using telescopes around the globe and spanning from 2006 to 2017, comprising a total of 329 observations. Considering our data that coincide directly and/or phased with the previously published tentative transit detections, we are unable to independently verify those claims. We do, however, verify the previously reported ubiquitous and complex variability of the host star. We discuss possible interpretations of the data in light of the previous claims, and we discuss future analyses of these data that could more definitively verify or refute the presence of transits associated with the RV-discovered planet. |
Keywords | planetary systems; stars: individual (Proxima Centauri); techniques: photometric |
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020 | 5109. Space sciences |
Public Notes | File reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher/author. |
Funder | National Science Foundation |
Byline Affiliations | University of Southern Queensland |
Fisk University, United States | |
Vanderbilt University, United States | |
Center for Astrophysics Harvard and Smithsonian, United States | |
ICO, Australia | |
University of Louisville, United States | |
Ellinbank Observatory, Australia | |
Hazelwood Observatory, Australia | |
James Cook University | |
University of California Berkeley, United States | |
United States Naval Observatory, United States | |
University of North Carolina, United States |
https://research.usq.edu.au/item/yy54w/a-multi-year-search-for-transits-of-proxima-centauri-i-light-curves-corresponding-to-published-ephemerides
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