We present a single candidate transit event around Proxima Centauri, found during a blind transit search using a robotic 30\,cm telescope at Las Campanas Observatory. The event lasted 1 hour, with an estimated depth of 5\,mmag, and is inconsistent with the transit window predicted for the recently discovered planet b. We modeled the lightcurve under the assumption that the event was caused by a transiting exoplanet, and our model predicts the planet has a radius $R \sim 1 R_{\oplus}$. We encourage continued monitoring of Proxima to elucidate the origin of this event.
Our nearest stellar neighbour, Proxima Centauri, is a low mass star with spectral typedM5.5 and hosting an Earth-like planet orbiting within its habitable zone. However, the habitability of the planet depends on the high-energy radiation of the chromo-spheric and coronal activity of the host star. We report the Astrosat, Chandra and HST observation of Proxima Centauri carried out as part of the multi-wavelength simultaneous observational campaign. Using the soft X-ray data, we probe the different activity states of the star. We investigate the coronal temperatures, emission measures and abunda…
Proxima b is a terrestrial-mass planet in the habitable-zone of Proxima Centauri. Proxima Centauri's high stellar activity however casts doubt on the habitability of Proxima b: sufficiently bright and frequent flares and any associated proton events may destroy the planet's ozone layer, allowing lethal levels of UV flux to reach its surface. In March 2016, the Evryscope observed the first naked-eye-brightness superflare detected from Proxima Centauri. Proxima increased in optical flux by a factor of ~68 during the superflare and released a bolometric energy of 10^33.5 erg, ~10X larger than any…
The wide binary orbit of Proxima Centauri around $α$ Centauri A and B differs significantly between Newtonian and Milgromian dynamics (MOND). By combining previous calculations of this effect with mock observations generated using a Monte Carlo procedure, we show that this prediction can be tested using high precision astrometry of Proxima Centauri. This requires ${\approx 10}$ years of observations at an individual epoch precision of $0.5 \, μ$as, within the design specifications of the proposed Theia mission. In general, the required duration should scale as the 2/5 power of the astrometric …
Proxima Centauri is our nearest stellar neighbor and one of the most well-studied stars in the sky. In 2016, a planetary companion was detected through radial velocity measurements. Proxima Centauri b has a minimum mass of 1.3 Earth masses and orbits with a period of 11.2 days at 0.05 AU from its stellar host, and resides within the star's Habitable Zone. While recent work has shown that Proxima Centauri b likely does not transit, given the value of potential atmospheric observations via transmission spectroscopy of the closest possible Habitable Zone planet, we reevaluate the possibility that…
A new planet has been recently discovered around Proxima Centauri. With an orbital separation of $\sim$$1.44$ au and a minimum mass of about $7$ $M_{\oplus}$, Proxima c is a prime direct imaging target for atmospheric characterization. The latter can only be performed with a good understanding of the space environment of the planet, as multiple processes can have profound effects on the atmospheric structure and evolution. Here, we take one step in this direction by generating physically-realistic numerical simulations of Proxima's stellar wind, coupled to a magnetosphere and ionosphere model …
We present results from the most comprehensive radio monitoring campaign towards the closest star to our Sun, Proxima Centauri. We report 1.1 to 3.1 GHz observations with the Australian Telescope Compact Array over 18 consecutive days in April 2017. We detect radio emission from Proxima Centauri for most of the observing sessions, which spanned $\sim$1.6 orbital periods of the planet Proxima b. The radio emission is stronger at the low-frequency band, centered around 1.6 GHz, and is consistent with the expected electron-cyclotron frequency for the known star's magnetic field intensity of about…
We report the detection of a large-scale magnetic field at the surface of the slowly-rotating fully-convective M dwarf Proxima Centauri. Ten circular polarization spectra, collected from April to July 2017 with the HARPS-Pol spectropolarimeter, exhibit rotationally-modulated Zeeman signatures suggesting a stellar rotation period of $89.8 \pm 4.0$ d. Using Zeeman-Doppler Imaging, we invert the circular polarization spectra into a surface distribution of the large-scale magnetic field. We find that Proxima Cen hosts a large-scale magnetic field of typical strength 200 G, whose topology is mainly…
A search for laser light from Proxima Centauri was performed, including 107 high-resolution, optical spectra obtained between 2004 and 2019. Among them, 57 spectra contain multiple, confined spectral combs, each consisting of 10 closely-spaced frequencies of light. The spectral combs, as entities, are themselves equally spaced with a frequency separation of 5800 GHz, rendering them unambiguously technological in origin. However, the combs do not originate at Proxima Centauri. Otherwise, the 107 spectra of Proxima Centauri show no evidence of technological signals, including 29 observations bet…
Due to its Earth-like minimum mass of 1.27 M$_{\text{E}}$ and its close proximity to our Solar system, Proxima Centauri b is one of the most interesting exoplanets for habitability studies. Its host star, Proxima Centauri, is however a strongly flaring star, which is expected to provide a very hostile environment for potentially habitable planets. We perform a habitability study of Proxima Centauri b assuming an Earth-like atmosphere under high stellar particle bombardment, with a focus on spectral transmission features. We employ our extensive model suite calculating energy spectra of stellar…
Proxima Centauri is known as the closest star from the Sun. Recently, radial velocity observations revealed the existence of an Earth-mass planet around it. With an orbital period of ~11 days, the surface of Proxima Centauri b is temperate and might be habitable. We took a photometric monitoring campaign to search for its transit, using the Bright Star Survey Telescope at the Zhongshan Station in Antarctica. A transit-like signal appearing on 2016 September 8th, is identified tentatively. Its midtime, $T_{C}=2,457,640.1990\pm0.0017$ HJD, is consistent with the predicted ephemeris based on RV o…
We report Spitzer Space Telescope observations during predicted transits of the exoplanet Proxima Centauri b. As the nearest terrestrial habitable-zone planet we will ever discover, any potential transit of Proxima b would place strong constraints on its radius, bulk density, and atmosphere. Subsequent transmission spectroscopy and secondary-eclipse measurements could then probe the atmospheric chemistry, physical processes, and orbit, including a search for biosignatures. However, our photometric results rule out planetary transits at the 200~ppm level at 4.5$~μm$, yielding a 3$σ$ upper radiu…
Proxima Centauri, our closest stellar neighbour, is a low-mass M5 dwarf orbiting in a triple system. An Earth-mass planet with an 11 day period has been discovered around this star. The star's mass has been estimated only indirectly using a mass-luminosity relation, meaning that large uncertainties affect our knowledge of its properties. To refine the mass estimate, an independent method has been proposed: gravitational microlensing. By taking advantage of the close passage of Proxima Cen in front of two background stars, it is possible to measure the astrometric shift caused by the microlensi…
The potential habitability of tidally locked planets orbiting M-dwarf stars has been widely investigated in recent work, typically with a non-dynamic ocean and without continents. On Earth, ocean dynamics are a primary means of heat and nutrient distribution. Continents are a critical source of nutrients, strongly influence ocean dynamics, and participate in climate regulation. In this work, we investigate how the size of a substellar land mass affects the oceans ability to transport heat and upwell nutrients on the tidally locked planet Proxima Centauri b using the ROCKE-3D coupled ocean-atmo…
Proxima Centauri as a Benchmark for Stellar Activity Indicators in the Near Infrared
新一代专用多普勒光谱仪将试图在近红外（NIR）波长下探测M中晚期恒星周围的低质量系外行星，这些恒星最明亮，多普勒信息含量最高。这些仪器取得成功的一个核心要求是正确测量恒星磁活动造成的径向速度（RV）变化的分量，并在RV数据的系外行星模型中对其进行解释。许多新仪器的波长范围将不包括Ca II H&K或H-α线，这是最常用的磁活动吸收线示踪剂。因此，有必要定义和表征中晚期M星的近红外活动指标，以便为近红外RV数据提供同步活动度量。我们使用了Fuhrmeister等人（2011）对M5.5矮Proxima Centauri的高节奏UVES观测，以比较8条近红外原子线与H-α的活性灵敏度。我们发现，等效的宽度型测量的近红外线K-I的双峰和钙II近红外三重峰的典型的光学示踪剂是很好的代理。Ca II三联体将被大多数新的和即将推出的近红外多普勒光谱仪获得，提供了一个共同的，可靠的活动指标。
The M dwarf Proxima~Centauri is known to be magnetically active and it hosts a likely Earth-like planet in its habitable zone. Understanding the characteristics of stellar radiation by understanding the properties of the emitting plasma is of paramount importance for a proper assessment of the conditions on Proxima~Centauri~b and exoplanets around M dwarfs in general. We determine the temperature structure of the coronal and transition region plasma of Proxima Centauri from simultaneous X-ray and far-ultraviolet (FUV) observations. The differential emission measure distribution (DEM) was const…
A search was conducted for laser signals, both sub-second pulses and continuous emission, from the regions of the sky opposite Proxima and Alpha Centauri. These regions are located at the foci of the gravitational lensing caused by the Sun, ideal for amplifying transmissions between our Solar System and those two nearest stellar neighbors. During six months in 2020 and 2021, 88000 exposures for Proxima Cen and 47000 exposures for Alpha Cen were obtained. No evidence was detected of light pulses or continuous laser emission in the wavelength range of 380 to 950 nm. We would have detected a lase…
We present the discovery of an extreme flaring event from Proxima Cen by ASKAP, ALMA, HST, TESS, and the du Pont Telescope that occurred on 2019 May 1. In the millimeter and FUV, this flare is the brightest ever detected, brightening by a factor of >1000 and >14000 as seen by ALMA and HST, respectively. The millimeter and FUV continuum emission trace each other closely during the flare, suggesting that millimeter emission could serve as a proxy for FUV emission from stellar flares and become a powerful new tool to constrain the high-energy radiation environment of exoplanets. Surprisingly, opt…
We present new analyses of ALMA 12-m and ACA observations at 233 GHz (1.3 mm) of the Proxima Centauri system with sensitivities of 9.5 and 47 $μ$Jy beam$^{-1}$, respectively, taken from 2017 January 21 through 2017 April 25. These analyses reveal that the star underwent a significant flaring event during one of the ACA observations on 2017 March 24. The complete event lasted for approximately 1 minute and reached a peak flux density of $100\pm4$ mJy, nearly a factor of $1000\times$ brighter than the star's quiescent emission. At the flare peak, the continuum emission is characterized by a stee…
Proxima Centauri was recently discovered to host an Earth-mass planet of Proxima b, and a 215-day signal which is probably a potential planet c. In this work, we investigate the dynamical evolution of the Proxima Centauri system with the full equations of motion and semi-analytical models including relativistic and tidal effects. We adopt the modified Lagrange-Laplace secular equations to study the evolution of eccentricity of Proxima b, and find that the outcomes are consistent with those from the numerical simulations. The simulations show that relativistic effects have an influence on the e…
Close-in planets orbiting around low-mass stars are exposed to intense energetic photon and particle radiation and harsh space weather. We have modeled such conditions for Proxima Centauri b (Garraffo et al. 2016b), a rocky planet orbiting in the habitable-zone of our closest neighboring star, finding a stellar wind pressure three orders of magnitude higher than the solar wind pressure on Earth. At that time, no Zeeman-Doppler observations of the surface magnetic field distribution of Proxima Cen were available and a proxy from a star with similar Rossby number to Proxima was used to drive the…
Science from the In Situ Exploration of the Proxima Centauri System
Space Initiatives Inc；LUX, Paris Observatory（巴黎天文台 LUX 实验室）；Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology（加州理工学院喷气推进实验室）；Initiative for Interstellar Studies（星际研究倡议）；SnT, University of Luxembourg（卢森堡大学科学与技术学院）；LIRA, Paris Observatory（巴黎天文台 LIRA 实验室）；Institute for Interstellar Studies (i4is US)（星际研究所（美国））；Department of Aerospace, Physics and Space Sciences, Florida Institute of Technology（佛罗里达理工学院航空航天、物理与空间科学系）；Department of Physics and Institute for Fusion Studies, The University of Texas at Austin（德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校物理系及聚变研究所）；University of California at Santa Barbara（加州大学圣塔芭芭拉分校）；Department of Physics and School Of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University（亚利桑那州立大学物理系及地球与太空探索学院）；School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University（亚利桑那州立大学地球与太空探索学院）
We analyze the evolution of the potentially habitable planet Proxima Centauri b to identify environmental factors that affect its long-term habitability. We consider physical processes acting on size scales ranging from the galactic to the stellar system to the planet's core. We find that there is a significant probability that Proxima Centauri has had encounters with its companion stars, Alpha Centauri A and B, that are close enough to destabilize an extended planetary system. If the system has an additional planet, as suggested by the discovery data, then it may perturb planet b's eccentrici…
Proxima Centauri is the closest star to the Sun. This small, low-mass, mid M dwarf is known to host an Earth-mass exoplanet with an orbital period of 11.2 days within the habitable zone, as well as a long-period planet candidate with an orbital period of close to 5 years. We report on the analysis of a large set of observations taken with the ESPRESSO spectrograph at the VLT aimed at a thorough evaluation of the presence of a third low-mass planetary companion, which started emerging during a previous campaign. Radial velocities (RVs) were calculated using both a cross-correlation function (CC…
The discovery of a planet around the closest star to our Sun, Proxima Centauri, represents a quantum leap in the testability of exoplanetary models. Unlike any other discovered exoplanet, models of Proxima b could be contrasted against near future telescopic observations and far future in-situ measurements. In this paper we aim at predicting the planetary radius and the magnetic properties (dynamo lifetime and magnetic dipole moment) of Proxima b analogues (solid planets with masses of $\sim 1-3\,M_\oplus$, rotation periods of several days and habitable conditions). For this purpose we build a…
Proxima Centauri has become the subject of intense study since the radial-velocity discovery by Anglada-Escudé et al. 2016 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 BSST telescope in Antarctica (in 2016), and the Las Campanas …
The detection of life beyond Earth is an ongoing scientific endeavour, with profound implications. One approach, known as the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI), seeks to find engineered signals (`technosignatures') that indicate the existence technologically-capable life beyond Earth. Here, we report on the detection of a narrowband signal-of-interest at ~982 MHz, recorded during observations toward Proxima Centauri with the Parkes Murriyang radio telescope. This signal, `BLC1', has characteristics broadly consistent with hypothesized technosignatures and is one of the most compe…
The discovery of a planet orbiting around Proxima Centauri, the closest star to the Sun, opens new avenues for the remote observations of the atmosphere and surface of an exoplanet, Proxima b. To date, three-dimensional (3D) General Circulation Models (GCMs) are the best available tools to investigate the properties of the exo-atmospheres, waiting for the next generation of space and groundbased telescopes. In this work, we use the PlanetSimulator (PlaSim), an intermediate complexity 3D GCM, a flexible and fast model, suited to handle all the orbital and physical parameters of a planet and to …
The scenario and efficiency of water transport by icy asteroids and comets are still amongst the most important unresolved questions of planetary systems. A better understanding of cometary dynamics in extrasolar systems shall provide information about cometary reservoirs and give an insight into water transport especially to planets in the habitable zone. The detection of Proxima Centauri-b (PCb), which moves in the habitable zone of this system, triggered a debate whether or not this planet can be habitable. In this work, we focus on the stability of an additional planet in the system and on…
Proxima Centauri reloaded: Unravelling the stellar noise in radial velocities
目前，用1米/秒量级的多普勒信号探测和描述类地行星是太阳系外行星猎人面临的最大挑战之一。由于这些发现的结果往往是有争议的，因此最好对这些发现提供独立的确认。测试不同的模型来抑制非开普勒恒星信号（通常包括径向速度数据）对于确保结果的可靠性和可重复性至关重要。使用发现论文中讨论的恒星噪声的替代处理方法，我们重新分析了径向速度数据集，该数据集导致检测到围绕恒星Proxima Centauri运行的候选类地行星。我们的目标是确认这颗杰出行星的存在，并测试第二颗行星信号的存在。我们的技术联合建模开普勒信号和残余相关信号的径向速度使用高斯过程。我们只分析了径向速度测量值，而不包括拟合过程中的其他辅助数据。在第二步中，我们将我们的输出与来自测光的结果进行了比较，以提供一致的物理解释。我们的分析是在贝叶斯框架中进行的，以量化我们发现的稳健性。我们表明，相关噪声可以成功地建模为高斯过程回归，并包含一个周期性的调制恒星自转周期和特征在于一年的顺序的进化时标。这两项研究结果似乎是强大的，从档案测光得到的结果相比，从而提供了一个可靠的描述的噪声特性。我们确认存在一个由开普勒轨道方程描述的相干信号，可以归因于行星Proxima b [...]
Using a global network of small telescopes, we have obtained light curves of Proxima Centauri at 329 observation epochs from 2006 - 2017. The planet Proxima b discovered by Anglada-Escude et al. (2016) with an orbital period of 11.186 d has an a priori transit probability of ~1.5%; if it transits, the predicted transit depth is about 5 millimagnitudes. In Blank et al. (2018), we analyzed 96 of our light curves that overlapped with predicted transit ephemerides from previously published tentative transit detections, and found no evidence in our data that would corroborate claims of transits wit…
