The collection of planetary system properties derived from large surveys such as Kepler provides critical constraints on planet formation and evolution. These constraints can only be applied to planet formation models, however, if the observational biases and selection effects are properly accounted for. Here we show how epos, the Exoplanet Population Observation Simulator, can be used to constrain planet formation models by comparing the Bern planet population synthesis models to the Kepler exoplanetary systems. We compile a series of diagnostics, based on occurrence rates of different classes of planets and the architectures of multi-planet systems, that can be used as benchmarks for future and current modeling efforts. Overall, we find that a model with 100 seed planetary cores per protoplanetary disk provides a reasonable match to most diagnostics. Based on these diagnostics we identify physical properties and processes that would result in the Bern model more closely matching the known planetary systems. These are: moving the planet trap at the inner disk edge outward; increasing the formation efficiency of mini-Neptunes; and reducing the fraction of stars that form observable planets. We conclude with an outlook on the composition of planets in the habitable zone, and highlight that the majority of simulated planets smaller than 1.7 Earth radii have substantial hydrogen atmospheres.
The software used in this paper is available online for public scrutiny at https://github.com/GijsMulders/epos
We embark on a detailed study of the lightcurves of Keplers most Earth-like exoplanet host stars using the full length of Kepler data. We derive rotation periods, photometric activity indices, flaring energies, mass loss rates, gyrochronological ages, X-ray luminosities and consider implications for the planetary magnetospheres and habitability. Furthermore, we present the detection of superflares in the lightcurve of Kepler-438, the exoplanet with the highest Earth Similarity Index to date. Kepler-438b orbits at a distance of 0.166AU to its host star, and hence may be susceptible to atmospher…
The so-called "global polytropic model" is applied to the numerical study of the exoplanet systems HD 10180, Kepler-32, Kepler-33, Kepler-102, and Kepler-186. We compare computed distances of planets from their host stars with corresponding observations and discuss some further orbit predictions made by the model.
Three transiting exoplanet candidate stars were discovered in a ground-based photometric survey prior to the launch of NASA's {\it Kepler} mission. {\it Kepler} observations of them were obtained during Quarter 1 of the {\it Kepler} mission. All three stars are faint by radial velocity follow-up standards, so we have examined these candidates with regard to eliminating false positives and providing high confidence exoplanet selection. We present a first attempt to exclude false positives for this set of faint stars without high resolution radial velocity analysis. This method of exoplanet conf…
We determined new linear ephemerides of transiting exoplanets using long-cadence de-trended data from quarters Q1 to Q17 of Kepler mission. We analysed TTV diagrams of 2098 extrasolar planets. The TTVs of 121 objects were excluded (because of insufficient data-points, the influence of stellar activity, etc). Finally, new linear ephemerides of 1977 exoplanets from the Kepler archive are presented. The significant linear trend was observed on TTV diagrams of approximately 35% of studied exoplanets. Knowing correct linear ephemeris is principal for successful follow-up observations of transits. R…
New insights on stellar evolution and stellar interior physics are being made possible by asteroseismology, the study of stars by the observation of their natural, resonant oscillations. Asteroseismology is making significant contributions to our understanding of solar-type stars, in great part due to the exquisite data that have been made available by NASA's Kepler space telescope. Of particular interest is the synergy between asteroseismology and exoplanetary science. Herein I will review recent contributions from asteroseismology to the determination of fundamental properties of Kepler exop…
Understanding the consequences of the gravitational interaction between a star and a planet is fundamental to the study of exoplanets. The solution of the two-body problem shows that the planet moves in an elliptical path around the star and that each body moves in an ellipse about the common center of mass. The basic properties of such a system are derived from first principles and described in the context of detecting exoplanets.
In the framework of the so-called "global polytropic model", we assume hydrostatic equilibrium for a planetary system, and solve the resulting Lane--Emden differential equation in the complex plane. We thus obtain polytropic spherical shells defined by succesive roots of the real part $\mathrm{Re}(θ)$ of the Lane-Emden function $θ$. These shells seem to provide hosting orbits for the planets of the system(s) under consideration. In the present investigation, we study within this framework the exoplanet systems 55 Cnc, $\upsilon$ And, Kepler-11, Kepler-20, and Kepler-90.
In the third paper of this series we continue the exploitation of Kepler/K2 data in dense stellar fields using our PSF-based method. This work is focused on a ~720-arcmin^2 region centred on the Solar-metallicity and Solar-age open cluster M 67. We extracted light curves for all detectable sources in the Kepler channels 13 and 14, adopting our technique based on the usage of a high-angular-resolution input catalogue and target-neighbour subtraction. We detrended light curves for systematic errors, and searched for variables and exoplanets using several tools. We found 451 variables, of which 2…
Inaccurate limb-darkening models can be a significant source of error in the analysis of the light curves for transiting exoplanet and eclipsing binary star systems, particularly for high-precision light curves at optical wavelengths. The power-2 limb-darkening law, $I_λ(μ) = 1 - c\left(1-μ^α\right)$, has recently been proposed as a good compromise between complexity and precision in the treatment of limb-darkening. I have used synthetic spectra based on the 3D stellar atmosphere models from the Stagger-grid to compute the limb-darkening for several passbands (UBVRI, CHEOPS, TESS, Kepler, etc.…
We confirm the Kepler planet candidate Kepler-410b (KOI-42b) as a Neptune sized exoplanet on a 17.8 day, eccentric orbit around the bright (Kp = 9.4) star Kepler-410A. This is the third brightest confirmed planet host star in the Kepler field and one of the brightest hosts of all currently known transiting exoplanets. Kepler-410 consists of a blend between the fast rotating planet host star (Kepler-410A) and a fainter star (Kepler-410B), which has complicated the confirmation of the planetary candidate. Employing asteroseismology, using constraints from the transit light curve, adaptive optics…
According to the so-called "global polytropic model", hydrostatic equilibrium for a planetary system leads to the Lane-Emden differential equation. Solving this equation in the complex plane, we obtain polytropic spherical shells defined by succesive roots of the real part $\mathrm{Re}(θ)$ of the Lane-Emden function $θ$. Such shells provide hosting orbits for the members of a planetary system. Within the framework of the global polytropic model, we study the exoplanet systems HD 40307, $μ$ Ara, Kepler-26, Kepler-62, and Kepler-275. We give emphasis on comparing our results with observations, a…
The spatial distribution of exoplanets in the Galaxy is important for our understanding of planet formation and evolution. We aim to determine the spatial gradients of exoplanet occurrence in the Solar neighbourhood and in the vicinity of open clusters. We combined Kepler and Gaia DR2 data for this purpose, splitting the volume sampled by the Kepler mission into certain spatial bins. We determined an uncorrected and bias-corrected exoplanet frequency and metallicity for each bin. There is a clear drop in the uncorrected exoplanet frequency with distance for F-type stars, a decline with increas…
We consider the so-called Keplerian periodogram, in which the putative detectable signal is modelled by a highly non-linear Keplerian radial velocity function, appearing in Doppler exoplanetary surveys. We demonstrate that for planets on high-eccentricity orbits the Keplerian periodogram is far more efficient than the classic Lomb-Scargle periodogram and even the multiharmonic periodograms, in which the periodic signal is approximated by a truncated Fourier series. We provide new numerical algorithm for computation of the Keplerian periodogram. This algorithm adaptively increases the parameter…
Numerous telescopes and techniques have been used to find and study extrasolar planets, but none has been more successful than NASA's Kepler Space Telescope. Kepler has discovered the majority of known exoplanets, the smallest planets to orbit normal stars, and the worlds most likely to be similar to our home planet. Most importantly, Kepler has provided our first look at typical characteristics of planets and planetary systems for planets with sizes as small as and orbits as large as those of the Earth.
We present a comparative analysis of observations of the selected exoplanet transits obtained at the Kyiv Comet station with the database of the TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) and Kepler space telescopes. The light curves obtained by the TESS and Kepler orbital telescopes were processed using a program based on the Python package Lightkurve 2.3v which is freely available in the MUST archive (Barbara A. Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes). The ground-based observations were carried out with the 70-cm telescope AZT-8 (Lisnyky). Photometric processing of the ground-based observat…
Using the known detection limits for high-resolution imaging observations and the statistical properties of true binary and line-of-sight companions, we estimate the binary fraction of {\it Kepler} exoplanet host stars. Our speckle imaging programs at the WIYN 3.5-m and Gemini North 8.1-m telescopes have observed over 600 {\it Kepler} objects of interest (KOIs) and detected 49 stellar companions within $\sim$1 arcsecond. Assuming binary stars follow a log-normal period distribution for an effective temperature range of 3,000 to 10,000 K, then the model predicts that the vast majority of detect…
Planets emit thermal radiation and reflect incident light that they recieve from their host stars. As a planet orbits it's host star the photometric variations associated with these two effects produce very similar phase curves. If observed through only a single bandpass this leads to a degeneracy between certain planetary parameters that hinder the precise characterization of such planets. However, observing the same planet through two different bandpasses gives one much more information about the planet. Here, we develop a Bayesian methodology for combining photometry from both \emph{Kepler}…
A unique short-period Mercury-size Kepler exoplanet candidate KIC012557548b has been discovered recently by Rappaport et al. (2012). This object is a transiting disintegrating exoplanet with a circum-planetary material - comet-like tail. Close-in exoplanets, like KIC012557548b, are subjected to the greatest planet-star interactions. This interaction may have various forms. In certain cases it may cause formation of the comet-like tail. Strong interaction with the host star, and/or presence of an additional planet may lead to variations in the orbital period of the planet. Our main aim is to se…
A simple transit model is described along with tests of this model against published results for 4 exoplanet systems (Kepler-1, 2, 8, and 77). Data from the Kepler mission are used. The Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method is applied to obtain realistic error estimates. Optimization of limb darkening coefficients is subject to data quality. It is more likely for MCMC to derive an empirical limb darkening coefficient for light curves with S/N (signal to noise) above 15. Finally, the model is applied to Kepler data for 4 Kepler candidate systems (KOI 760.01, 767.01, 802.01, and 824.01) with pr…
We observed Kepler-421 during the anticipated third transit of the snow-line exoplanet Kepler-421b in order to constrain the existence and extent of transit timing variations (TTVs). Previously, the Kepler Spacecraft only observed two transits of Kepler-421b leaving the planet's transit ephemeris unconstrained. Our visible light, time-series observations from the 4.3-meter Discovery Channel Telescope were designed to capture pre-transit baseline and the partial transit of Kepler-421b barring significant TTVs. We use the light curves to assess the probabilities of various transit models using b…
NASA's Kepler Mission revolutionized exoplanet science in the early part of the 2010's. Looking back from the perspective of the end of that decade, Kepler appears to have burst upon the scene ready for battle, like Athena springing forth, fully formed, from the head of Zeus. The story was not so simple. Kepler's first major exoplanet discoveries were not announced until more than a year had passed since the spacecraft started collecting scientific data, and by that time many exoplanet scientists not working on the project had become frustrated with the lack of results coming from the Kepler p…
NASA's Kepler Space Telescope was designed to determine the frequency of Earth-sized planets orbiting Sun-like stars, but these planets are on the very edge of the mission's detection sensitivity. Accurately determining the occurrence rate of these planets will require automatically and accurately assessing the likelihood that individual candidates are indeed planets, even at low signal-to-noise ratios. We present a method for classifying potential planet signals using deep learning, a class of machine learning algorithms that have recently become state-of-the-art in a wide variety of tasks. W…
We acquired observations of a partial transit of Kepler-167e, a Jupiter-analog exoplanet on a 1,071-day orbit, well beyond its water ice line, with the Spitzer Space Telescope. The timing of the Spitzer transit is consistent with the ephemeris measured from the two transits observed previously by the Kepler Space Telescope. The Spitzer observation rules out the existence of transit timing variations (TTVs) of order hours to days that are known to exist for other long-period exoplanets. Such TTVs render transit follow-up efforts intractable due to the substantial observing time required and the…
Exoplanet catalogs produced by surveys suffer from a lack of completeness (not every planet is detected) and less than perfect reliability (not every planet in the catalog is a true planet), particularly near the survey's detection limit. Exoplanet occurrence rate studies based on such a catalog must be corrected for completeness and reliability. The final Kepler data release, DR25, features a uniformly vetted planet candidate catalog and data products that facilitate corrections. We present a new probabilistic approach to the characterization of Kepler completeness and reliability, making ful…
Measures of exoplanet bulk densities indicate that small exoplanets with radius less than 3 Earth radii ($R_\oplus$) range from low-density sub-Neptunes containing volatile elements to higher density rocky planets with Earth-like or iron-rich (Mercury-like) compositions. Such astonishing diversity in observed small exoplanet compositions may be the product of different initial conditions of the planet-formation process and/or different evolutionary paths that altered the planetary properties after formation. Planet evolution may be especially affected by either photoevaporative mass loss induc…
Young planets provide a window into the early stages and evolution of planetary systems. Ideal planets for such research are in coeval associations, where the parent population can precisely determine their ages. We describe a young association (MELANGE-3) in the Kepler field, which harbors two transiting planetary systems (Kepler-1928 and Kepler-970). We identify MELANGE-3 by searching for kinematic and spatial overdensities around Kepler planet hosts with high levels of lithium. To determine the age and membership of MELANGE-3, we combine new high-resolution spectra with archival light curve…
We initiated the Robo-AO Kepler Planetary Candidate Survey in 2012 to observe each Kepler exoplanet candidate host star with high-angular-resolution visible-light laser-adaptive-optics imaging. Our goal is to find nearby stars lying in Kepler's photometric apertures that are responsible for the relatively high probability of false-positive exoplanet detections and that cause underestimates of the size of transit radii. Our comprehensive survey will also shed light on the effects of stellar multiplicity on exoplanet properties and will identify rare exoplanetary architectures. In this second pa…
In this work we keep pushing K2 data to a high photometric precision, close to that of the Kepler main mission, using a PSF-based, neighbour-subtraction technique, which also overcome the dilution effects in crowded environments. We analyse the open cluster M 44 (NGC 2632), observed during the K2 Campaign 5, and extract light curves of stars imaged on module 14, where most of the cluster lies. We present two candidate exoplanets hosted by cluster members and five by field stars. As a by-product of our investigation, we find 1680 eclipsing binaries and variable stars, 1071 of which are new disc…
The Kepler Mission used a 0.95-m aperture space-based telescope to continuously observe more than 150 000 stars for 4 years. We model and analyze most KOIs listed at the Exoplanet Archive using the Kepler data. This document describes data products related to the reported planetary parameters and uncertainties for the Kepler Objects of Interest (KOIs) based on a Markov-Chain-Monte- Carlo (MCMC) analysis. Reported parameters, uncertainties and data products can be found at the NASA Exoplanet Archive ( http://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/docs/Kepler_KOI_docs.html ).
We have carried out an intensive study of photometric (Kepler Mission) and spectroscopic data on the system Kepler-2 (HAT-P-7A) using the dedicated software WinFitter. The mean individual data-point error of the normalized flux values for this system is 0.00015, leading to the model's specification for the mean reference flux to an accuracy of $\sim$0.5 ppm. This testifies to the remarkably high accuracy of the binned data-set, derived from over 1.8 million individual observations. Spectroscopic data are reported with the similarly high-accuracy radial velocity amplitude measure of $\sim$2 m s…
We analyze a sample of multiple-exoplanet systems which contain at least 3 transiting planets detected by the Kepler mission ("Kepler multiples"). We use a generalized Titius-Bode relation to predict the periods of 228 additional planets in 151 of these Kepler multiples. These Titius-Bode-based predictions suggest that there are, on average, ~2 planets in the habitable zone of each star. We estimate the inclination of the invariable plane for each system and prioritize our planet predictions by their geometric probability to transit. We highlight a short list of 77 predicted planets in 40 syst…
Since the discovery of Kepler-10, the system has received considerable interest because it contains a small, rocky planet which orbits the star in less than a day. The system's parameters, announced by the Kepler team and subsequently used in further research, were based on only 5 months of data. We have reanalyzed this system using the full span of 29 months of Kepler photometric data, and obtained improved information about its star and the planets. A detailed asteroseismic analysis of the extended time series provides a significant improvement on the stellar parameters: Not only can we stat…
For years, scientists have used data from NASA's Kepler Space Telescope to look for and discover thousands of transiting exoplanets. In its extended K2 mission, Kepler observed stars in various regions of sky all across the ecliptic plane, and therefore in different galactic environments. Astronomers want to learn how the population of exoplanets are different in these different environments. However, this requires an automatic and unbiased way to identify the exoplanets in these regions and rule out false positive signals that mimic transiting planet signals. We present a method for classifyi…
The Kepler mission and subsequent ground-based follow-up observations have revealed a number of exoplanet host stars with nearby stellar companions. This study presents speckle observations of 57 Kepler objects of interest (KOIs) that are also double stars, each observed over a 3 to 8 year period, which has allowed us to track their relative motions with high precision. Measuring the position angle and separation of the companion with respect to the primary can help determine if the pair exhibits common proper motion, indicating it is likely to be a bound binary system. We report on the motion…
We report rotation periods, variability characteristics, gyrochronological ages for ~950 of the Kepler Object of Interest host stars. We find a wide dispersion in the amplitude of the photometric variability as a function of rotation, likely indicating differences in the spot distribution among stars. We use these rotation periods in combination with published spectroscopic measurements of vsini and stellar parameters to derive the stellar inclination in the line-of-sight, and find a number of systems with possible spin-orbit misalignment. We additionally find several systems with close-in pla…
The eccentricity distribution of exoplanets is known from radial velocity surveys to be divergent from circular orbits beyond 0.1 AU. This is particularly the case for large planets where the radial velocity technique is most sensitive. The eccentricity of planetary orbits can have a large effect on the transit probability and subsequently the planet yield of transit surveys. The Kepler mission is the first transit survey that probes deep enough into period-space to allow this effect to be seen via the variation in transit durations. We use the Kepler planet candidates to show that the eccentr…
Even though the original Kepler mission ended due to mechanical failures, the Kepler satellite continues to collect data. Using classification models, we can understand the features exoplanets possess and then use those features to investigate further for any more information on the candidate planet. Based on the classification model, the idea is to find out the probability of the planet under observation being a candidate for an exoplanet or a false positive. If the model predicts that the observation is a candidate for being an exoplanet, then the further investigation can be conducted. From…
We have applied the graphical user interfaced close binary system analysis program WinFitter to an intensive study of Kepler 91 using all the available photometry from the NASA Exoplanet Archive (NEA) at the Caltech website: http://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu . Our fitting function for the tidal distortion derives from the relevant Radau equation and includes terms up to the fifth power of the fractional radius. This results in a systematic improvement in the mass ratio estimation over that of Lillo Box et al (2014a) and our derived value for the mass ratio is in close agreement with tha…
Photometric phase curves provide an important window onto exoplanetary atmospheres and potentially even their surfaces. With similar amplitudes to occultations but far longer baselines, they have a higher sensitivity to planetary photons at the expense of a more challenging data reduction in terms of long-term stability. In this work, we introduce a novel non-parametric algorithm dubbed "phasma" to produce clean, robust exoplanet phase curves and apply it to 115 Neptunian and 50 Terran exoplanets observed by Kepler. We stack the signals to further improve signal-to-noise, and measure an averag…
Kepler has detected numerous exoplanet transits by precise measurements of stellar light in a single visible-wavelength band. In addition to detection, the precise photometry provides phase curves of exoplanets, which can be used to study the dynamic processes on these planets. However, the interpretation of these observations can be complicated by the fact that visible-wavelength phase curves can represent both thermal emission and scattering from the planets. Here we present a semi-analytical model framework that can be applied to study Kepler and future visible-wavelength phase curve observ…
Observations of exoplanetary systems provide clues about the intrinsic distribution of planetary systems, their architectures, and how they formed. We develop a forward modelling framework for generating populations of planetary systems and "observed" catalogues by simulating the Kepler detection pipeline (SysSim). We compare our simulated catalogues to the Kepler DR25 catalogue of planet candidates, updated to include revised stellar radii from Gaia DR2. We constrain our model based on the observed 1D marginal distributions of orbital periods, period ratios, transit depths, transit depth rati…
Exomoons represent a crucial missing puzzle piece in our efforts to understand extrasolar planetary systems. To address this deficiency, we here describe an exomoon survey of 70 cool, giant transiting exoplanet candidates found by Kepler. We identify only one which exhibits a moon-like signal that passes a battery of vetting tests: Kepler-1708 b. We show that Kepler-1708 b is a statistically validated Jupiter-sized planet orbiting a Sun-like quiescent star at ~1.6AU. The signal of the exomoon candidate, Kepler-1708 b-i, is a 4.8-sigma effect and is persistent across different instrumental detr…
The false-positive probability (FPP) of Kepler transiting candidates is a key value for statistical studies of candidate properties. A previous investigation of the stellar population in the Kepler field has provided an estimate for the FPP of less than 5% for most of the candidates. We report here the results of our radial velocity observations on a sample of 46 Kepler candidates with a transit depth greater than 0.4%, orbital period less than 25 days and host star brighter than Kepler magnitude 14.7. We used the SOPHIE spectrograph mounted on the 1.93-m telescope at the Observatoire de Haute…
The Kepler mission observed thousands of transiting exoplanet candidates around hundreds of thousands of FGK dwarf stars. He, Ford, & Ragozzine (2019) (arXiv:1907.07773) applied forward modeling to infer the distribution of intrinsic architectures of planetary systems, developed a clustered Poisson point process model for exoplanetary systems (SysSim) to reproduce the marginal distributions of the observed Kepler population, and they showed that orbital periods and planet radii are clustered within a given planetary system. Here, we extend the clustered model to explore correlations between pl…
Rescuing Kepler's False Positives: A Possible Habitable Zone Exoplanet in the Triple Star System KOI-1623
Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawai‘i（夏威夷大学天体物理研究所）；Department of Astronomy, University of Texas at Austin（德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校天文学系）；Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Royal Observatory（爱丁堡大学天体物理研究所皇家天文台）；Department of Astronomy, California Institute of Technology（加州理工学院天文学系）；University of Notre Dame, Department of Physics and Astronomy（圣母院大学物理与天文学系）
Recently, Teachey, Kipping, and Schmitt (2018) reported the detection of a candidate exomoon, tentatively designated Kepler-1625b I, around a giant planet in the Kepler field. The candidate exomoon would be about the size and mass of Neptune, considerably larger than any moon in our Solar System, and if confirmed, would be the first in a new class of giant moons or binary planets. Motivated by the large mass ratio in the Kepler-1625b planet and satellite system, we investigate the detectability of similarly massive exomoons around directly imaged exoplanets via Doppler spectroscopy. The candid…
The advent of space-based photometry missions such as CoRoT, Kepler and TESS has sparkled the development of asteroseismology and exoplanetology. The advent of PLATO will further strengthen such multi-disciplinary studies. Testing asteroseismic modelling and its importance for our understanding of planetary systems is crucial. We carried out a detailed modelling of Kepler-93, an exoplanet host star observed by Kepler. This star is particularly interesting as it is very similar to the PLATO benchmark target (G spectral type, ~ 6000K, ~ 1 Msun and ~ 1 Rsun) and provides a real-life testbed for p…
The Kepler Mission has discovered thousands of exoplanets and revolutionized our understanding of their population. This large, homogeneous catalog of discoveries has enabled rigorous studies of the occurrence rate of exoplanets and planetary systems as a function of their physical properties. However, transit surveys like Kepler are most sensitive to planets with orbital periods much shorter than the orbital periods of Jupiter and Saturn, the most massive planets in our Solar System. To address this deficiency, we perform a fully automated search for long-period exoplanets with only one or tw…
The discovery of thousands of planetary systems by Kepler has demonstrated that planets are ubiquitous. However, a major challenge has been the confirmation of Kepler planet candidates, many of which still await confirmation. One of the most enigmatic examples is KOI 4.01, Kepler's first discovered planet candidate detection (as KOI 1.01, 2.01, and 3.01 were known prior to launch). Here we present the confirmation and characterization of KOI 4.01 (now Kepler-1658), using a combination of asteroseismology and radial velocities. Kepler-1658 is a massive, evolved subgiant (Mstar = 1.45 +/- 0.06 M…
Correlations between the occurrence rate of exoplanets and their host star properties provide important clues about the planet formation processes. We studied the dependence of the observed properties of exoplanets (radius, mass, and orbital period) as a function of their host star metallicity. We analyzed the planetary radii and orbital periods of over 2800 $Kepler$ candidates from the latest $Kepler$ data release DR25 (Q1-Q17) with revised planetary radii based on $Gaia$~DR2 as a function of host star metallicity (from the Q1-Q17 (DR25) stellar and planet catalog). With a much larger sample …
Despite the severe bias of the transit method of exoplanet discovery toward short orbital periods, a modest sample of transiting exoplanets with orbital periods greater than 100 days is known. Long-term radial velocity (RV) surveys are pivotal to confirming these signals and generating a set of planetary masses and densities for planets receiving moderate to low irradiation from their host stars. Here, we conduct RV observations of Kepler-1514 from the Keck I telescope using the High Resolution Echelle Spectrometer. From these data, we measure the mass of the statistically validated giant ($1.…
The prime Kepler mission detected 34,032 transit-like signals, out of which 8,054 were identified as likely due to astrophysical planet transits or eclipsing binaries. We manually examined 306 of the remaining 25,978 detections, and found six plausible transiting or eclipsing objects, five of which are plausible planet candidates (PCs), and one stellar companion. One of our new PCs is a possible new second planet in the KOI 4302 system. Another new PC is a possible new planet around the KOI 4246, and when combined with a different possible planet rescued by the False Positive Working Group, we…
