High-resolution Spectroscopy
Chapter in EXOFRONTIERS, (2021)
Investigating the young AU Mic system with SPIRou: large-scale stellar magnetic field and close-in planet mass
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 502, Issue 1, pp.188-205
Abstract:
We present a velocimetric and spectropolarimetric analysis of 27 observations of the 22-Myr M1 star AU Microscopii (AU Mic) collected with the high-resolution YJHK (0.98-2.35 渭m) spectropolarimeter SPIRou from 2019 September 18 to November 14. Our radial velocity (RV) time-series exhibits activity-induced fluctuations of 45 m s-1 rms, 鈭3 times smaller than those measured in the optical domain, that we filter using Gaussian Process Regression. We report a 3.9蟽 detection of the recently discovered 8.46 -d transiting planet AU Mic b, with an estimated mass of 17.1 +4.7鈭4.5 M鈯 and a bulk density of 1.3 卤 0.4 g cm-3, inducing an RV signature of semi-amplitude K = 8.5 +2.3鈭2.2 m s-1 in the spectrum of its host star. A consistent detection is independently obtained when we simultaneously image stellar surface inhomogeneities and estimate the planet parameters with Zeeman-Doppler imaging (ZDI). Using ZDI, we invert the time-series of unpolarized and circularly polarized spectra into surface brightness and large-scale magnetic maps. We find a mainly poloidal and axisymmetric field of 475 G, featuring, in particular, a dipole of 450 G tilted at 19掳 to the rotation axis. Moreover, we detect a strong differential rotation of d惟 = 0.167 卤 0.009 rad d-1 shearing the large-scale field, about twice stronger than that shearing the brightness distribution, suggesting that both observables probe different layers of the convective zone. Even though we caution that more RV measurements are needed to accurately pin down the planet mass, AU Mic b already appears as a prime target for constraining planet formation models, studying the interactions with the surrounding debris disc, and characterizing its atmosphere with upcoming space- and ground-based missions.
The large-scale magnetic field of Proxima Centauri near activity maximum
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 500, Issue 2, pp.1844-1850
Abstract:
We report the detection of a large-scale magnetic field at the surface of the slowly rotating fully convective (FC) M dwarf Proxima Centauri. 10 circular polarization spectra, collected from 2017 April to July with the HARPS-Pol spectropolarimeter, exhibit rotationally modulated Zeeman signatures suggesting a stellar rotation period of 89.8 卤 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 poloidal, and moderately axisymmetric, featuring, in particular, a dipole component of 135 G tilted at 51掳 to the rotation axis. The large-scale magnetic flux is roughly 3脳 smaller than the flux measured from the Zeeman broadening of unpolarized lines, which suggests that the underlying dynamo is efficient at generating a magnetic field at the largest spatial scales. Our observations occur 藴1 yr after the maximum of the reported 7 yr-activity cycle of Proxima Cen, which opens the door for the first long-term study of how the large-scale field evolves with the magnetic cycle in an FC very low mass star. Finally, we find that Proxima Cen's habitable zone planet, Proxima-b, is likely orbiting outside the Alfv猫n surface, where no direct magnetic star-planet interactions occur.
HARMONI Science Path Optics: predicting and analysing the expected as-built performance with and end-to-end optical model
SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics (2020) 370
The cloudy shape of hot Jupiter thermal phase curves
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 91探花 University Press (OUP) 501:1 (2020) 78-108