2017AJ....153..193A -
Astron. J., 153, 193-193 (2017/April-0)
Toward detection of exoplanetary rings via transit photometry: methodology and a possible candidate.
AIZAWA M., UEHARA S., MASUDA K., KAWAHARA H. and SUTO Y.
Abstract (from CDS):
The detection of a planetary ring of exoplanets remains one of the most attractive, but challenging, goals in the field of exoplanetary science. We present a methodology that implements a systematic search for exoplanetary rings via transit photometry of long-period planets. This methodology relies on a precise integration scheme that we develop to compute a transit light curve of a ringed planet. We apply the methodology to 89 long-period planet candidates from the Kepler data so as to estimate, and/or set upper limits on, the parameters of possible rings. While the majority of our samples do not have sufficient signal-to-noise ratios (S/Ns) to place meaningful constraints on ring parameters, we find that six systems with higher S/Ns are inconsistent with the presence of a ring larger than 1.5 times the planetary radius, assuming a grazing orbit and a tilted ring. Furthermore, we identify five preliminary candidate systems whose light curves exhibit ring-like features. After removing four false positives due to the contamination from nearby stars, we identify KIC 10403228 as a reasonable candidate for a ringed planet. A systematic parameter fit of its light curve with a ringed planet model indicates two possible solutions corresponding to a Saturn-like planet with a tilted ring. There also remain two other possible scenarios accounting for the data; a circumstellar disk and a hierarchical triple. Due to large uncertain factors, we cannot choose one specific model among the three.
Abstract Copyright:
© 2017. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.
Journal keyword(s):
methods: data analysis - planets and satellites: detection - planets and satellites: rings - techniques: photometric - techniques: photometric
Simbad objects:
36
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