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The influence of starspots activity on the determination of planetary transit parameters

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 February 2010

Adriana Silva-Válio
Adriana Silva-Válio*
Affiliation:
CRAAM, Mackenzie University, São Paulo, Brazil email: avalio@craam.mackenzie.br
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Abstract

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As a planet eclipses its parent star, dark spots on the surface of the star may be occulted, causing a detectable variation in the transit light curve. There are basically two effects caused by the presence of spots on the surface of the star which can alter the shape of the light curve during transits and thus preclude the correct determination of the planet physical and orbital parameters. The first one is that the presence of many spots within the latitude band occulted by the planet will cause the depth of the transit in the light curve to be shallower. This will erroneously result in a smaller radius for the planet. The other effect is that generated by spots located close to the limb of the star. In this case, the spots will interfere in the light curve during the times of ingress or egress of the planet, causing a decrease in the transit duration. This in turn will provide a larger value for the semi-major axis of the planetary orbit. Qualitative estimates of both effects are discussed and an example provided for a very active star, such as CoRoTo-2.

Keywords

stars: activitystars: spotsplanetary systems
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 5 , Symposium S264: Solar and Stellar Variability: Impact on Earth and Planets , August 2009 , pp. 440 - 442
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2010

References

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