Transiting exoplanets from the CoRoT space mission. II. CoRoT-Exo-2b: a transiting planet around an active G star
Abstract
Context: The CoRoT mission, a pioneer in exoplanet searches from space, has completed its first 150 days of continuous observations of ~12 000 stars in the galactic plane. An analysis of the raw data identifies the most promising candidates and triggers the ground-based follow-up.
Aims: We report on the discovery of the transiting planet CoRoT-Exo-2b, with a period of 1.743 days, and characterize its main parameters.
Methods: We filter the CoRoT raw light curve of cosmic impacts, orbital residuals, and low frequency signals from the star. The folded light curve of 78 transits is fitted to a model to obtain the main parameters. Radial velocity data obtained with the SOPHIE, CORALIE and HARPS spectrographs are combined to characterize the system. The 2.5 min binned phase-folded light curve is affected by the effect of sucessive occultations of stellar active regions by the planet, and the dispersion in the out of transit part reaches a level of 1.09×10-4 in flux units.
Results: We derive a radius for the planet of 1.465 ± 0.029 R_Jup and a mass of 3.31 ± 0.16 M_Jup, corresponding to a density of 1.31 ± 0.04 g/cm^3. The large radius of CoRoT-Exo-2b cannot be explained by current models of evolution of irradiated planets.
- Publication:
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Astronomy and Astrophysics
- Pub Date:
- May 2008
- DOI:
- 10.1051/0004-6361:200809431
- arXiv:
- arXiv:0803.3207
- Bibcode:
- 2008A&A...482L..21A
- Keywords:
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- stars: planetary systems;
- techniques: photometric;
- techniques: radial velocity;
- Astrophysics
- E-Print:
- A&