Enhancing Exoplanet Ephemerides by Leveraging Professional and Citizen Science Data: A Test Case with WASP-77A b
Abstract
We present an updated ephemeris and physical parameters for the exoplanet WASP-77 A b. In this effort, we combine 64 ground- and space-based transit observations, 6 space-based eclipse observations, and 32 radial velocity observations to produce the most precise orbital solution to date for this target, aiding in the planning of James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and Ariel observations and atmospheric studies. We report a new orbital period of 1.360029395 +- 5.7e-8 days, a new mid-transit time of 2459957.337860 +- 4.3e-5 BJDTDB (Barycentric Julian Date in the Barycentric Dynamical Time scale; arXiv:1005.4415) and a new mid-eclipse time of 2459956.658192 +- 6.7e-5 BJDTDB. Furthermore, the methods presented in this study reduce the uncertainties in the planet mass to 1.6654 +- 4.5e-3 Mjup and orbital period to 1.360029395 +- 5.7e-8 days by factors of 15.1 and 10.9, respectively. Through a joint fit analysis comparison of transit data taken by space-based and citizen science-led initiatives, our study demonstrates the power of including data collected by citizen scientists compared to a fit of the space-based data alone. Additionally, by including a vast array of citizen science data from ExoClock, Exoplanet Transit Database (ETD), and Exoplanet Watch, we can increase our observational baseline and thus acquire better constraints on the forward propagation of our ephemeris than what is achievable with TESS data alone.
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Cite
@article{arxiv.2405.19615,
title = {Enhancing Exoplanet Ephemerides by Leveraging Professional and Citizen Science Data: A Test Case with WASP-77A b},
author = {Federico R. Noguer and Suber Corley and Kyle A. Pearson and Robert T. Zellem and Molly N. Simon and Jennifer A. Burt and Isabela Huckabee and Prune C. August and Megan Weiner Mansfield and Paul A. Dalba and Peter C. B. Smith and Timothy Banks and Ira Bell and Dominique Daniel and Lindsay Dawson and Jesús De Mula and Marc Deldem and Dimitrios Deligeorgopoulos and Romina P. Di Sisto and Roger Dymock and Phil Evans and Giulio Follero and Martin J. F. Fowler and Eduardo Fernández-Lajús and Alex Hamrick and Nicoletta Iannascoli and Andre O. Kovacs and Denis Henrique Kulh and Claudio Lopresti and Antonio Marino and Bryan E. Martin and Paolo Arcangelo Matassa and Tasso Augusto Napoleão and Alessandro Nastasi and Anthony Norris and Alessandro Odasso and Nikolaos I. Paschalis and Pavel Pintr and Jake Postiglione and Justus Randolph and François Regembal and Lionel Rousselot and Sergio José Gonçalves da Silva and Andrew Smith and Andrea Tomacelli},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2405.19615},
year = {2024}
}
Comments
Updated a co-author name. Added a co-author. Added an acknowledgement