The First Post-Kepler Brightness Dips of KIC 8462852
Abstract
We present a photometric detection of the first brightness dips of the unique variable star KIC 8462852 since the end of the Kepler space mission in 2013 May. Our regular photometric surveillance started in October 2015, and a sequence of dipping began in 2017 May continuing on through the end of 2017, when the star was no longer visible from Earth. We distinguish four main 1-2.5% dips, named "Elsie," "Celeste," "Skara Brae," and "Angkor", which persist on timescales from several days to weeks. Our main results so far are: (i) there are no apparent changes of the stellar spectrum or polarization during the dips; (ii) the multiband photometry of the dips shows differential reddening favoring non-grey extinction. Therefore, our data are inconsistent with dip models that invoke optically thick material, but rather they are in-line with predictions for an occulter consisting primarily of ordinary dust, where much of the material must be optically thin with a size scale <<1um, and may also be consistent with models invoking variations intrinsic to the stellar photosphere. Notably, our data do not place constraints on the color of the longer-term "secular" dimming, which may be caused by independent processes, or probe different regimes of a single process.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1801.00732,
title = {The First Post-Kepler Brightness Dips of KIC 8462852},
author = {Tabetha S. Boyajian and Roi Alonso and Alex Ammerman and David Armstrong and A. Asensio Ramos and K. Barkaoui and Thomas G. Beatty and Z. Benkhaldoun and Paul Benni and Rory Bentley and Andrei Berdyugin and Svetlana Berdyugina and Serge Bergeron and Allyson Bieryla and Michaela G. Blain and Alicia Capetillo Blanco and Eva H. L. Bodman and Anne Boucher and Mark Bradley and Stephen M. Brincat and Thomas G. Brink and John Briol and David J. A. Brown and J. Budaj and A. Burdanov and B. Cale and Miguel Aznar Carbo and R. Castillo Garcia and Wendy J Clark and Geoffrey C. Clayton and James L. Clem and Phillip H Coker and Evan M. Cook and Chris M. Copperwheat and J. Curtis and R. M. Cutri and B. Cseh and C. H. Cynamon and Alex J. Daniels and James R. A. Davenport and Hans J. Deeg and Roberto De Lorenzo and Thomas De Jaeger and Jean-Bruno Desrosiers and John Dolan and D. J. Dowhos and Franky Dubois and R. Durkee and Shawn Dvorak and Lynn Easley and N. Edwards and Tyler G. Ellis and Emery Erdelyi and Steve Ertel and Rafael. G. Farfán and J. Farihi and Alexei V. Filippenko and Emma Foxell and Davide Gandolfi and Faustino Garcia and F. Giddens and M. Gillon and Juan-Luis González-Carballo and C. González-Fernández and J. I. González Hernández and Keith A. Graham and Kenton A. Greene and J. Gregorio and Na'ama Hallakoun and Ottó Hanyecz and G. R. Harp and Gregory W. Henry and E. Herrero and Caleb F. Hildbold and D. Hinzel and G. Holgado and Bernadett Ignácz and Valentin D. Ivanov and E. Jehin and Helen E. Jermak and Steve Johnston and S. Kafka and Csilla Kalup and Emmanuel Kardasis and Shai Kaspi and Grant M. Kennedy and F. Kiefer and C. L. Kielty and Dennis Kessler and H. Kiiskinen and T. L. Killestein and Ronald A. King and V. Kollar and H. Korhonen and C. Kotnik and Réka Könyves-Tóth and Levente Kriskovics and Nathan Krumm and Vadim Krushinsky and E. Kundra and Francois-Rene Lachapelle and D. Lacourse and P. Lake and Kristine Lam and Gavin P. Lamb and Dave Lane and Marie Wingyee Lau and Pablo Lewin and Chris Lintott and Carey Lisse and Ludwig Logie and Nicolas Longeard and M. Lopez Villanueva and E. Whit Ludington and A. Mainzer and Lison Malo and Chris Maloney and A. Mann and A. Mantero and Massimo Marengo and Jon Marchant and M. J. Martinez González and Joseph R. Masiero and Jon C. Mauerhan and James Mccormac and Aaron Mcneely and Huan Y. A. Meng and Mike Miller and Lawrence A. Molnar and J. C. Morales and Brett M. Morris and Matthew W. Muterspaugh and David Nespral and C. R. Nugent and Katherine M. Nugent and A. Odasso and Derek O'keeffe and A. Oksanen and John M. O'meara and András Ordasi and Hugh Osborn and John J. Ott and J. R. Parks and Diego Rodriguez Perez and Vance Petriew and R. Pickard and András Pál and P. Plavchan and C. Westendorp Plaza and Don Pollacco and F. Pozo Nuñez and F. J. Pozuelos and Steve Rau and Seth Redfield and Howard Relles and I. Ribas and Jon Richards and Joonas L. O. Saario and Emily J. Safron and J. Martin Sallai and Krisztián Sárneczky and Bradley E. Schaefer and Clea F. Schumer and Madison Schwartzendruber and Michael H. Siegel and Andrew P. V. Siemion and Brooke D. Simmons and Joshua D. Simon and S. Simón-Diaz and Michael L. Sitko and Hector Socas-Navarro and Á. Sódor and Donn Starkey and Iain A. Steele and Geoff Stone and R. A. Street and Tricia Sullivan and J. Suomela and J. J. Swift and Gyula M. Szabó and Róbert Szabó and Róbert Szakáts and Tamás Szalai and Angelle M. Tanner and B. Toledo-Padrón and Tamás Tordai and Amaury H. M. J. Triaud and Jake D. Turner and Joseph H. Ulowetz and Marian Urbanik and Siegfried Vanaverbeke and Andrew Vanderburg and Krisztián Vida and Brad P. Vietje and József Vinkó and K. Von Braun and Elizabeth O. Waagen and Dan Walsh and Christopher A. Watson and R. C. Weir and Klaus Wenzel and Michael W. Williamson and Jason T. Wright and M. C. Wyatt and Weikang Zheng and Gabriella Zsidi},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1801.00732},
year = {2018}
}
Comments
19 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in ApJL