Related papers: Is there a metallicity enhancement in planet hosti…
The main goal of the Pennsylvania - Torun Planet Search (PTPS) is detection and characterization of planets around evolved stars using the high-accuracy radial velocity (RV) technique. The project is performed with the 9.2 m Hobby-Eberly…
We present the motivation for and the first results from a large radial velocity search for planets around red giants with the 9.2-m Hobby-Eberly Telescope.
Searches for planets around evolved G-K subgiant and giant stars are essential for developing general understanding of planet formation and evolution of the planetary systems. Precise radial velocity (RV) measurements of giants have lead to…
We present basic atmospheric parameters (Teff, logg, vt and [Fe/H]) as well as luminosities, masses, radii and absolute radial velocities for 348 stars, presumably giants, from the ~1000 star sample observed within the Penn State-Torun…
We present results from a campaign of multiple epoch echelle spectroscopy of relatively faint (V = 9.5-13.5 mag) red giants observed as potential astrometric grid stars for the Space Interferometry Mission (SIM PlanetQuest). Data are…
We investigate the stellar metallicity ([Fe/H] and [M/H]) dependence of giant planets around M dwarfs by comparing the metallicity distribution of 746 field M dwarfs without known giant planets with a sample of 22 M dwarfs hosting confirmed…
With the goal of confirming the metallicity ``excess'' observed in stars with planetary mass companions, we have conducted a high-precision spectroscopic study of a ``comparison'' sample of dwarfs included in the CORALIE extra-solar planet…
Probing the connection between a star's metallicity and the presence and properties of any associated planets offers an observational link between conditions during the epoch of planet formation and mature planetary systems. We explore this…
We present results of high resolution (~ 55000) spectral observations of 830 photometrically pre-selected candidate red giants in the magnitude range of V = 9-12. We develop a pipeline for automated determination of the stellar atmospheric…
Host star metallicities have been used to infer observational constraints on planet formation throughout the history of the exoplanet field. The giant planet metallicity correlation has now been widely accepted, but questions remain as to…
Exo-planets are preferentially found around high metallicity main sequence stars. We aim at investigating whether evolved stars share this property, and what this tells about planet formation. Statistical tools and the basic concepts of…
Since 1999, a radial velocity survey of 179 red giant stars is ongoing at Lick Observatory with a one month cadence. At present ~20-100 measurements have been collected per star with an accuracy of 5 to 8 m/s. Of the stars monitored, 145…
More than 450 stars hosting planets are known today but only approximately 30 planetary systems were discovered around stars beyond the Main Sequence. The Penn State-Toru\'n Planet Search, putting an emphasis on extending studies of…
We present a homogeneous metallicity analysis of old stellar populations in Local Volume (LV) galaxies using data from the CMDs/TRGB catalog of the Extragalactic Distance Database (EDD; http://edd.ifa.hawaii.edu), which provides uniformly…
It is still being debated whether the well-known metallicity - giant planet correlation for dwarf stars is also valid for giant stars. For this reason, having precise metallicities is very important. Different methods can provide different…
We present the results of the Distant Giants Survey, a three-year radial velocity (RV) campaign to search for wide-separation giant planets orbiting Sun-like stars known to host an inner transiting planet. We defined a distant giant to have…
We determine in a homogeneous way the metallicity and individual abundances of a large sample of evolved stars, with and without known planetary companions. Our methodology is based on the analysis of high-resolution echelle spectra. The…
Red giants are an excellent tool for probing the history of star formation and subsequent metallicity evolution in the galaxies. The well-defined red giant branch (RGB) stars of the globular clusters can be used to determine their slopes…
Context: A radial velocity survey of about 380 G and K giant stars is ongoing at Lick observatory. For each star we have a high signal to noise ratio template spectrum, which we use to determine spectroscopic stellar parameters. Aim: The…
(abridged) We have obtained precise radial velocities for a sample of 373 G and K type giants at Lick Observatory regularly over more than 12 years. Planets have been identified around 15 giant stars; an additional 20 giant stars host…