WASP-3b: a strongly irradiated transiting gas-giant planet

  1. D. Pollacco1,*,
  2. I. Skillen2,
  3. A. Collier Cameron3,
  4. B. Loeillet4,
  5. H. C. Stempels3,
  6. F. Bouchy5,6,
  7. N. P. Gibson1,
  8. L. Hebb3,
  9. G. Hébrard5,
  10. Y. C. Joshi1,
  11. I. McDonald7,
  12. B. Smalley7,
  13. A. M. S. Smith3,
  14. R. A. Street1,8,
  15. S. Udry9,
  16. R. G. West10,
  17. D. M. Wilson7,
  18. P. J. Wheatley11,
  19. S. Aigrain12,
  20. K. Alsubai3,
  21. C. R. Benn2,
  22. V. A. Bruce3,
  23. D. J. Christian1,
  24. W. I. Clarkson13,14,
  25. B. Enoch13,
  26. A. Evans7,
  27. A. Fitzsimmons1,
  28. C. A. Haswell13,
  29. C. Hellier7,
  30. S. Hickey2,15,
  31. S. T. Hodgkin12,
  32. K. Horne3,
  33. M. Hrudková2,16,
  34. J. Irwin12,
  35. S. R. Kane2,17,
  36. F. P. Keenan1,
  37. T. A. Lister3,7,8,
  38. P. Maxted7,
  39. M. Mayor9,
  40. C. Moutou4,
  41. A. J. Norton13,
  42. J. P. Osborne10,
  43. N. Parley13,
  44. F. Pont9,
  45. D. Queloz9,
  46. R. Ryans1,
  47. E. Simpson1

Article first published online: 10 MAR 2008

DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2008.12939.x

Issue

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

Volume 385, Issue 3, pages 1576–1584, April 2008

Additional Information

How to Cite

Pollacco, D., Skillen, I., Collier Cameron, A., Loeillet, B., Stempels, H. C., Bouchy, F., Gibson, N. P., Hebb, L., Hébrard, G., Joshi, Y. C., McDonald, I., Smalley, B., Smith, A. M. S., Street, R. A., Udry, S., West, R. G., Wilson, D. M., Wheatley, P. J., Aigrain, S., Alsubai, K., Benn, C. R., Bruce, V. A., Christian, D. J., Clarkson, W. I., Enoch, B., Evans, A., Fitzsimmons, A., Haswell, C. A., Hellier, C., Hickey, S., Hodgkin, S. T., Horne, K., Hrudková, M., Irwin, J., Kane, S. R., Keenan, F. P., Lister, T. A., Maxted, P., Mayor, M., Moutou, C., Norton, A. J., Osborne, J. P., Parley, N., Pont, F., Queloz, D., Ryans, R. and Simpson, E. (2008), WASP-3b: a strongly irradiated transiting gas-giant planet. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 385: 1576–1584. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2008.12939.x

Author Information

  1. 1

    Astrophysics Research Centre, School of Mathematics & Physics, Queen's University, University Road, Belfast BT7 1NN

  2. 2

    Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes, Apartado de Correos 321, E-38700 Santa Cruz de la Palma, Tenerife, Spain

  3. 3

    School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St Andrews, North Haugh, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9SS

  4. 4

    Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille, BP 8, 13376 Marseille Cedex 12, France

  5. 5

    Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris, CNRS (UMR 7095) – Université Pierre & Marie Curie, 98bis bvd. Arago, 75014 Paris, France

  6. 6

    Observatoire de Haute-Provence, 04870 St Michel l'Observatoire, France

  7. 7

    Astrophysics Group, Keele University, Staffordshire ST5 5BG

  8. 8

    Las Cumbres Observatory, 6740 Cortona Dr Suite 102, Santa Barbara, CA 93117, USA

  9. 9

    Observatoire de Genéve, Université de Genéve, 51 Ch. des Maillettes, 1290 Sauverny, Switzerland

  10. 10

    Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH

  11. 11

    Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL

  12. 12

    Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0HA

  13. 13

    Department of Physics and Astronomy, The Open University, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA

  14. 14

    STScI, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA

  15. 15

    Centre for Astrophysics, Science & Technology Research Institute, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield AL10 9AB

  16. 16

    Astronomical Institute, Charles University Prague, V Holesovickach 2, CZ-180 00 Praha, Czech Republic

  17. 17

    Department of Astronomy, University of Florida, 211 Bryant Space Science Center, Gainesville, FL 32611-2055, USA

* E-mail: d.pollacco@qub.ac.uk

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 13 MAR 2008
  2. Article first published online: 10 MAR 2008
  3. Accepted 2008 January 9. Received 2008 January 9; in original form 2007 October 16

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Keywords:

  • methods: data analysis;
  • techniques: photometric;
  • techniques: radial velocities;
  • planetary systems

ABSTRACT

We report the discovery of WASP-3b, the third transiting exoplanet to be discovered by the WASP and SOPHIE collaboration. WASP-3b transits its host star USNO-B1.0 1256−0285133 every 1.846 834 ± 0.000 002 d. Our high-precision radial velocity measurements present a variation with amplitude characteristic of a planetary-mass companion and in phase with the light curve. Adaptive optics imaging shows no evidence for nearby stellar companions, and line-bisector analysis excludes faint, unresolved binarity and stellar activity as the cause of the radial velocity variations. We make a preliminary spectroscopic analysis of the host star and find it to have Teff= 6400 ± 100 K and log  g= 4.25 ± 0.05 which suggests it is most likely an unevolved main-sequence star of spectral type F7-8V. Our simultaneous modelling of the transit photometry and reflex motion of the host leads us to derive a mass of 1.76+0.08−0.14MJ and radius 1.31+0.07−0.14RJ for WASP-3b. The proximity and relative temperature of the host star suggests that WASP-3b is one of the hottest exoplanets known, and thus has the potential to place stringent constraints on exoplanet atmospheric models.

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