Browsing by Author "Tofflemire, Benjamin M."

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Sites of Planet Formation in Binary Systems. I. Evidence for Disk−Orbit Alignment in the Close Binary FO Tau
    (IOP Publishing, 2024) Tofflemire, Benjamin M.; Prato, Lisa; Kraus, Adam L.; Segura-Cox, Dominique; Schaefer, G. H.; Akeson, Rachel; Andrews, Sean; Jensen, Eric L. N.; Johns-Krull, Christopher M.; Zanazzi, J. J.; Simon, M.
    Close binary systems present challenges to planet formation. As binary separations decrease, so do the occurrence rates of protoplanetary disks in young systems and planets in mature systems. For systems that do retain disks, their disk masses and sizes are altered by the presence of the binary companion. Through the study of protoplanetary disks in binary systems with known orbital parameters, we seek to determine the properties that promote disk retention and therefore planet formation. In this work, we characterize the young binary−disk system FO Tau. We determine the first full orbital solution for the system, finding masses of and 0.34 ± 0.05 M ⊙ for the stellar components, a semimajor axis of au, and an eccentricity of . With long-baseline Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array interferometry, we detect 1.3 mm continuum and 12CO (J = 2–1) line emission toward each of the binary components; no circumbinary emission is detected. The protoplanetary disks are compact, consistent with being truncated by the binary orbit. The dust disks are unresolved in the image plane, and the more extended gas disks are only marginally resolved. Fitting the continuum and CO visibilities, we determine the inclination of each disk, finding evidence for alignment of the disk and binary orbital planes. This study is the first of its kind linking the properties of circumstellar protoplanetary disks to a precisely known binary orbit. In the case of FO Tau, we find a dynamically placid environment (coplanar, low eccentricity), which may foster its potential for planet formation.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    TESS Hunt for Young and Maturing Exoplanets (THYME). VI. An 11 Myr Giant Planet Transiting a Very-low-mass Star in Lower Centaurus Crux
    (IOP Publishing, 2022) Mann, Andrew W.; Wood, Mackenna L.; Schmidt, Stephen P.; Barber, Madyson G.; Owen, James E.; Tofflemire, Benjamin M.; Newton, Elisabeth R.; Mamajek, Eric E.; Bush, Jonathan L.; Mace, Gregory N.; Kraus, Adam L.; Thao, Pa Chia; Vanderburg, Andrew; Llama, Joe; Johns-Krull, Christopher M.; Prato, L.; Stahl, Asa G.; Tang, Shih-Yun; Fields, Matthew J.; Collins, Karen A.; Collins, Kevin I.; Gan, Tianjun; Jensen, Eric L. N.; Kamler, Jacob; Schwarz, Richard P.; Furlan, Elise; Gnilka, Crystal L.; Howell, Steve B.; Lester, Kathryn V.; Owens, Dylan A.; Suarez, Olga; Mekarnia, Djamel; Guillot, Tristan; Abe, Lyu; Triaud, Amaury H. M. J.; Johnson, Marshall C.; Milburn, Reilly P.; Rizzuto, Aaron C.; Quinn, Samuel N.; Kerr, Ronan; Ricker, George R.; Vanderspek, Roland; Latham, David W.; Seager, Sara; Winn, Joshua N.; Jenkins, Jon M.; Guerrero, Natalia M.; Shporer, Avi; Schlieder, Joshua E.; McLean, Brian; Wohler, Bill
    Mature super-Earths and sub-Neptunes are predicted to be ≃ Jovian radius when younger than 10 Myr. Thus, we expect to find 5–15 R ⊕ planets around young stars even if their older counterparts harbor none. We report the discovery and validation of TOI 1227b, a 0.85 ± 0.05 R J (9.5 R ⊕) planet transiting a very-low-mass star (0.170 ± 0.015 M ⊙) every 27.4 days. TOI 1227's kinematics and strong lithium absorption confirm that it is a member of a previously discovered subgroup in the Lower Centaurus Crux OB association, which we designate the Musca group. We derive an age of 11 ± 2 Myr for Musca, based on lithium, rotation, and the color–magnitude diagram of Musca members. The TESS data and ground-based follow-up show a deep (2.5%) transit. We use multiwavelength transit observations and radial velocities from the IGRINS spectrograph to validate the signal as planetary in nature, and we obtain an upper limit on the planet mass of ≃0.5 M J. Because such large planets are exceptionally rare around mature low-mass stars, we suggest that TOI 1227b is still contracting and will eventually turn into one of the more common <5 R ⊕ planets.