Planets in the Galactic Bulge: Results from the SWEEPS Project

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dc.creatorSahu, Kailash C.
dc.creatorCasertano, Stefano
dc.creatorValenti, Jeff
dc.creatorBond, Howard E.
dc.creatorBrown, Thomas M.
dc.creatorSmith, T. Ed
dc.creatorClarkson, Will
dc.creatorMinniti, Dante
dc.creatorZoccali, Manuela
dc.creatorLivio, Mario
dc.creatorRenzini, Alvio
dc.creatorRich, R. M.
dc.creatorPanagia, Nino
dc.creatorLubow, Stephen
dc.creatorBrown, Timothy
dc.creatorPiskunov, Nikolai
dc.date2007-11-26
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-07T08:45:01Z
dc.date.available2026-07-07T08:45:01Z
dc.descriptionThe exoplanets discovered so far have been mostly around relatively nearby and bright stars. As a result, the host stars are mostly (i) in the Galactic disk, (ii) relatively massive, and (iii) relatively metal rich. The aim of the SWEEPS project is to extend our knowledge to stars which (i) are in a different part of the Galaxy, (ii) have lower masses, and (iii) have a large range of metallicities. To achieve this goal, we used the Hubble Space Telescope to search for transiting planets around F, G, K, and M dwarfs in the Galactic bulge. We photometrically monitored 180,000 stars in a dense bulge field continuously for 7 days. We discovered 16 candidate transiting extrasolar planets with periods of 0.6 to 4.2 days, including a new class of ultra-short period planets (USPPs) with P < 1.2 days. Radial-velocity observations of the two brightest candidates support their planetary nature. These results suggest that planets are as abundant in the Galactic bulge as they are in the solar neighborhood, and they are equally abundant around low-mass stars (within a factor 2). The planet frequency increases with metallicity even for the stars in the Galactic bulge. All the USPP hosts are low-mass stars, suggesting either that close-in planets around higher-mass stars are irradiatively evaporated, or that the planets can migrate to close-in orbits only around such old and low-mass stars.
dc.descriptionTo appear in "Extreme Solar Systems," eds. D. Fischer, F. Rasio, S. Thorsett, A. Wolszczan (ASP Conf. Series). 8 pages, 5 figures
dc.identifierhttps://arxiv.org/abs/0711.4059
dc.identifierhttp://arxiv.org/abs/0711.4059
dc.identifier.urihttp://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/142856
dc.subjectAstrophysics
dc.titlePlanets in the Galactic Bulge: Results from the SWEEPS Project
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