Exoplanet Transits Registered at the Universidad de Monterrey Observatory. Part I: HAT-P-12b, HAT-P-13b, HAT-P-16b, HAT-P-23b and WASP-10b

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that small observatories can effectively record and analyze exoplanet transits, improving parameter accuracy and confirming known system characteristics using combined light curves and Monte Carlo modeling.

Contribution

The paper introduces a methodology for small observatories to produce high-quality combined light curves and refine exoplanet system parameters, validating the approach with multiple systems.

Findings

Achieved ~1 mmag scatter in combined light curves

Confirmed transit parameters consistent with literature

Derived a smaller planet size for HAT-P-23b by 4.5%

Abstract

Forty transits of the exoplanets HAT-P-12b, HAT-P-13b, HAT-P-16b, HAT-P-23b and WASP-10b were recorded with the 0.36m telescope at the Universidad de Monterrey Observatory. The images were captured with a standard Johnson-Cousins Rc and Ic and Sloan z' filters and processed to obtain individual light curves of the events. These light curves were successfully combined for each system to obtain a resulting one of higher quality, but with a slightly larger time sampling rate. A reduction by a factor of about four in per-point scatter was typically achieved, resulting in combined light curves with a scatter of ~1 mmag. The noise characteristics of the combined light curves were verified by comparing Allan variance plots of the residuals. The combined light curves for each system, along with radial velocity measurements from the literature when available, were modeled using a Monte Carlo method to obtain the essential parameters that characterize the systems. Our results for all these systems confirm the derived transit parameters (the planet-to-star radius ratio, Rp/R*; the scaled semi-major axis, a/R*; the orbital inclination, i; in some cases the eccentricity, e; and argument of periastron of the orbit, {\omega}), validating the methodology. This technique can be used by small college observatories equipped with modest-sized telescopes to help characterize known extrasolar planet systems. In some instances, the uncertainties of the essential transit parameters are also reduced. For HAT-P-23b, in particular, we derive a planet size 4.5 +- 1.0% smaller. We also derive improved linear periods for each system, useful for scheduling observations.