A likely magnetic activity cycle for the exoplanet host M dwarf GJ 3512

TL;DR

This study analyzes radial velocity and photometric data of the star GJ 3512 to identify its magnetic activity cycle, revealing a ~14-year cycle and constraining the orbits of two giant exoplanets.

Contribution

It introduces a combined Bayesian and frequency analysis approach to study stellar activity cycles using radial velocity data.

Findings

Detected a ~14-year magnetic activity cycle for GJ 3512.

Constrained the orbital parameters of two giant exoplanets.

Identified star rotation in radial velocity residuals.

Abstract

Current radial velocity data from specialized instruments contain a large amount of information that may pass unnoticed if their analysis is not accurate. The joint use of Bayesian inference tools and frequency analysis has been shown effective to reveal exoplanets but they have been used less frequently to investigate stellar activity. We intend to use radial velocity data of the exoplanet host star GJ 3512 to investigate its magnetic activity. Our study includes the analysis of the photometric data available. The main objectives of our work are to constrain the orbital parameters of the exoplanets in the system, to determine the current level of activity of the star and to derive an activity cycle length for it. An adaptive importance sampling method was used to determine the parameters of the exoplanets orbit. Generalized Lomb-Scargle periodograms were constructed with both radial velocity curve and photometric data. A careful analysis of the harmonic frequencies was conducted in each periodogram. Our fit to multiple Keplerian orbits constrained the orbital parameters of two giant gas planets orbiting the star GJ 3512. The host star showed an increase of its magnetic activity during the last observing campaign. The accurate fit of the radial velocity curve data to the multi-Keplerian orbit permitted to reveal the star rotation in the residuals of the best fit and estimate an activity cycle length of ~ 14 years.