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Transiting exoplanets orbiting active stars frequently occult starspots and faculae on the visible stellar disc. Such occultations are often rejected from spectrophotometric transits, as it is assumed they do not contain relevant information for the study of exoplanet atmopsheres. However, they can provide useful constraints to retrieve the temperature of active features and their effect on transmission spectra. We analyse the capabilities of the James Webb Space Telescope in the determination of the spectra of occulted starspots, despite its lack of optical wavelength instruments on board. Focusing on K and M spectral types, we simulate starspots with different temperatures and in different locations of the stellar disc, and find that starspot temperatures can be determined to within a few hundred kelvins using NIRSpec/Prism and the proposed NIRCam/F150W2$+$F322W2's broad wavelength capabilities. Our results are particularly promising in the case of K and M dwarfs of mag$_K \leq 12.5$ with large temperature contrasts., 16 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication on MNRAS, updated references in Sections 1, 3.1 and 5, updated affiliation details, added link to uploaded material in Data Availability section

We report the discovery of a circumstellar debris disk viewed nearly edge-on and associated with the young, K1 star BD+45$^{\circ}$598 using high-contrast imaging at 2.2$\mu$m obtained at the W.M.~Keck Observatory. We detect the disk in scattered light with a peak significance of $\sim$5$\sigma$ over three epochs, and our best-fit model of the disk is an almost edge-on $\sim$70 AU ring, with inclination angle $\sim$87$^\circ$. Using the NOEMA interferometer at the Plateau de Bure Observatory operating at 1.3mm, we find resolved continuum emission aligned with the ring structure seen in the 2.2$\mu$m images. We estimate a fractional infrared luminosity of $L_{IR}/L_{tot}$ $\simeq6^{+2}_{-1}$$\times$$10^{-4}$, higher than that of the debris disk around AU Mic. Several characteristics of BD+45$^{\circ}$598, such as its galactic space motion, placement in a color-magnitude diagram, and strong presence of Lithium, are all consistent with its membership in the $\beta$ Pictoris Moving Group with an age of 23$\pm$3 Myr. However, the galactic position for BD+45$^{\circ}$598 is slightly discrepant from previously-known members of the $\beta$ Pictoris Moving Group, possibly indicating an extension of members of this moving group to distances of at least 70pc. BD+45$^{\circ}$598 appears to be an example from a population of young circumstellar debris systems associated with newly identified members of young moving groups that can be imaged in scattered light, key objects for mapping out the early evolution of planetary systems from $\sim$10-100 Myr. This target will also be ideal for northern-hemisphere, high-contrast imaging platforms to search for self-luminous, planetary mass companions residing in this system., Comment: 11 pages, Accepted to ApJ

The ultraviolet-visible wavelength range holds critical spectral diagnostics for the chemistry and physics at work in planetary atmospheres. To date, exoplanet time-series atmospheric characterization studies have relied on several combinations of modes on Hubble's STIS/COS instruments to access this wavelength regime. Here for the first time, we apply the Hubble WFC3/UVIS G280 grism mode to obtain exoplanet spectroscopy from 200-800 nm in a single observation. We test the G280 grism mode on the hot Jupiter HAT-P-41b over two consecutive transits to determine its viability for exoplanet atmospheric characterization. We obtain a broadband transit depth precision of 29-33ppm and a precision of on average 200ppm in 10nm spectroscopic bins. Spectral information from the G280 grism can be extracted from both the positive and negative first order spectra, resulting in a 60% increase in the measurable flux. Additionally, the first HST orbit can be fully utilized in the time-series analysis. We present detailed extraction and reduction methods for use by future investigations with this mode, testing multiple techniques. We find the results fully consistent with STIS measurements of HAT-P-41b from 310-800 nm, with the G280 results representing a more observationally efficient and precise spectrum. We fit HAT-P-41b's transmission spectrum with a forward model at Teq=2091K, high metallicity, and significant scattering and cloud opacity. With these first of their kind observations, we demonstrate that WFC3/UVIS G280 is a powerful new tool to obtain UV-optical spectra of exoplanet atmospheres, adding to the UV legacy of Hubble and complementing future observations with the James Webb Space Telescope., Accepted to AJ Feb 29, 2020. 20 pages, 17 figures, 3 tables

In exoplanet atmosphere analyses, a suite of retrievals, with and without different chemical components, is often run, with forward models generated across their parameter space. I discuss here potential pitfalls in the interpretation of the statistics of such setups, suggesting a few simple tests to consider when interpreting their results.

The matching of sources between photometric catalogues can lead to cases where objects of differing brightness are incorrectly assumed to be detections of the same source. The rejection of unphysical matches can be achieved through the inclusion of information about the sources' magnitudes. The method described here uses the additional photometric information from both catalogues in the process of accepting or rejecting counterparts, providing approximately a factor 10 improvement in Bayes' factor with its inclusion. When folding in the photometric information we avoid using prior astrophysical knowledge. Additionally, the method allows for the possibility of no counterparts to sources as well as the possibility that sources overlap multiple potential counterparts. We formally describe the probability of two sources being the same astrometric object, allowing systematic effects of astrometric perturbation (by, e.g., contaminant objects) to be accounted for. We apply the method to two cases. First, we test IPHAS-Gaia matches to compare the resulting matches in two catalogues of similar wavelength coverage but differing dynamical ranges. Second, we apply the method to matches between IPHAS and 2MASS and show that the method holds when considering two catalogues with approximately equal astrometric precision. We discuss the importance of including the magnitude information in each case. Additionally, we discuss extending the method to multiple catalogue matches through an iterative matching process. The method allows for the selection of high-quality matches by providing an overall probability for each pairing, giving the flexibility to choose stars known to be good matches., 19 pages, 8 figures, 3 tables; accepted for publication in MNRAS. Updated equations 26 and 27 to fix minor typographical errors

Steinhardt et al., arXiv:2001.09999v2, The Beyond Ultra-deep Frontier Fields and Legacy Observations (BUFFALO) is a 101 orbit + 101 parallel Cycle 25 Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Treasury program taking data from 2018 to 2020. BUFFALO will expand existing coverage of the Hubble Frontier Fields (HFF) in Wide Field Camera 3/IR F105W, F125W, and F160W and Advanced Camera for Surveys/WFC F606W and F814W around each of the six HFF clusters and flanking fields. This additional area has not been observed by HST but is already covered by deep multiwavelength data sets, including Spitzer and Chandra. As with the original HFF program, BUFFALO is designed to take advantage of gravitational lensing from massive clusters to simultaneously find high-redshift galaxies that would otherwise lie below HST detection limits and model foreground clusters to study the properties of dark matter and galaxy assembly. The expanded area will provide the first opportunity to study both cosmic variance at high redshift and galaxy assembly in the outskirts of the large HFF clusters. Five additional orbits are reserved for transient follow-up. BUFFALO data including mosaics, value-added catalogs, and cluster mass distribution models will be released via MAST on a regular basis as the observations and analysis are completed for the six individual clusters., C.S. acknowledges support from the ERC Consolidator Grant funding scheme (project ConTExT, grant No. 648179). Y.M.B. acknowledges funding from the EU Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement 747645 (ClusterGal). J.M.D. acknowledges the support of project PGC2018-101814-B-100 (MCIU/AEI/MINECO/FEDER, UE), Ministerio de Ciencia, Investigación y Universidades.

For solar-system objects, ultraviolet spectroscopy has been critical in identifying sources for stratospheric heating and measuring the abundances of a variety of hydrocarbon and sulfur-bearing species, produced via photochemical mechanisms, as well as oxygen and ozone. To date, less than 20 exoplanets have been probed in this critical wavelength range (0.2-0.4 um). Here we use data from Hubble's newly implemented WFC3 UVIS G280 grism to probe the atmosphere of the hot Jupiter HAT-P-41b in the ultraviolet through optical in combination with observations at infrared wavelengths. We analyze and interpret HAT-P-41b's 0.2-5.0 um transmission spectrum using a broad range of methodologies including multiple treatments of data systematics as well as comparisons with atmospheric forward, cloud microphysical, and multiple atmospheric retrieval models. Although some analysis and interpretation methods favor the presence of clouds or potentially a combination of Na, VO, AlO, and CrH to explain the ultraviolet through optical portions of HAT-P-41b's transmission spectrum, we find that the presence of a significant H- opacity provides the most robust explanation. We obtain a constraint for the abundance of H-, log(H-) = -8.65 +/- 0.62 in HAT-P-41b's atmosphere, which is several orders of magnitude larger than predictions from equilibrium chemistry for a 1700 - 1950 K hot Jupiter. We show that a combination of photochemical and collisional processes on hot hydrogen-dominated exoplanets can readily supply the necessary amount of H- and suggest that such processes are at work in HAT-P-41b and many other hot Jupiter atmospheres., Comment: 17 pages, 7 figures. Published in ApJL (October 8th 2020)

Faint, hidden contaminants in the point-spread functions (PSFs) of stars cause shifts to their measured positions. Wilson & Naylor (2017) showed failing to account for these shifts can lead to a drastic decrease in the number of returned catalogue matches in crowded fields. Here we highlight the effect these perturbations have on cross-matching, for matches between Gaia DR2 and WISE stars in a crowded Galactic plane region. Applying the uncertainties as quoted to Gaussian-based astrometric uncertainty functions (AUFs) can lead, in dense Galactic fields, to only matching 55% of the counterparts. We describe the construction of empirical descriptions for AUFs, building on the cross-matching method of Wilson & Naylor (2018), utilising the magnitudes of both catalogues to discriminate between true and false counterparts. We apply the improved cross-matching method to the Galactic plane |b| < 10. We provide the most likely counterpart matches and their respective probabilities. We also analyse several cases to verify the robustness of the results, highlighting some important caveats and considerations. Finally, we discuss the effect PSF resolution has by comparing the intra-catalogue nearest neighbour separation distributions of a sample of likely contaminated WISE objects and their corresponding Spitzer counterpart. We show that some WISE contaminants are resolved in Spitzer, with smaller intra-catalogue separations. We have highlighted the effect contaminant stars have on WISE, but it is important for all photometric catalogues, playing an important role in the next generation of surveys, such as LSST., 22 pages, 16 figures, 3 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRAS. Dataset of Gaia-WISE matches described in paper is available from the University of Exeter ORE repository in FITS format, and will appear on the CDS once the paper is assigned Volume and Page numbers

WASP-39b is a hot Saturn-mass exoplanet with a predicted clear atmosphere based on observations in the optical and infrared. Here we complete the transmission spectrum of the atmosphere with observations in the near-infrared (NIR) over three water absorption features with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) G102 (0.8-1.1 microns) and G141 (1.1-1.7 microns) spectroscopic grisms. We measure the predicted high amplitude H2O feature centered at 1.4 microns, and the smaller amplitude features at 0.95 and 1.2 microns, with a maximum water absorption amplitude of 2.4 planetary scale heights. We incorporate these new NIR measurements into previously published observational measurements to complete the transmission spectrum from 0.3-5 microns. From these observed water features, combined with features in the optical and IR, we retrieve a well constrained temperature Teq = 1030(+30,-20) K, and atmospheric metallicity 151 (+48,-46)x solar which is relatively high with respect to the currently established mass-metallicity trends. This new measurement in the Saturn-mass range hints at further diversity in the planet formation process relative to our solar system giants., Comment: Accepted for publication in AJ. 15 pages, 14 figures, 4 tables, 6 equations

A fundamental process in astrophysics is the matching of two photometric catalogues. It is crucial that the correct objects be paired, and that their photometry does not suffer from any spurious additional flux. We compare the positions of sources in WISE, IPHAS, 2MASS, and APASS with Gaia DR1 astrometric positions. We find that the separations are described by a combination of a Gaussian distribution, wider than naively assumed based on their quoted uncertainties, and a large wing, which some authors ascribe to proper motions. We show that this is caused by flux contamination from blended stars not treated separately. We provide linear fits between the quoted Gaussian uncertainty and the core fit to the separation distributions. We show that at least one in three of the stars in the faint half of a given catalogue will suffer from flux contamination above the 1% level when the density of catalogue objects per PSF area is above approximately 0.005. This has important implications for the creation of composite catalogues. It is important for any closest neighbour matches as there will be a given fraction of matches that are flux contaminated, while some matches will be missed due to significant astrometric perturbation by faint contaminants. In the case of probability-based matching, this contamination affects the probability density function of matches as a function of distance. This effect results in up to 50% fewer counterparts being returned as matches, assuming Gaussian astrometric uncertainties for WISE-Gaia matching in crowded Galactic plane regions, compared with a closest neighbour match., Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures; accepted for publication in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

To ensure robust constraints are placed on exoplanet atmospheric transmission spectra, future observations need to obtain high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) measurements assuming smaller amplitude molecular signatures than those of clear solar metallicity atmospheres. Analyzing 37 exoplanet transmission spectra we find clear solar molecular features are measured in, Published by RNAAS January 2019, Volume 3, Issue 1

We present SCUBA-2 450{\mu}m and 850{\mu}m observations of the W40 complex in the Serpens-Aquila region as part of the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) Gould Belt Survey (GBS) of nearby star-forming regions. We investigate radiative heating by constructing temperature maps from the ratio of SCUBA-2 fluxes using a fixed dust opacity spectral index, {\beta} = 1.8, and a beam convolution kernel to achieve a common 14.8" resolution. We identify 82 clumps ranging between 10 and 36K with a mean temperature of 20{\pm}3K. Clump temperature is strongly correlated with proximity to the external OB association and there is no evidence that the embedded protostars significantly heat the dust. We identify 31 clumps that have cores with densities greater than 105cm{^{-3}}. Thirteen of these cores contain embedded Class 0/I protostars. Many cores are associated with bright-rimmed clouds seen in Herschel 70 {\mu}m images. From JCMT HARP observations of the 12CO 3-2 line, we find contamination of the 850{\mu}m band of up to 20 per cent. We investigate the free-free contribution to SCUBA-2 bands from large-scale and ultracompact H ii regions using archival VLA data and find the contribution is limited to individual stars, accounting for 9 per cent of flux per beam at 450 {\mu}m or 12 per cent at 850 {\mu}m in these cases. We conclude that radiative heating has potentially influenced the formation of stars in the Dust Arc sub-region, favouring Jeans stable clouds in the warm east and fragmentation in the cool west., Comment: 27 pages, 25 figures, 7 tables, 3 online catalogues

Using semi-empirical isochrones, we find the age of the Taurus star-forming region to be 3-4 Myr. Comparing the disc fraction in Taurus to young massive clusters suggests discs survive longer in this low density environment. We also present a method of photometrically de-reddening young stars using $iZJH$ data., Comment: 2 pages, 1 figure, To appear in "Young Stars and Planets Near the Sun", Proceedings of IAU Symposium No. 314 (Cambridge University Press), J.H. Kastner, B. Stelzer, S.A. Metchev, eds

We present observations of NGC1333 from SCUBA-2 on JCMT, observed as a JCMT Gould Belt Survey pilot project during the shared risk campaign when the first of four arrays was installed at each of 450 and 850 microns. Temperature maps are derived from 450 micron and 850 micron ratios under the assumption of constant dust opacity spectral index beta=1.8. Temperatures indicate that the dust in the northern (IRAS 6/8) region of NGC1333 is hot, 20-40 K, due to heating by the B star SVS3, other young stars in the IR/optically visible cluster, and embedded protostars. Other luminous protostars are also identified by temperature rises at the 17" resolution of the ratio maps (0.02 pc assuming a distance of 250 pc for Perseus). The extensive heating raises the possibility that the radiative feedback may lead to increased masses for the next generation of stars., accepted by MNRAS