Search

We have developed a technique to restore scientific usage in compromised (publicly-available) images collected with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) of the Galactic globular cluster NGC 104 (47 Tucanae). In spite of the degradation and limited data, we were able to recover photometry and astrometry for the coolest stellar objects ever observed within a globular cluster, possibly unveiling the brightest part of the brown dwarf (BD) sequence. This is supported by: (i) proper motion membership, derived by the comparison with positions obtained from Hubble Space Telescope archival early epochs; (ii) the predicted location of the BD sequence; and (iii) the mass function for low-mass stars derived from models. Future JWST observations will provide the necessary deep and precise proper motions to confirm the nature of the here-identified BD candidates belonging to this globular cluster., Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures (+1 bonus), 1 table. Accepted for publication in MNRAS Letter on February 9, 2023

We report an analysis of the TESS light curve of the nearby M dwarf Gl 514 that was observed during Sector 50. We search for a transit of the likely super-Earth Gl 514 b that was detected in 2022 in radial velocity data. The planet moves on an eccentric orbit that partly resides within the habitable zone of its host. According to the predictions, a transit may occur with high probability within the observing window covered by Sector 50, and being easily detected, therefore offering a great opportunity for an independent confirmation of the existence of Gl 514 b, and for a better characterization of the planet.

A number of studies based on data collected by the $\textit{Hubble Space Telescope}$ ($\textit{HST}$) GO-13297 program "HST Legacy Survey of Galactic Globular Clusters: Shedding UV Light on Their Populations and Formation" have investigated the photometric properties of a large sample of Galactic globular clusters and revolutionized our understanding of their stellar populations. In this paper, we expand previous studies by focusing our attention on the stellar clusters' internal kinematics. We computed proper motions for stars in 56 globular and one open clusters by combining the GO-13297 images with archival $\textit{HST}$ data. The astro-photometric catalogs released with this paper represent the most complete and homogeneous collection of proper motions of stars in the cores of stellar clusters to date, and expand the information provided by the current (and future) $\textit{Gaia}$ data releases to much fainter stars and into the crowded central regions. We also census the general kinematic properties of stellar clusters by computing the velocity-dispersion and anisotropy radial profiles of their bright members. We study the dependence on concentration and relaxation time, and derive dynamical distances. Finally, we present an in-depth kinematic analysis of the globular cluster NGC 5904., Comment: 33 pages, 19 figures, 6 tables. Accepted for publication on ApJ. Astro-photometric catalogs, velocity-dispersion values and profiles are available at https://archive.stsci.edu/hlsp/hacks

[Context] Palomar 6 (Pal6) is a moderately metal-poor globular cluster projected towards the Galactic bulge. A full analysis of the cluster can give hints on the early chemical enrichment of the Galaxy and a plausible origin of the cluster. [Aims] The aim of this study is threefold: a detailed analysis of high-resolution spectroscopic data obtained with the UVES spectrograph at the Very Large Telescope (VLT) at ESO, the derivation of the age and distance of Pal6 from Hubble Space Telescope (HST) photometric data, and an orbital analysis to determine the probable origin of the cluster. [Methods] High-resolution spectra of six red giant stars in the direction of Pal6 were obtained at the 8 m VLT UT2-Kueyen telescope equipped with the UVES spectrograph in FLAMES+UVES configuration. Spectroscopic parameters were derived through excitation and ionisation equilibrium of Fe?raquo; I and Fe?raquo; II lines, and the abundances were obtained from spectrum synthesis. From HST photometric data, the age and distance were derived through a statistical isochrone fitting. Finally, a dynamical analysis was carried out for the cluster assuming two different Galactic potentials. [Results] Four stars that are members of Pal 6 were identified in the sample, which gives a mean radial velocity of 174.3 ± 1.6 km s-1 and a mean metallicity of [Fe/H] = -1.10 ± 0.09 for the cluster. We found an enhancement of α-elements (O, Mg, Si, and Ca) of 0.29< [X/Fe] < 0.38 and the iron-peak element Ti of [Ti/Fe] ∼+0.3. The odd-Z elements (Na and Al) show a mild enhancement of [X/Fe] ∼+0.25. The abundances of both first- (Y and Zr) and second-peak (Ba and La) heavy elements are relatively high, with +0.4 < [X/Fe] < +0.60 and +0.4 < [X/Fe] < +0.5, respectively. The r-element Eu is also relatively high with [Eu/Fe] ∼+0.6. One member star presents enhancements in N and Al, with [Al/Fe] > +0.30, this being evidence of a second stellar population, further confirmed with the NaON-Al (anti)correlations. For the first time, we derived the age of Pal 6, which resulted to be 12.4 ± 0.9 Gyr. We also found a low extinction coefficient RV = 2.6 for the Pal 6 projection, which is compatible with the latest results for the highly extincted bulge populations. The derived extinction law results in a distance of 7.67 ± 0.19 kpc from the Sun with an AV = 4.21 ± 0.05. The chemical and photometric analyses combined with the orbital-dynamical analyses point out that Pal 6 belongs to the bulge component probably formed in the main-bulge progenitor. [Conculsions] The present analysis indicates that the globular cluster Pal 6 is located in the bulge volume and that it was probably formed in the bulge in the early stages of the Milky Way formation, sharing the chemical properties with the family of intermediate metallicity very old clusters M 62, NGC 6522, NGC 6558, and HP 1.

Well-characterized multiplanetary systems offer a unique opportunity for comparative planetology, allowing for investigations of the formation and evolution processes.I will present the analysis of a new multiplanetary system, TOI-561, initially discovered by theTESSmission through photometric observations, and further characterized using high-precision RV data collected with the HARPS-N spectrograph, that allowed us to obtain precise masses for all the four planets in the system, namely an ultra-short period super-Earth and three mini-Neptunes (Lacedelli et al. 2021). I will show how in this case combining photometric and RV data has been essential to discriminate between various possible architectures, highlighting the importance of combining different techniques to obtain a better characterization of a planetary system. Additional insights on the planetary architecture and internal structure are coming from the ultra-high precision photometry of the CHEOPS satellite (Lacedelli et al., in prep), which additionally stresses the importance of synergies between various techniques and instruments.

A growing number of eclipsing binary systems of the "HW Vir" kind (i. e., composed by a subdwarf-B/O primary star and an M dwarf secondary) show variations in their orbital period, also called Eclipse Time Variations (ETVs). Their physical origin is not yet known with certainty: while some ETVs have been claimed to arise from dynamical perturbations due to the presence of circumbinary planetary companions, other authors suggest that the Applegate effect or other unknown stellar mechanisms could be responsible for them. In this work, we present twenty-eight unpublished high-precision light curves of one of the most controversial of these systems, the prototype HW Virginis. We homogeneously analysed the new eclipse timings together with historical data obtained between 1983 and 2012, demonstrating that the planetary models previously claimed do not fit the new photometric data, besides being dynamically unstable. In an effort to find a new model able to fit all the available data, we developed a new approach based on a global-search genetic algorithm and eventually found two new distinct families of solutions that fit the observed timings very well, yet dynamically unstable at the 10^5-year time scale. This serves as a cautionary tale on the existence of formal solutions that apparently explain ETVs but are not physically meaningful, and on the need of carefully testing their stability. On the other hand, our data confirm the presence of an ETV on HW Vir that known stellar mechanisms are unable to explain, pushing towards further observing and modelling efforts., 14 pages, 7 figures, 7 tables in the main text and 1 table in the appendix. Accepted for publication in MNRAS

HP$\,$1 is an $\alpha$-enhanced and moderately metal-poor bulge globular cluster with a blue horizontal branch. These combined characteristics make it a probable relic of the early star formation in the innermost Galactic regions. Here we present a detailed analysis of a deep near-infrared (NIR) photometry of HP$\,$1 obtained with the NIR GSAOI+GeMS camera at the Gemini-South telescope. $J$ and $K_{\rm S}$ images were collected with an exquisite spatial resolution (FWHM $\sim 0.1$ arcsec), reaching stars at two magnitudes below the MSTO. We combine our GSAOI data with archival F606W-filter $HST$ ACS/WFC images to compute relative proper motions and select bona fide cluster members. Results from statistical isochrone fits in the NIR and optical-NIR colour-magnitude diagrams indicate an age of $12.8^{+0.9}_{-0.8}$ Gyr, confirming that HP$\,$1 is one of the oldest clusters in the Milky Way. The same fits also provide apparent distance moduli in the $K_{\rm S}$ and $V$ filters in very good agreement with the ones from 11 RR Lyrae stars. By subtracting the extinction in each filter, we recover a heliocentric distance of $6.59^{+0.17}_{-0.15}$ kpc. Furthermore, we refine the orbit of HP$\,$1 using this accurate distance and update and accurate radial velocities (from high resolution spectroscopy) and absolute proper motions (from Gaia DR2), reaching mean perigalactic and apogalactic distances of $\sim$0.12 and $\sim$3 kpc respectively., Comment: 22 pages, 22 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

Based on HARPS-N radial velocities (RVs) and TESS photometry, we present a full characterisation of the planetary system orbiting the late G dwarf TOI-561. After the identification of three transiting candidates by TESS, we discovered two additional external planets from RV analysis. RVs cannot confirm the outer TESS transiting candidate, which would also make the system dynamically unstable. We demonstrate that the two transits initially associated with this candidate are instead due to single transits of the two planets discovered using RVs. The four planets orbiting TOI-561 include an ultra-short period (USP) super-Earth (TOI-561 b) with period $P_{\rm b} = 0.45$ d, mass $M_{\rm b} =1.59 \pm 0.36$ M$_\oplus$ and radius $R_{\rm b}=1.42 \pm 0.07$ R$_\oplus$, and three mini-Neptunes: TOI-561 c, with $P_{\rm c} = 10.78$ d, $M_{\rm c} = 5.40 \pm 0.98$ M$_\oplus$, $R_{\rm c}= 2.88 \pm 0.09$ R$_\oplus$; TOI-561 d, with $P_{\rm d} = 25.6$ d, $M_{\rm d} = 11.9 \pm 1.3$ M$_\oplus$, $R_{\rm d} = 2.53 \pm 0.13$ R$_\oplus$; and TOI-561 e, with $P_{\rm e} = 77.2$ d, $M_{\rm e} = 16.0 \pm 2.3$ M$_\oplus$, $R_{\rm e} = 2.67 \pm 0.11$ R$_\oplus$. Having a density of $3.0 \pm 0.8$ g cm$^{-3}$, TOI-561 b is the lowest density USP planet known to date. Our N-body simulations confirm the stability of the system and predict a strong, anti-correlated, long-term transit time variation signal between planets d and e. The unusual density of the inner super-Earth and the dynamical interactions between the outer planets make TOI-561 an interesting follow-up target., 20 pages, 12 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS

Brown dwarfs were recently found to display rotational modulations, commonly attributed to cloud cover of varying thickness, possibly modulated by planetary-scale waves. However, the long-term, continuous, high-precision monitoring data to test this hypothesis for more objects is lacking. By applying our novel photometric approach to TESS data, we extract a high-precision lightcurve of the closest brown dwarfs, which form the binary system Luhman 16AB. Our observations, that cover about 100 rotations of Luhman 16B, display continuous lightcurve evolution. The periodogram analysis shows that the rotational period of the component that dominates the lightcurve is 5.28 h. We also find evidence for periods of 2.5 h, 6.94 h, and 90.8 h. We show that the 2.5 h and 5.28 h periods emerge from Luhman 16B and that they consist of multiple, slightly shifted peaks, revealing the presence of high-speed jets and zonal circulation in this object. We find that the lightcurve evolution is well fit by the planetary-scale waves model, further supporting this interpretation. We argue that the 6.94 h peak is likely the rotation period of Luhman 16A. By comparing the rotational periods to observed v sin(i) measurements, we show that the two brown dwarfs are viewed at angles close to their equatorial planes. We also describe a long-period (P~91 h) evolution in the lightcurve, which we propose emerges from the vortex-dominated polar regions. Our study paves the way toward direct comparisons of the predictions of global circulation models to observations via periodogram analysis., Published in the Astrophysical Journal on January 7 with a video abstract. Visualization of the lightcurve and Lomb-Scargle periodogram analysis is available at: https://youtu.be/1j9eRyohzg0 . 35 pages, 16 figures

The knowledge of the ages of stars hosting exoplanets allows us to obtain an overview on the evolution of exoplanets and understand the mechanisms affecting their life. The measurement of the ages of stars in the Galaxy is usually affected by large uncertainties. An exception are the stellar clusters: for their coeval members, born from the same molecular cloud, ages can be measured with extreme accuracy. In this context, the project PATHOS is providing candidate exoplanets orbiting members of stellar clusters and associations through the analysis of high-precision light curves obtained with cutting-edge tools. In this work, we exploited the data collected during the second year of the TESS mission. We extracted, analysed, and modelled the light curves of $\sim 90000$ stars in open clusters located in the northern ecliptic hemisphere in order to find candidate exoplanets. We measured the frequencies of candidate exoplanets in open clusters for different orbital periods and planetary radii, taking into account the detection efficiency of our pipeline and the false positive probabilities of our candidates. We analysed the Age--$R_{\rm P}$ distribution of candidate and confirmed exoplanets with periods $, 18 pages, 10 figures, 6 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRAS on May 19, 2021. PATHOS light curves will be soon available at MAST as HLSP at https://archive.stsci.edu/hlsp/pathos or can be requested to the first author

We present a study of the bright detached eclipsing main sequence binary WOCS 11028 (Sanders 617) in the open cluster M67. Although the binary has only one eclipse per orbital cycle, we show that the masses of the stars can be derived very precisely thanks to a strong constraint on the orbital inclination: $M_A = 1.222\pm0.006 M_\odot$ and $M_B = 0.909\pm0.004 M_\odot$. We use a spectral energy distribution fitting method to derive characteristics of the component stars in lieu of the precise radii that would normally be derived from a doubly-eclipsing binary. The deconvolution of the SEDs reveals that the brighter component of the binary is at the faint turnoff point for the cluster -- a distinct evolutionary point that occurs after the convective core has been established and while the star is in the middle of its movement toward lower surface temperature, before the so-called hook at the end of main sequence. The measurements are in distinct disagreement with evolution models at solar metallicity: higher metal abundances are needed to reproduce the characteristics of WOCS 11028 A. We discuss the changes to model physics that are likely to be needed to address the discrepancies. The clearest conclusions are that diffusion is probably necessary to reconcile spectroscopic abundances of M67 stars with the need for higher metallicity models, and that reduced strength convective overshooting is occurring for stars at the turnoff. At super-solar bulk metallicity, various indicators agree on a cluster age between about 3.5 and 4.0 Gyr., Comment: 31 pages, 20 figures, accepted for AJ

We present an astrometric study of the proper motions (PMs) in the core of the globular cluster NGC 6441. The core of this cluster has a high density and observations with current instrumentation are very challenging. We combine ground-based, high-angular-resolution NACO@VLT images with Hubble Space Telescope ACS/HRC data and measure PMs with a temporal baseline of 15 yr for about 1400 stars in the centermost 15 arcseconds of the cluster. We reach a PM precision of $\sim$30 $��$as yr$^{-1}$ for bright, well-measured stars. Our results for the velocity dispersion are in good agreement with other studies and extend already-existing analyses of the stellar kinematics of NGC 6441 to its centermost region never probed before. In the innermost arcsecond of the cluster, we measure a velocity dispersion of (19.1 $\pm$ 2.0) km s$^{-1}$ for evolved stars. Because of its high mass, NGC 6441 is a promising candidate for harbouring an intermediate-mass black hole (IMBH). We combine our measurements with additional data from the literature and compute dynamical models of the cluster. We find an upper limit of $M_{\rm IMBH} < 1.32 \times 10^4\,\textrm{M}_\odot$ but we can neither confirm nor rule out its presence. We also refine the dynamical distance of the cluster to $12.74^{+0.16}_{-0.15}$ kpc. Although the hunt for an IMBH in NGC 6441 is not yet concluded, our results show how future observations with extremely-large telescopes will benefit from the long temporal baseline offered by existing high-angular-resolution data., 16 pages, 12 figures, 2 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRAS

In the fourth paper of this series, we present -- and publicly release -- the state-of-the-art catalogue and atlases for the two remaining parallel fields observed with the Hubble Space Telescope for the large programme on omega Centauri. These two fields are located at ~12' from the centre of the globular cluster (in the West and South-West directions) and were imaged in filters from the ultraviolet to the infrared. Both fields were observed at two epochs separated by about 2 years that were used to derive proper motions and to compute membership probabilities., Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures (low resolution). Electronic on-line material at this url https://web.oapd.inaf.it/bedin/files/PAPERs_eMATERIALs/wCen_HST_LargeProgram/P04/ ; Accepted for publication in MNRAS on 2021 May 18th, available at this url https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2021MNRAS.505.3549S/abstract

International audience; Context. The analysis of exoplanetary atmospheres by means of high-resolution spectroscopy is an expanding research field which provides information on the chemical composition, thermal structure, atmospheric dynamics, and orbital velocity of exoplanets. Aims: In this work, we aim to detect the light reflected by the exoplanet 51 Peg b by employing optical high-resolution spectroscopy. Methods: To detect the light reflected by the planetary dayside, we used optical High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher and High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher for the Northern hemisphere spectra taken near the superior conjunction of the planet, when the flux contrast between the planet and the star is maximum. To search for the weak planetary signal, we cross-correlated the observed spectra with a high signal-to-noise ratio stellar spectrum. Results: We homogeneously analyze the available datasets and derive a 10-5 upper limit on the planet-to-star flux contrast in the optical. Conclusions: The upper limit on the planet-to-star flux contrast of 10-5 translates into a low albedo of the planetary atmosphere (Ag ≲ 0.05-0.15 for an assumed planetary radius in the range of 1.5-0.9 RJup, as estimated from the planet's mass). Full Table 2 is only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (ftp://130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/A+A/646/A159 Based on observations made with the Italian Telescopio Nazionale Galileo (TNG) operated by the Fundación Galileo Galilei (FGG) of the Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF) at the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos (La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain).

Mackereth, J. Ted, et al., The NASA Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (NASA-TESS) mission presents a treasure trove for understanding the stars it observes and the Milky Way, in which they reside. We present a first look at the prospects for Galactic and stellar astrophysics by performing initial asteroseismic analyses of bright (G < 11) red giant stars in the TESS southern continuous viewing zone (SCVZ). Using three independent pipelines, we detect νmax and Δν in 41 per cent of the 15 405 star parent sample (6388 stars), with consistency at a level of ∼2 per cent in νmax and ∼5 per cent in Δν. Based on this, we predict that seismology will be attainable for ∼3 × 105 giants across the whole sky and at least 104 giants with ≥1 yr of observations in the TESS-CVZs, subject to improvements in analysis and data reduction techniques. The best quality TESS-CVZ data, for 5574 stars where pipelines returned consistent results, provide high-quality power spectra across a number of stellar evolutionary states. This makes possible studies of, for example, the asymptotic giant branch bump. Furthermore, we demonstrate that mixed ℓ = 1 modes and rotational splitting are cleanly observed in the 1-yr data set. By combining TESS-CVZ data with TESS-HERMES, SkyMapper, APOGEE, and Gaia, we demonstrate its strong potential for Galactic archaeology studies, providing good age precision and accuracy that reproduces well the age of high [α/Fe] stars and relationships between mass and kinematics from previous studies based on e.g. Kepler. Better quality astrometry and simpler target selection than the Kepler sample makes this data ideal for studies of the local star formation history and evolution of the Galactic disc. These results provide a strong case for detailed spectroscopic follow-up in the CVZs to complement that which has been (or will be) collected by current surveys., JTM and AM acknowledge support from the ERC Consolidator Grant funding scheme (project ASTEROCHRONOMETRY, G.A. n. 772293). JTM acknowledges support from the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship programme administered by the Government of Canada, and a CITA/Dunlap Institute fellowship. The Dunlap Institute is funded through an endowment established by the David Dunlap family and the University of Toronto. SM acknowledges support from the Spanish Ministry with the Ramon y Cajal fellowship number RYC-2015-17697. RAG acknowledges the support from the PLATO CNES grant. DB acknowledges supported by FCT through the research grants UIDB/04434/2020, UIDP/04434/2020, and PTDC/FIS-AST/30389/2017, and by FEDER – Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional through COMPETE2020 – Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (grant: POCI-01-0145-FEDER-030389). LC acknowledges support from the Australian Research Council grant FT160100402. TC acknowledges support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement no. 792848 (PULSATION). AS is partially supported by grants ESP2017-82674-R (Spanish Government) and 2017-SGR-1131 (Generalitat de Catalunya). MHP and MV acknowledge support from NASA grant 80NSSC18K1582.

Transiting ultra-hot Jupiters are ideal candidates to study the exoplanet atmospheres and their dynamics, particularly by means of high-resolution, high signal-to-noise ratio spectra. One such object is KELT-20b, orbiting the fast rotating A2-type star KELT-20. Many atomic species have already been found in its atmosphere, with blueshifted signals that hints at the presence of a day-to-night side wind. We aimed to observe the atmospheric Rossiter-McLaughlin effect in the ultra-hot Jupiter KELT-20b, and to study any variation of the atmospheric signal during the transit. For this purpose, we analysed five nights of HARPS-N spectra covering five transits of KELT-20b. We computed the mean line profiles of the spectra with a least-squares deconvolution, and then we extracted the stellar radial velocities by fitting them with a rotational broadening profile in order to obtain the radial velocity time-series. We used the mean line profile residuals tomography to analyse the planetary atmospheric signal and its variations. We also used the cross-correlation method to study an already known double-peak feature in the FeI planetary signal. We observed both the classical and the atmospheric Rossiter-McLaughlin effect in the radial velocity time-series. The latter gave us an estimate of the radius of the planetary atmosphere that correlates with the stellar mask used in our work: R(p+atmo)/Rp = 1.13 +/- 0.02). We isolated the planetary atmospheric trace in the tomography, and we found radial velocity variations of the planetary atmospheric signal during transit with an overall blueshift of approximatively 10 km/s, along with small variations in the signal's depth and, less significant, in the full width at half maximum (FWHM). We also find a possible variation in the structure and position of FeI signal in different transits., Comment: 13 pages, 20 figures. Accepted for publication in A&A

Full list of authors: Rommel, F. L.; Braga-Ribas, F.; Desmars, J.; Camargo, J. I. B.; Ortiz, J. L.; Sicardy, B.; Vieira-Martins, R.; Assafin, M.; Santos-Sanz, P.; Duffard, R.; Fernández-Valenzuela, E.; Lecacheux, J.; Morgado, B. E.; Benedetti-Rossi, G.; Gomes-Júnior, A. R.; Pereira, C. L.; Herald, D.; Hanna, W.; Bradshaw, J.; Morales, N. Brimacombe, J.; Burtovoi, A.; Carruthers, T.; de Barros, J. R.; Fiori, M.; Gilmore, A.; Hooper, D.; Hornoch, K.; Jacques, C.; Janik, T.; Kerr, S.; Kilmartin, P.; Winkel, Jan Maarten; Naletto, G.; Nardiello, D.; Nascimbeni, V.; Newman, J.; Ossola, A.; Pál, A.; Pimentel, E.; Pravec, P.; Sposetti, S.; Stechina, A.; Szakáts, R.; Ueno, Y.; Zampieri, L.; Broughton, J.; Dunham, J. B.; Dunham, D. W.; Gault, D.; Hayamizu, T.; Hosoi, K.; Jehin, E.; Jones, R.; Kitazaki, K.; Komžík, R.; Marciniak, A.; Maury, A.; Mikuž, H.; Nosworthy, P.; Fábrega Polleri, J.; Rahvar, S.; Sfair, R.; Siqueira, P. B.; Snodgrass, C.; Sogorb, P.; Tomioka, H.; Tregloan-Reed, J.; Winter, O. C., Context. Trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) and Centaurs are remnants of our planetary system formation, and their physical properties have invaluable information for evolutionary theories. Stellar occultation is a ground-based method for studying these distant small bodies and has presented exciting results. These observations can provide precise profiles of the involved body, allowing an accurate determination of its size and shape. Aims. The goal is to show that even single-chord detections of TNOs allow us to measure their milliarcsecond astrometric positions in the reference frame of the Gaia second data release (DR2). Accurate ephemerides can then be generated, allowing predictions of stellar occultations with much higher reliability. Methods. We analyzed data from various stellar occultation detections to obtain astrometric positions of the involved bodies. The events published before the Gaia era were updated so that the Gaia DR2 stellar catalog is the reference, thus providing accurate positions. Events with detection from one or two different sites (single or double chord) were analyzed to determine the event duration. Previously determined sizes were used to calculate the position of the object center and its corresponding error with respectto the detected chord and the International Celestial Reference System propagated Gaia DR2 star position. Results. We derive 37 precise astrometric positions for 19 TNOs and four Centaurs. Twenty-one of these events are presented here for the first time. Although about 68% of our results are based on single-chord detection, most have intrinsic precision at the submilliarcsecond level. Lower limits on the diameter of bodies such as Sedna, 2002 KX14, and Echeclus, and also shape constraints on 2002 VE95, 2003 FF128, and 2005 TV189 are presented as valuable byproducts. Conclusions. Using the Gaia DR2 catalog, we show that even a single detection of a stellar occultation allows improving the object ephemeris significantly, which in turn enables predicting a future stellar occultation with high accuracy. Observational campaigns can be efficiently organized with this help, and may provide a full physical characterization of the involved object, or even the study of topographic features such as satellites or rings. © 2020 ESO., This study was financed in part by the Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior - Brasil (CAPES) - Finance Code 001 and the National Institute of Science and Technology of the e-Universe project (INCT do e-Universo, CNPq grant 465376/2014-2). The following authors acknowledge the respective CNPq grants: F.B.-R. 309578/2017-5; R.V.-M. 304544/2017-5, 401903/2016-8; J.I.B.C. 308150/2016-3; M.A. 427700/2018-3, 310683/2017-3, 473002/2013-2; O.C.W. 305210/2018-1. The following authors acknowledge the respective grants: B.E.M. thanks the CAPES/Cofecub-394/2016-05 grant; G.B-R. acknowledges CAPES-FAPERJ/PAPDRJ grant E26/203.173/2016; M.A. acknowledges FAPERJ grant E-26/111.488/2013; A.R.G.Jr acknowledges FAPESP grant 2018/11239-8; O.C.W. and R.S. acknowledge FAPESP grant 2016/24561-0. D.N. acknowledges support from the French Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES). K.H. and P.P. were supported by the project R.V.O.: 67985815. A.P. and R.S. received support from the K-125015 grant of the National Research, Development and Innovation Office (NKFIH, Hungary). Partial funding of the computational infrastructure and database servers are received from the grant KEP-7/2018 of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Some of the results were based on observations taken at the 1.6m telescope on Pico dos Dias Observatory of the National Laboratory of Astrophysics (LNA/Brazil). Some data are based on observations collected at the Copernicus and Schmidt telescopes (Asiago, Italy) of the INAF-Astronomical Observatory of Padova. This work was carried out within the "Lucky Star" umbrella that agglomerates the efforts of the Paris, Granada and Rio teams, which is funded by the European Research Council under the European Community's H2020 (ERC Grant Agreement No. 669416). This work has made use of data from the European Space Agency (ESA) mission Gaia (https://www.cosmos.esa.int/gaia), processed by the Gaia Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (DPAC, https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/dpac/consortium).Funding for the DPAC has been provided by national institutions, in particular the institutions participating in the Gaia Multilateral Agreement. TRAPPIST is a project funded by the Belgian FNRS under grant FRFC 2.5.594.09.F and the ARC grant for Concerted Research Actions, financed by the Wallonia-Brussels Federation. E.J. is a FNRS Senior Research Associate. We would like to acknowledge financial support by the Spanish grant AYA-RTI2018-098657-JI00 "LEO-SBNAF" (MCIU/AEI/FEDER, U.E.) and the financial support from the State Agency for Research of the Spanish MCIU through the "Center of Excellence Severo Ochoa" award for the Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia (SEV-2017-0709). Also, AYA2017-89637-R and FEDER funds are acknowledged. We are thankful to the following observers who participated and provided data for respective events as listed in Table B.1: Orlando A. Naranjo from Universidad de Los Andes, Merida/VEN; Faustino Organero from La Hita Observatory - Toledo/ESP.

Context. Young stars and multi-planet systems are two types of primary objects that allow us to study, understand, and constrain planetary formation and evolution theories. Aims. We validate the physical nature of two Neptune-sized planets transiting TOI-942 (TYC 5909-319-1), a previously unacknowledged young star (50−20+30 Myr) observed by the TESS space mission in Sector 5. Methods. Thanks to a comprehensive stellar characterization, TESS light curve modeling and precise radial-velocity measurements, we validated the planetary nature of the TESS candidate and detected an additional transiting planet in the system on a larger orbit. Results. From photometric and spectroscopic observations we performed an exhaustive stellar characterization and derived the main stellar parameters. TOI-942 is a relatively active K2.5V star (log R′HK = −4.17 ± 0.01) with rotation period Prot = 3.39 ± 0.01 days, a projected rotation velocity v sin i⋆ = 13.8 ± 0.5 km s−1, and a radius of ~0.9 R⊙. We found that the inner planet, TOI-942 b, has an orbital period Pb = 4.3263 ± 0.0011 days, a radius Rb = 4.242−0.313+0.376 R⊕, and a mass upper limit of 16 M⊕ at 1σ confidence level. The outer planet, TOI-942 c, has an orbital period Pc = 10.1605−0.0053+0.0056 days, a radius Rc = 4.793−0.351+0.410 R⊕, and a mass upper limit of 37 M⊕ at 1σ confidence level.

In this work, we present the analysis of 976 814 FGKM dwarf and sub-giant stars in the TESS Full Frame Images (FFIs) of the Southern ecliptic hemisphere. We present a new pipeline, DIAmante, developed to extract optimized, multi-sector photometry from TESS FFIs and a classifier, based on the Random Forest technique, trained to discriminate plausible transiting planetary candidates from common false positives. A new statistical model was developed to provide the probability of correct identification of the source of variability. We restricted the planet search to the stars located in the least crowded regions of the sky and identified 396 transiting planetary candidates among which 252 are new detections. The candidates' radius distribution ranges between 1 R$\rm_{\oplus}$ and 2.6 R$\rm_J$ with median value of 1 R$\rm_J$ and the period distribution ranges between 0.25 days and 105 days with median value of 3.8 days. The sample contains four long period candidates (P>50 days) one of which is new and 64 candidates with periods between 10 and 50 days (42 new ones). In the small planet radius domain (R, Accepted by MNRAS. Data available at https://archive.stsci.edu/hlsp/diamante

We present the first detection of atomic emission lines from the atmosphere of an exoplanet. We detect neutral iron lines from the day-side of KELT-9b (Teq $\sim$ 4, 000 K). We combined thousands of spectrally resolved lines observed during one night with the HARPS-N spectrograph (R $\sim$ 115, 000), mounted at the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo. We introduce a novel statistical approach to extract the planetary parameters from the binary mask cross-correlation analysis. We also adapt the concept of contribution function to the context of high spectral resolution observations, to identify the location in the planetary atmosphere where the detected emission originates. The average planetary line profile intersected by a stellar G2 binary mask was found in emission with a contrast of 84 $\pm$ 14 ppm relative to the planetary plus stellar continuum (40 $\pm$ 5$\%$ relative to the planetary continuum only). This result unambiguously indicates the presence of an atmospheric thermal inversion. Finally, assuming a modelled temperature profile previously published (Lothringer et al. 2018), we show that an iron abundance consistent with a few times the stellar value explains the data well. In this scenario, the iron emission originates at the $10^{-3}$-$10^{-5}$ bar level., Comment: Accepted for publication on ApJL; 19 pages, 4 figures, 3 tables

In the framework of the Global Architecture of Planetary Systems (GAPS) project we collected more than 300 spectra with HARPS-N at the TNG for the bright G9V star HD164922. This target is known to host one gas giant planet in a wide orbit (Pb~1200 days, semi-major axis ~2 au) and a Neptune-mass planet with a period Pc ~76 days. We searched for additional low-mass companions in the inner region of the system. We compared the radial velocities (RV) and the activity indices derived from the HARPS-N time series to measure the rotation period of the star and used a Gaussian process regression to describe the behaviour of the stellar activity. We exploited this information in a combined model of planetary and stellar activity signals in an RV time-series composed of almost 700 high-precision RVs, both from HARPS-N and literature data. We performed a dynamical analysis to evaluate the stability of the system and the allowed regions for additional potential companions. Thanks to the high sensitivity of the HARPS-N dataset, we detect an additional inner super-Earth with an RV semi-amplitude of 1.3+/-0.2 m/s, a minimum mass of ~4+/-1 M_E and a period of 12.458+/-0.003 days. We disentangle the planetary signal from activity and measure a stellar rotation period of ~42 days. The dynamical analysis shows the long term stability of the orbits of the three-planet system and allows us to identify the permitted regions for additional planets in the semi-major axis ranges 0.18-0.21 au and 0.6-1.4 au. The latter partially includes the habitable zone of the system. We did not detect any planet in these regions, down to minimum detectable masses of 5 and 18 M_E, respectively. A larger region of allowed planets is expected beyond the orbit of planet b, where our sampling rules-out bodies with minimum mass > 50 M_E., 23 pages, 16 Figures. Accepted for publication on A&A

All authors: Ortiz, J. L.; Santos-Sanz, P.; Sicardy, B.; Benedetti-Rossi, G.; Duffard, R.; Morales, N.; Braga-Ribas, F.; Fernández-Valenzuela, E.; Nascimbeni, V.; Nardiello, D.; Carbognani, A.; Buzzi, L.; Aletti, A.; Bacci, P.; Maestripieri, M.; Mazzei, L.; Mikuz, H.; Skvarc, J.; Ciabattari, F.; Lavalade, F. Scarfi, G.; Mari, J. M.; Conjat, M.; Sposetti, S.; Bachini, M.; Succi, G.; Mancini, F.; Alighieri, M.; Dal Canto, E.; Masucci, M.; Vara-Lubiano, M.; Gutiérrez, P. J.; Desmars, J.; Lecacheux, J.; Vieira-Martins, R.; Camargo, J. I. B.; Assafin, M.; Colas, F.; Beisker, W.; Behrend, R.; Mueller, T. G.; Meza, E.; Gomes-Junior, A. R.; Roques, F.; Vachier, F.; Mottola, S.; Hellmich, S.; Campo Bagatin, A.; Alvarez-Candal, A.; Cikota, S.; Cikota, A.; Christille, J. M.; Pál, A.; Kiss, C.; Pribulla, T.; Komžík, R.; Madiedo, J. M.; Charmandaris, V.; Alikakos, J.; Szakáts, R.; Farkas-Takács, A.; Varga-Verebélyi, E.; Marton, G.; Marciniak, A.; Bartczak, P.; Butkiewicz-Baķ, M.; Dudziński, G.; Alí-Lagoa, V.; Gazeas, K.; Paschalis, N.; Tsamis, V.; Guirado, J. C.; Peris, V.; Iglesias-Marzoa, R.; Schnabel, C.; Manzano, F.; Navarro, A.; Perelló, C.; Vecchione, A.; Noschese, A.; Morrone, L., Context. Deriving physical properties of trans-Neptunian objects is important for the understanding of our Solar System. This requires observational efforts and the development of techniques suitable for these studies. Aims. Our aim is to characterize the large trans-Neptunian object (TNO) 2002 TC302. Methods. Stellar occultations offer unique opportunities to determine key physical properties of TNOs. On 28 January 2018, 2002 TC302 occulted a mv ∼ 15.3 star with designation 593-005847 in the UCAC4 stellar catalog, corresponding to Gaia source 130957813463146112. Twelve positive occultation chords were obtained from Italy, France, Slovenia, and Switzerland. Also, four negative detections were obtained near the north and south limbs. This represents the best observed stellar occultation by a TNO other than Pluto in terms of the number of chords published thus far. From the 12 chords, an accurate elliptical fit to the instantaneous projection of the body can be obtained that is compatible with the near misses. Results. The resulting ellipse has major and minor axes of 543 ± 18 km and 460 ± 11 km, respectively, with a position angle of 3 ± 1 degrees for the minor axis. This information, combined with rotational light curves obtained with the 1.5 m telescope at Sierra Nevada Observatory and the 1.23 m telescope at Calar Alto observatory, allows us to derive possible three-dimensional shapes and density estimations for the body based on hydrostatic equilibrium assumptions. The effective diameter in equivalent area is around 84 km smaller than the radiometrically derived diameter using thermal data from Herschel and Spitzer Space Telescopes. This might indicate the existence of an unresolved satellite of up to ∼300 km in diameter, which is required to account for all the thermal flux, although the occultation and thermal diameters are compatible within their error bars given the considerable uncertainty of the thermal results. The existence of a potential satellite also appears to be consistent with other ground-based data presented here. From the effective occultation diameter combined with absolute magnitude measurements we derive a geometric albedo of 0.147 ± 0.005, which would be somewhat smaller if 2002 TC302 has a satellite. The best occultation light curves do not show any signs of ring features or any signatures of a global atmosphere. © ESO 2020., This research was partially based on data taken at the Sierra Nevada Observatory, which is operated by the Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia (CSIC). This research is also partially based on data taken at the German-Spanish Calar Alto observatory, which is jointly operated by the Max Planck Institute fur Astronomie and the Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia (CSIC). Part of the results were also based on observations taken at the 1.6m telescope on Pico dos Dias Observatory. This research was partially based on observations collected at the Schmidt telescope 67/92 cm (Asiago, Italy) of the INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova. Funding from Spanish projects AYA2014-56637-C2-1-P, AYA2017-89637-R, from FEDER, and Proyecto de Excelencia de la Junta de Andalucia 2012-FQM1776 is acknowledged. We would like to acknowledge financial support by the Spanish grant AYA-RTI2018-098657-JI00 "LEO-SBNAF" (MCIU/AEI/FEDER, UE) and the financial support from the State Agency for Research of the Spanish MCIU through the "Center of Excellence Severo Ochoa" award for the Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia (SEV- 2017-0709). Part of the research received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme, under grant agreement no. 687378 and from the ERC programme under Grant Agreement no. 669416 Lucky Star. The following authors acknowledge the respective CNPq grants: FB-R 309578/2017-5; RV-M 304544/2017-5, 401903/2016-8; J.I.B.C. 308150/2016-3; MA 427700/2018-3, 310683/2017-3, 473002/2013-2. This study was financed in part by the CoordenacAo de Aperfeiacoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior - Brasil (CAPES) - Finance Code 001 and the National Institute of Science and Technology of the e-Universe project (INCT do e-Universo, CNPq grant 465376/2014-2). GBR acknowledges CAPES-FAPERJ/PAPDRJ grant E26/203.173/2016, MA FAPERJ grant E-26/111.488/2013 and ARGJr FAPESP grant 2018/11239-8. E.F.-V. acknowledges support from the 2017 Preeminent Postdoctoral Program (P3) at UCF. C.K., R.S., A.F-T., and G.M. have been supported by the K-125015 and GINOP-2.3.2-15-2016-00003 grants of the Hungarian National Research, Development and Innovation Office (NKFIH), Hungary. G.M. was also supported by the Hungarian National Research, Development and Innovation Office (NKFIH) grant PD-128 360. R.K. and T.P. were supported by the VEGA 2/0031/18 grant. We acknowledge the use of Occult software by D. Herald.

The scope of the project "A PSF-based Approach to TESS High Quality data Of Stellar clusters" (PATHOS) is the extraction and analysis of high-precision light curves of stars in stellar clusters and young associations for the identification of candidate exoplanets and variable stars. The cutting-edge tools used in this project allow us to measure the real flux of stars in dense fields, minimising the effects due to contamination by neighbour sources. We extracted about 200 000 light curves of stars in 645 open clusters located in the southern ecliptic hemisphere and observed by TESS during the first year of its mission. We searched for transiting signals and we found 33 objects of interest, 11 of them are strong candidate exoplanets. Because of the limited S/N, we did not find any Earth or super-Earth. We identified two Neptune-size planets orbiting stars with $R_{\star}, Comment: 19 pages, 12 figures, 3 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRAS on May 20, 2020. PATHOS light curves are available at MAST as HLSP at https://archive.stsci.edu/hlsp/pathos

In the present work we analyzed seven globular clusters selected from their location in the Galactic bulge and with metallicity values in the range $-1.30\lesssim\rm{[Fe/H]}\lesssim-0.50$. The aim of this work is first to derive cluster ages assuming single stellar populations, and secondly, to identify the stars from first (1G) and second generations (2G) from the main sequence, subgiant and red giant branches, and to derive their age differences. Based on a combination of UV and optical filters used in this project, we apply the Gaussian mixture models to distinguish the multiple stellar populations. Applying statistical isochrone fitting, we derive self-consistent ages, distances, metallicities, and reddening values for the sample clusters. An average of $12.3\pm0.4$ Gyr was obtained both using Dartmouth and BaSTI (accounting atomic diffusion effects) isochrones, without a clear distinction between the moderately metal-poor and the more metal-rich bulge clusters, except for NGC 6717 and the inner halo NGC 6362 with $\sim 13.5$ Gyr. We derived a weighted mean age difference between the multiple populations hosted by each globular cluster of $41\pm170$ Myr adopting canonical He abundances; whereas for higher He in 2G stars, this difference reduces to $17\pm170$ Myr, but with individual uncertainties of $500$ Myr., 25 pages, 16 figures and 7 tables. Accepted for publication in ApJ

Aims. We present a new technique to estimate the relative ages of multiple stellar populations hosted by five globular clusters: NGC 104 (47 Tuc), NGC 6121 (M4), NGC 6352, NGC 6362 and NGC 6723. Methods. We used the catalogs of the database "HST UV Globular cluster Survey (HUGS)" to create color-magnitude and two-color diagrams of the Globular Clusters. We identified the multiple populations within each globular cluster, and we divided them into two main stellar populations: POPa or first generation (1G) and POPb, composed of all the successive generations of stars. The new technique allows us to obtain an accurate estimate of the relative ages between POPa and POPb. Results. The multiple populations of NGC 104 and NGC 6121 are coeval within 220 Myr and 214 Myr, while those of NGC 6352, NGC 6362 and NGC 6723 are coeval within 336 Myr, 474 Myr and 634 Myr, respectively. These results were obtained combining all the sources of uncertainties., Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures, 3 tables. Accepted for publication in A&A on December 9, 2020

Young associations in star forming regions are stellar systems that allow us to understand the mechanisms that characterise the stars in their early life and what happens around them. In particular, the analysis of the disks and of the exoplanets around young stars allows us to know the key processes that prevail in their evolution and understand the properties of the exoplanets orbiting older stars. The TESS mission is giving us the opportunity to extract and analyse the light curves of association members with high accuracy, but the crowding that affects these regions makes difficult the light curve extraction. In the PATHOS project, cutting-edge tools are used to extract high-precision light curves and identify variable stars and transiting exoplanets in open clusters and associations. In this work, I analysed the light curves of stars in five young ($\lesssim 10$ Myr) associations, searching for variables and candidate exoplanets. By using the rotational periods of the association members, I constrained the ages of the five stellar systems ($\sim 2$-$10$ Myr). I searched for dippers and I investigated the properties of the dust that forms the circumstellar disks. Finally, I searched for transiting signals, finding 6 strong candidate exoplanets. No candidates with radius $R_{\rm P}\lesssim 0.9 R_J$ have been detected, in agreement with the expectations. The frequency of giant planets resulted to be $\sim$2-3 %, higher than that expected for field stars ($\lesssim 1$ %); the low statistic makes this conclusion not strong, and new investigations on young objects are mandatory to confirm this result., Comment: 19 pages, 11 figures, 5 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRAS on September 2, 2020. Tables of variable stars and dippers will be available as supporting material of the journal or upon request to the author. PATHOS light curves will be available at MAST soon as HLSP at https://archive.stsci.edu/hlsp/pathos; doi:10.1093/mnras/staa1465

A number of scenarios for the formation of multiple populations in globular clusters (GCs) predict that second generation (2G) stars form in a compact and dense subsystem embedded in a more extended first-generation (1G) system. If these scenarios are accurate, a consequence of the denser 2G formation environment is that 2G binaries should be more significantly affected by stellar interactions and disrupted at a larger rate than 1G binaries. The fractions and properties of binary stars can thus provide a dynamical fingerprint of the formation epoch of multiple-population GCs and their subsequent dynamical evolution. We investigate the connection between binaries and multiple populations in five GCs, NGC 288, NGC 6121 (M 4), NGC 6352, NGC 6362, and NGC 6838 (M 71). To do this, we introduce a new method based on the comparison of Hubble Space Telescope observations of binaries in the F275W, F336W, F438W, F606W and F814W filters with a large number of simulated binaries. In the inner regions probed by our data we do not find large differences between the local 1G and the 2G binary incidences in four of the studied clusters, the only exception being M 4 where the 1G binary incidence is about three times larger than the 2G incidence. The results found are in general agreement with the results of simulations predicting significant differences in the global 1G and 2G incidences and in the local values in the clusters' outer regions but similar incidences in the inner regions. The significant difference found in M 4 is consistent with simulations with a larger fraction of wider binaries. Our analysis also provides the first evidence of mixed (1G-2G) binaries, a population predicted by numerical simulations to form in a cluster's inner regions as a result of stellar encounters during which one component of a binary is replaced by a star of a different population., 13 pages, 11 figures, published in MNRAS

Detecting and characterising exoworlds around very young stars (age$, Comment: Accepted for publication on Astronomy and Astrophysics. Abstract slightly modified to fulfill arxiv requirements

We present a detailed analysis of HARPS-N radial velocity observations of K2-100, a young and active star in the Praesepe cluster, which hosts a transiting planet with a period of 1.7 days. We model the activity-induced radial velocity variations of the host star with a multi-dimensional Gaussian Process framework and detect a planetary signal of $10.6 \pm 3.0 {\rm m\,s^{-1}}$, which matches the transit ephemeris, and translates to a planet mass of $21.8 \pm 6.2 M_\oplus$. We perform a suite of validation tests to confirm that our detected signal is genuine. This is the first mass measurement for a transiting planet in a young open cluster. The relatively low density of the planet, $2.04^{+0.66}_{-0.61} {\rm g\,cm^{-3}}$, implies that K2-100b retains a significant volatile envelope. We estimate that the planet is losing its atmosphere at a rate of $10^{11}-10^{12}\,{\rm g\,s^{-1}}$ due to the high level of radiation it receives from its host star., O.B. and S.Ai. acknowledge support from the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) under grants ST/S000488/1 and ST/R004846/1. J.K., S.G. and A.P.H acknowledges support by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) grants PA525/18-1 and PA525/19-1 and HPA 3279/12-1 within the DFG Schwerpunkt SPP 1992, Exploring the Diversity of Extra-solar Planets. L.M. acknowledges support from PLATO ASI-INAF agreement n.2015-019-R.1-2018. S.Al. acknowledges the support from the Danish Council for Independent Research through the DFF Sapere Aude Starting Grant No. 4181-00487B, and the Stellar Astrophysics Centre which funding is provided by The Danish National Research Foundation (Grant agreement no.: DNRF106). This work is partly supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Numbers JP18H01265, JP18H05439, 15H02063, and 18H05442 and JST PRESTO Grant Number JPMJPR1775. M.C.V.F. and C.M.P. gratefully acknowledge the support of the Swedish National Space Agency (DNR 174/18).

The origin of the observed diversity of planetary system architectures is one of the main topic of the exoplanetary research. The detection of a statistically significant sample of planets around young stars allows us to study the early stages of planet formation and evolution, but only a handful of them is known so far. In this regard, a considerable contribution is expected from the NASA TESS satellite, which is now performing a survey of $\sim 85 \%$ of the sky to search for short-period transiting planets In its first month of operations, TESS found a planet candidate with an orbital period of 8.14 days around a member of the Tuc-Hor young association ($\sim$ 40 Myr), the G6V main component of the binary system DS\,Tuc. If confirmed, it would be the first transiting planet around a young star suitable for radial velocity and/or atmospheric characterization. We aim to validate the planetary nature of this companion and to measure its orbital and physical parameters. We obtain accurate planet parameters by coupling an independent reprocessing of the TESS light curve with improved stellar parameters and the dilution caused by the binary companion; we analyse high precision archival radial velocities to impose an upper limit of about 0.1 M$_{\rm Jup}$ on the planet mass; we finally rule out the presence of external companions beyond 40 au with adaptive optics images. We confirm the presence of a young, giant (${\rm R} = 0.50$ R$_{\rm Jup}$) planet having a not negligible possibility to be inflated (theoretical mass $\lesssim 20$ M$_{\oplus}$) around DS\,Tuc~A. We discuss the feasibility of mass determination, Rossiter-McLaughlin analysis and atmosphere characterization, allowed by the brightness of the star., Comment: 12 pages, 11 figures. Accepted for publication in A&A

As part of a large Hubble Space Telescope investigation aiming at reaching the faintest stars in the Galactic globular cluster NGC 6752, an ACS/WFC field was the subject of deep optical observations reaching magnitudes as faint as V~30. In this field we report the discovery of Bedin I a dwarf spheroidal galaxy too faint and too close to the core of NGC 6752 for detection in earlier surveys. As it is of broad interest to complete the census of galaxies in the local Universe, in this Letter we provide the position of this new object along with preliminary assessments of its main param eters. Assuming the same reddening as for NGC 6752, we estimate a distance modulus of (m-M)_0 = 29.70+/-0.13 from the observed red giant branch, i.e., 8.7 (+0.5 -0.7) Mpc, and size of ~840x340pc, about 1/5 the size of the LMC. A comparison of the observed colour-magnitude diagram with synthetic counterparts that account for the galaxy distance modulus, reddening and photometric errors, suggests the presence of an old (~13Gyr) and metal poor ([Fe/H]~-1.3) population. This object is most likely a relatively isolated satellite dwarf spheroidal galaxy of the nearby great spiral NGC 6744, or potentially the most distant isolated dwarf spheroidal known with a secure distance., Comment: 5 pages, 1 table, 3 figures (2 in low resolution). Published on MNRAS Letters and freely available https://academic.oup.com/mnrasl/article/484/1/L54/5288002 Related press releases: https://media.stsci.edu/news_release/news/2019-09 and https://www.spacetelescope.org/news/heic1903/ , (and only in italian: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZCop_j3KOo )

We present the analysis of the radial distributions and kinematic properties of the multiple stellar populations (mPOPs) hosted in the globular cluster (GC) NGC 6352 as part of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) "UV Legacy Survey of Galactic Globular Clusters" program. NGC 6352 is one of the few GCs for which the mPOP tagging in appropriate color-magnitude diagrams is clear in all evolutionary sequences. We computed high-precision stellar proper motions for the stars from the cluster's core out to 75 arcsec ($\sim$1.5 core radii, or $\sim$0.6 half-light radii). We find that, in the region explored, first- and second-generation stars share the same radial distribution and kinematic properties. Velocity dispersions, anisotropy radial profiles, differential rotation, and level of energy equipartition, all suggest that NGC 6352 is probably in an advanced evolutionary stage, and any possible difference in the structural and kinematic properties of its mPOPs have been erased by dynamical processes in the core of the cluster. We also provide an estimate of the mass of blue stragglers and of main-sequence binaries through kinematics alone. In general, in order to build a complete dynamical picture of this and other GCs, it will be essential to extend the analyses presented in this paper to the GCs' outer regions where some memories of the initial differences in the mPOP properties, and those imprinted by dynamical processes, might still be present., 14 pages, 16 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in ApJ

We present an analysis of three southern open star clusters NGC 6067, NGC 2506 and IC 4651 using wide-field photometric and Gaia DR2 astrometric data. They are poorly studied clusters. We took advantage of the synergy between Gaia DR2 high precision astrometric measurements and ground based wide-field photometry to isolate cluster members and further study these clusters. We identify the cluster members using proper motions, parallax and colour-magnitude diagrams. Mean proper motion of the clusters in RA and DEC is estimated as -1.90 \pm 0.01 and -2.57 \pm 0.01 mas/yr for NGC 6067, -2.57 \pm 0.01 and 3.92 \pm 0.01 mas/yr for NGC 2506 and -2.41 \pm 0.01 and -5.05 \pm 0.02 mas/yr for IC 4651. Distances are estimated as 3.01 \pm 0.87, 3.88 \pm 0.42 and 1.00 \pm 0.08 kpc for the clusters NGC 6067, NGC 2506 and IC 4651 respectively using parallaxes taken from Gaia DR2 catalogue. Galactic orbits are determined for these clusters using Galactic potential models.We find that these clusters have circular orbits. Cluster radii are determined as 10 arcmin for NGC 6067, 12 arcmin for NGC 2506 and 11 arcmin for IC 4651. Ages of the clusters estimated by isochrones fitting are 66 \pm 8 Myr, 2.09 \pm 0.14 Gyr and 1.59 \pm 0.14 Gyr for NGC 6067, NGC 2506 and IC 4651 respectively. Mass function slope for the entire region of cluster NGC 2506 is found to be comparable with the Salpeter value in the mass range 0.77 - 1.54 Solar mass. The mass function analysis shows that the slope becomes flat when one goes from halo to core region in all the three clusters. A comparison of dynamical age with cluster's age indicates that NGC 2506 and IC 4651 are dynamically relaxed clusters., Comment: 15 pages, 18 figures, The article is accepted for publication in MNRAS

The low-latitude globular clusters Terzan 10 and Djorgovski 1 are vprojected in the Galactic bulge, in a Galactic region highly affected by extinction. A discrepancy of a factor of ~2 exists in the literature in regards to the distance determination of these clusters. We revisit the colour-magnitude diagrams (CMDs) of these two globular clusters with the purpose of disentangling their distance determination ambiguity and, for the first time, of determining their orbits to identify whether or not they are part of the bulge/bar region. We use Hubble Space Telescope CMDs, with the filters F606W from ACS and F160W from WFC3 for Terzan 10, and F606W and F814W from ACS for Djorgosvski~1, and combine them with the proper motions from Gaia Date Release 2. For the orbit integrations, we employed a steady Galactic model with bar. For the first time the blue horizontal branch of these clusters is clearly resolved. We obtain reliable distances of dSun = 10.3+-1.0 kpc and 9.3+-0.5 kpc for Terzan 10, and Djorgovski 1 respectively, indicating that they are both currently located in the bulge volume. From Gaia DR 2 proper motions, together with our new distance determination and recent literature radial velocities, we are able to show that the two sample clusters have typical halo orbits that are passing by the bulge/bar region, but that they are not part of this component. For the first time, halo intruders are identified in the bulge., Comment: Astronomy & Astrophysics, in press

The object ESO456-SC38 (Djorgovski 2) is one of the globular clusters that is closest to the Galactic center. It is on the blue horizontal branch and has a moderate metallicity of [Fe/H]~-1.0. It is thus similar to the very old inner bulge globular clusters NGC 6522, NGC 6558, and HP 1, and therefore appears to be part of the primeval formation stages of the Milky Way. The aim of this work is to determine an accurate distance and metallicity for ESO456-SC38, as well as orbital parameters, in order to check similarities with other clusters in the inner bulge that have previously been well studied in terms of spectroscopy and photometry. This is a considerably fainter cluster that is contaminated by a rich stellar field; it is also quite absorbed by the dusty foreground. We analyzed ESO456-SC38 based on Hubble Space Telescope photometry, with the filters F606W from ACS, F110W and F160W from WFC3,and photometry in V and I from FORS2 at the VLT. We combined this with identified stars that are covered by Gaia Data Release 2. The isochrone fitting was carried out with the statistical Markov chain Monte Carlo method. We derive an accurate distance of dSun = 8.75+-0.12 kpc and a reddening of E(B-V)=0.81^+0.02_-0.02. The best-fitting BaSTI isochrones correspond to an age of 12.70^{+0.72}_{-0.69} Gyr and a metallicity of [Fe/H]=-1.11^{+0.03}_{-0.03}. ESO 456-SC38 adds to the list of moderately metal-poor globular clusters located in the inner bulge. It is on the blue horizontal branch and is very old. The cluster is confined to the bulge and bar region, but it does not support the Galactic bar structure. The old stellar population represented by clusters like this has to be taken into account in models of Galactic bulge formation. Studying them also provides indications on the formation times of the globular clusters themselves., Astronomy & Astrophysics, in press (accepted: 17-06-2019)

In this paper we present a multi-wavelength analysis of the complex stellar populations within the massive globular cluster Mayall II (G1), a satellite of the nearby Andromeda galaxy projected at a distance of 40 kpc. We used images collected with the Hubble Space Telescope in UV, blue and optical filters to explore the multiple stellar populations hosted by G1. The $m_{\rm F438W}$ versus $m_{\rm F438W}- m_{\rm F606W}$ colour-magnitude diagram shows a significant spread of the red giant branch, that divides $\sim 1$ mag brighter than the red clump. A possible explanation is the presence of two populations with different iron abundance or different C+N+O content, or different helium content, or a combination of the three causes. A similar red giant branch split is observed also for the Galactic globular cluster NGC6388. Our multi-wavelength analysis gives also the definitive proof that G1 hosts stars located on an extended blue horizontal branch. The horizontal branch of G1 exhibits similar morphology as those of NGC6388 and NGC6441, which host stellar populations with extreme helium abundance (Y>0.33). As a consequence, we suggest that G1 may also exhibit large star-to-star helium variations., 13 pages, 9 figures (2 at low resolution), 2 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRAS on March 1, 2019

Historically, multiple populations in Globular Clusters (GCs) have been mostly studied from ultraviolet and optical filters down to stars that are more massive than ~0.6 solar masses. Here we exploit deep near-infrared (NIR) photometry from the Hubble Space Telescope to investigate multiple populations among M-dwarfs in the GC NGC6752. We discovered that the three main populations (A, B and C), previously observed in the brightest part of the color-magnitude diagram, define three distinct sequences that run from the main-sequence (MS) knee towards the bottom of the MS (~0.15 solar masses). These results, together with similar findings on NGC2808, M4, and omega Centauri, demonstrate that multiple sequences of M-dwarfs are common features of the color-magnitude diagrams of GCs. The three sequences of low-mass stars in NGC6752 are consistent with stellar populations with different oxygen abundances. The range of [O/Fe] needed to reproduce the NIR CMD of NGC6752 is similar to the oxygen spread inferred from high-resolution spectroscopy of red-giant branch (RGB) stars. The relative numbers of stars in the three populations of M-dwarfs are similar to those derived among RGB and MS stars more massive than ~0.6 solar masses. As a consequence, the evidence that the properties of multiple populations do not depend on stellar mass is a constraint for the formation scenarios., 7 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

The TESS mission will survey ~85 % of the sky, giving us the opportunity of extracting high-precision light curves of millions of stars, including stellar cluster members. In this work, we present our project "A PSF-based Approach to TESS High quality data Of Stellar clusters" (PATHOS), aimed at searching and characterise candidate exoplanets and variable stars in stellar clusters using our innovative method for the extraction of high-precision light curves of stars located in crowded environments. Our technique of light-curve extraction involves the use of empirical Point Spread Functions (PSFs), an input catalogue and neighbour-subtraction. The PSF-based approach allows us to minimise the dilution effects in crowded environments and to extract high-precision photometry for stars in the faint regime (G>13). For this pilot project, we extracted, corrected, and analysed the light curves of 16641 stars located in a dense region centred on the globular cluster 47 Tuc. We were able to reach the TESS magnitude T~16.5 with a photometric precision of ~1 % on the 6.5-hour timescale; in the bright regime we were able to detect transits with depth of ~34 parts per million. We searched for variables and candidate transiting exoplanets. Our pipeline detected one planetary candidate orbiting a main sequence star in the Galactic field. We analysed the period-luminosity distribution for red-giant stars of 47 Tuc and the eclipsing binaries in the field. Light curves are uploaded on the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes under the project PATHOS., 19 pages, 15 figures (3 at low resolution), 3 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRAS on October 4, 2019. PATHOS data products are available at MAST as HLSP at http://archive.stsci.edu/hlsp/pathos/

The Bayesian isochrone fitting using the Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm is applied, to derive the probability distribution of the parameters age, metallicity, reddening, and absolute distance modulus. We introduce the \texttt{SIRIUS} code by means of simulated color-magnitude diagrams, including the analysis of multiple stellar populations. The population tagging is applied from the red giant branch to the bottom of the main sequence. Through sanity checks using synthetic {\it HST} color-magnitude diagrams of globular clusters we verify the code reliability in the context of simple and multiple stellar populations. In such tests, the formal uncertainties in age or age difference, metallicity, reddening, and absolute distance modulus can reach $400$ Myr, $0.03$ dex, $0.01$ mag, and $0.03$ mag, respectively. We apply the method to analyse NGC 6752, using Dartmouth stellar evolutionary models. Assuming a single stellar population, we derive an age of $13.7\pm0.5$ Gyr and a distance of $d_{\odot}=4.11\pm 0.08$ kpc, with the latter in agreement within $~3\sigma$ with the inverse Gaia parallax. In the analysis of the multiple stellar populations, three {populations} are clearly identified. From the Chromosome Map and UV/Optical two-color diagrams inspection, we found a fraction of stars of $25\pm5$, $46\pm7$, and $29\pm5$ per cent, for the first, second, and third generations, respectively. These fractions are in good agreement with the literature. An age difference of $500\pm410$ Myr between the first and the third generation is found, with the uncertainty decreasing to $400$ Myr when the helium enhancement is taken into account., Comment: 17 pages, 11 figures, 3 tables. Accepted for publication in ApJ

We use Hubble Space Telescope multicolour photometry of the globular cluster 47 Tucanae to uncover a population of 24 objects with no previous classification that are outliers from the single-star model tracks in the colour-magnitude diagram and yet are likely cluster members. By comparing those sources with evolutionary models and X-ray source catalogues, we were able to show that the majority of those sources are likely binary systems that do not have any X-ray source detected nearby, most possibly formed by a white dwarf and a main-sequence star and a small number of possible double-degenerate systems., 13 pages, 8 figures, 2 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRAS on September 18, 2018

In this paper we present the astro-photometric catalogues of 56 globular clusters and one open cluster. Astrometry and photometry are mainly based on images collected within the "HST Legacy Survey of Galactic Globular Clusters: Shedding UV Light on Their Populations and Formation" (GO-13297, PI:~Piotto), and the "ACS Survey of Galactic Globular Clusters" (GO-10775, PI:~Sarajedini). For each source in the catalogues for which we have reliable proper motion we also publish a membership probability for separation of field and cluster stars. These new catalogues, which we make public in Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes, replace previous catalogues by Paper VIII of this series., Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, 4 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRAS on September 11, 2018. Astro-photometric catalogues, stacked and RGB images of the clusters are publicly available at MAST as High Level Science Product at https://archive.stsci.edu/prepds/hugs/

We present an improved data-reduction technique to obtain high-precision proper motions (PMs) of globular clusters using Hubble Space Telescope data. The new reduction is superior to the one presented in the first paper of this series for the faintest sources in very crowded fields. We choose the globular cluster NGC 362 as a benchmark to test our new procedures. We measure PMs of 117 450 sources in the field, showing that we are able to obtain a PM precision better than 10 $\mu$as yr$^{-1}$ for bright stars. We make use of this new PM catalog of NGC 362 to study the cluster's internal kinematics. We investigate the velocity-dispersion profiles of the multiple stellar populations hosted by NGC 362 and find new pieces of information on the kinematics of first- and second-generation stars. We analyze the level of energy equipartition of the cluster and find direct evidence for its post-core-collapsed state from kinematic arguments alone. We refine the dynamical mass of the blue stragglers and study possible kinematic differences between blue stragglers formed by collisions and mass transfer. We also measure no significant cluster rotation in the plane of the sky. Finally, we measure the absolute PM of NGC 362 and of the background stars belonging to the Small Magellanic Cloud, finding a good agreement with previous estimates in the literature. We make the PM catalog publicly available., Comment: 27 pages, 19 figures, 4 tables, accepted for publication in ApJ