Publications (78)
Molecular remnant of Nova 1670 (CK Vulpeculae): I. Properties and enigmatic origin of the gas
T. Kaminski, K. M. Menten, R. Tylenda +5
CK Vul erupted in 1670 and is considered a stellar-merger candidate. Its remnant contains a molecular component of surprisingly rich composition. We present interferometric line su…
Cosmic evolution and metal aversion in super-luminous supernova host galaxies
S. Schulze, T. Krühler, G. Leloudas +21
The SUperluminous Supernova Host galaxIES (SUSHIES) survey aims to provide strong new constraints on the progenitors of superluminous supernovae (SLSNe) by understanding the relati…
Spectroscopy of superluminous supernova host galaxies. A preference of hydrogen-poor events for extreme emission line galaxies
G. Leloudas, S. Schulze, T. Kruehler +16
Superluminous supernovae (SLSNe) are very bright explosions that were only discovered recently and that show a preference for occurring in faint dwarf galaxies. Understanding why s…
LBV phenomenon and binarity: The environment of HR Car
A. Mehner, S. Janssens, C. Agliozzo +7
Luminous blue variable stars (LBVs) are of great interest in massive-star evolution as they experience very high mass-loss episodes within short periods of time. HR Car is a famous…
Rotational and rotational-vibrational Raman spectroscopy of air to characterize astronomical spectrographs
F. P. A. Vogt, F. Kerber, A. Mehner +14
Raman scattering enables unforeseen uses for the laser guide-star system of the Very Large Telescope. Here, we present the observation of one up-link sodium laser beam acquired wit…
VLT/MUSE discovers a jet from the evolved B[e] star MWC 137
A. Mehner, W. J. de Wit, J. H. Groh +6
Not all stars exhibiting the optical spectral characteristics of B[e] stars share the same evolutionary stage. The Galactic B[e] star MWC 137 is a prime example of an object with u…
Spectroscopic and photometric oscillatory envelope variability during the S Doradus outburst of the Luminous Blue Variable R71
A. Mehner, D. Baade, J. H. Groh +7
To better understand the LBV phenomenon, we analyze multi-epoch and multi-wavelength spectra and photometry of R71. Pre-outburst spectra are analyzed with the radiative transfer co…
Revisiting the multi-planetary system of the nearby star HD 20794: Confirmation of a low-mass planet in the habitable zone of a nearby G-dwarf
N. Nari, X. Dumusque, N. C. Hara +44
Close-by Earth analogs and super-Earths are of primary importance because they will be preferential targets for the next generation of direct imaging instruments. Bright and close-…
A comprehensive study on radial velocity signals using ESPRESSO: Pushing precision to the 10 cm/s level
P. Figueira, J. P. Faria, A. M. Silva +30
We analyse ESPRESSO data for the stars HD10700, HD20794, HD102365, and HD304636 acquired via its Guaranteed Time Observations (GTO) programme. We characterise the stars' radial vel…
Imaging the expanding knotty structure in the close environment of the LBV star Carinae
F. Millour, E. Lagadec, M. Montargès +13
~Car is one of the most massive stars in the Galaxy. It underwent a massive eruption in the 19th century, which produced the impressive bipolar Homunculus nebula now surroundin…
Interacting supernovae and supernova impostors. LSQ13zm: an outburst heralds the death of a massive star
L. Tartaglia, A. Pastorello, M. Sullivan +37
We report photometric and spectroscopic observations of the optical transient LSQ13zm. Historical data reveal the presence of an eruptive episode (that we label as `2013a') followe…
X-Shooting ULLYSES: Massive stars at low metallicity. IV. Spectral analysis methods and exemplary results for O stars
A. A. C. Sander, J. -C. Bouret, M. Bernini-Peron +26
CONTEXT: The spectral analysis of hot, massive stars is a fundamental astrophysical method to obtain their intrinsic properties and their feedback. Quantitative spectroscopy for ho…
A compact multi-planet system transiting HIP 29442 (TOI-469) discovered by TESS and ESPRESSO. Radial velocities lead to the detection of transits with low signal-to-noise ratio
M. Damasso, J. Rodrigues, A. Castro-González +52
We followed-up with ESPRESSO the K0V star HIP 29442 (TOI-469), already known to host a validated sub-Neptune companion TOI-469.01. We aim to verify the planetary nature of TOI-469.…
Atmospheric Rossiter-McLaughlin effect and transmission spectroscopy of WASP-121b with ESPRESSO
F. Borsa, R. Allart, N. Casasayas-Barris +41
WASP-121b is one of the most studied Ultra-hot Jupiters: many recent analyses of its atmosphere report interesting features at different wavelength ranges. In this paper we analyze…
Galaxy counterparts of intervening high-z sub-DLAs/DLAs and MgII absorbers towards gamma-ray bursts
S. Schulze, J. P. U. Fynbo, B. Milvang-Jensen +19
We present the first search for galaxy counterparts of intervening high-z (2<z< 3.6) sub-DLAs and DLAs towards GRBs. Our final sample comprises of five intervening sub-DLAs and DLA…
Identification of red supergiants in nearby galaxies with mid-IR photometry
N. E. Britavskiy, A. Z. Bonanos, A. Mehner +3
The role of episodic mass loss in massive star evolution is one of the most important open questions of current stellar evolution theory. Episodic mass loss produces dust and there…
Retrieving the transmission spectrum of HD 209458b using CHOCOLATE: A new chromatic Doppler tomography technique
E. Esparza-Borges, M. Oshagh, N. Casasayas-Barris +29
Multiband photometric transit observations or low-resolution spectroscopy (spectro-photometry) are normally used to retrieve the broadband transmission spectra of transiting exopla…
VLTI-AMBER velocity-resolved aperture-synthesis imaging of Eta Carinae with a spectral resolution of 12000. Studies of the primary star wind and innermost wind-wind collision
G. Weigelt, K. -H. Hofmann, D. Schertl +26
Context. The mass loss from massive stars is not understood well. Eta Car is a unique object for studying the massive stellar wind during the LBV phase. It is also an eccentric bin…
X-Shooting ULLYSES: Massive Stars at Low Metallicity X. Physical Parameters and Feedback of Massive Stars in the LMC N11 B Star-Forming Region
V. M. A. Gómez-González, L. M. Oskinova, W. -R. Hamann +23
Massive stars lead the ionization and mechanical feedback within young star-forming regions. The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is an ideal galaxy for studying individual massive sta…
Pulsations and outbursts in Be stars: Small differences - big impacts
D. Baade, Th. Rivinius, A. Pigulski +12
New high-cadence observations with BRITE covering many months confirm that coupled pairs of nonradial pulsation modes are widespread among early-type Be stars. With the difference…
A sub-Earth-mass planet orbiting Barnard's star
J. I. Gonzalez Hernandez, A. Suarez Mascareno, A. M. Silva +37
Barnard's star is a primary target within the ESPRESSO guaranteed time observations (GTO) as it is the second closest neighbour to our Sun after the Centauri stellar system. W…
The Rossiter-McLaughlin effect Revolutions: An ultra-short period planet and a warm mini-Neptune on perpendicular orbits
V. Bourrier, C. Lovis, M. Cretignier +34
Comparisons of the alignment of exoplanets with a common host star can be used to distinguish among concurrent evolution scenarios. However, multi-planet systems usually host mini-…
A sub-Neptune and a non-transiting Neptune-mass companion unveiled by ESPRESSO around the bright late-F dwarf HD 5278 (TOI-130)
A. Sozzetti, M. Damasso, A. S. Bonomo +45
[Abridged] We exploit the extreme radial velocity (RV) precision of the ultra-stable echelle spectrograph ESPRESSO on the VLT to unveil the physical properties of the transiting su…
WASP-127b: A misaligned planet with a partly cloudy atmosphere and tenuous sodium signature seen by ESPRESSO
R. Allart, L. Pino, C. Lovis +45
The study of exoplanet atmospheres is essential to understand the formation, evolution and composition of exoplanets. The transmission spectroscopy technique is playing a significa…
Short-term variability and mass loss in Be stars I. BRITE satellite photometry of and Centauri
D. Baade, Th. Rivinius, A. Pigulski +13
Empirical evidence for the involvement of nonradial pulsations (NRP's) in the mass loss from Be stars ranges from (i) a singular case (\object{ Cen}) of repetitive mass ejectio…
TOI-512: Super-Earth transiting a K-type star discovered by TESS and ESPRESSO
J. Rodrigues, S. C. Barros, N. C. Santos +38
One of the goals of the ESPRESSO guaranteed time observations (GTOs) at the ESO 8.2m telescope is to follow up on candidate planets from transit surveys such as the TESS mission. H…
A novel framework for semi-Bayesian radial velocities through template matching
A. M. Silva, J. P. Faria, N. C. Santos +28
The detection and characterization of an increasing variety of exoplanets has been in part possible thanks to the continuous development of high-resolution, stable spectrographs, a…
Broad-band Spectroscopy of the Ongoing Large Eruption of the Luminous Blue Variable R71
A. Mehner, D. Baade, T. Rivinius +4
The Luminous Blue Variable (LBV) R71 is currently undergoing an eruption, which differs photometrically and spectroscopically from its last outburst in the 1970s. Valuable informat…
X-Shooting ULLYSES: Massive stars at low metallicity VII. Stellar and wind properties of B supergiants in the Small Magellanic Cloud
M. Bernini-Peron, A. A. C. Sander, V. Ramachandran +22
Context. B supergiants (BSGs) represent an important connection between the main sequence and more extreme evolutionary stages of massive stars. Additionally, lying toward the cool…
Eta Carinae's 2014.6 Spectroscopic Event: Clues to the Long-term Recovery from its Great Eruption
A. Mehner, K. Davidson, R. M. Humphreys +9
Aims. Every 5.5 years eta Car's light curve and spectrum change remarkably across all observed wavelength bands. We compare the recent spectroscopic event in mid-2014 to the events…
The contribution by luminous blue variable stars to the dust content of the Magellanic Clouds
C. Agliozzo, N. Phillips, A. Mehner +6
(Shortened) Luminous blue variable stars (LBVs) form dust as a result of episodic, violent mass loss. To investigate their contribution as dust producers in the Magellanic Clouds,…
Identification of dusty massive stars in star-forming dwarf irregular galaxies in the Local Group with mid-IR photometry
N. E. Britavskiy, A. Z. Bonanos, A. Mehner +2
Increasing the statistics of spectroscopically confirmed evolved massive stars in the Local Group enables the investigation of the mass loss phenomena that occur in these stars in…
Short-term variability and mass loss in Be stars IV. Two groups of closely spaced, approximately equidistant frequencies in three decades of space photometry of Puppis (B7-8 IIIe)
D. Baade, A. Pigulski, Th. Rivinius +13
In early-type Be stars, groups of nonradial pulsation (NRP) modes with numerically related frequencies may be instrumental for the release of excess angular momentum through mass-e…
X-Shooting ULLYSES: Massive Stars at low metallicity II. DR1: Advanced optical data products for the Magellanic Clouds
H. Sana, F. Tramper, M. Abdul-Masih +34
Using the medium resolution spectrograph X-shooter, spectra of 235 OB and Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars in sub-solar metallicity environments have been secured. [...]This second paper focu…
The polar orbit of the warm Neptune GJ436b seen with VLT/ESPRESSO
V. Bourrier, M. R. Zapatero Osorio, R. Allart +24
GJ436b might be the prototype of warm Neptunes that have undergone late migration induced by an outer companion. Precise determination of the orbital architecture of such systems i…
Broadband transmission spectroscopy of HD209458b with ESPRESSO: Evidence for Na, TiO, or both
N. C. Santos, E. Cristo, O. Demangeon +42
The detection and characterization of exoplanet atmospheres is currently one of the main drivers pushing the development of new observing facilities. In this context, high-resoluti…
Detection of barium in the atmospheres of the ultra-hot gas giants WASP-76b and WASP-121b
T. Azevedo Silva, O. D. S. Demangeon, N. C. Santos +33
High-resolution spectroscopy studies of ultra-hot Jupiters have been key in our understanding of exoplanet atmospheres. Observing into the atmospheres of these giant planets allows…
Six transiting planets and a chain of Laplace resonances in TOI-178
A. Leleu, Y. Alibert, N. C. Hara +152
Determining the architecture of multi-planetary systems is one of the cornerstones of understanding planet formation and evolution. Resonant systems are especially important as the…
Revisiting Proxima with ESPRESSO
A. Suárez Mascareño, J. P. Faria, P. Figueira +88
We aim to confirm the presence of Proxima b using independent measurements obtained with the new ESPRESSO spectrograph, and refine the planetary parameters taking advantage of its…
X-Shooting ULLYSES: massive stars at low metallicity. I. Project Description
Jorick S. Vink, A. Mehner, P. A. Crowther +78
Observations of individual massive stars, super-luminous supernovae, gamma-ray bursts, and gravitational-wave events involving spectacular black-hole mergers, indicate that the low…
Detection of a high-velocity sodium feature on the ultra-hot Jupiter WASP-121 b
J. V. Seidel, F. Borsa, L. Pino +19
Ultra-hot Jupiters, with their high equilibrium temperatures and resolved spectral lines, have emerged as a perfect testbed for new analysis techniques in the study of exoplanet at…
K2-111: an old system with two planets in near-resonance
A. Mortier, M. R. Zapatero Osorio, L. Malavolta +64
This paper reports on the detailed characterisation of the K2-111 planetary system with K2, WASP, and ASAS-SN photometry as well as high-resolution spectroscopic data from HARPS-N…
The supermassive black hole coincident with the luminous transient ASASSN-15lh
T. Krühler, M. Fraser, G. Leloudas +11
The progenitors of astronomical transients are linked to a specific stellar population and galactic environment, and observing their host galaxies hence constrains the physical nat…
ESPRESSO reveals blueshifted neutral iron emission lines on the dayside of WASP-76 b
A. R. Costa Silva, O. D. S. Demangeon, N. C. Santos +34
Ultra hot Jupiters (gas giants, Teq>2000 K) are intriguing exoplanets due to their extreme atmospheres. Their torrid daysides can be characterised using ground-based high-resolutio…
Characterization of the K2-38 planetary system. Unraveling one of the densest planets known to date
B. Toledo-Padrón, C. Lovis, A. Suárez Mascareño +90
We characterized the transiting planetary system orbiting the G2V star K2-38 using the new-generation echelle spectrograph ESPRESSO. We carried out a photometric analysis of the av…
The three-dimensional structure of the Eta Carinae Homunculus
W. Steffen, M. Teodoro, T. I. Madura +6
We investigate, using the modeling code SHAPE, the three-dimensional structure of the bipolar Homunculus nebula surrounding Eta Carinae, as mapped by new ESO VLT/X-Shooter observat…
Planetary system around LTT 1445A unveiled by ESPRESSO: Multiple planets in a triple M-dwarf system
B. Lavie, F. Bouchy, C. Lovis +32
We present radial velocity follow-up obtained with ESPRESSO of the M-type star LTT 1445A (TOI-455), for which a transiting planet b with an orbital period of~5.4 days was detected…
The pure-rotational and rotational-vibrational Raman spectrum of the atmosphere at an altitude of 23 km
F. P. A. Vogt, A. Mehner, P. Figueira +5
Ground-based optical astronomical observations supported by or in the vicinity of laser guide-star systems can be contaminated by Raman-scattered laser photons. Anticipating, allev…
Dissecting a SN impostor's circumstellar medium: MUSEing about the SHAPE of eta Car's outer ejecta
A. Mehner, W. Steffen, J. H. Groh +10
Aims. The structural inhomogeneities and kinematics of massive star nebulae are tracers of their mass-loss history. We conduct a three-dimensional morpho-kinematic analysis of the…
The MUSE view of the host galaxy of GRB 100316D
L. Izzo, C. C. Thöne, S. Schulze +23
The low distance, , of GRB 100316D and its association with SN 2010bh represent two important motivations for studying this host galaxy and the GRB's immediate environmen…
Characterization of the Nearby L/T Binary Brown Dwarf WISE J104915.57-531906.1 at 2 Parsecs from the Sun
A. Y. Kniazev, P. Vaisanen, K. Muzic +22
WISE J104915.57531906.1 is a L/T brown dwarf binary located 2pc from the Sun. The pair contains the closest known brown dwarfs and is the third closest known system, stellar or…
TESS and ESPRESSO discover a super-Earth and a mini-Neptune orbiting the K-dwarf TOI-238
A. Suárez Mascareño, V. M. Passegger, J. I. González Hernández +53
The number of super-Earth and mini-Neptune planet discoveries has increased significantly in the last two decades thanks to transit and radial velocity surveys. When it is possible…
ESPRESSO@VLT -- On-sky performance and first results
F. Pepe, S. Cristiani, R. Rebolo +97
ESPRESSO is the new high-resolution spectrograph of ESO's Very-Large Telescope (VLT). It was designed for ultra-high radial-velocity precision and extreme spectral fidelity with th…
TOI-2322: two transiting rocky planets close to the stellar rotation period and its first harmonic
M. J. Hobson, A. Suárez Mascareño, C. Lovis +42
Context. Active regions on the stellar surface can induce quasi-periodic radial velocity (RV) variations that can mimic planets and mask true planetary signals. These spurious sign…
Three super-Earths and a possible water world from TESS and ESPRESSO
M. J. Hobson, F. Bouchy, B. Lavie +51
Since 2018, the ESPRESSO spectrograph at the VLT has been hunting for planets in the Southern skies via the RV method. One of its goals is to follow up candidate planets from trans…
Possible astrometric discovery of a substellar companion to the closest binary brown dwarf system WISE J104915.57-531906.1
H. M. J. Boffin, D. Pourbaix, K. Muzic +7
Using FORS2 on the Very Large Telescope, we have astrometrically monitored over a period of two months the two components of the brown dwarf system WISE J104915.57-531906.1, the cl…
Physical parameters of red supergiants in dwarf irregular galaxies in the Local Group
N. E. Britavskiy, A. Z. Bonanos, A. Herrero +6
Increasing the statistics of evolved massive stars in the Local Group enables investigating their evolution at different metallicities. During the late stages of stellar evolution,…
Mid-infrared evolution of eta Car from 1968 to 2018
A. Mehner, W. -J. de Wit, D. Asmus +6
Eta Car is one of the most luminous and massive stars in our Galaxy and is the brightest mid-infrared (mid-IR) source in the sky, outside our solar system. Since the late 1990s the…
Stellar parameters of Be stars observed with X-shooter
A. Shokry, Th. Rivinius, A. Mehner +10
Aims. The X-shooter archive of several thousand telluric star spectra was skimmed for Be and Be-shell stars to derive the stellar fundamental parameters and statistical properties,…
The small transiting planet population revealed by ESPRESSO with extreme precision radial velocities
M. J. Hobson, B. Lavie, F. Bouchy +35
Small planets are extremely common in the Galaxy, including planets with masses and radii between those of Earth and Neptune. Characterizing these planets' masses requires ultra-pr…
BRITEning up the Be Phenomenon
D. Baade, Th. Rivinius, A. Pigulski +13
Observations of 25 Ori much expand the picture derived of other early-type Be stars with BRITE and SMEI. Two instead of one difference frequencies rule the variability: (a) The low…
Warm terrestrial planet with half the mass of Venus transiting a nearby star
Olivier D. S. Demangeon, M. R. Zapatero Osorio, Y. Alibert +42
The advent of a new generation of radial velocity instruments has allowed us to break the one Earth-mass barrier. We report a new milestone in this context with the detection of th…
Spectroscopic and evolutionary analyses of the binary system AzV 14 outline paths toward the WR stage at low metallicity
D. Pauli, L. M. Oskinova, W. -R. Hamann +16
The origin of the observed population of Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars in low-metallicity (low-Z) galaxies, such as the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), is not yet understood. Standard, singl…
The atmosphere of HD 209458b seen with ESPRESSO. No detectable planetary absorptions at high resolution
N. Casasayas-Barris, E. Palle, M. Stangret +37
We observed two transits of the iconic gas giant HD 209458b between 380 and 780 nm, using the high-resolution ESPRESSO spectrograph. The derived planetary transmission spectrum exh…
ESPRESSO high resolution transmission spectroscopy of WASP-76b
H. M. Tabernero, M. R. Zapatero Osorio, R. Allart +87
Aims. We report on ESPRESSO high-resolution transmission spectroscopic observations of two primary transits of the highly-irradiated, ultra-hot Jupiter-size planet WASP-76b. We inv…
Painting a Family Portrait of the Yellow Super- and Hypergiants in the Milky Way I. Constraining the Distances and Luminosities
A. Kasikov, A. Mehner, I. Kolka +1
Context. Distances to evolved massive stars in the Milky Way are not well constrained by Gaia parallaxes due to their brightness and variability. This makes it difficult to determi…
TOI-283 b: A transiting mini-Neptune in a 17.6-day orbit discovered with TESS and ESPRESSO
F. Murgas, E. Pallé, A. Suárez Mascareño +51
Super-Earths and mini-Neptunes are missing from our Solar System, yet they appear to be the most abundant planetary types in our Galaxy. A detailed characterization of key planets…
CaRM: Exploring the chromatic Rossiter-McLaughlin effect. The cases of HD 189733b and WASP-127b
E. Cristo, N. C. Santos, O. Demangeon +34
In this paper we introduce CaRM, a semi-automatic code for the retrieval of broadband transmission spectra of transiting planets through the chromatic Rossiter-McLaughlin method. W…
A precise architecture characterization of the Men planetary system
M. Damasso, A. Sozzetti, C. Lovis +97
The bright star Men was chosen as the first target for a radial velocity follow-up to test the performance of ESPRESSO, the new high-resolution spectrograph at the ESO's Very-…
The compact multi-planet system GJ 9827 revisited with ESPRESSO
V. M. Passegger, A. Suárez Mascareño, R. Allart +36
GJ 9827 is a bright, nearby K7V star orbited by two super-Earths and one mini-Neptune on close-in orbits. The system was first discovered using K2 data and then further characteriz…
Elemental abundances in the remnant of the ancient eruption of CK Vulpeculae
R. Tylenda, T. KamiÅski, A. Mehner
CK Vul or Nova 1670 is an enigmatic eruptive object which underwent a stellar-merger event recorded by seventeenth-century observers. Its remnant was recently recovered at submilli…
Automatic model-based telluric correction for the ESPRESSO data reduction software. Model description and application to radial velocity computation
R. Allart, C. Lovis, J. Faria +21
Ground-based high-resolution spectrographs are key instruments for several astrophysical domains. Unfortunately, the observed spectra are contaminated by the Earth's atmosphere. Wh…
HD22496b: the first ESPRESSO standalone planet discovery
J. Lillo-Box, J. P. Faria, A. Suárez Mascareño +32
The ESPRESSO spectrograph is a new powerful tool to detect and characterize extrasolar planets. Its design allows unprecedented radial velocity precision (down to a few tens of cm/…
450 Days of Type II SN 2013ej in Optical and Near-Infrared
Fang Yuan, A. Jerkstrand, S. Valenti +31
We present optical and near-infrared photometric and spectroscopic observations of SN 2013ej, in galaxy M74, from 1 to 450 days after the explosion. SN 2013ej is a hydrogen-rich su…
Binarity of the LBV HR Car
Th. Rivinius, H. M. J. Boffin, W. J. de Wit +4
VLTI/AMBER and VLTI/PIONIER observations of the LBV HR Car show an interferometric signature that could not possibly be explained by an extended wind, more or less symmetrically di…
Short-term spectroscopic monitoring of two cool dwarfs with strong magnetic fields
E. W. Guenther, M. R. Zapatero Osorio, A. Mehner +1
Context: There is now growing evidence that some brown dwarfs (BDs) have very strong magnetic fields, and yet their surface temperatures are so low that the coupling is expected to…
Into the Storm: Diving into the winds of the ultra hot Jupiter WASP-76 b with HARPS and ESPRESSO
J. V. Seidel, D. Ehrenreich, A. Allart +26
Despite swift progress in the characterisation of exoplanet atmospheres in composition and structure, the study of atmospheric dynamics has not progressed at the same speed. While…
A candidate short-period sub-Earth orbiting Proxima Centauri
J. P. Faria, A. Suárez Mascareño, P. Figueira +34
Proxima Centauri is the closest star to the Sun. This small, low-mass, mid M dwarf is known to host an Earth-mass exoplanet with an orbital period of 11.2 days within the habitable…