Global Analysis of KOI-977: Spectroscopy, Asteroseismology, and Phase-curve Analysis

Abstract

We present a global analysis of KOI-977, one of the planet host candidates detected by {\it Kepler}. Kepler Input Catalog (KIC) reports that KOI-977 is a red giant, for which few close-in planets have been discovered. Our global analysis involves spectroscopic and asteroseismic determinations of stellar parameters (e.g., mass and radius) and radial velocity (RV) measurements. Our analyses reveal that KOI-977 is indeed a red giant in the red clump, but its estimated radius ($\gtrsim 20R_{\odot }=0.093$ AU) is much larger than KOI-977.01's orbital distance ($\sim 0.027$ AU) estimated from its period ($P_{\mathrm{orb}}\sim 1.35$ days) and host star's mass. RV measurements show a small variation, which also contradicts the amplitude of ellipsoidal variations seen in the light-curve folded with KOI-977.01's period. Therefore, we conclude that KOI-977.01 is a false positive, meaning that the red giant, for which we measured the radius and RVs, is different from the object that produces the transit-like signal (i.e., an eclipsing binary). On the basis of this assumption, we also perform a light-curve analysis including the modeling of transits/eclipses and phase-curve variations, adopting various values for the dilution factor $D$, which is defined as the flux ratio between the red giant and eclipsing binary. Fitting the whole folded light-curve as well as individual transits in the short cadence data simultaneously, we find that the estimated mass and radius ratios of the eclipsing binary are consistent with those of a solar-type star and a late-type star (e.g., an M dwarf) for $D\gtrsim 20$.

12 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

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• Automated approach to measure stellar inclinations: validation through large-scale measurements on the red giant branch
• An Earth-sized Planet around an M5 Dwarf Star at 22 pc
• Two Bright M Dwarfs Hosting Ultra-Short-Period Super-Earths with Earth-like Compositions