HATnet Results

Unlikely. A massive core (with super-terrestrial density) beneath your typical H-He gaseous envelope is likely the case, I think.

So when was the last non-transiting hot Jupiter discovery announced? Seems it has been a while...

In fact, looking at the EPE catalogue for what's been discovered in 2010, there is only ONE non-transiting hot Jupiter in the list, HD 102956b, which is unusual as being the first planet within 0.6 AU of a former A-type star.

http://exoplanet.eu/catalog-all.php?mdAff=stats#tc
http://exoplanet.eu/catalog-transit.php?mdAff=stats#tc

In addition, 2010 year perhaps the first year in which number the transit planets has more than half of all announced - 33 of 65 now.

Although the course of tomorrow's announcement will all change, but by the end of the year will be announced by a large number of planets Kepler.

And then interesting to observe the competition between projects HATnet and SuperWASP. At the beginning of the year the score was 14:20. In April 2010 - 16:34. Today - 24:42.

Probably after the start of the project HAT-South is a great chance to get ahead SuperWASP.

While certainly SuperWASP not publishes a large number of his discoveries. In reality, they have not 42 - about 28 planets.

In general, in the region transit planets observed a similar situation with the California and Geneva groups.

http://arxiv.org/PS_cache/arxiv/pdf/1008/1008.3898v1.pdf

And 25b:
http://arxiv.org/PS_cache/arxiv/pdf/1008/1008.3565v1.pdf

That explains the delay in releasing HAT-P-17. Very, very nice!

Sirius_Alpha wrote:

That explains the delay in releasing HAT-P-17. Very, very nice!

I said it was missing. Good thing

The HAT-P-13 system is a better case for detection of TTVs though, given the wider separation, lower mass and lower eccentricity of HAT-P-17c.

(Also have to like the start of the discussion section in the HAT-P-25 paper, it basically starts with "this is a boring planet")

The orbit of HAT-P-11 is found to be misaligned, by two groups.

The Oblique Orbit of the Super-Neptune HAT-P-11b
http://arxiv.org/abs/1009.5671

Quote :

We find the orbit of the Neptune-sized exoplanet HAT-P-11b to be highly inclined relative to the equatorial plane of its host star. This conclusion is based on spectroscopic observations of two transits, which allowed the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect to be detected with an amplitude of 1.5 m/s. The sky-projected obliquity is 103_{-10}^{+26} degrees. This is the smallest exoplanet for which spin-orbit alignment has been measured. The result favors a migration scenario involving few-body interactions followed by tidal dissipation. This finding also conforms with the pattern that the systems with the weakest tidal interactions have the widest spread in obliquities. We predict that the high obliquity of HAT-P-11 will be manifest in transit light curves from the Kepler spacecraft: starspot-crossing anomalies will recur at most once per stellar rotation period, rather than once per orbital period as they would for a well-aligned system.

A Possible Tilted Orbit of the Super-Neptune HAT-P-11b
http://arxiv.org/abs/1009.5677

Quote :

We report the detection of the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect for the eccentric, super-Neptune exoplanet HAT-P-11b, based on radial velocity measurements taken with HDS mounted on the Subaru 8.2m telescope, and simultaneous photometry with the FTN 2.0m telescope, both located in Hawai'i. The observed radial velocities during a planetary transit of HAT-P-11b show a persistent blue-shift, suggesting a spin-orbit misalignment in the system. The best-fit value for the projected spin-orbit misalignment angle is $\lambda= 103_{-19}^{+23}$ deg. Our result supports the notion that eccentric exoplanetary systems are likely to have significant spin-orbit misalignment (e.g., HD 80606, WASP-8, WASP-14, WASP-17, and XO-3). This fact suggests that not only hot-Jupiters but also super-Neptunes like HAT-P-11b had once experienced dynamical processes such as planet-planet scattering or the Kozai migration.

http://arxiv.org/PS_cache/arxiv/pdf/1010/1010.1318v1.pdf

Third body in HAT P4 system hinted at

And retrograde orbit for HAT-P-14 b too.

http://www.noao.edu/perl/abstract?2010A-0127

Quote :

Abstract: Over the past years, the HATNet project has produced dozens of transiting exoplanet (TEP) candidates around bright (V<13.0) stars. In order to confirm their planetary nature, and perform accurate initial characterization, they require high-precision radial velocity (RV) observations and spectral line bisector analysis. Based on Keck/HIRES observations, \bf 13 HATNet TEPs have been announced (including HAT-P- 11b, a transiting super-Neptune around a 9th magnitude star in the Kepler field), 7 more have been verified and are being readied for publication, ~9 more need further Keck/HIRES spectra for better characterization leading to final confirmation, ~23 more are ready for initial HIRES observations. We expect an additional ~25 candidates per semester. These are high quality candidates: based on statistics to date, \bf 75% of the HIRES time is spent on candidates that are eventually identified as hosting transiting planets, meaning a very efficient use of Keck. We propose for 4 nights on Keck-I/HIRES for 2010A, and for long-term status, to finish pending candidates and also to perform a similar analysis on new targets. We are confident that \bf this effort will lead to the announcement of several new TEPs per semester.

http://www.noao.edu/perl/abstract?2010B-0130

Quote :

Abstract: The HATNet project has produced dozens of transiting exoplanet (TEP) candidates around bright (V<13.0) stars. In order to confirm their planetary nature, and perform accurate initial characterization, they require high-precision radial velocity (RV) observations and spectral line bisector analysis. \bf Fifteen HATNet TEPs have been published or submitted so far based almost entirely on Keck/HIRES observations; another 10 have been verified and are in the process of being analyzed, some of these may require additional observations if detailed analysis suggests the presence of additional planets in the system or a non-zero eccentricity, ~15 more need further Keck/HIRES spectra for better characterization leading to final confirmation, and ~15 more are ready for initial HIRES observations. We expect dozens of additional candidates per semester. These are high quality candidates: based on statistics to date, \bf 75% of the HIRES time is spent on candidates that are eventually identified as hosting transiting planets- representing a very efficient use of Keck. We propose for 4 nights on Keck-I/HIRES for 2010B to finish pending candidates and also to perform a similar analysis on new targets. We are confident that \bf this effort will lead to the announcement of several new TEPs.

Corot loses

However first prize to SuperWASP so far.

http://www.noao.edu/perl/abstract?2011A-0207

Quote :

Twenty-six HATNet TEPs have been published or submitted so far based almost entirely on Keck/HIRES observations; several more have been verified and are in the process of being analyzed, some of these may require additional observations if detailed analysis suggests the presence of additional planets in the system or a non-zero eccentricity, ~20 more need further Keck/HIRES spectra for better characterization leading to final confirmation, and ~12 more are ready for initial HIRES observations. There is a continuous flow of dozens of high quality candidates per semester.

HAT-P-27b: A hot Jupiter transiting a G star on a 3 day orbit
http://arxiv.org/abs/1101.3511

Quote :

We report the discovery of HAT-P-27b, a transiting extrasolar planet orbiting the moderately bright V=12.214 G8 dwarf star GSC 0333-00351, with period P = 3.039586 +/- 0.000012 d, transit epoch Tc = 2455186.01879 +/- 0.00054 (BJD), and transit duration 0.0705 +/- 0.0019 d. The host star has a mass of 0.94 +/- 0.04 Msun, radius 0.90 +/- 0.04 Rsun, effective temperature 5300 +/- 90 K, and metallicity [Fe/H] = +0.29 +/- 0.10. The planetary companion has a mass of 0.660 +/- 0.033 MJ and radius 1.038 +0.077 -0.058 RJ, yielding a mean density 0.73 +/- 0.13 g cm^{-3}. According to recent theoretical models, these parameters are consistent with a 4 Gyr old planet having a 10 MEarth core. A negative correlation between host star metallicity and planetary radius is found at a 0.03% level of statistical significance for known transiting exoplanets between 0.3 MJ and 0.8 MJ.

The retrograde orbit of the HAT-P-6b exoplanet
http://arxiv.org/abs/1101.5009

Quote :

We observed with the SOPHIE spectrograph (OHP, France) the transit of the HAT-P-6b exoplanet across its host star. The resulting stellar radial velocities display the Rossiter-McLaughlin anomaly and reveal a retrograde orbit: the planetary orbital spin and the stellar rotational spin point towards approximately opposite directions. A fit to the anomaly measures a sky-projected angle lambda = 166 +/- 10 degrees between these two spin axes. All seven known retrograde planets are hot jupiters with masses M_p < 3 M_Jup. About two thirds of the planets in this mass range however are prograde and aligned (lambda ~ 0). By contrast, most of the more massive planets (M_p > 4 M_Jup) are prograde but misaligned. Different mechanisms may therefore be responsible for planetary obliquities above and below ~3.5 M_Jup.

To move in HATNet results, I think.

Two more transiting hot Jupiters.

http://exoplanet.eu/star.php?st=HAT-P-28

http://exoplanet.eu/star.php?st=HAT-P-29

HAT-P-30b: A transiting hot Jupiter on a highly oblique orbit
http://arxiv.org/abs/1103.3825

Quote :

We report the discovery of HAT-P-30b, a transiting exoplanet orbiting the V=10.419 dwarf star GSC 0208-00722. The planet has a period P=2.810595+/-0.000005 d, transit epoch Tc = 2455456.46561+/-0.00037 (BJD), and transit duration 0.0887+/-0.0015 d. The host star has a mass of 1.24+/-0.04 Msun, radius of 1.21+/-0.05 Rsun, effective temperature 6304+/-88 K, and metallicity [Fe/H] = +0.13+/-0.08. The planetary companion has a mass of 0.711+/-0.028 Mjup, and radius of 1.340+/-0.065 Rjup yielding a mean density of 0.37+/-0.05 g cm^-3. We also present radial velocity measurements that were obtained throughout a transit that exhibit the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect. By modeling this effect we measure an angle of \lambda = 73.5+/-9.0 deg between the sky projections of the planet's orbit normal and the star's spin axis. HAT-P-30b represents another example of a close-in planet on a highly tilted orbit, and conforms to the previously noted pattern that tilted orbits are more common around stars with Teff > 6250 K.

Spin-orbit inclinations of the exoplanetary systems HAT-P-8, HAT-P-9, HAT-P-16 and HAT-P-23
http://arxiv.org/abs/1105.3849

Quote :

We report the measurement of the spin-orbit angle of the extra-solar planets HAT-P-8 b, HAT-P-9 b, HAT-P-16 b and HAT-P-23 b, thanks to spectroscopic observations performed at the Observatoire de Haute-Provence with the SOPHIE spectrograph on the 1.93-m telescope. Radial velocity measurements of the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect show the detection of an apparent prograde, aligned orbit for all systems. The projected spin-orbit angles are found to be lambda=-17 deg (+9.2,-11.5), -16 deg (8), -10 deg (16), +15 deg (22) for HAT-P-8, HAT-P-9, HAT-P-16 and HAT-P-23 respectively, with corresponding projected rotational velocities of 14.5 (0.8), 12.5 (1.8), 3.9 (0.8), and 7.8 (1.6) km/s. These new results increase to 37 the number of accurately measured spin-orbit angles in transiting extrasolar systems. We conclude by drawing a tentative picture of the global behaviour of orbital alignement, involving the complexity and diversity of possible mechanisms.

Edit: HAT-P-8 b's R-M effect was measured earlier (link).

HAT-P-31b,c: A Transiting, Eccentric, Hot Jupiter and a Long-Period, Massive Third-Body
http://arxiv.org/abs/1106.1169

Quote :

We report the discovery of HAT-P-31b, a transiting exoplanet orbiting the V=11.660 dwarf star GSC 2099-00908. HAT-P-31b is the first HAT planet discovered without any follow-up photometry, demonstrating the feasibility of a new mode of operation for the HATNet project. The 2.17 Mj, 1.1Rj planet has a period P = 5.0054 days and maintains an unusually high eccentricity of e = 0.2450+/-0.0045, determined through Keck, FIES and Subaru high precision radial velocities. Detailed modeling of the radial velocities indicates an additional quadratic residual trend in the data detected to very high confidence. We interpret this trend as a long-period outer companion, HAT-P-31c, of minimum mass 3.4Mj and period >2.8 years. Since current RVs span less than half an orbital period, we are unable to determine the properties of HAT-P-31c to high confidence. However, dynamical simulations of two possible configurations show that orbital stability is to be expected. Further, if HAT-P-31c has non-zero eccentricity, our simulations show that the eccentricity of HAT-P-31b is actively driven by the presence of c, making HAT-P-31 a potentially intriguing dynamical laboratory.

HAT-P-32b and HAT-P-33b: Two Highly Inflated Hot Jupiters Transiting High-Jitter Stars
http://arxiv.org/abs/1106.1212

Quote :

We report the discovery of two exoplanets transiting high-jitter stars. HAT-P-32b orbits the bright V=11.289 star GSC 3281-00800, with a period P = 2.150008 d. The stellar and planetary masses and radii depend on the eccentricity of the system, which is poorly constrained due to the high velocity jitter (~80m/s). Assuming a circular orbit, the star has a mass of 1.16+-0.04 M_sun, and radius of 1.22+-0.02 R_sun, while the planet has a mass of 0.860+-0.164 MJ, and a radius of 1.789+-0.025 RJ. When the eccentricity is allowed to vary, the best-fit model results in a planet which is close to filling its Roche Lobe. Including the constraint that the planet cannot exceed its Roche Lobe results in the following best-fit parameters: e = 0.163+-0.061, Mp = 0.94+-0.17 MJ, Rp = 2.04+-0.10 RJ, Ms = 1.18+0.04-0.07 M_sun and Rs = 1.39+-0.07 R_sun. The second planet, HAT-P-33b, orbits the bright V=11.188 star GSC 2461-00988, with a period P = 3.474474 d. As for HAT-P-32, the stellar and planetary masses and radii of HAT-P-33 depend on the eccentricity, which is poorly constrained due to the high jitter (~50m/s). In this case spectral line bisector spans are significantly anti-correlated with the radial velocity residuals, and we use this correlation to reduce the residual rms to ~35m/s. We find the star has a mass of either 1.38+-0.04 M_sun or 1.40+-0.10 M_sun, and a radius of either 1.64+-0.03 R_sun or 1.78+-0.28 R_sun, while the planet has a mass of either 0.762+-0.101 MJ or 0.763+-0.117 MJ, and a radius of either 1.686+-0.045 RJ or 1.827+-0.290 RJ, for an assumed circular orbit or for the best-fit eccentric orbit respectively. Due to the large bisector span variations exhibited by both stars we rely on detailed modeling of the photometric light curves to rule out blend scenarios. Both planets are among the largest radii transiting planets discovered to date.

Four new planets, HAT-P-34b through HAT-P-37b
http://arxiv.org/abs/1201.0659

Nice opening for the new year

A hot Saturn at HAT-P-38.
http://arxiv.org/abs/1201.5075

Three more inflated, lower-mass hot Jupiters.
http://arxiv.org/abs/1207.3344