Lowell Observatory Colloquia

Stellar Abundances in Exoplanet Hosts and Non-Hosts

Natalie Hinkel

Lowell Observatory, Giclas Lecture Hall, March 13, 2013 at 3:30 p.m.

I have compiled spectroscopic abundance determinations for 46 elements across 2836 stars within 150 pc of the Sun from 50 literature sources to produce the Hypatia Catalog. The goal of the Hypatia Catalog is to examine nearby stars and regions in the solar neighborhood for chemical abundance trends which may provide additional information, for example, in the search for exoplanets. For the 215 confirmed exoplanet hosts within the Hypatia Catalog, I find that exoplanet hosts are enriched in [Fe/H] as compared to non-hosts, per the Planet- Metallicity Correlation. However, this trend does not hold for any of the other elements found within the catalog. The Hypatia Catalog is also useful for characterizing specific exoplanet host stars, such as Alpha Cen B with respect to it's non-hosting companion Alpha Cen A, or those stars observed as part of the Transit Ephemeris Refinement Monitoring Survey (TERMS). By combining the Hypatia Catalog and the TERMS project, we are able to analyze stellar abundances and refine orbital parameters to better understand exoplanet systems.

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