[en] We present the fundamental stellar and planetary properties of the transiting planetary system WASP-13 within the framework of the Homogeneous Study of Transiting Systems (HoSTS). HoSTS aims to derive the fundamental stellar (T_eff, [Fe/H], M_*, R_*) and planetary (M_pl, R_pl, T_eq) physical properties of known transiting planets using a consistent methodology and homogeneous high-quality data set. Four spectral analysis techniques are independently applied to a Keck+HIRES spectrum of WASP-13 considering two distinct cases: unconstrained parameters and constrained log g from transit light curves. We check the derived stellar temperature against that from a different temperature diagnostic based on an INT+IDS Hα spectrum. The four unconstrained analyses render results that are in good agreement, and provide an improvement of 50% in the precision of T_eff, and of 85% in [Fe/H] with respect to the WASP-13 discovery paper. The planetary parameters are then derived via the Monte Carlo Markov Chain modeling of the radial velocity and light curves, in iteration with stellar evolutionary models to derive realistic uncertainties. WASP-13 (1.187 ± 0.065 M_☉; 1.574 ± 0.048 R_☉) hosts a Saturn-mass, transiting planet (0.500 ± 0.037 M_Jup; 1.407 ± 0.052 R_Jup), and is at the end of its main-sequence lifetime (4-5.5 Gyr). Our analysis of WASP-13 showcases that both a detailed stellar characterization and transit modeling are necessary to well determine the fundamental properties of planetary systems, which are paramount in identifying and determining empirical relationships between transiting planets and their hosts.

[en] We find transient transit-like dimming events within the K2 time series photometry of the young star RIK-210 in the Upper Scorpius OB association. These dimming events are variable in depth, duration, and morphology. High spatial resolution imaging revealed that the star is single and radial velocity monitoring indicated that the dimming events cannot be due to an eclipsing stellar or brown dwarf companion. Archival and follow-up photometry suggest the dimming events are transient in nature. The variable morphology of the dimming events suggests they are not due to a single spherical body. The ingress of each dimming event is always shallower than egress, as one would expect for an orbiting body with a leading tail. The dimming events are periodic and synchronous with the stellar rotation. However, we argue it is unlikely the dimming events could be attributed to anything on the stellar surface based on the observed depths and durations. Variable obscuration by a protoplanetary disk is unlikely on the basis that the star is not actively accreting and lacks the infrared excess associated with an inner disk. Rather, we explore the possibilities that the dimming events are due to magnetospheric clouds, a transiting protoplanet surrounded by circumplanetary dust and debris, eccentric orbiting bodies undergoing periodic tidal disruption, or an extended field of dust or debris near the corotation radius.

[en] Exoplanet transit and Doppler surveys discover many binary stars during their operation that can be used to conduct a variety of ancillary science. Specifically, eclipsing binary stars can be used to study the stellar mass-radius relationship and to test predictions of theoretical stellar evolution models. By cross-referencing 24 binary stars found in the MARVELS Pilot Project with SuperWASP photometry, we find two new eclipsing binaries, TYC 0272-00458-1 and TYC 1422-01328-1, which we use as case studies to develop a general approach to eclipsing binaries in survey data. TYC 0272-00458-1 is a single-lined spectroscopic binary for which we calculate a mass of the secondary and radii for both components using reasonable constraints on the primary mass through several different techniques. For a primary mass of M₁ = 0.92 ± 0.1 M_sun, we find M₂ = 0.610 ± 0.036 M_sun, R₁ = 0.932 ± 0.076 R_sun, and R₂ = 0.559 ± 0.102 R_sun, and find that both stars have masses and radii consistent with model predictions. TYC 1422-01328-1 is a triple-component system for which we can directly measure the masses and radii of the eclipsing pair. We find that the eclipsing pair consists of an evolved primary star (M₁ = 1.163 ± 0.034 M_sun, R₁ = 2.063 ± 0.058 R_sun) and a G-type dwarf secondary (M₂ = 0.905 ± 0.067 M_sun, R₂ = 0.887 ± 0.037 R_sun). We provide the framework necessary to apply this analysis to much larger data sets.

[en] The transiting exoplanet WASP-18b was discovered in 2008 by the Wide Angle Search for Planets project. The Spitzer Exoplanet Target of Opportunity Program observed secondary eclipses of WASP-18b using Spitzer's Infrared Array Camera in the 3.6 μm and 5.8 μm bands on 2008 December 20, and in the 4.5 μm and 8.0 μm bands on 2008 December 24. We report eclipse depths of 0.30% ± 0.02%, 0.39% ± 0.02%, 0.37% ± 0.03%, 0.41% ± 0.02%, and brightness temperatures of 3100 ± 90, 3310 ± 130, 3080 ± 140, and 3120 ± 110 K in order of increasing wavelength. WASP-18b is one of the hottest planets yet discovered—as hot as an M-class star. The planet's pressure-temperature profile most likely features a thermal inversion. The observations also require WASP-18b to have near-zero albedo and almost no redistribution of energy from the day side to the night side of the planet.

[en] We report the discovery of two transiting exoplanets from the WASP survey, WASP-150b and WASP-176b. WASP-150b is an eccentric (e = 0.38) hot Jupiter on a 5.6 day orbit around a V = 12.03, F8 main-sequence host. The host star has a mass and radius of 1.4 $M_{\odot <!--\; ???\; -->}$ and 1.7 $R_{\odot <!--\; ???\; -->}$ respectively. WASP-150b has a mass and radius of 8.5 $M_{\mathrm{J}}$ and 1.1 R _J, leading to a large planetary bulk density of 6.4 ρ _J. WASP-150b is found to be ∼3 Gyr old, well below its circularization timescale, supporting the eccentric nature of the planet. WASP-176b is a hot Jupiter planet on a 3.9 day orbit around a V = 12.01, F9 sub-giant host. The host star has a mass and radius of 1.3 M _⊙ and 1.9 R _⊙. WASP-176b has a mass and radius of 0.86 M _J and 1.5 R _J, respectively, leading to a planetary bulk density of 0.23 ρ _J.