WASP-46 is a
G-type main-sequence star about 1,210
light-years (370
parsecs) away. The star is older than the Sun and is strongly depleted in heavy elements compared to the Sun, having just 45% of the
solar abundance.[2] Despite its advanced age, the star is rotating rapidly, being spun up by the tides raised by a giant planet on a close orbit.[6]
The star displays an excess ultraviolet emission associated with
starspot activity,[7] and is suspected to be surrounded by a dust and debris disk.[8]
Planetary system
In 2011 a
transiting hot
superjovian planet, WASP-46b, was detected.[2] The planet's equilibrium temperature is 1636±44
K.[4] The dayside temperature measured in 2014 is much higher at 2386 K, indicating a very poor heat redistribution across the planet.[9] A re-measurement of the dayside planetary temperature in 2020 resulted in a lower value of 1870+130 −120K.[10]
In 2017, a search for
transit-timing variations of WASP-46b yielded zero results, thus ruling out existence of additional gas giants in the system. The orbital decay of WASP-46b was also not detected.[11]
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abcdAnderson, D. R.; Collier Cameron, A.; Gillon, M.; Hellier, C.; Jehin, E.; Lendl, M.; Maxted, P. F. L.; Queloz, D.; Smalley, B.; Smith, A. M. S.; Triaud, A. H. M. J.; West, R. G.; Pepe, F.; Pollacco, D.; Ségransan, D.; Todd, I.; Udry, S. (2012), "WASP-44b, WASP-45b and WASP-46b: three short-period, transiting extrasolar planets", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 422 (3): 1988–1998,
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abcCiceri, S.; Mancini, L.; Southworth, J.; Lendl, M.; Tregloan-Reed, J.; Brahm, R.; Chen, G.; d'Ago, G.; Dominik, M.; Figuera Jaimes, R.; Galianni, P.; Harpsøe, K.; Hinse, T. C.; Jørgensen, U. G.; Juncher, D.; Korhonen, H.; Liebig, C.; Rabus, M.; Bonomo, A. S.; Bott, K.; Henning, Th.; Jordán, A.; Sozzetti, A.; Alsubai, K. A.; Andersen, J. M.; Bajek, D.; Bozza, V.; Bramich, D. M.; Browne, P.; et al. (2016), "Physical properties of the planetary systems WASP-45 and WASP-46 from simultaneous multi-band photometry", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 456 (1): 990–1002,
arXiv:1511.05171,
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2016MNRAS.456..990C,
doi:
10.1093/mnras/stv2698,
S2CID14670311
^Chen, G.; Van Boekel, R.; Wang, H.; Nikolov, N.; Seemann, U.; Henning, Th. (2014), "Observed spectral energy distribution of the thermal emission from the dayside of WASP-46b", Astronomy & Astrophysics, 567: A8,
arXiv:1405.7048,
doi:
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S2CID119187817
^Wong, Ian; Shporer, Avi; Daylan, Tansu; Benneke, Björn; Fetherolf, Tara; Kane, Stephen R.; Ricker, George R.; Vanderspek, Roland; Latham, David W.; Winn, Joshua N.; Jenkins, Jon M.; Boyd, Patricia T.; Glidden, Ana; Goeke, Robert F.; Sha, Lizhou; Ting, Eric B.; Yahalomi, Daniel (2020), "Systematic phase curve study of known transiting systems from year one of the TESS mission", The Astronomical Journal, 160 (4): 155,
arXiv:2003.06407,
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^Petrucci, R.; Jofré, E.; Ferrero, L. V.; Cúneo, V.; Saker, L.; Lovos, F.; Gómez, M.; Mauas, P. (2018), "A search for transit timing variations and orbital decay in WASP-46b", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 473 (4): 5126–5141,
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