[en] The CoRoT space observatory is a project which is led by the French space agency CNES and leading space research institutes in Austria, Brazil, Belgium, Germany and Spain and also the European Space Agency ESA. CoRoT observed since its launch in December 27, 2006 about 100 000 stars for the exoplanet channel, during 150 days uninterrupted high-precision photometry. Since the The CoRoT-team has several exoplanet candidates which are currently analyzed under its study, we report here the discoveries of nine exoplanets which were observed by CoRoT. Discovered exoplanets such as CoRoT-3b populate the brown dwarf desert and close the gap of measured physical properties between usual gas giants and very low mass stars. CoRoT discoveries extended the known range of planet masses down to about 4.8 Earth-masses (CoRoT-7b) and up to 21 Jupiter masses (CoRoT-3b), the radii to about 1.68 × 0.09 R [SUB]Earth[/SUB] (CoRoT-7b) and up to the most inflated hot Jupiter with 1.49 × 0.09 R [SUB]Earth[/SUB] found so far (CoRoT-1b), and the transiting exoplanet with the longest period of 95.274 days (CoRoT-9b). Giant exoplanets have been detected at low metallicity, rapidly rotating and active, spotted stars. Two CoRoT planets have host stars with the lowest content of heavy elements known to show a transit hinting towards a different planethost-star-metallicity relation then the one found by radial-velocity search programs. Finally the properties of the CoRoT-7b prove that rocky planets with a density close to Earth exist outside the Solar System. Finally the detection of the secondary transit of CoRoT-1b at a sensitivity level of 10[SUP]-5[/SUP] and the very clear detection of the "super-Earth" CoRoT-7b at 3.5 × 10[SUP]-4[/SUP] relative flux are promising evidence that the space observatory is being able to detect even smaller exoplanets with the size of the Earth.
Disciplines :
Space science, astronomy & astrophysics
Author, co-author :
Lammer, H.; Space Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Science
Dvorak, R.; University of Vienna, Institute of Astronomy
Deleuil, M.; Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille, CNRS and Université de Provence
Barge, P.; Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille, CNRS and Université de Provence
Deeg, H. J.; Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias ; Department de Astrofisica, Universidad de La Laguna
Moutou, C.; Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille, CNRS and Université de Provence
Erikson, A.; Institute of Planetary Research, German Aerospace Center
Csizmadia, Szilard; Institute of Planetary Research, German Aerospace Center
Tingley, B.; Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias ; Department de Astrofisica, Universidad de La Laguna
Bruntt, H.; Observatoire de Paris, CNRS
Havel, M.; Observatoire de la Cóte d'Azur, CNRS UMR 6202, Université de Nice-Sophia Antipolis
Aigrain, S.; School of Physics, University of Exeter ; Oxford Astrophysics, University of Oxford
Almenara, J. M.; Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias ; Department de Astrofisica, Universidad de La Laguna
Alonso, R.; Observatoire de l'Université de Genéve
Auvergne, M.; Observatoire de Paris, CNRS
Baglin, A.; Observatoire de Paris, CNRS
Barbieri, M.; Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille, CNRS and Université de Provence ; Dipartimento di Astronomia, Università di Padova
Benz, W.; Physics Institute, Universität Bern
Bonomo, A. S.; Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille, CNRS and Université de Provence
Bordé, P.; Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale, Université Paris XI
Bouchy, F.; IAP ; Observatoire de Haute-Provence, CNRS/OAMP
Cabrera, J.; Institute of Planetary Research, German Aerospace Center ; LUTH, Observatoire de Paris, CNRS and Université Paris Diderot
Carone, L.; Rheinisches Institut für Umweltforschung an der Universitát zu Kóln
Carpano, S.; Research and Scientific Support Department, ESTEC/ESA
Ciardi, D.; NASA Exoplanet Science Institute/Caltech
Ferraz-Mello, S.; Institute of Astronomy, Geophysics and Atmospheric Sciences, Universidade de Saó Paulo
Fridlund, M.; Research and Scientific Support Department, ESTEC/ESA
Gandolfi, D.; Thuringer Landessternwarte
Gazzano, J*-C; Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille, CNRS and Université de Provence
Gillon, Michaël ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département d'astrophys., géophysique et océanographie (AGO) > Astrophysique et traitement de l'image
Gondoin, P.; Research and Scientific Support Department, ESTEC/ESA
Guenther, E.; Thuringer Landessternwarte
Guillot, T.; Observatoire de la Cóte d'Azur, CNRS UMR 6202, Université de Nice-Sophia Antipolis
den Hartog, R.; Research and Scientific Support Department, ESTEC/ESA
Hasiba, J.; Space Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Science
Hatzes, A.; Thuringer Landessternwarte
Hidas, M.; Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network, Inc. ; Sydney Institute for Astronomy, School of Physics, The University of Sydney
Hébrard, G.; IAP
Jorda, L.; Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille, CNRS and Université de Provence
Kabath, P.; Institute of Planetary Research, German Aerospace Center
Léger, A.; Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale, Université Paris XI
Lister, T.; Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network, Inc.
Llebaria, A.; Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille, CNRS and Université de Provence
Lovis, C.; Institute of Astronomy, Geophysics and Atmospheric Sciences, Universidade de Saó Paulo
Mayor, M.; Observatoire de l'Université de Genéve
Mazeh, T.; School of Physics and Astronomy, Raymond and Beverly Sackler Faculty of Exact Sciences, Tel Aviv University
Mura, A.; Instituto di Fisica dello Spacio Interplanetario-CNR
Ollivier, M.; Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale, Université Paris XI
Ottacher, H.; Space Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Science
Pätzold, M.; Rheinisches Institut für Umweltforschung an der Universitát zu Kóln
Pepe, F.; Observatoire de l'Université de Genéve
Pont, F.; School of Physics, University of Exeter
Queloz, D.; Observatoire de l'Université de Genéve
Rabus, M.; Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias ; Department de Astrofisica, Universidad de La Laguna
Rauer, H.; Institute of Planetary Research, German Aerospace Center ; , Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics
Rouan, D.; Observatoire de Paris, CNRS
Samuel, B.; Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale, Université Paris XI
Schneider, J.; LUTH, Observatoire de Paris, CNRS and Université Paris Diderot
Shporer, A.; School of Physics and Astronomy, Raymond and Beverly Sackler Faculty of Exact Sciences, Tel Aviv University
Stecklum, B.; Thuringer Landessternwarte
Steller, M.; Space Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Science
Street, R.; Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network, Inc.
Udry, S.; Observatoire de l'Université de Genéve
Weingrill, J.; Space Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Science
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