SETI bioastro: High-Resolution Spectroscopy of the Planetary Host HD 13189: Highly-Evolved and

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astro-ph/0509270 [abs, ps, pdf, other] :

Title: High-Resolution Spectroscopy of the Planetary Host HD 13189:
Highly-Evolved and Metal-Poor

Authors: Simon C. Schuler (Clemson Univ.), James H. Kim (Boston Univ.),
Michael C. Tinker Jr. (Clemson Univ.), Jeremy R. King (Clemson Univ.), Artie
P. Hatzes (TLS), Eike W. Guenther (TLS)

Comments: 14 pages, 2 figures; Accepted for publication in ApJ Letters

We report on the abundances of 13 elements in the planetary host HD 13189, a
massive giant star. Abundances are found to be sub-solar, with [Fe/H] =
-0.58 +/- 0.04$; HD 13189 is one of the most metal-poor planetary hosts yet
discovered. Abundance ratios relative to Fe show no peculiarities with
respect to random field stars. A census of metallicities of the seven
currently known planet-harboring giants results in a distribution that is
more metal-poor than the well-known metal-rich distribution of main sequence
(MS) planetary hosts. This finding is discussed in terms of accretion of
H-depleted material, one of the possible mechanisms responsible for the
high-metallicity distribution of MS stars with planets. We estimate the mass
of the HD 13189 progenitor to be 3.5 M_sun but cannot constrain this value
to better than 2-6 M_sun. A stellar mass of 3.5 M_sun implies a planetary
mass of m sin i = 14.0 +/- 0.8 M_J, placing the companion at the
planet/brown dwarf boundary. Given its physical characteristics, the HD
13189 system is potentially unique among planetary systems, and its
continued investigation should provide invaluable data to extrasolar
planetary research.

http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0509270

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