• Media type: E-Article
  • Title: The First Post-Kepler Brightness Dips of KIC 8462852
  • Contributor: Boyajian, Tabetha. S.; Alonso, Roi; Ammerman, Alex; Armstrong, David; Ramos, A. Asensio; Barkaoui, K.; Beatty, Thomas G.; Benkhaldoun, Z.; Benni, Paul; O. Bentley, Rory; Berdyugin, Andrei; Berdyugina, Svetlana; Bergeron, Serge; Bieryla, Allyson; Blain, Michaela G.; Blanco, Alicia Capetillo; Bodman, Eva H. L.; Boucher, Anne; Bradley, Mark; Brincat, Stephen M.; Brink, Thomas G.; Briol, John; Brown, David J. A.; Budaj, J.; [...]
  • imprint: American Astronomical Society, 2018
  • Published in: The Astrophysical Journal Letters
  • Language: Not determined
  • DOI: 10.3847/2041-8213/aaa405
  • ISSN: 2041-8205; 2041-8213
  • Keywords: Space and Planetary Science ; Astronomy and Astrophysics
  • Origination:
  • Footnote:
  • Description: <jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>We present a photometric detection of the first brightness dips of the unique variable star KIC 8462852 since the end of the <jats:italic>Kepler</jats:italic> space mission in 2013 May. Our regular photometric surveillance started in 2015 October, and a sequence of dipping began in 2017 May continuing on through the end of 2017, when the star was no longer visible from Earth. We distinguish four main 1%–2.5% dips, named “<jats:italic>Elsie</jats:italic>,” “<jats:italic>Celeste</jats:italic>,” “<jats:italic>Skara Brae</jats:italic>,” and “<jats:italic>Angkor</jats:italic>,” which persist on timescales from several days to weeks. Our main results so far are as follows: (i) there are no apparent changes of the stellar spectrum or polarization during the dips and (ii) the multiband photometry of the dips shows differential reddening favoring non-gray extinction. Therefore, our data are inconsistent with dip models that invoke optically thick material, but rather they are in-line with predictions for an occulter consisting primarily of ordinary dust, where much of the material must be optically thin with a size scale ≪1 <jats:italic>μ</jats:italic>m, and may also be consistent with models invoking variations intrinsic to the stellar photosphere. Notably, our data do not place constraints on the color of the longer-term “secular” dimming, which may be caused by independent processes, or probe different regimes of a single process.</jats:p>
  • Access State: Open Access