Defining and cataloging exoplanets: the exoplanet.eu database

We describe an online database for extrasolar planetary-mass candidates, which is updated regularly as new data are available. We first discuss criteria for inclusion of objects in the catalog: “definition” of a planet and several aspects of the confidence level of planet candidates. We are led to point out the contradiction between the sharpness of criteria for belonging to a catalog and the fuzziness of the confidence level for an object to be a planet. We then describe the different tables of extrasolar planetary systems, including unconfirmed candidates (which will ultimately be confirmed, or not, by direct imaging). It also provides online tools: histograms of planet and host star data, cross-correlations between these parameters, and some Virtual Observatory services. Future evolutions of the database are presented.

[1]  T. Barman,et al.  The physical properties of extra-solar planets , 2010, 1001.3577.

[2]  M. Janson,et al.  DISCOVERY OF AN ∼23 MJup BROWN DWARF ORBITING ∼700 AU FROM THE MASSIVE STAR HIP 78530 IN UPPER SCORPIUS , 2011, 1101.4666.

[3]  M. R. Haas,et al.  A closely packed system of low-mass, low-density planets transiting Kepler-11 , 2011, Nature.

[4]  Philip C. Gregory,et al.  Bayesian re-analysis of the Gliese 581 exoplanet system , 2011, 1101.0800.

[5]  C. G. Tinney,et al.  Catalog of nearby exoplanets , 2006 .

[6]  Bruce Macintosh,et al.  The detection and characterization of exoplanets , 2009 .

[7]  A. Wolszczan,et al.  Confirmation of Earth-Mass Planets Orbiting the Millisecond Pulsar PSR B1257 + 12 , 1994, Science.

[8]  D. Queloz,et al.  The CORALIE survey for southern extra-solar planets - VIII. The very low-mass companions of HD 141937, HD 162020, HD 168443 and HD 202206: Brown dwarfs or “superplanets”? , 2002 .

[9]  David Charbonneau,et al.  The Challenge of Wide-Field Transit Surveys: The Case of GSC 01944-02289 , 2005, astro-ph/0501554.

[10]  A. Quirrenbach,et al.  Mass constraints on substellar companion candidates from the re-reduced Hipparcos intermediate astrometric data: nine confirmed planets and two confirmed brown dwarfs , 2011, 1101.2227.

[11]  J. Valenti,et al.  The Planet-Metallicity Correlation , 2005 .

[12]  R. Paul Butler,et al.  Two Substellar Companions Orbiting HD 168443 , 2001 .

[13]  D. Queloz,et al.  Doppler follow-up of OGLE planetary transit candidates in Carina , 2005 .

[14]  Michel Mayor,et al.  Search for brown-dwarf companions of stars , 2010, 1009.5991.

[15]  M. López-Morales,et al.  HOW ECCENTRIC ORBITAL SOLUTIONS CAN HIDE PLANETARY SYSTEMS IN 2:1 RESONANT ORBITS , 2008, 0809.1275.

[16]  Shuang-Nan Zhang,et al.  Modified clock inequalities and modified black hole lifetime , 2009, 0906.2108.

[17]  J. Cabrera,et al.  Detecting companions to extrasolar planets using mutual events , 2007 .

[18]  R. Paul Butler,et al.  THE LICK–CARNEGIE EXOPLANET SURVEY: A 3.1 M⊕ PLANET IN THE HABITABLE ZONE OF THE NEARBY M3V STAR GLIESE 581 , 2010, 1009.5733.

[19]  Gordon A. H. Walker,et al.  A search for substellar companions to solar-type stars , 1988 .

[20]  M. Wyatt,et al.  Collisional evolution of irregular satellite swarms: detectable dust around Solar system and extrasolar planets , 2010, 1011.4858.

[21]  A. Correia,et al.  Stellar wobble caused by a nearby binary system: eccentric and inclined orbits , 2010, 1012.2375.

[22]  W. D. Cochran,et al.  Confirmation of the planet hypothesis for the long-period radial velocity variations of β Geminorum , 2006, astro-ph/0606517.

[23]  W. Cochran,et al.  Long-Period Radial Velocity Variations in Three K Giants , 1993 .

[24]  Mark Clampin,et al.  Optical Images of an Exosolar Planet 25 Light-Years from Earth , 2008, Science.

[25]  V. S. Dhillon,et al.  Two planets orbiting the recently formed post-common envelope binary NN Serpentis , 2010, 1010.3608.

[26]  et al,et al.  Transiting exoplanets from the CoRoT space mission . VI. CoRoT-Exo-3b: the first secure inhabitant of the brown-dwarf desert , 2008, 0810.0919.

[27]  P. Hauschildt,et al.  Evidence for a co-moving sub-stellar companion of GQ Lup , 2005, astro-ph/0503691.

[28]  M. Nauenberg.  Stability and Eccentricity for Two Planets in a 1:1 Resonance, and Their Possible Occurrence in Extrasolar Planetary Systems , 2002 .

[29]  D. Abbot,et al.  THE STEPPENWOLF: A PROPOSAL FOR A HABITABLE PLANET IN INTERSTELLAR SPACE , 2011, 1102.1108.

[30]  J. Laskar,et al.  The HARPS search for southern extra-solar planets - XIX. Characterization and dynamics of the GJ 876 planetary system , 2010, 1001.4774.

[31]  Debra A. Fischer,et al.  The Exoplanet Orbit Database , 2010, 1012.5676.

[32]  G. Laughlin,et al.  Extrasolar Trojans: The Viability and Detectability of Planets in the 1:1 Resonance , 2002, astro-ph/0204091.

[33]  Howard Isaacson,et al.  The Occurrence and Mass Distribution of Close-in Super-Earths, Neptunes, and Jupiters , 2010, Science.

[34]  Andreas Seifahrt,et al.  THE PROPOSED GIANT PLANET ORBITING VB 10 DOES NOT EXIST , 2010 .

[35]  R. Rebolo,et al.  A Methane, Isolated, Planetary-Mass Object in Orion , 2002, astro-ph/0206353.

[36]  Stuart B. Shaklan,et al.  AN ULTRACOOL STAR’S CANDIDATE PLANET , 2009, 0906.0544.

[37]  K. Kinemuchi,et al.  KEPLER-10 c: A 2.2 EARTH RADIUS TRANSITING PLANET IN A MULTIPLE SYSTEM , 2011, 1105.4647.

[38]  Gordon A. H. Walker,et al.  A Planetary Companion to γ Cephei A , 2003 .

[39]  R. Dvorak,et al.  Exchange orbits: a possible application to extrasolar planetary systems? , 2011 .

[40]  S. Udry,et al.  A possible dividing line between massive planets and brown-dwarf companions , 2010, Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union.

[41]  Gordon A. H. Walker,et al.  Evidence for a Long-Period Planet Orbiting ϵ Eridani , 2000, astro-ph/0009423.

[42]  A. Walker,et al.  Gamma Cephei: Rotation or Planetary Companion? , 1992 .

[43]  A. Burrows,et al.  THE DEUTERIUM-BURNING MASS LIMIT FOR BROWN DWARFS AND GIANT PLANETS , 2010, 1008.5150.