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A&A 415, 1153-1166 (2004)
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361:20034469

Spectroscopic [Fe/H] for 98 extra-solar planet-host stars

Exploring the probability of planet formation
N. C. Santos1, 2, G. Israelian3 and M. Mayor2

1  Centro de Astronomia e Astrofísica da Universidade de Lisboa, Observatório Astronómico de Lisboa, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-018 Lisboa, Portugal
2  Observatoire de Genève, 51 ch. des Maillettes, 1290 Sauverny, Switzerland
3  Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, 38200 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain

(Received 8 October 2003 / Accepted 4 November 2003)

Abstract
We present stellar parameters and metallicities, obtained from a detailed spectroscopic analysis, for a large sample of 98 stars known to be orbited by planetary mass companions (almost all known targets), as well as for a volume-limited sample of 41 stars not known to host any planet. For most of the stars the stellar parameters are revised versions of the ones presented in our previous work. However, we also present parameters for 18 stars with planets not previously published, and a compilation of stellar parameters for the remaining 4 planet-hosts for which we could not obtain a spectrum. A comparison of our stellar parameters with values of  $T_{{\rm eff}}$, $\log{g}$, and [Fe/H] available in the literature shows a remarkable agreement. In particular, our spectroscopic  $\log{g}$ values are now very close to trigonometric  $\log{g}$ estimates based on Hipparcos parallaxes. The derived [Fe/H] values are then used to confirm the previously known result that planets are more prevalent around metal-rich stars. Furthermore, we confirm that the frequency of planets is a strongly rising function of the stellar metallicity, at least for stars with [Fe/H]  > 0. While only about 3% of the solar metallicity stars in the CORALIE planet search sample were found to be orbited by a planet, this number increases to more than 25% for stars with [Fe/H] above +0.3. Curiously, our results also suggest that these percentages might remain relatively constant for values of [Fe/H] lower than about solar, increasing then linearly with the mass fraction of heavy elements. These results are discussed in the context of the theories of planetary formation.


Key words: stars: abundances -- stars: fundamental parameters -- stars: planetary systems -- stars: planetary systems: formation -- stars: chemically peculiar

Offprint request: N. C. Santos, Nuno.Santos@oal.ul.pt

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