Glancing through the debris disk: Photometric analysis of DE Boo with CHEOPS^★

¹ Konkoly Observatory, Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences, 1121 Budapest, Konkoly Thege Miklós út 15–17, Hungary
e-mail: boldog.adam@csfk.org
² CSFK, MTA Centre of Excellence, Budapest, Konkoly Thege Miklós út 15–17, 1121, Hungary
³ MTA-ELTE Exoplanet Research Group, 9700 Szombathely, Szent Imre h. u. 112, Hungary
⁴ ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Gothard Astrophysical Observatory, 9700 Szombathely, Szent Imre h. u. 112, Hungary
⁵ Department of Astronomy, Stockholm University, AlbaNova University Center, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
⁶ Sorbonne Université, CNRS, UMR 7095, Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris, 98 bis bd Arago, 75014 Paris, France
⁷ LESIA, Observatoire de Paris, Université PSL, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Université Paris Cité, 5 place Jules Janssen, 92195 Meudon, France
⁸ Observatoire Astronomique de l’Université de Genève, Chemin Pegasi 51, 1290 Versoix, Switzerland
⁹ Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, CNES, LAM, 38 rue Frédéric Joliot-Curie, 13388 Marseille, France
¹⁰ Division Technique INSU, CS20330, 83507 La Seyne sur Mer Cedex, France
¹¹ Physikalisches Institut, University of Bern, Sidlerstrasse 5, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
¹² Dipartimento di Fisica, Universita degli Studi di Torino, via Pietro Giuria 1, 10125, Torino, Italy
¹³ Centre for Exoplanet Science, SUPA School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St Andrews, North Haugh, St Andrews KY16 9SS, UK
¹⁴ Instituto de Astrofisica e Ciencias do Espaco, Universidade do Porto, CAUP, Rua das Estrelas, 4150-762 Porto, Portugal
¹⁵ Institut d’astrophysique de Paris, UMR7095 CNRS, Université Pierre & Marie Curie, 98bis blvd. Arago, 75014 Paris, France
¹⁶ Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, 38200 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
¹⁷ Departamento de Astrofisica, Universidad de La Laguna, 38206 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
¹⁸ Institut de Ciencies de l'Espai (ICE, CSIC), Campus UAB, Can Magrans s/n, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain
¹⁹ Institut d’Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC), 08034 Barcelona, Spain
²⁰ Physikalisches Institut, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
²¹ Admatis, 5. Kandó Kálmán Street, 3534 Miskolc, Hungary
²² Depto. de Astrofisica, Centro de Astrobiologia (CSIC-INTA), ESAC campus, 28692 Villanueva de la Cañada (Madrid), Spain
²³ Departamento de Fisica e Astronomia, Faculdade de Ciencias, Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal
²⁴ Space Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Schmiedl-strasse 6, 8042 Graz, Austria
²⁵ Center for Space and Habitability, University of Bern, Gesellschaftsstrasse 6, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
²⁶ Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, IPAG, 38000 Grenoble, France
²⁷ Center for Space and Habitability, Gesellsschaftstrasse 6, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
²⁸ Institute of Optical Sensor Systems, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Rutherfordstrasse 2, 12489 Berlin, Germany
²⁹ Institute of Planetary Research, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Rutherfordstrasse 2, 12489 Berlin, Germany
³⁰ Université de Paris, Institut de physique du globe de Paris, CNRS, 75005 Paris, France
³¹ ESTEC, European Space Agency, 2201AZ Noordwijk, The Netherlands
³² Centre for Mathematical Sciences, Lund University, Box 118, 221 00 Lund, Sweden
³³ Astrobiology Research Unit, Université de Liège, Allée du 6 Août 19C, 4000 Liège, Belgium
³⁴ Space sciences, Technologies and Astrophysics Research (STAR) Institute, Université de Liège, Allée du 6 Août 19C, 4000 Liège, Belgium
³⁵ INAF, Osservatorio Astrofisico di Catania, Via S. Sofia 78, 95123 Catania, Italy
³⁶ Leiden Observatory, University of Leiden, PO Box 9513, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands
³⁷ Department of Space, Earth and Environment, Chalmers University of Technology, Onsala Space Observatory, 439 92 Onsala, Sweden
³⁸ University of Vienna, Department of Astrophysics, Türkenschanzstrasse 17, 1180 Vienna, Austria
³⁹ Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Gibbet Hill Road, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK
⁴⁰ Science and Operations Department – Science Division (SCI-SC), Directorate of Science, European Space Agency (ESA), European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC), Keplerlaan 1, 2201-AZ Noordwijk, The Netherlands
⁴¹ ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Institute of Physics, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/A, 1117 Budapest, Hungary
⁴² IMCCE, UMR8028 CNRS, Observatoire de Paris, PSL Univ., Sorbonne Univ., 77 av. Denfert-Rochereau, 75014 Paris, France
⁴³ INAF, Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova, Vicolo dell’Osservatorio 5, 35122 Padova, Italy
⁴⁴ Astrophysics Group, Keele University, Keele, Staffordshire ST5 5BG, UK
⁴⁵ Department of Astrophysics, University of Vienna, Tuerkenschanzstrasse 17, 1180 Vienna, Austria
⁴⁶ Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia “Galileo Galilei”, Universita degli Studi di Padova, Vicolo dell’Osservatorio 3, 35122 Padova, Italy
⁴⁷ ETH Zurich, Department of Physics, Wolfgang-Pauli-Strasse 2, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
⁴⁸ Cavendish Laboratory, JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE, UK
⁴⁹ Zentrum für Astronomie und Astrophysik, Technische Universität Berlin, Hardenbergstr. 36, 10623 Berlin, Germany
⁵⁰ Institut für Geologische Wissenschaften, Freie Universität Berlin, 12249 Berlin, Germany
⁵¹ Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0HA, UK

Received: 30 September 2022
Accepted: 20 January 2023

Abstract

Aims. DE Boo is a unique system, with an edge-on view through the debris disk around the star. The disk, which is analogous to the Kuiper belt in the Solar System, was reported to extend from 74 to 84 AU from the central star. The high photometric precision of the Characterising Exoplanet Satellite (CHEOPS) provided an exceptional opportunity to observe small variations in the light curve due to transiting material in the disk. This is a unique chance to investigate processes in the debris disk.

Methods. Photometric observations of DE Boo of a total of four days were carried out with CHEOPS. Photometric variations due to spots on the stellar surface were subtracted from the light curves by applying a two-spot model and a fourth-order polynomial. The photometric observations were accompanied by spectroscopic measurements with the 1m RCC telescope at Piszkésteto and with the SOPHIE spectrograph in order to refine the astrophysical parameters of DE Boo.

Results. We present a detailed analysis of the photometric observation of DE Boo. We report the presence of nonperiodic transient features in the residual light curves with a transit duration of 0.3–0.8 days. We calculated the maximum distance of the material responsible for these variations to be 2.47 AU from the central star, much closer than most of the mass of the debris disk. Furthermore, we report the first observation of flaring events in this system.

Conclusions. We interpreted the transient features as the result of scattering in an inner debris disk around DE Boo. The processes responsible for these variations were investigated in the context of interactions between planetesimals in the system.