Tennessee State University
Center of Excellence in Information Systems
Nashville, Tennessee 37209

This report covers the interval July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023.

The TSU Automated Astronomy Group within the TSU Center of Excellence in Information Systems concentrates on stellar astrophysics using photometric, spectroscopic, and imaging techniques to study cool giants, chromospherically active stars, solar-type stars, extra-solar planet host stars, binary and multiple stars, and pulsating variables. Data for these programs have been acquired with robotic telescopes and instrumentation developed in coordination with Louis Boyd, the Director of Fairborn Observatory, a non-profit Educational Corporation located in the remote Patagonia mountains of southern Arizona. This year, Boyd's daughter, Anna Marie Hunt, relocated to Fairborn from Las Vegas to assist Boyd in the operation of Fairborn and now serves with Boyd as Co-Director of the Observatory. A house has been purchased in Green Valley, which acts as the new Fairborn Observatory Base Camp. Astronomy staff at TSU's Center of Excellence during this interval were Gregory W. Henry, Michael H. Williamson, and Francis C. Fekel. Fekel continues as emeritus research associate.

OBSERVING FACILITIES

The Center of Excellence continues to develop and operate automated telescopes and instrumentation at Fairborn Observatory. TSU telescopes operating this year were the T3 0.40 m automated photometric telescope (APT) for Johnson BV photometry, the T4 0.75 m APT for Stromgren by photometry, the T8 and T15 0.80 m APTs, also for Stromgren by photometry with 2-channel photometers, the T13 2.0 m automatic spectroscopic telescope (AST) for high-resolution echelle spectroscopy, and the Celestron 14-inch (C14) automated imaging telescope (AIT).

The table below gives the number of years each telescope has been operational and their current observing program(s). The T10, T11, and T12 APTs have been down awaiting needed upgrades.

PUBLICATIONS 2022-23

Ian Wong, Yayaati Chachan, Heather A. Knutson, Gregory W. Henry, Danica Adams, Tiffany Kataria, Björn Benneke, Peter Gao, Drake Deming, Mercedes López-Morales, David K. Sing, Munazza K. Alam, Gilda E. Ballester, Joanna K. Barstow, Lars A. Buchhave, Leonardo A. dos Santos, Guangwei Fu, Antonio García Muñoz, Ryan J. MacDonald, Thomas Mikal-Evans, Jorge Sanz-Forcada, and Hannah R. Wakeford, “The Hubble PanCET Program: A Featureless Transmission Spectrum for WASP-29b and Evidence of Enhanced Atmospheric Metallicity on WASP-80b,” Astronomical Journal, 164, 30, 2022. (paper)

Lee J. Rosenthal, Heather A. Knutson, Yayaati Chachan, Fei Dai, Andrew W. Howard, Benjamin J. Fulton, Ashley Chontos, Justin R. Crepp, Paul A. Dalba, Gregory W. Henry, Stephen R. Kane, Erik A. Petigura, Lauren M. Weiss, and Jason T. Wright, “The California Legacy Survey. III. On the Shoulders of (Some) Giants: The Relationship between Inner Small Planets and Outer Massive Planets,” Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, 262, 1, 2022. (paper)

R. Luque, B. J. Fulton, M. Kunimoto, P. J. Amado, P. Gorrini, S. Dreizler, C. Hellier, G. W. Henry, et al., “The HD 260655 System: Two Rocky Worlds Transiting a Bright M Dwarf at 10 pc,” Astronomy & Astrophysics, 664, A199, 2022. (paper)

Jacob K. Luhn, Jason T. Wright, Gregory W. Henry, Steven H. Saar, and Anna C. Baum, ‘’HD 166620: Portrait of a Star Entering a Grand Magnetic Minimum,’’ Astrophysical Journal Letters, 936, L23, 2022. (paper)

Kenneth H. Hinkle, Sean Brittain, Francis C. Fekel, Thomas Lebzelter, and Adwin Boogert, ‘’The 2020 Eclipse of R Aquarii in the Near-infrared: Mid-eclipse Observations of Disk Distress,’’ Astrophysical Journal, 937, 98, 2022. (paper)

Gregory Henry, Susan Eaton, and Francis Fekel, "Joel A. Eaton (1948-2022)," Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 54, 1, 2022. (paper)

Tyler Gardner, John D. Monnier, Francis C. Fekel, Jean-Baptiste Le Bouquin, Adam Scovera, Gail Schaefer, Stefan Kraus, Fred C. Adams, Narsireddy Anugu, Jean-Philippe Berger, Theo Ten Brummelaar, Claire L. Davies, Jacob Ennis, Douglas R. Gies, Keith J. C. Johnson, Pierre Kervella, Kaitlin M. Kratter, Aaron Labdon, Cyprien Lanthermann, Johannes Sahlmann, and Benjamin R. Setterholm, ‘’ARMADA. II. Further Detections of Inner Companions to Intermediate-mass Binaries with Microarcsecond Astrometry at CHARA and VLTI,’’ Astronomical Journal, 164, 184, 2022. (paper)

Tyler Gardner, John D. Monnier, Francis C. Fekel, Jean-Baptiste Le Bouquin, Adam Scovera, Gail Schaefer, Stefan Kraus, Fred C. Adams, Narsireddy Anugu, Jean-Philippe Berger, Theo Ten Brummelaar, Claire L. Davies, Jacob Ennis, Douglas R. Gies, Keith J. C. Johnson, Pierre Kervella, Kaitlin M. Kratter, Aaron Labdon, Cyprien Lanthermann, Isaac Malsky, Emily Rauscher, Johannes Sahlmann, and Benjamin R. Setterholm, "A Thesis to Probe Unique Exoplanet Regimes with Micro-Arcsecond Astrometry and Precision Closure Phases at CHARA and VLTI," SPIE, 12183, 121830Z, 2022.

Francis C. Fekel, Gregory W. Henry, James R. Sowell, Ethan R. Partington, Joanna M. Wedemeyer, and ArjunSinh Nakum, ‘’An Analysis of the Eclipsing Binaries HD 71636, V1022 Cassiopeiae, and OT Andromedae,’’ Astronomical Journal, 164, 224, 2022. (paper)

Kathryn V. Lester, Gail H. Schaefer, Francis C. Fekel, Douglas R. Gies, Todd J. Henry, Wei-Chun Jao, Leonardo A. Paredes, Hodari-Sadiki Hubbard-James, Christopher D. Farrington, Kathryn D. Gordon, S. Drew Chojnowski, John D. Monnier, Stefan Kraus, Jean-Baptiste Le Bouquin, Narsireddy Anugu, Theo Ten Brummelaar, Claire L. Davies, Tyler Gardner, Aaron Labdon, Cyprien Lanthermann, and Benjamin R. Setterholm, ‘’Visual Orbits of Spectroscopic Binaries with the CHARA Array. IV. HD 61859, HD 89822, HD 109510, and HD 191692,’’ Astronomical Journal, 164, 228, 2022. (paper)

V. Bourrier, O. Attia, M. Mallonn, A. Marret, M. Lendl, P.-C. Konig, A. Krenn, M. Cretignier, R. Allart, G. Henry, E. Bryant, A. Leleu, L. Nielsen, G. Hebrard, N. Hara, D. Ehrenreich, J. Seidel, L. dos Santos, C. Lovis, D. Bayliss, H. M. Cegla, X. Dumusque, I. Boisse, A. Boucher, F. Bouchy, F. Pepe, B. Lavie, J. Rey Cerda, D. Ségransan, S. Udry, and T. Vrignaud, ‘’DREAM I. Orbital Architecture Orrery,’’ Astronomy & Astrophysics, 669, A63, 2023. (paper)

A. Gressier, A. Lecavelier des Etangs, D. K. Sing, M. López-Morales, M. K. Alam, J. K. Barstow, V. Bourrier, L. A. Dos Santos, A. García Muñoz, J. D. Lothringer, N. K. Nikolov, K. Sotzen, G. W. Henry, and T. Mikal-Evans, ‘’The Hubble PanCET Program: The Near-Ultraviolet Transmission Spectrum of WASP-79b,’’ Astronomy & Astrophysics, 672, A34, 2023. (paper)

Gregory W. Henry and Jacob L. Bean, "C14 Automatic Imaging Telescope Photometry of GJ 1214," arXiv:2302.07874, 2023. (paper)

Alexander D. Rathcke, Lars. A. Buchhave, João M. Mendonça, David K. Sing, Mercedes Lopez-Morales, Munazza K. Alam, Gregory W. Henry, Nikolay K. Nikolov, A. García Muñoz, Thomas Mikal-Evans, Hannah R. Wakeford, Leonardo A. Dos Santos, and Vinesh Maguire Rajpaul, ‘’HST PanCET Programme: A Flat Optical Transmission Spectrum for the Hot Jupiter WASP-101b,’’ Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 522, 582, 2023. (paper)

James Sikora, Jason Rowe, Saugata Barat, Jacob L. Bean, Madison Brady, Jean-Michel Désert, Adina D. Feinstein, Emily A. Gilbert, Gregory Henry, David Kasper, Déreck-Alexandre Lizotte, Michael R. B. Matesic, Vatsal Panwar, Andreas Seifahrt, Hinna Shivkumar, Gudmundur Stefánsson, and Julian Stürmer, ‘’Updated Planetary Mass Constraints of the Young V1298 Tau System Using MAROON-X,’’ Astronomical Journal, 165, 250, 2023. (paper)

Stephen R. Kane, Michelle L. Hill, Paul A. Dalba, Tara Fetherolf, Gregory W. Henry, Sergio B. Fajardo-Acosta, Crystal L. Gnilka, Andrew W. Howard, Steve B. Howell, and Howard Isaacson, ‘’Revised Properties and Dynamical History for the HD 17156 System,’’ Astronomical Journal, 165, 252, 2023. (paper)

L. Kriskovics, Zs. Kovari, B. Seli, K. Olah, K. Vida, G. W. Henry, T. Granzer, and A. Gorgei, "EI Eridani: A Star Under the Influence: The Effect of Magnetic Activity in the Short and Long Term," Astronomy & Astrophysics, 674, A143, 2023. (paper)