Spectroscopy of Faint Kepler Mission Exoplanet Candidate Host Stars

Abstract

Stellar properties are measured for a large set of Kepler Mission exoplanet candidate host stars. Most of these stars are fainter than 14th magnitude, in contrast to other spectroscopic follow-up studies. This sample includes many high-priority Earth-sized candidate planets. A set of model spectra are fitted to R~3000 optical spectra of 268 stars to improve estimates of Teff, log(g), and [Fe/H] for the dwarfs in the range 4750K<Teff<7200K. These stellar properties are used to find new stellar radii and, in turn, new radius estimates for the candidate planets. The result of improved stellar characteristics is a more accurate representation of this Kepler exoplanet sample and identification of promising candidates for more detailed study. This stellar sample, particularly among stars with Teff>5200K, includes a greater number of relatively evolved stars with larger radii than assumed by the mission on the basis of multi-color broadband photometry. About 26% of the modelled stars require radii to be revised upwards by a factor of 1.35 or greater, and modelling of 87% of the stars suggest some increase in radius. The sample presented here also exhibits a change in the incidence of planets larger than 3-4 Earth radii as a function of metallicity. Once [Fe/H] increases to >=-0.05, large planets suddenly appear in the sample while smaller planets are found orbiting stars with a wider range of metallicity. The modelled stellar spectra, as well as an additional 84 stars of mostly lower effective temperatures, are made available to the community.