No Arabic abstract
Small, cool planets represent the typical end-products of planetary formation. Studying the archi- tectures of these systems, measuring planet masses and radii, and observing these planets atmospheres during transit directly informs theories of planet assembly, migration, and evolution. Here we report the discovery of three small planets orbiting a bright (Ks = 8.6 mag) M0 dwarf using data collected as part of K2, the new transit survey using the re-purposed Kepler spacecraft. Stellar spectroscopy and K2 photometry indicate that the system hosts three transiting planets with radii 1.5-2.1 R_Earth, straddling the transition region between rocky and increasingly volatile-dominated compositions. With orbital periods of 10-45 days the planets receive just 1.5-10x the flux incident on Earth, making these some of the coolest small planets known orbiting a nearby star; planet d is located near the inner edge of the systems habitable zone. The bright, low-mass star makes this system an excellent laboratory to determine the planets masses via Doppler spectroscopy and to constrain their atmospheric compositions via transit spectroscopy. This discovery demonstrates the ability of K2 and future space-based transit searches to find many fascinating objects of interest.
We report on the discovery of three transiting super-Earths around K2-155 (EPIC 210897587), a relatively bright early M dwarf ($V=12.81$ mag) observed during Campaign 13 of the NASA K2 mission. To characterize the system and validate the planet candidates, we conducted speckle imaging and high-dispersion optical spectroscopy, including radial velocity measurements. Based on the K2 light curve and the spectroscopic characterization of the host star, the planet sizes and orbital periods are $1.55_{-0.17}^{+0.20},R_oplus$ and $6.34365pm 0.00028$ days for the inner planet; $1.95_{-0.22}^{+0.27},R_oplus$ and $13.85402pm 0.00088$ days for the middle planet; and $1.64_{-0.17}^{+0.18},R_oplus$ and $40.6835pm 0.0031$ days for the outer planet. The outer planet (K2-155d) is near the habitable zone, with an insolation $1.67pm 0.38$ times that of the Earth. The planets radius falls within the range between that of smaller rocky planets and larger gas-rich planets. To assess the habitability of this planet, we present a series of 3D global climate simulations assuming that K2-155d is tidally locked and has an Earth-like composition and atmosphere. We find that the planet can maintain a moderate surface temperature if the insolation proves to be smaller than $sim 1.5$ times that of the Earth. Doppler mass measurements, transit spectroscopy, and other follow-up observations should be rewarding, since K2-155 is one of the optically brightest M dwarfs known to harbor transiting planets.
We report on the discovery of three transiting planets around GJ~9827. The planets have radii of 1.75$_{-0.12}^{+0.11 }$, 1.36$_{- 0.09 }^{+ 0.09}$, and 2.10$_{- 0.15 }^{+ 0.15 }$~R$_{oplus}$, and periods of 1.20896, 3.6480, and 6.2014 days, respectively. The detection was made in Campaign 12 observations as part of our K2 survey of nearby stars. GJ~9827 is a $V = 10.39$~mag K6V star at distance of 30.3 parsecs and the nearest star to be found hosting planets by Kepler and K2. The radial velocity follow-up, high resolution imaging, and detection of multiple transiting objects near commensurability drastically reduce the false positive probability. The orbital periods of GJ~9827~b, c and d planets are very close to the 1:3:5 mean motion resonance. Our preliminary analysis shows that GJ~9827 planets are excellent candidates for atmospheric observations. Besides, the planetary radii span both sides of the rocky and gaseous divide, hence the system will be an asset in expanding our understanding of the threshold.
We report on the discovery of K2-141 b (EPIC 246393474 b), an ultra-short-period super-Earth on a 6.7-hour orbit transiting an active K7 V star based on data from K2 campaign 12. We confirmed the planets existence and measured its mass with a series of follow-up observations: seeing-limited MuSCAT imaging, NESSI high-resolution speckle observations, and FIES and HARPS high-precision radial-velocity monitoring. K2-141 b has a mass of $5.31 pm 0.46 $ $M_{oplus}$ and radius of $1.54^{+0.10}_{-0.09}$ $R_{oplus}$, yielding a mean density of $8.00_{ - 1.45 } ^ { + 1.83 }$ $mathrm{g,cm^{-3}}$ and suggesting a rocky-iron composition. Models indicate that iron cannot exceed $sim$70 % of the total mass. With an orbital period of only 6.7 hours, K2-141 b is the shortest-period planet known to date with a precisely determined mass.
We present the detection of three super-Earths transiting the cool star LP415-17, monitored by K2 mission in its 13th campaign. High resolution spectra obtained with HARPS-N/TNG showed that the star is a mid-late K dwarf. Using spectral synthesis models we infer its effective temperature, surface gravity and metallicity and subse- quently determined from evolutionary models a stellar radius of 0.58 R Sun. The planets have radii of 1.8, 2.6 and 1.9 R Earth and orbital periods of 6.34, 13.85 and 40.72 days. High resolution images discard any significant contamination by an intervening star in the line of sight. The orbit of the furthest planet has radius of 0.18 AU, close to the inner edge of the habitable zone. The system is suitable to improve our understanding of formation and dynamical evolution of super-Earth systems in the rocky - gaseous threshold, their atmospheres, internal structure, composition and interactions with host stars.
We report the discovery of a new planetary system with three transiting planets, one super-Earth and two sub-Neptunes, that orbit EPIC,249893012, a G8,IV-V evolved star ($M_star$,=,1.05,$pm$,0.05,$M_odot$, $R_star$,=,1.71,$pm$,0.04,$R_odot$, $T_mathrm{eff}$,=5430,$pm$,85,K). The star is just leaving the main sequence. We combined ktwo photometry with IRCS adaptive-optics imaging and HARPS, HARPS-N, and CARMENES high-precision radial velocity measurements to confirm the planetary system, determine the stellar parameters, and measure radii, masses, and densities of the three planets. With an orbital period of $3.5949^{+0.0007}_{-0.0007}$ days, a mass of $8.75^{+1.09}_{-1.08} M_{oplus}$ , and a radius of $1.95^{+0.09}_{-0.08} R_{oplus}$, the inner planet b is compatible with nickel-iron core and a silicate mantle ($rho_b= 6.39^{+1.19}_{-1.04}$ g cm$^{-3}$). Planets c and d with orbital periods of $15.624^{+0.001}_{-0.001}$ and $35.747^{+0.005}_{-0.005}$ days, respectively, have masses and radii of $14.67^{+1,84}_{-1.89} M_{oplus}$ and $3.67^{+0.17}_{-0.14} R_{oplus}$ and $10.18^{+2.46}_{-2.42} M_{oplus}$ and $3.94^{+0.13}_{-0.12} R_{oplus}$, respectively, yielding a mean density of $1.62^{+0.30}_{-0.29}$ and $0.91^{+0.25}_{-0.23}$ g cm$^{-3}$, respectively. The radius of planet b lies in the transition region between rocky and gaseous planets, but its density is consistent with a rocky composition. Its semimajor axis and the corresponding photoevaporation levels to which the planet has been exposed might explain its measured density today. In contrast, the densities and semimajor axes of planets c and d suggest a very thick atmosphere. The singularity of this system, which orbits a slightly evolved star that is just leaving the main sequence, makes it a good candidate for a deeper study from a dynamical point of view.