No Arabic abstract
The Kepler mission showed us that planets with sizes between that of Earth and Neptune appear to be the most common type in our Galaxy. These super-Earths continue to be of great interest for exoplanet formation, evolution, and composition studies. However, the number of super-Earths with well-constrained mass and radius measurements remains small (40 planets with $sigma_{rm{mass}}<$ 25%), due in part to the faintness of their host stars causing ground-based mass measurements to be challenging. Recently, three transiting super-Earth planets were detected by the K2 mission around the nearby star GJ 9827/HIP 115752, at only 30 pc away. The radii of the planets span the radius gap detected by Fulton et al. (2017), and all orbit within ~6.5 days, easing follow-up observations. Here we report radial velocity (RV) observations of GJ 9827, taken between 2010 and 2016 with the Planet Finder Spectrograph on the Magellan II Telescope. We employ two different RV analysis packages, SYSTEMIC and RadVel, to derive masses and thus densities of the GJ 9827 planets. We also test a Gaussian Process regression analysis, but find the correlated stellar noise is not well constrained by the PFS data, and that the GP tends to over fit the RV semi-amplitudes resulting in a lower K value. Our RV observations are not able to place strong mass constraints on the two outer planets (c & d) but do indicate that planet b, at 1.64 R$_{oplus}$ and ~8 M$_{oplus}$, is one of the most massive (and dense) super-Earth planets detected to date.
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 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 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.
Super-Earths belong to a class of planet not found in the Solar System, but which appear common in the Galaxy. Given that some super-Earths are rocky, while others retain substantial atmospheres, their study can provide clues as to the formation of both rocky planets and gaseous planets, and - in particular - they can help to constrain the role of photo-evaporation in sculpting the exoplanet population. GJ 9827 is a system already known to host 3 super-Earths with orbital periods of 1.2, 3.6 and 6.2 days. Here we use new HARPS-N radial velocity measurements, together with previously published radial velocities, to better constrain the properties of the GJ 9827 planets. Our analysis cant place a strong constraint on the mass of GJ 9827 c, but does indicate that GJ 9827 b is rocky with a composition that is probably similar to that of the Earth, while GJ 9827 d almost certainly retains a volatile envelope. Therefore, GJ 9827 hosts planets on either side of the radius gap that appears to divide super-Earths into pre-dominantly rocky ones that have radii below $sim 1.5 R_oplus$, and ones that still retain a substantial atmosphere and/or volatile components, and have radii above $sim 2 R_oplus$. That the less heavily irradiated of the 3 planets still retains an atmosphere, may indicate that photoevaporation has played a key role in the evolution of the planets in this system.
We report the discovery of GJ 1252 b, a planet with a radius of 1.193 $pm$ 0.074 $R_{oplus}$ and an orbital period of 0.52 days around an M3-type star (0.381 $pm$ 0.019 $M_{odot}$, 0.391 $pm$ 0.020 $R_{odot}$) located 20.385 $pm$ 0.019 pc away. We use TESS data, ground-based photometry and spectroscopy, Gaia astrometry, and high angular resolution imaging to show that the transit signal seen in the TESS data must originate from a transiting planet. We do so by ruling out all false positive scenarios that attempt to explain the transit signal as originating from an eclipsing stellar binary. Precise Doppler monitoring also leads to a tentative mass measurement of 2.09 $pm$ 0.56 $M_{oplus}$. The host star proximity, brightness ($V$ = 12.19 mag, $K$ = 7.92 mag), low stellar activity, and the systems short orbital period make this planet an attractive target for detailed characterization, including precise mass measurement, looking for other objects in the system, and planet atmosphere characterization.