No Arabic abstract
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 report the discovery of K2-98 b (EPIC 211391664 b), a transiting Neptune-sized planet monitored by the K2 mission during its campaign 5. We combine the K2 time-series data with ground-based photometric and spectroscopic follow-up observations to confirm the planetary nature of the object and derive its mass, radius, and orbital parameters. K2-98 b is a warm Neptune-like planet in a 10-day orbit around a V=12.2~mag F-type star with $M_star$=$ 1.074pm0.042$, $R_star$=$ 1.311 ^{+ 0.083} _{ - 0.048} $, and age of $5.2_{-1.0}^{+1.2}$~Gyr. We derive a planetary mass and radius of $M_mathrm{p}$=$ 32.2 pm 8.1 $ and $R_mathrm{p}$=$4.3^{+0.3}_{-0.2}$. K2-98 b joins the relatively small group of Neptune-sized planets whose both mass and radius have been derived with a precision better than 25 %. We estimate that the planet will be engulfed by its host star in $sim$3~Gyr, due to the evolution of the latter towards the red giant branch.
We report the discovery of a new planetary system with three transiting planets, one super-Earth and two sub-Neptunes, that orbit EPIC,249893012, a G8,IV-V evolved star ($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.
We report the discovery of the super-Earth K2-265 b detected with K2 photometry. The planet orbits a bright (V_mag = 11.1) star of spectral type G8V with a period of 2.37 days. We obtained high-precision follow-up radial velocity measurements from HARPS, and the joint Bayesian analysis showed that K2-265 b has a radius of 1.71 +/- 0.11 R_earth and a mass of 6.54 +/- 0.84 M_earth, corresponding to a bulk density of 7.1 +/- 1.8 g/cm^3 . Composition analysis of the planet reveals an Earth-like, rocky interior, with a rock mass fraction of 80%. The short orbital period and small radius of the planet puts it below the lower limit of the photoevaporation gap, where the envelope of the planet could have eroded due to strong stellar irradiation, leaving behind an exposed core. Knowledge of the planet core composition allows us to infer the possible formation and evolution mechanism responsible for its current physical parameters.
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.
Ultra-short period (USP) planets are a class of low mass planets with periods shorter than one day. Their origin is still unknown, with photo-evaporation of mini-Neptunes and in-situ formation being the most credited hypotheses. Formation scenarios differ radically in the predicted composition of USP planets, it is therefore extremely important to increase the still limited sample of USP planets with precise and accurate mass and density measurements. We report here the characterization of an USP planet with a period of 0.28 days around K2-141 (EPIC 246393474), and the validation of an outer planet with a period of 7.7 days in a grazing transit configuration. We derived the radii of the planets from the K2 light curve and used high-precision radial velocities gathered with the HARPS-N spectrograph for mass measurements. For K2-141b we thus inferred a radius of $1.51pm0.05~R_oplus$ and a mass of $5.08pm0.41~M_oplus$, consistent with a rocky composition and lack of a thick atmosphere. K2-141c is likely a Neptune-like planet, although due to the grazing transits and the non-detection in the RV dataset, we were not able to put a strong constraint on its density. We also report the detection of secondary eclipses and phase curve variations for K2-141b. The phase variation can be modeled either by a planet with a geometric albedo of $0.30 pm 0.06$ in the Kepler bandpass, or by thermal emission from the surface of the planet at $sim$3000K. Only follow-up observations at longer wavelengths will allow us to distinguish between these two scenarios.