Abstract
We used high-precision radial velocity measurements of FGKM stars to determine the occurrence of giant planets as a function of orbital separation spanning 0.03–30 au. Giant planets are more ...prevalent at orbital distances of 1–10 au compared to orbits interior or exterior of this range. The increase in planet occurrence at ∼1 au by a factor of ∼4 is highly statistically significant. A fall-off in giant planet occurrence at larger orbital distances is favored over models with flat or increasing occurrence. We measure
14.1
−
1.8
+
2.0
giant planets per 100 stars with semimajor axes of 2–8 au and
8.9
−
2.4
+
3.0
giant planets per 100 stars in the range 8–32 au, a decrease in occurrence with increasing orbital separation that is significant at the ∼2
σ
level. We find that the occurrence rate of sub-Jovian planets (0.1–1 Jupiter masses) is also enhanced for 1–10 au orbits. This suggests that lower-mass planets may share the formation or migration mechanisms that drive the increased prevalence near the water–ice line for their Jovian counterparts. Our measurements of cold gas giant occurrence are consistent with the latest results from direct imaging surveys and gravitational lensing surveys despite different stellar samples. We corroborate previous findings that giant planet occurrence increases with stellar mass and metallicity.
Abstract
We present a high-precision radial velocity (RV) survey of 719 FGKM stars, which host 164 known exoplanets and 14 newly discovered or revised exoplanets and substellar companions. This ...catalog updated the orbital parameters of known exoplanets and long-period candidates, some of which have decades-longer observational baselines than they did upon initial detection. The newly discovered exoplanets range from warm sub-Neptunes and super-Earths to cold gas giants. We present the catalog sample selection criteria, as well as over 100,000 RV measurements, which come from the Keck-HIRES, APF-Levy, and Lick-Hamilton spectrographs. We introduce the new RV search pipeline
RVSearch
(
https://california-planet-search.github.io/rvsearch/
) that we used to generate our planet catalog, and we make it available to the public as an open-source Python package. This paper is the first study in a planned series that will measure exoplanet occurrence rates and compare exoplanet populations, including studies of giant planet occurrence beyond the water ice line, and eccentricity distributions to explore giant planet formation pathways. We have made public all radial velocities and associated data that we use in this catalog.
Abstract
The discovery and characterization of extrasolar planets using radial velocity (RV) measurements is limited by noise sources from the surfaces of host stars. Current techniques to suppress ...stellar magnetic activity rely on decorrelation using an activity indicator (e.g., strength of the Ca
ii
lines, width of the cross-correlation function, broadband photometry) or measurement of the RVs using only a subset of spectral lines that have been shown to be insensitive to activity. Here, we combine the above techniques by constructing a high-signal-to-noise activity indicator, the depth metric
(
t
)
, from the most activity-sensitive spectral lines using the “line-by-line” method of Dumusque (2018). Analogous to photometric decorrelation of RVs or Gaussian progress regression modeling of activity indices, time series modeling of
(
t
)
reduces the amplitude of magnetic activity in RV measurements; in an
α
CenB RV time series from HARPS, the RV rms was reduced from 2.67 to 1.02 m s
−1
.
(
t
)
modeling enabled us to characterize injected planetary signals as small as 1 m s
−1
. In terms of noise reduction and injected signal recovery,
(
t
)
modeling outperforms activity mitigation via the selection of activity-insensitive spectral lines. For Sun-like stars with activity signals on the m s
−1
level, the depth metric independently tracks rotationally modulated and multiyear stellar activity with a level of quality similar to that of the FWHM of the CCF and log
R
HK
′
. The depth metric and its elaborations will be a powerful tool in the mitigation of stellar magnetic activity, particularly as a means of connecting stellar activity to physical processes within host stars.
Abstract
Mass, radius, and age measurements of young (≲100 Myr) planets have the power to shape our understanding of planet formation. However, young stars tend to be extremely variable in both ...photometry and radial velocity (RV) measurements, which makes constraining these properties challenging. The V1298 Tau system of four ∼0.5
R
J
planets transiting a pre-main-sequence star presents an important, if stress-inducing, opportunity to observe and measure directly the properties of infant planets. Suárez Mascareño et al. published radial-velocity-derived masses for two of the V1298 Tau planets using a state-of-the-art Gaussian process regression framework. The planetary densities computed from these masses were surprisingly high, implying extremely rapid contraction after formation in tension with most existing planet-formation theories. In an effort to constrain further the masses of the V1298 Tau planets, we obtained 36 RVs using Keck/HIRES, and analyzed them in concert with published RVs and photometry. Through performing a suite of cross-validation tests, we found evidence that the preferred model of Suárez Mascareño et al. suffers from overfitting, defined as the inability to predict unseen data, rendering the masses unreliable. We detail several potential causes of this overfitting, many of which may be important for other RV analyses of other active stars, and recommend that additional time and resources be allocated to understanding and mitigating activity in active young stars such as V1298 Tau.
Abstract
With a mass in the Neptune regime and a radius of Jupiter, WASP-107b presents a challenge to planet formation theories. Meanwhile, the planet’s low surface gravity and the star’s brightness ...also make it one of the most favorable targets for atmospheric characterization. Here, we present the results of an extensive 4 yr Keck/HIRES radial-velocity (RV) follow-up program of the WASP-107 system and provide a detailed study of the physics governing the accretion of the gas envelope of WASP-107b. We reveal that WASP-107b’s mass is only 1.8 Neptune masses (
M
b
= 30.5 ± 1.7
M
⊕
). The resulting extraordinarily low density suggests that WASP-107b has a H/He envelope mass fraction of >85% unless it is substantially inflated. The corresponding core mass of <4.6
M
⊕
at 3
σ
is significantly lower than what is traditionally assumed to be necessary to trigger massive gas envelope accretion. We demonstrate that this large gas-to-core mass ratio most plausibly results from the onset of accretion at ≳1 au onto a low-opacity, dust-free atmosphere and subsequent migration to the present-day
a
b
= 0.0566 ± 0.0017 au. Beyond WASP-107b, we also detect a second, more massive planet (
) on a wide eccentric orbit (
e
c
= 0.28 ± 0.07) that may have influenced the orbital migration and spin–orbit misalignment of WASP-107b. Overall, our new RV observations and envelope accretion modeling provide crucial insights into the intriguing nature of WASP-107b and the system’s formation history. Looking ahead, WASP-107b will be a keystone planet to understand the physics of gas envelope accretion.
Abstract
Obliquity measurements for stars hosting relatively long-period giant planets with weak star-planet tidal interactions may play a key role in distinguishing between formation theories for ...shorter-period hot Jupiters. Few such obliquity measurements have been made to date due to the relatively small sample of known wide-orbiting, transiting Jovian-mass planets and the challenging nature of these targets, which tend to have long transit durations and orbit faint stars. We report a measurement of the Rossiter–McLaughlin effect across the transit of K2-140 b, a Jupiter-mass planet with period
P
= 6.57 days orbiting a
V
= 12.6 star. We find that K2-140 is an aligned system with projected spin–orbit angle
λ
= 0.5° ± 9.7°, suggesting a dynamically cool formation history. This observation builds toward a population of tidally detached giant planet spin–orbit angles that will enable a direct comparison with the distribution of close-orbiting hot-Jupiter orbital configurations, elucidating the prevalent formation mechanisms of each group.
Abstract
We measured the Rossiter–McLaughlin effect of WASP-107b during a single transit with Keck/HIRES. We found the sky-projected inclination of WASP-107b’s orbit, relative to its host star’s ...rotation axis, to be
degrees. This confirms the misaligned/polar orbit that was previously suggested from spot-crossing events and adds WASP-107b to the growing population of hot Neptunes in polar orbits around cool stars. WASP-107b is also the fourth such planet to have a known distant planetary companion. We examined several dynamical pathways by which this companion could have induced such an obliquity in WASP-107b. We find that nodal precession and disk dispersal-driven tilting can both explain the current orbital geometry while Kozai–Lidov cycles are suppressed by general relativity. While each hypothesis requires a mutual inclination between the two planets, nodal precession requires a much larger angle, which for WASP-107 is on the threshold of detectability with future Gaia astrometric data. As nodal precession has no stellar type dependence, but disk dispersal-driven tilting does, distinguishing between these two models is best done on the population level. Finding and characterizing more extrasolar systems like WASP-107 will additionally help distinguish whether the distribution of hot-Neptune obliquities is a dichotomy of aligned and polar orbits or if we are uniformly sampling obliquities during nodal precession cycles.
Abstract
Convergent disk migration has long been suspected to be responsible for forming planetary systems with a chain of mean-motion resonances (MMRs). Dynamical evolution over time could disrupt ...the delicate resonant configuration. We present TOI-1136, a 700 ± 150 Myr old G star hosting at least six transiting planets between ∼2 and 5
R
⊕
. The orbital period ratios deviate from exact commensurability by only 10
−4
, smaller than the ∼10
−2
deviations seen in typical Kepler near-resonant systems. A transit-timing analysis measured the masses of the planets (3–8
M
⊕
) and demonstrated that the planets in TOI-1136 are in true resonances with librating resonant angles. Based on a Rossiter–McLaughlin measurement of planet d, the star’s rotation appears to be aligned with the planetary orbital planes. The well-aligned planetary system and the lack of a detected binary companion together suggest that TOI-1136's resonant chain formed in an isolated, quiescent disk with no stellar flyby, disk warp, or significant axial asymmetry. With period ratios near 3:2, 2:1, 3:2, 7:5, and 3:2, TOI-1136 is the first known resonant chain involving a second-order MMR (7:5) between two first-order MMRs. The formation of the delicate 7:5 resonance places strong constraints on the system’s migration history. Short-scale (starting from ∼0.1 au) Type-I migration with an inner disk edge is most consistent with the formation of TOI-1136. A low disk surface density (Σ
1 au
≲ 10
3
g cm
−2
; lower than the minimum-mass solar nebula) and the resultant slower migration rate likely facilitated the formation of the 7:5 second-order MMR.
Abstract
We present the discovery of Kepler-129 d (
P
d
=
7.2
−
0.3
+
0.4
yr,
m
sin
i
d
=
8.3
−
0.7
+
1.1
M
Jup
,
e
d
=
0.15
−
0.05
+
0.07
) based on six years of radial-velocity observations from ...Keck/HIRES. Kepler-129 also hosts two transiting sub-Neptunes: Kepler-129 b (
P
b
= 15.79 days,
r
b
= 2.40 ± 0.04
R
⊕
) and Kepler-129 c (
P
c
= 82.20 days,
r
c
= 2.52 ± 0.07
R
⊕
) for which we measure masses of
m
b
< 20
M
⊕
and
m
c
=
43
−
12
+
13
M
⊕
. Kepler-129 is a hierarchical system consisting of two tightly packed inner planets and a massive external companion. In such a system, two inner planets precess around the orbital normal of the outer companion, causing their inclinations to oscillate with time. Based on an asteroseismic analysis of Kepler data, we find tentative evidence that Kepler-129 b and c are misaligned with stellar spin axis by ≳38°, which could be torqued by Kepler-129 d if it is inclined by ≳19° relative to inner planets. Using
N
-body simulations, we provide additional constraints on the mutual inclination between Kepler-129 d and inner planets by estimating the fraction of time during which two inner planets both transit. The probability that two planets both transit decreases as their misalignment with Kepler-129 d increases. We also find a more massive Kepler-129 c enables the two inner planets to become strongly coupled and more resistant to perturbations from Kepler-129 d. The unusually high mass of Kepler-129 c provides a valuable benchmark for both planetary dynamics and interior structure, since the best-fit mass is consistent with this 2.5
R
⊕
planet having a rocky surface.
Abstract
Exoplanet systems with multiple transiting planets are natural laboratories for testing planetary astrophysics. One such system is HD 191939 (TOI 1339), a bright (
V
= 9) and Sun-like (G9V) ...star, which TESS found to host three transiting planets (b, c, and d). The planets have periods of 9, 29, and 38 days each with similar sizes from 3 to 3.4
R
⊕
. To further characterize the system, we measured the radial velocity (RV) of HD 191939 over 415 days with Keck/HIRES and APF/Levy. We find that
M
b
= 10.4 ± 0.9
M
⊕
and
M
c
= 7.2 ± 1.4
M
⊕
, which are low compared to most known planets of comparable radii. The RVs yield only an upper limit on
M
d
(<5.8
M
⊕
at 2
σ
). The RVs further reveal a fourth planet (e) with a minimum mass of 0.34 ± 0.01
M
Jup
and an orbital period of 101.4 ± 0.4 days. Despite its nontransiting geometry, secular interactions between planet e and the inner transiting planets indicate that planet e is coplanar with the transiting planets (Δ
i
< 10°). We identify a second high-mass planet (f) with 95% confidence intervals on mass between 2 and 11
M
Jup
and period between 1700 and 7200 days, based on a joint analysis of RVs and astrometry from Gaia and Hipparcos. As a bright star hosting multiple planets with well-measured masses, HD 191939 presents many options for comparative planetary astronomy, including characterization with JWST.
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