We present the characterisation of an inner mini-Neptune in a 9.2292005\(\pm\)0.0000063 day orbit and an outer mono-transiting sub-Saturn planet in a 95.50\(^{+0.36}_{-0.25}\) day orbit around the ...moderately active, bright (mv=8.9 mag) K5V star TOI-2134. Based on our analysis of five sectors of TESS data, we determine the radii of TOI-2134b and c to be 2.69\(\pm\)0.16 R\(_{e}\) for the inner planet and 7.27\(\pm\)0.42 R\(_{e}\) for the outer one. We acquired 111 radial-velocity spectra with HARPS-N and 108 radial-velocity spectra with SOPHIE. After careful periodogram analysis, we derive masses for both planets via Gaussian Process regression: 9.13\(^{+0.78}_{-0.76}\) M\(_{e}\) for TOI-2134b and 41.86\(^{+7.69}_{-7.83}\) M\(_{e}\) for TOI-2134c. We analysed the photometric and radial-velocity data first separately, then jointly. The inner planet is a mini-Neptune with density consistent with either a water-world or a rocky core planet with a low-mass H/He envelope. The outer planet has a bulk density similar to Saturn's. The outer planet is derived to have a significant eccentricity of 0.67\(^{+0.05}_{-0.06}\) from a combination of photometry and RVs. We compute the irradiation of TOI-2134c as 1.45\(\pm\)0.10 times the bolometric flux received by Earth, positioning it for part of its orbit in the habitable sone of its system. We recommend further RV observations to fully constrain the orbit of TOI-2134c. With an expected Rossiter-McLaughlin (RM) effect amplitude of 7.2\(\pm\)1.3 m/s, we recommend TOI-2134c for follow-up RM analysis to study the spin-orbit architecture of the system. We calculate the Transmission Spectroscopy Metric, and both planets are suitable for bright-mode NIRCam atmospheric characterisation.
We developed a dedicated statistical test for a massive detection of spot- and facula-crossing anomalies in multiple exoplanetary transit lightcurves, based on the frequentist \(p\)-value ...thresholding. This test was used to augment our algorithmic pipeline for transit lightcurves analysis. It was applied to \(1598\) amateur and professional transit observations of \(26\) targets being monitored in the EXPANSION project. We detected \(109\) statistically significant candidate events revealing a roughly \(2:1\) asymmetry in favor of spots-crossings over faculae-crossings. Although some candidate anomalies likely appear non-physical and originate from systematic errors, such asymmetry between negative and positive events should indicate a physical difference between the frequency of star spots and faculae. Detected spot-crossing events also reveal positive correlation between their amplitude and width, possibly owed to spot size correlation. However, the frequency of all detectable crossing events appears just about a few per cent, so they cannot explain excessive transit timing noise observed for several targets.
We report the discovery of one super-Earth- (TOI-1749b) and two sub-Neptune-sized planets (TOI-1749c and TOI-1749d) transiting an early M dwarf at a distance of 100~pc, which were first identified as ...planetary candidates using data from the TESS photometric survey. We have followed up this system from the ground by means of multiband transit photometry, adaptive-optics imaging, and low-resolution spectroscopy, from which we have validated the planetary nature of the candidates. We find that TOI-1749b, c, and d have orbital periods of 2.39, 4.49, and 9.05 days, and radii of 1.4, 2.1, and 2.5 \(R_\oplus\), respectively. We also place 95\% confidence upper limits on the masses of 57, 14, and 15 \(M_\oplus\) for TOI-1749b, c, and d, respectively, from transit timing variations. The periods, sizes, and tentative masses of these planets are in line with a scenario in which all three planets initially had a hydrogen envelope on top of a rocky core, and only the envelope of the innermost planet has been stripped away by photoevaporation and/or core-powered mass loss mechanisms. These planets are similar to other planetary trios found around M dwarfs, such as TOI-175b,c,d and TOI-270b,c,d, in the sense that the outer pair has a period ratio within 1\% of 2. Such a characteristic orbital configuration, in which an additional planet is located interior to a near 2:1 period-ratio pair, is relatively rare around FGK dwarfs.
Studies of close-in planets orbiting M dwarfs have suggested that the M dwarf radius valley may be well-explained by distinct formation timescales between enveloped terrestrials, and rocky planets ...that form at late times in a gas-depleted environment. This scenario is at odds with the picture that close-in rocky planets form with a primordial gaseous envelope that is subsequently stripped away by some thermally-driven mass loss process. These two physical scenarios make unique predictions of the rocky/enveloped transition's dependence on orbital separation such that studying the compositions of planets within the M dwarf radius valley may be able to establish the dominant physics. Here, we present the discovery of one such keystone planet: the ultra-short period planet TOI-1634 b (\(P=0.989\) days, \(F=121 F_{\oplus}\), \(r_p = 1.790^{+0.080}_{-0.081} R_{\oplus}\)) orbiting a nearby M2 dwarf (\(K_s=8.7\), \(R_s=0.45 R_{\odot}\), \(M_s=0.50 M_{\odot}\)) and whose size and orbital period sit within the M dwarf radius valley. We confirm the TESS-discovered planet candidate using extensive ground-based follow-up campaigns, including a set of 32 precise radial velocity measurements from HARPS-N. We measure a planetary mass of \(4.91^{+0.68}_{-0.70} M_{\oplus}\), which makes TOI-1634 b inconsistent with an Earth-like composition at \(5.9\sigma\) and thus requires either an extended gaseous envelope, a large volatile-rich layer, or a rocky portion that is not dominated by iron and silicates to explain its mass and radius. The discovery that the bulk composition of TOI-1634 b is inconsistent with that of the Earth favors the gas-depleted formation mechanism to explain the emergence of the radius valley around M dwarfs with \(M_s\lesssim 0.5 M_{\odot}\).
Abstract
We report the confirmation of three exoplanets transiting TOI-4010 (TIC-352682207), a metal-rich K dwarf observed by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite in Sectors 24, 25, 52, and 58. ...We confirm these planets with the High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher for the Northern Hemisphere radial velocity observations and measure their masses with 8−12% precision. TOI-4010 b is a sub-Neptune (
P
= 1.3 days,
R
p
=
3.02
−
0.08
+
0.08
R
⊕
,
M
p
=
11.00
−
1.27
+
1.29
M
⊕
) in the hot-Neptune desert, and is one of the few such planets with known companions. Meanwhile, TOI-4010 c (
P
= 5.4 days,
R
p
=
5.93
−
0.12
+
0.11
R
⊕
,
M
p
=
20.31
−
2.11
+
2.13
M
⊕
) and TOI-4010 d (
P
= 14.7 days,
R
p
=
6.18
−
0.14
+
0.15
R
⊕
,
M
p
=
38.15
−
3.22
+
3.27
M
⊕
) are similarly sized sub-Saturns on short-period orbits. Radial velocity observations also reveal a super-Jupiter-mass companion called TOI-4010 e in a long-period, eccentric orbit (
P
∼ 762 days and
e
∼ 0.26 based on available observations). TOI-4010 is one of the few systems with multiple short-period sub-Saturns to be discovered so far.
JWST has ushered in an era of unprecedented ability to characterize exoplanetary atmospheres. While there are over 5,000 confirmed planets, more than 4,000 TESS planet candidates are still ...unconfirmed and many of the best planets for atmospheric characterization may remain to be identified. We present a sample of TESS planets and planet candidates that we identify as "best-in-class" for transmission and emission spectroscopy with JWST. These targets are sorted into bins across equilibrium temperature \(T_{\mathrm{eq}}\) and planetary radius \(R{_\mathrm{p}}\) and are ranked by transmission and emission spectroscopy metric (TSM and ESM, respectively) within each bin. In forming our target sample, we perform cuts for expected signal size and stellar brightness, to remove sub-optimal targets for JWST. Of the 194 targets in the resulting sample, 103 are unconfirmed TESS planet candidates, also known as TESS Objects of Interest (TOIs). We perform vetting and statistical validation analyses on these 103 targets to determine which are likely planets and which are likely false positives, incorporating ground-based follow-up from the TESS Follow-up Observation Program (TFOP) to aid the vetting and validation process. We statistically validate 23 TOIs, marginally validate 33 TOIs to varying levels of confidence, deem 29 TOIs likely false positives, and leave the dispositions for 4 TOIs as inconclusive. 14 of the 103 TOIs were confirmed independently over the course of our analysis. We provide our final best-in-class sample as a community resource for future JWST proposals and observations. We intend for this work to motivate formal confirmation and mass measurements of each validated planet and encourage more detailed analysis of individual targets by the community.
We report the confirmation of three exoplanets transiting TOI-4010 (TIC-352682207), a metal-rich K dwarf observed by TESS in Sectors 24, 25, 52, and 58. We confirm these planets with HARPS-N radial ...velocity observations and measure their masses with 8 - 12% precision. TOI-4010 b is a sub-Neptune (\(P = 1.3\) days, \(R_{p} = 3.02_{-0.08}^{+0.08}~R_{\oplus}\), \(M_{p} = 11.00_{-1.27}^{+1.29}~M_{\oplus}\)) in the hot Neptune desert, and is one of the few such planets with known companions. Meanwhile, TOI-4010 c (\(P = 5.4\) days, \(R_{p} = 5.93_{-0.12}^{+0.11}~R_{\oplus}\), \(M_{p} = 20.31_{-2.11}^{+2.13}~M_{\oplus}\)) and TOI-4010 d (\(P = 14.7\) days, \(R_{p} = 6.18_{-0.14}^{+0.15}~R_{\oplus}\), \(M_{p} = 38.15_{-3.22}^{+3.27}~M_{\oplus}\)) are similarly-sized sub-Saturns on short-period orbits. Radial velocity observations also reveal a super-Jupiter-mass companion called TOI-4010 e in a long-period, eccentric orbit (\(P \sim 762\) days and \(e \sim 0.26\) based on available observations). TOI-4010 is one of the few systems with multiple short-period sub-Saturns to be discovered so far.
