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  • A HOT URANUS ORBITING THE S...
    Jenkins, J S; Jones, H R A; Tuomi, M; MURGAS, F; Hoyer, S; Jones, M I; Barnes, J R; Pavlenko, Y V; IVANYUK, O; Rojo, P; Jordan, A; Day-Jones, A C; Ruiz, M T; Pinfield, D J

    Astrophysical journal/˜The œAstrophysical journal, 04/2013, Volume: 766, Issue: 2
    Journal Article

    We announce the discovery of a low-mass planet orbiting the super metal-rich K0V star HD 77338 as part of our ongoing Calan-Hertfordshire Extrasolar Planet Search. We measure a metallicity for the star of +0.35 + o- 0.06 dex, whereas another recent work finds +0.47 + or - 0.05 dex. We also highlight an emerging trend where metallicity and mass seem to correlate at very low masses, a discovery that would be in agreement with the core accretion model of planet formation. A Monte Carlo analysis shows that this low-mass planet desert is statistically significant with the current sample of 36 planets at the ~4.5sigma level. In addition, results from Kepler strengthen the claim for this paucity of the lowest-mass planets in super metal-rich systems. Finally, this discovery adds to the growing population of low-mass planets around low-mass and metal-rich stars and shows that very low mass planets can now be discovered with a relatively small number of data points using stable instrumentation.