A Neptune-mass exoplanet in close orbit around a very low-mass star challenges formation models

Stars and planetary system

Projected WIMP sensitivity of the LUX-ZEPLIN dark matter experiment

LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) is a next-generation dark matter direct detection experiment that will operate 4850 feet underground at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in Lead, South Dakota, USA. Using a two-phase xenon detector with an active mass of 7 tonnes, LZ will search primarily for low-energy interactions with weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs), which are hypothesized to make up the dark matter in our galactic halo. In this paper, the projected WIMP sensitivity of LZ is presented based on the latest background estimates and simulations of the detector. For a 1000 live day run using a 5.6-tonne fiducial mass, LZ is projected to exclude at 90% confidence level spin-independent WIMP-nucleon cross sections above 1.4 × 10-48cm2 for a 40 GeV/c2 mass WIMP. Additionally, a 5σ discovery potential is projected, reaching cross sections below the exclusion limits of recent experiments. For spin-dependent WIMP-neutron(-proton) scattering, a sensitivity of 2.3 × 10−43 cm2 (7.1 × 10−42 cm2) for a 40 GeV/c2 mass WIMP is expected. With underground installation well underway, LZ is on track for commissioning at SURF in 2020

An Eccentric Brown Dwarf Eclipsing an M dwarf

We report the discovery of an M = 67 ± 2M J brown dwarf transiting the early M dwarf TOI-2119 on an eccentric orbit (e = 0.3362 ± 0.0005) at an orbital period of 7.200861 ± 0.000005 days. We confirm the brown dwarf nature of the transiting companion using a combination of ground-based and space-based photometry and high-precision velocimetry from the Habitable-zone Planet Finder. Detection of the secondary eclipse with TESS photometry enables a precise determination of the eccentricity and reveals the brown dwarf has a brightness temperature of 2100 ± 80 K, a value which is consistent with an early L dwarf. TOI-2119 is one of the most eccentric known brown dwarfs with P < 10 days, possibly due to the long circularization timescales for an object orbiting an M dwarf. We assess the prospects for determining the obliquity of the host star to probe formation scenarios and the possibility of additional companions in the system using Gaia EDR3 and our radial velocities. © 2022. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.Open access journalThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

TOI-5344 b: A Saturn-like Planet Orbiting a Super-solar Metallicity M0 Dwarf

We confirm the planetary nature of TOI-5344 b as a transiting giant exoplanet around an M0-dwarf star. TOI-5344 b was discovered with the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite photometry and confirmed with ground-based photometry (the Red Buttes Observatory 0.6 m telescope), radial velocity (the Habitable-zone Planet Finder), and speckle imaging (the NN-Explore Exoplanet Stellar Speckle Imager). TOI-5344 b is a Saturn-like giant planet (ρ = 0.80 − 0.15 + 0.17 g cm−3) with a planetary radius of 9.7 ± 0.5 R ⊕ (0.87 ± 0.04 R Jup) and a planetary mass of 135 − 18 + 17 M ⊕ (0.42 − 0.06 + 0.05 M Jup ). It has an orbital period of 3.792622 − 0.000010 + 0.000010 days and an orbital eccentricity of 0.06 − 0.04 + 0.07 . We measure a high metallicity for TOI-5344 of [Fe/H] = 0.48 ± 0.12, where the high metallicity is consistent with expectations from formation through core accretion. We compare the metallicity of the M-dwarf hosts of giant exoplanets to that of M-dwarf hosts of nongiants (≲8 R ⊕). While the two populations appear to show different metallicity distributions, quantitative tests are prohibited by various sample caveats. © 2023. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.Open access journalThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

TOI-1670 c, a 40 day Orbital Period Warm Jupiter in a Compact System, Is Well Aligned

We report the measurement of the sky-projected obliquity angle λ of the warm Jovian exoplanet TOI-1670 c via the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect. We observed the transit window during UT 2023 April 20 for 7 continuous hours with NEID on the 3.5 m WIYN Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory. TOI-1670 hosts a sub-Neptune (P ∼ 11 days; planet b) interior to the warm Jovian (P ∼ 40 days; planet c), which presents an opportunity to investigate the dynamics of a warm Jupiter with an inner companion. Additionally, TOI-1670 c is now among the longest-period planets to date to have its sky-projected obliquity angle measured. We find planet c is well aligned to the host star, with λ = − 0.°3 ± 2.°2. TOI-1670 c joins a growing census of aligned warm Jupiters around single stars and aligned planets in multiplanet systems. © 2023. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.Open access journalThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

A Hot Mars-sized Exoplanet Transiting an M Dwarf

We validate the planetary nature of an ultra-short-period planet orbiting the M dwarf KOI-4777. We use a combination of space-based photometry from Kepler, high-precision, near-infrared Doppler spectroscopy from the Habitable-zone Planet Finder, and adaptive optics imaging to characterize this system. KOI-4777.01 is a Mars-sized exoplanet (R p = 0.51 0.03R ⊕) orbiting the host star every 0.412 days (∼9.9 hr). This is the smallest validated ultra-short period planet known and we see no evidence for additional massive companions using our HPF RVs. We constrain the upper 3σ mass to M p < 0.34 M ⊕ by assuming the planet is less dense than iron. Obtaining a mass measurement for KOI-4777.01 is beyond current instrumental capabilities. © 2021. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.Open access journalThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

Observing the Sun as a Star: Design and Early Results from the NEID Solar Feed

Efforts with extreme-precision radial velocity (EPRV) instruments to detect small-amplitude planets are largely limited, on many timescales, by the effects of stellar variability and instrumental systematics. One avenue for investigating these effects is the use of small solar telescopes which direct disk-integrated sunlight to these EPRV instruments, observing the Sun at high cadence over months or years. We have designed and built a solar feed system to carry out "Sun-as-a-star"observations with NEID, a very high precision Doppler spectrometer recently commissioned at the WIYN 3.5 m Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory. The NEID solar feed has been taking observations nearly every day since 2020 December; data is publicly available at the NASA Exoplanet Science Institute NEID Solar Archive: https://neid.ipac.caltech.edu/search_solar.php. In this paper, we present the design of the NEID solar feed and explanations behind our design intent. We also present early radial velocity (RV) results which demonstrate NEID's RV stability on the Sun over 4 months of commissioning: 0.66 m s-1 rms under good sky conditions and improving to 0.41 m s-1 rms under best conditions. © 2022. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.Open access journalThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

TOI-532b: The Habitable-zone Planet Finder confirms a Large Super Neptune in the Neptune Desert orbiting a metal-rich M-dwarf host

We confirm the planetary nature of TOI-532b, using a combination of precise near-infrared radial velocities with the Habitable-zone Planet Finder, Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) light curves, ground-based photometric follow up, and high-contrast imaging. TOI-532 is a faint (J ∼ 11.5) metal-rich M dwarf with Teff = 3957 ± 69 K and [Fe/H] = 0.38 ± 0.04; it hosts a transiting gaseous planet with a period of ∼2.3 days. Joint fitting of the radial velocities with the TESS and ground-based transits reveal a planet with radius of 5.82 ± 0.19 R ⊕, and a mass of 61.5-9.3+9.7 M ⊕. TOI-532b is the largest and most massive super Neptune detected around an M dwarf with both mass and radius measurements, and it bridges the gap between the Neptune-sized planets and the heavier Jovian planets known to orbit M dwarfs. It also follows the previously noted trend between gas giants and host-star metallicity for M-dwarf planets. In addition, it is situated at the edge of the Neptune desert in the Radius-Insolation plane, helping place constraints on the mechanisms responsible for sculpting this region of planetary parameter space. © 2021. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.Immediate accessThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]