We report the discovery of a system of two super-Earths orbiting the
moderately active K-dwarf HD 176986. This work is part of the RoPES RV program
of G- and K-type stars, which combines radial velocities (RVs) from the HARPS
and HARPS-N spectrographs to search for short-period terrestrial planets. HD
176986 b and c are super-Earth planets with masses of 5.74 and 9.18
M⊕, orbital periods of 6.49 and 16.82 days, and distances of 0.063
and 0.119 AU in orbits that are consistent with circular. The host star is a
K2.5 dwarf, and despite its modest level of chromospheric activity (log(R'hk) =
- 4.90 +- 0.04), it shows a complex activity pattern. Along with the discovery
of the planets, we study the magnetic cycle and rotation of the star. HD 176986
proves to be suitable for testing the available RV analysis technique and
further our understanding of stellar activity.Comment: 21 pages, 24 figures, 7 table
