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Hyades Member K2-136c: The Smallest Planet in an Open Cluster with a Precisely Measured Mass

Authors :
Mayo, Andrew W.
Dressing, Courtney D.
Vanderburg, Andrew
Fortenbach, Charles D.
Lienhard, Florian
Malavolta, Luca
Mortier, Annelies
Núñez, Alejandro
Richey-Yowell, Tyler
Turtelboom, Emma V.
Bonomo, Aldo S.
Latham, David W.
López-Morales, Mercedes
Shkolnik, Evgenya
Sozzetti, Alessandro
Agüeros, Marcel A.
Borsato, Luca
Charbonneau, David
Cosentino, Rosario
Douglas, Stephanie T.
Dumusque, Xavier
Ghedina, Adriano
Gibson, Rose
Granata, Valentina
Harutyunyan, Avet
Haywood, R. D.
Lacedelli, Gaia
Lorenzi, Vania
Magazzù, Antonio
Fiorenzano, A. F. Martinez
Micela, Giuseppina
Molinari, Emilio
Montalto, Marco
Nardiello, Domenico
Nascimbeni, Valerio
Pagano, Isabella
Piotto, Giampaolo
Pino, Lorenzo
Poretti, Ennio
Scandariato, Gaetano
Udry, Stephane
Buchhave, Lars A.
Publication Year :
2023

Abstract

K2-136 is a late-K dwarf ($0.742\pm0.039$ M$_\odot$) in the Hyades open cluster with three known, transiting planets and an age of $650\pm70$ Myr. Analyzing K2 photometry, we found that planets K2-136b, c, and d have periods of $8.0$, $17.3$, and $25.6$ days and radii of $1.014\pm0.050$ R$_\oplus$, $3.00\pm0.13$ R$_\oplus$, and $1.565\pm0.077$ R$_\oplus$, respectively. We collected 93 radial velocity measurements (RVs) with the HARPS-N spectrograph (TNG) and 22 RVs with the ESPRESSO spectrograph (VLT). Analyzing HARPS-N and ESPRESSO data jointly, we found K2-136c induced a semi-amplitude of $5.49\pm0.53$ m s$^{-1}$, corresponding to a mass of $18.1\pm1.9$ M$_\oplus$. We also placed $95$% upper mass limits on K2-136b and d of $4.3$ and $3.0$ M$_\oplus$, respectively. Further, we analyzed HST and XMM-Newton observations to establish the planetary high-energy environment and investigate possible atmospheric loss. K2-136c is now the smallest planet to have a measured mass in an open cluster and one of the youngest planets ever with a mass measurement. K2-136c has $\sim$75% the radius of Neptune but is similar in mass, yielding a density of $3.69^{+0.67}_{-0.56}$ g cm$^{-3}$ ($\sim$2-3 times denser than Neptune). Mass estimates for K2-136b (and possibly d) may be feasible with more RV observations, and insights into all three planets' atmospheres through transmission spectroscopy would be challenging but potentially fruitful. This research and future mass measurements of young planets are critical for investigating the compositions and characteristics of small exoplanets at very early stages of their lives and providing insights into how exoplanets evolve with time.<br />Comment: Accepted in AJ, 25 pages, 10 figures, 5 tables

Details

Database :
arXiv
Publication Type :
Report
Accession number :
edsarx.2304.02779
Document Type :
Working Paper
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/acca1c