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arXiv · 2408.07788

The $\sim$50-Myr-Old TOI-942c is Likely on an Aligned, Coplanar Orbit and Losing Mass

Huan-Yu Teng·Fei Dai·Andrew W. Howard·Howard Isaacson·Ryan A. Rubenzahl·Isabel Angelo·Alex S. Polanski
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Abstract

We report the observation of the transiting planet TOI-942c, a Neptunian planet orbiting a young K-type star approximately 50 Myr years old. Using Keck/HIRES, we observed a partial transit of the planet and detected an associated radial velocity anomaly. By modeling the Rossiter-McLaughlin (RM) effect, we derived a sky-projected obliquity of $\left|\lambda\right|=24^{+14}_{-14}$ degrees, indicating TOI-942c is in a prograde and likely aligned orbit. Upon incorporation of the star's inclination and the planet's orbital inclination, we determined a true obliquity for TOI-942c of $\psi< 43$ degrees at 84\% confidence, while dynamic analysis strongly suggests TOI-942c is aligned with stellar spin and coplanar with the inner planet. Furthermore, TOI-942c is also a suitable target for studying atmospheric loss of young Neptunian planets that are likely still contracting from the heat of formation. We observed a blueshifted excess absorption in the H-alpha line at 6564.7 \AA, potentially indicating atmospheric loss due to photoevaporation. However, due to the lack of pre-ingress data, additional observations are needed to confirm this measurement.

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Huan-Yu Teng, Fei Dai, Andrew W. Howard, Howard Isaacson, Ryan A. Rubenzahl, Isabel Angelo, Alex S. Polanski. 2024-08-14. The $\sim$50-Myr-Old TOI-942c is Likely on an Aligned, Coplanar Orbit and Losing Mass. https://arxiv.org/abs/2408.07788

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