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G. Hébrard

Publications and source records attributed to G. Hébrard.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
arXiv2023

TOI-1736 and TOI-2141: two systems including sub-Neptunes around solar analogs revealed by TESS and SOPHIE

Planetary systems around solar analogs inform us about how planets form and evolve in Solar System-like environments. We report the detection and characterization of two planetary systems around the solar analogs TOI-1736 and TOI-2141 using TESS photometry data and spectroscopic data obtained with the SOPHIE instrument on the 1.93 m telescope at the Observatoire de Haute-Provence (OHP). We performed a detailed spectroscopic analysis of these systems to obtain the precise radial velocities (RV) and physical properties of their host stars. TOI-1736 and TOI-2141 each host a transiting sub-Neptune with radii of $2.44\pm0.18$ R$_{\oplus}$ and $3.05\pm0.23$ R$_{\oplus}$, orbital periods of $7.073088(7)$ d and $18.26157(6)$ d, and masses of $12.8\pm1.8$ M$_{\oplus}$ and $24\pm4$ M$_{\oplus}$, respectively. TOI-1736 shows long-term RV variations that are consistent with a two-planet solution plus a linear trend of $-0.177$ ms$^{-1}$d$^{-1}$. We measured an RV semi-amplitude of $201.1\pm0.7$ ms$^{-1}$ for the outer companion, TOI-1736 c, implying a projected mass of $m_{c}\sin{i}=8.09\pm0.20$ M$_{\rm Jup}$. From the GAIA DR3 astrometric excess noise, we constrained the mass of TOI-1736 c at $8.7^{+1.5}_{-0.6}$ M$_{\rm Jup}$. This planet is in an orbit of $570.2\pm0.6$ d with an eccentricity of $0.362\pm0.003$ and a semi-major axis of $1.381\pm0.017$ au, where it receives a flux of $0.71\pm0.08$ times the bolometric flux incident on Earth, making it an interesting case of a supergiant planet that has settled into an eccentric orbit in the habitable zone of a solar analog. Our analysis of the mass-radius relation for the transiting sub-Neptunes shows that both TOI-1736 b and TOI-2141 b likely have an Earth-like dense rocky core and a water-rich envelope.

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arXiv2023

The SOPHIE search for northern extrasolar planets-XIX. A system including a cold sub-Neptune potentially transiting a V = 6.5 star HD88986

Transiting planets with orbital periods longer than 40 d are extremely rare among the 5000+ planets discovered so far. The lack of discoveries of this population poses a challenge to research into planetary demographics, formation, and evolution. Here, we present the detection and characterization of HD88986b, a potentially transiting sub-Neptune, possessing the longest orbital period among known transiting small planets (< 4 R$_{\oplus}$) with a precise mass measurement ($σ_M/M$ > 25%). Additionally, we identified the presence of a massive companion in a wider orbit around HD88986. Our analysis reveals that HD88986b, based on two potential single transits on sector 21 and sector 48 which are both consistent with the predicted transit time from the RV model, is potentially transiting. The joint analysis of RV and photometric data show that HD88986b has a radius of 2.49$\pm$0.18 R$_{\oplus}$, a mass of 17.2$^{+4.0}_{-3.8}$ M$_{\oplus}$, and it orbits every 146.05$^{+0.43}_{-0.40}$ d around a subgiant HD88986 which is one of the closest and brightest exoplanet host stars (G2V type, R=1.543 $\pm$0.065 R$_{\odot}$, V=$6.47\pm 0.01$ mag, distance=33.37$\pm$0.04 pc). The nature of the outer, massive companion is still to be confirmed; a joint analysis of RVs, Hipparcos, and Gaia astrometric data shows that with a 3$σ$ confidence interval, its semi-major axis is between 16.7 and 38.8 au and its mass is between 68 and 284 M$_{Jup}$. HD88986b's wide orbit suggests the planet did not undergo significant mass loss due to extreme-ultraviolet radiation from its host star. Therefore, it probably maintained its primordial composition, allowing us to probe its formation scenario. Furthermore, the cold nature of HD88986b (460$\pm$8 K), thanks to its long orbital period, will open up exciting opportunities for future studies of cold atmosphere composition characterization.

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arXiv2023

A hot mini-Neptune and a temperate, highly eccentric sub-Saturn around the bright K-dwarf TOI-2134

We present the characterisation of an inner mini-Neptune in a 9.2292005$\pm$0.0000063 day orbit and an outer mono-transiting sub-Saturn planet in a 95.50$^{+0.36}_{-0.25}$ day orbit around the moderately active, bright (mv=8.9 mag) K5V star TOI-2134. Based on our analysis of five sectors of TESS data, we determine the radii of TOI-2134b and c to be 2.69$\pm$0.16 R$_{e}$ for the inner planet and 7.27$\pm$0.42 R$_{e}$ for the outer one. We acquired 111 radial-velocity spectra with HARPS-N and 108 radial-velocity spectra with SOPHIE. After careful periodogram analysis, we derive masses for both planets via Gaussian Process regression: 9.13$^{+0.78}_{-0.76}$ M$_{e}$ for TOI-2134b and 41.86$^{+7.69}_{-7.83}$ M$_{e}$ for TOI-2134c. We analysed the photometric and radial-velocity data first separately, then jointly. The inner planet is a mini-Neptune with density consistent with either a water-world or a rocky core planet with a low-mass H/He envelope. The outer planet has a bulk density similar to Saturn's. The outer planet is derived to have a significant eccentricity of 0.67$^{+0.05}_{-0.06}$ from a combination of photometry and RVs. We compute the irradiation of TOI-2134c as 1.45$\pm$0.10 times the bolometric flux received by Earth, positioning it for part of its orbit in the habitable sone of its system. We recommend further RV observations to fully constrain the orbit of TOI-2134c. With an expected Rossiter-McLaughlin (RM) effect amplitude of 7.2$\pm$1.3 m/s, we recommend TOI-2134c for follow-up RM analysis to study the spin-orbit architecture of the system. We calculate the Transmission Spectroscopy Metric, and both planets are suitable for bright-mode NIRCam atmospheric characterisation.

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arXiv2023

Magnetic fields & rotation periods of M dwarfs from SPIRou spectra

We present near-infrared spectropolarimetric observations of a sample of 43 weakly- to moderately-active M dwarfs, carried with SPIRou at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope in the framework of the SPIRou Legacy Survey from early 2019 to mid 2022. We use the 6700 circularly polarised spectra collected for this sample to investigate the longitudinal magnetic field and its temporal variations for all sample stars, from which we diagnose, through quasi-periodic Gaussian process regression, the periodic modulation and longer-term fluctuations of the longitudinal field. We detect the large-scale field for 40 of our 43 sample stars, and infer a reliable or tentative rotation period for 38 of them, using a Bayesian framework to diagnose the confidence level at which each rotation period is detected. We find rotation periods ranging from 14 to over 60d for the early-M dwarfs, and from 70 to 200d for most mid- and late-M dwarfs (potentially up to 430d for one of them). We also find that the strength of the detected large-scale fields does not decrease with increasing period or Rossby number for the slowly rotating dwarfs of our sample as it does for higher-mass, more active stars, suggesting that these magnetic fields may be generated through a different dynamo regime than those of more rapidly rotating stars. We also show that the large-scale fields of most sample stars evolve on long timescales, with some of them globally switching sign as stars progress on their putative magnetic cycles.

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arXiv2023

Homogeneous search for helium in the atmosphere of 11 gas giant exoplanets with SPIRou

The metastable helium triplet in the near-infrared (10833Å) is among the most important probes of exoplanet atmospheres. It can trace their extended outer layers and constrain mass-loss. We use the near-infrared high-resolution spectropolarimeter SPIRou on the CFHT to search for the spectrally resolved helium triplet in the atmospheres of eleven exoplanets, ranging from warm mini-Neptunes to hot Jupiters and orbiting G, K, and M dwarfs. Observations were obtained as part of the SPIRou Legacy Survey and complementary open-time programs. We apply a homogeneous data reduction to all datasets and set constraints on the presence of metastable helium, despite the presence of systematics in the data. We confirm published detections for HAT-P-11b, HD189733b, and WASP-69b and set upper limits for the other planets. We apply the p-winds open source code to set upper limits on the mass-loss rate for the non-detections and to constrain the thermosphere temperature, mass-loss rate, line-of-sight velocity, and the altitude of the thermosphere for the detections. We confirm that the presence of metastable helium correlates with the stellar mass and the XUV flux received by the planets. We investigated the correlation between the mass-loss rate and the presence of metastable helium, but it remains difficult to draw definitive conclusions. Finally, some of our results are in contradiction with previous results in the literature, therefore we stress the importance of repeatable, homogeneous, and larger-scale analyses of the helium triplet to obtain robust statistics, study temporal variability, and better understand how the helium triplet can be used to explore the evolution of exoplanets.

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arXiv2023

Far beyond the Sun: II. Probing the stellar magnetism of the young Sun ι Horologii from the photosphere to its corona

A comprehensive multi-wavelength campaign has been carried out to probe stellar activity and variability in the young Sun-like star $ι$-Horologii. We present the results from long-term spectropolarimetric monitoring of the system by using the ultra-stable spectropolarimeter/velocimeter HARPS at the ESO 3.6-m telescope. Additionally, we included high-precision photometry from the NASA Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and observations in the far- and near-ultraviolet spectral regions using the STIS instrument on the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The high-quality dataset allows a robust characterisation of the star's rotation period, as well as a probe of the variability using a range of spectroscopic and photometric activity proxies. By analyzing the gradient of the power spectra (GPS) of the TESS lightcurves we constrained the faculae-to-spot driver ratio ($\rm S_{fac}/S_{spot}$) to 0.510$\pm$0.023, which indicates that the stellar surface is spot dominated during the time of the observations. We compared the photospheric activity properties derived from the GPS method with a magnetic field map of the star derived using Zeeman-Doppler imaging (ZDI) from simultaneous spectropolarimetric data for the first time. Different stellar activity proxies enable a more complete interpretation of the observed variability. For example, we observed enhanced emission in the HST transition line diagnostics C IV and C III, suggesting a flaring event. From the analysis of TESS data acquired simultaneously with the HST data, we investigate the photometric variability at the precise moment that the emission increased and derive correlations between different observables, probing the star from its photosphere to its corona.

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arXiv2023

The HARPS search for southern extra-solar planets. XLVII. Five Jupiter-mass planets in long-period orbits, one highly irradiated Neptune, one brown dwarf, and five stellar binaries

Our aim is to detect and characterise long-period companions around main sequence stars (spectral types late F to early M). We use the RV method to search for exoplanets around stars. The RV variations are measured with HARPS at the ESO 3.6 metre telescope. The true mass and inclination of our heavier companions are provided by astrometry, for which we use proper motions from Hipparcos and Gaia. Five Jupiter-mass exoplanets are reported to orbit HIP54597, BD-210397 (x2), HD74698, and HD94771 with 8.9 yr, 5.2 yr, 17.4 yr, 9.4 yr, and 5.9 yr orbits, and to have minimum masses of $2.01 \pm 0.03$, $0.7 \pm 0.1$, $2.4^{+1.5}_{-0.2}$, $0.40 \pm 0.06$, and $0.53 \pm 0.03 M_J$ respectively. HD74698 also hosts a highly irradiated Neptune in a 15 day orbit with a minimum mass of $0.07 \pm 0.01 M_J$. The mass of HIP54597 b can maximally increase by 10% - 30%, the minimum mass of HD74698 c is likely equal to its true mass, and BD-210397 c has a mass of $2.66^{+0.63}_{-0.32} M_J$. HD62364 hosts a brown dwarf with a true mass of $18.77^{+0.66}_{-0.63} M_J$ in an orbit of 14 yr. HD56380B, HD221638B, and HD33473C have minimum masses within the brown dwarf limits, in orbits of 8.9 yr, 16.6 yr, and 50 yr respectively; however, astrometric measurements reveal them to be stellar binaries, with masses of $375.3^{+8.6}_{-8.4}$, $110.0^{+3.9}_{-3.7}$, and $271.0^{+3.9}_{-3.8} M_J$. The orbits of the stellar binaries HD11938 and HD61383 are incomplete. The preliminary result for HD61383 is a 0.190 $M_{\odot}$ binary in a 39 yr orbit. The secondary of the binary system HD11938 has a mass of 0.33 $M_{\odot}$ - which is confirmed by a secondary peak in the CCF - and a preliminary period of 35 yr. The origin of the 3.0 yr RV signal of HD3964 is uncertain as it shows entanglement with the magnetic cycle of the star. We finally report one more star, HD11608, with a magnetic cycle that mimics a planetary signal.

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arXiv2023

Near-IR and optical radial velocities of the active M dwarf star Gl 388 (AD Leo) with SPIRou at CFHT and SOPHIE at OHP: A 2.23 day rotation period and no evidence for a corotating planet

Context: The search for extrasolar planets around the nearest M dwarfs is a crucial step towards identifying the nearest Earth-like planets. One of the main challenges in this search is that M dwarfs can be magnetically active and stellar activity can produce radial velocity (RV) signals that could mimic those of a planet. Aims: We aim to investigate whether the 2.2 day period observed in optical RVs of the nearby active M dwarf star Gl 388 (AD Leo) is due to stellar activity or to a planet that corotates with the star as suggested in the past. Methods: We obtained quasi-simultaneous optical RVs of Gl 388 from 2019 to 2021 with SOPHIE (R~75k) at the OHP in France, and near-IR RV and Stokes V measurements with SPIRou at the CFHT (R~70k). Results: The SOPHIE RV time series displays a periodic signal with a 2.23+-0.01 day period and 23.6+-0.5 m/s amplitude, which is consistent with previous HARPS observations obtained in 2005-2006. The SPIRou RV time series is flat at 5 m/s rms and displays no periodic signals. RV signals of amplitude higher than 5.3 m/s at a period of 2.23 days can be excluded with a confidence level higher than 99%. Using the modulation of the longitudinal magnetic field (Bl) measured with SPIRou, we derive a stellar rotation period of 2.2305+-0.0016 days. Conclusions: SPIRou RV measurements provide solid evidence that the periodic variability of the optical RVs of Gl 388 is due to stellar activity rather than to a corotating planet. The magnetic activity nature of the optical RV signal is further confirmed by the modulation of Bl with the same period. The SPIRou campaign on Gl 388 demonstrates the power of near-IR RV to confirm or infirm planet candidates discovered in the optical around active stars. SPIRou observations reiterate how effective spectropolarimetry is at determining the stellar rotation period.

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arXiv2023

$\texttt{Wapiti}$: a data-driven approach to correct for systematics in RV data -- Application to SPIRou data of the planet-hosting M dwarf GJ 251

Context: Recent advances in the development of precise radial velocity (RV) instruments in the near-infrared (nIR) domain, such as SPIRou, have facilitated the study of M-type stars to more effectively characterize planetary systems. However, the nIR presents unique challenges in exoplanet detection due to various sources of planet-independent signals which can result in systematic errors in the RV data. Aims: In order to address the challenges posed by the detection of exoplanetary systems around M-type stars using nIR observations, we introduce a new data-driven approach for correcting systematic errors in RV data. The effectiveness of this method is demonstrated through its application to the star GJ 251. Methods: Our proposed method, referred to as $\texttt{Wapiti}$ (Weighted principAl comPonent analysIs reconsTructIon), uses a dataset of per-line RV time-series generated by the line-by-line (LBL) algorithm and employs a weighted principal component analysis (wPCA) to reconstruct the original RV time-series. A multi-step process is employed to determine the appropriate number of components, with the ultimate goal of subtracting the wPCA reconstruction of the per-line RV time-series from the original data in order to correct systematic errors. Results: The application of $\texttt{Wapiti}$ to GJ 251 successfully eliminates spurious signals from the RV time-series and enables the first detection in the nIR of GJ 251b, a known temperate super-Earth with an orbital period of 14.2 days. This demonstrates that, even when systematics in SPIRou data are unidentified, it is still possible to effectively address them and fully realize the instrument's capability for exoplanet detection. Additionally, in contrast to the use of optical RVs, this detection did not require to filter out stellar activity, highlighting a key advantage of nIR RV measurements.

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arXiv2023

The magnetic field and multiple planets of the young dwarf AU~Mic

In this paper we present an analysis of near-infrared spectropolarimetric and velocimetric data of the young M dwarf AU Mic, collected with SPIRou at the Canada-France-Hawaii telescope from 2019 to 2022, mostly within the SPIRou Legacy Survey. With these data, we study the large- and small-scale magnetic field of AU Mic, detected through the unpolarized and circularly-polarized Zeeman signatures of spectral lines. We find that both are modulated with the stellar rotation period (4.86 d), and evolve on a timescale of months under differential rotation and intrinsic variability. The small-scale field, estimated from the broadening of spectral lines, reaches $2.61\pm0.05$ kG. The large-scale field, inferred with Zeeman-Doppler imaging from Least-Squares Deconvolved profiles of circularly-polarized and unpolarized spectral lines, is mostly poloidal and axisymmetric, with an average intensity of $550\pm30$ G. We also find that surface differential rotation, as derived from the large-scale field, is $\simeq$30% weaker than that of the Sun. We detect the radial velocity (RV) signatures of transiting planets b and c, although dwarfed by activity, and put an upper limit on that of candidate planet d, putatively causing the transit-timing variations of b and c. We also report the detection of the RV signature of a new candidate planet (e) orbiting further out with a period of $33.39\pm0.10$ d, i.e., near the 4:1 resonance with b. The RV signature of e is detected at 6.5$σ$ while those of b and c show up at $\simeq$4$σ$, yielding masses of $10.2^{+3.9}_{-2.7}$ and $14.2^{+4.8}_{-3.5}$ Earth masses for b and c, and a minimum mass of $35.2^{+6.7}_{-5.4}$ Earth masses for e.

astro-ph.SR↗
arXiv2023

The SPIRou Legacy Survey Rotation period of quiet M dwarfs from circular polarization in near-infrared spectral lines: I. The SPIRou APERO analysis

Context. The rotation period of stars is an important parameter along with mass, radius, effective temperature. It is an essential parameter for any radial velocity monitoring, as stellar activity can mimic the presence of a planet at the stellar rotation period. Several methods exist to measure it, including long sequences of photometric measurements or temporal series of stellar activity indicators. Aims. Here, we use the circular polarization in near-infrared spectral lines for a sample of 43 quiet M dwarfs and compare the measured rotation periods to those obtained with other methods. Methods. From Stokes V spectropolarimetric sequences observed with SPIRou at CFHT and the data processed with the APERO pipeline, we compute the least squares deconvolution profiles using different masks of atomic stellar lines with known Landé factor appropriate to the effective temperature of the star. We derive the longitudinal magnetic field to examine its possible variation along the 50 to 200 observations of each star. For determining the stellar rotation period, we apply a Gaussian process regression enabling us to determine the rotation period of stars with evolving longitudinal field. Results. Among the 43 stars of our sample, we were able to measure a rotation period for 27 stars. For 8 stars, the rotation period was previously unknown. We find a good agreement of our rotation periods with periods found in the literature based on photometry and activity indicators and confirm that near-infrared spectropolarimetry is an important tool to measure rotation periods, even for magnetically quiet stars. Furthermore, we compute ages for 20 stars of our sample using gyrochronology.

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arXiv2023

Hint of an exocomet transit in the CHEOPS lightcurve of HD 172555

HD$\,$172555 is a young ($\sim$20$\,$Myr) A7V star surrounded by a 10$\,$au wide debris disk suspected to be replenished partly by collisions between large planetesimals. Small evaporating transiting bodies, exocomets, have also been detected in this system by spectroscopy. After $β\,$Pictoris, this is another example of a system possibly witnessing a phase of heavy bombardment of planetesimals. In such system, small bodies trace dynamical evolution processes. We aim at constraining their dust content by using transit photometry. We performed a 2-day-long photometric monitoring of HD$\,$172555 with the CHEOPS space telescope in order to detect shallow transits of exocomets with a typical expected duration of a few hours. The large oscillations in the lightcurve indicate that HD$\,$172555 is a $δ\,$Scuti pulsating star. Once removing those dominating oscillations, we find a hint for a transient absorption. If fitted with an exocomet transit model, it corresponds to an evaporating body passing near the star at a distance of $6.8\pm1.4\,$R$_\star$ (or $0.05\pm 0.01\,$au) with a radius of 2.5 km. These properties are comparable to those of the exocomets already found in this system using spectroscopy, as well as those found in the $β\,$Pic system. The nuclei of solar system's Jupiter family comets, with radii of 2-6$\,$km, are also comparable in size. This is the first evidence for an exocomet photometric transit detection in the young system of HD$\,$172555.

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arXiv2022

A sub-Neptune planet around TOI-1695 discovered and characterized with SPIRou and TESS

TOI-1695 is a V-mag=13 M-dwarf star from the northern hemisphere at 45$\,$pc from the Sun, around which a 3.134-day periodic transit signal from a super-Earth candidate was identified in TESS photometry. With a transit depth of 1.3$\,$mmag, the radius of candidate TOI-1695.01 was estimated by the TESS pipeline to be 1.82$\,$R$_\oplus$ with an equilibrium temperature of $\sim 620\,$K. We successfully detect a reflex motion of the star and establish it is due to a planetary companion at an orbital period consistent with the photometric transit period thanks to a year-long radial-velocity monitoring of TOI-1695 by the SPIRou infrared spectropolarimeter. We use and compare different methods to reduce and analyse those data. We report a 5.5-$σ$ detection of the planetary signal, giving a mass of $5.5 \pm 1.0\,$M$_\oplus$ and a radius of $2.03 \pm 0.18\,$R$_\oplus$. We derive a mean equilibrium planet temperature of $590 \pm 90\,$K. The mean density of this small planet of $3.6 \pm 1.1\,$g$\,$cm$^{-3}$ is similar (1.7-$σ$ lower) than that of the Earth. It leads to a non-negligible fraction of volatiles in its atmosphere with $f_{H,He}=0.28^{+0.46}_{-0.23}$% or $f_\text{water}=23 \pm 12$%. TOI-1695$\,$b is a new sub-Neptune planet at the border of the M-dwarf radius valley that can help test formation scenarios for super-Earth/sub-Neptune-like planets.

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arXiv2022

Photodynamical analysis of the nearly resonant planetary system WASP-148: Accurate transit-timing variations and mutual orbital inclination

WASP-148 is a recently announced extra-solar system harbouring at least two giant planets. The inner planet transits its host star. The planets travel on eccentric orbits and are near the 4:1 mean-motion resonance, which implies significant mutual gravitational interactions. In particular, this causes transit-timing variations of a few minutes, which were detected based on ground-based photometry. This made WASP-148 one of the few cases where such a phenomenon was detected without space-based photometry. Here, we present a self-consistent model of WASP-148 that takes into account the gravitational interactions between all known bodies in the system. Our analysis simultaneously fits the available radial velocities and transit light curves. In particular, we used the photometry secured by the TESS space telescope and made public after the WASP-148 discovery announcement. The TESS data confirm the transit-timing variations, but only in combination with previously measured transit times. The system parameters we derived agree with those previously reported and have a significantly improved precision, including the mass of the non-transiting planet. We found a significant mutual inclination between the orbital planes of the two planets: I=41.0 +6.2 -7.6 deg based on the modelling of the observations, although we found I=20.8 +/- 4.6 deg when we imposed a constraint on the model enforcing long-term dynamical stability. When a third planet was added to the model - based on a candidate signal in the radial velocity - the mutual inclination between planets b and c changed significantly allowing solutions closer to coplanar. We conclude that more data are needed to establish the true architecture of the system. If the significant mutual inclination is confirmed, WASP-148 would become one of the only few candidate non-coplanar planetary systems. We discuss possible origins for this misalignment.

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arXiv2022

The EBLM project -- IX. Five fully convective M-dwarfs, precisely measured with CHEOPS and TESS light curves

Eclipsing binaries are important benchmark objects to test and calibrate stellar structure and evolution models. This is especially true for binaries with a fully convective M-dwarf component for which direct measurements of these stars' masses and radii are difficult using other techniques. Within the potential of M-dwarfs to be exoplanet host stars, the accuracy of theoretical predictions of their radius and effective temperature as a function of their mass is an active topic of discussion. Not only the parameters of transiting exoplanets but also the success of future atmospheric characterisation rely on accurate theoretical predictions. We present the analysis of five eclipsing binaries with low-mass stellar companions out of a sub-sample of 23, for which we obtained ultra high-precision light curves using the CHEOPS satellite. The observation of their primary and secondary eclipses are combined with spectroscopic measurements to precisely model the primary parameters and derive the M-dwarfs mass, radius, surface gravity, and effective temperature estimates using the PYCHEOPS data analysis software. Combining these results to the same set of parameters derived from TESS light curves, we find very good agreement (better than 1\% for radius and better than 0.2% for surface gravity). We also analyse the importance of precise orbits from radial velocity measurements and find them to be crucial to derive M-dwarf radii in a regime below 5% accuracy. These results add five valuable data points to the mass-radius diagram of fully-convective M-dwarfs.

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arXiv2022

Estimating the atmospheric properties of 44 M dwarfs from SPIRou spectra

We describe advances on a method designed to derive accurate parameters of M dwarfs. Our analysis consists in comparing high-resolution infrared spectra acquired with the near-infrared spectro-polarimeter SPIRou to synthetic spectra computed from MARCS model atmospheres, in order to derive the effective temperature ($T_{\rm eff}$), surface gravity ($\rm \log{g}$), metallicity ([M/H]) and alpha-enhancement ($\rm [α/Fe]$) of 44 M dwarfs monitored within the SPIRou Legacy Survey (SLS). Relying on 12 of these stars, we calibrated our method by refining our selection of well modelled stellar lines, and adjusted the line list parameters to improve the fit when necessary. Our retrieved $T_{\rm eff}$, $\rm \log{g}$ and [M/H] are in good agreement with literature values, with dispersions of the order of 50 K in $T_{\rm eff}$ and 0.1 dex in $\rm \log{g}$ and [M/H]. We report that fitting $\rm [α/Fe]$ has an impact on the derivation of the other stellar parameters, motivating us to extend our fitting procedure to this additional parameter. We find that our retrieved $\rm [α/Fe]$ are compatible with those expected from empirical relations derived in other studies.

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arXiv2022

The HD 93963 A transiting system: A 1.04d super-Earth and a 3.65 d sub-Neptune discovered by TESS and CHEOPS

We present the discovery of two small planets transiting HD 93963A (TOI-1797), a G0\,V star (M$_*$=1.109\,$\pm$\,0.043\,M$_\odot$, R$_*$=1.043\,$\pm$\,0.009\,R$_\odot$) in a visual binary system. We combined TESS and CHEOPS space-borne photometry with data from MuSCAT 2, `Alopeke, PHARO, TRES, FIES, and SOPHIE. We validated and spectroscopically confirmed the outer transiting planet HD 93963 Ac, a sub-Neptune with an orbital period of P$_c \approx$ 3.65 d, reported as a TESS object of interest (TOI) shortly after the release of Sector 22 data. HD 93963 Ac has a mass of M$_c = 19.2 \pm 4.1$ M$_{\oplus}$ and a radius of R$_c = 3.228 \pm 0.059$ R$_{\oplus}$, implying a mean density of $ρ_c=3.1\pm0.7$ gcm$^{-3}$. The inner object, HD 93963 Ab, is a validated 1.04 d ultra-short period (USP) transiting super-Earth that we discovered in the TESS light curve and that was not listed as a TOI, owing to the low significance of its signal (TESS signal-to-noise ratio $\approx$ 6.7, TESS $+$ CHEOPS combined transit depth D$_b=141.5 \pm 8.5$ ppm). We intensively monitored the star with CHEOPS by performing nine transit observations to confirm the presence of the inner planet and validate the system. HD 93963 Ab is the first small (R$_b = 1.35 \pm 0.042$ R$_{\oplus}$) USP planet discovered and validated by TESS and CHEOPS. Unlike planet c, HD 93963 Ab is not significantly detected in our radial velocities (M$_b = 7.8 \pm 3.2$ M$_{\oplus}$). We also discovered a linear trend in our Doppler measurements, suggesting the possible presence of a long-period outer planet. With a V-band magnitude of 9.2, HD 93963 A is among the brightest stars known to host a USP planet, making it one of the most favourable targets for precise mass measurement via Doppler spectroscopy and an important laboratory to test formation, evolution, and migration models of planetary systems hosting ultra-short period planets.

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arXiv2022

The GAPS Programme at TNG XL: A puffy and warm Neptune-sized planet and an outer Neptune-mass candidate orbiting the solar-type star TOI-1422

We investigate the exoplanet candidate TOI-1422b, which was discovered by the TESS space telescope around the high proper-motion G2V star TOI-1422 ($V=10.6$ mag), 155pc away, with the primary goal of confirming its planetary nature and characterising its properties. We monitored TOI-1422 with the HARPS-N spectrograph for 1.5 years to precisely quantify its radial velocity variation. The radial velocity measurements are analyzed jointly with TESS photometry and we also check for blended companions through high-spatial resolution images using the AstraLux instrument. We estimate that the parent star has a radius and a mass of $R^*=1.019_{-0.013}^{+0.014} R_{\odot}$, $M^*=0.981_{-0.065}^{+0.062} M_{\odot}$, respectively. Our analysis confirms the planetary nature of TOI-1422b and also suggests the presence of a Neptune-mass planet on a more distant orbit, the candidate TOI-1422c, which is not detected in TESS light curves. The inner planet, TOI-1422b, orbits on a period $P_{\rm b}=12.9972\pm0.0006$ days and has an equilibrium temperature $T_{\rm eq, b}=867\pm17$ K. With a radius of $R_{\rm b}=3.96^{+0.13}_{-0.11} R_{\oplus}$, a mass of $M_{\rm b}=9.0^{+2.3}_{-2.0} M_{\oplus}$ and, consequently, a density of $ρ_{\rm b}=0.795^{+0.290}_{-0.235}$ g cm$^{-3}$, it can be considered a warm Neptune-size planet. Compared to other exoplanets of similar mass range, TOI-1422b is among the most inflated ones and we expect this planet to have an extensive gaseous envelope that surrounds a core with a mass fraction around $10\%-25\%$ of the total mass of the planet. The outer non-transiting planet candidate, TOI-1422c, has an orbital period of $P_{\rm c}=29.29^{+0.21}_{-0.20}$ days, a minimum mass, $M_{\rm c}\sin{i}$, of $11.1^{+2.6}_{-2.3} M_{\oplus}$, an equilibrium temperature of $T_{\rm eq, c}=661\pm13$ K and, therefore, if confirmed, it could be considered as another warm Neptune.

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