arXiv subjects

Remo Burn

Publications and source records attributed to Remo Burn.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

JWST Transmission Spectroscopy of TOI-3235 b: Challenges in Constraining Giant Planet Atmospheres Around M Dwarfs Amid Stellar Contamination

Giant planets orbiting low-mass M dwarfs challenge current planet formation theories, which predict that such planets are unlikely to form. Characterizing their atmospheres can provide key insight into their origins, but analysis is complicated by stellar contamination in transmission spectra. We present a JWST/NIRSpec PRISM transmission spectrum of TOI-3235 b, a 604 K, 0.665 Jupiter-mass giant planet orbiting a 0.39 Solar-mass M dwarf. We apply a hierarchical retrieval framework incorporating an atmospheric model, a parametric stellar contamination model, and a Gaussian process (GP) to capture residual structure not explained by these deterministic components. We find that the inferred atmospheric properties are model-dependent: retrievals that treat stellar contamination deterministically yield a constrained CH4 abundance corresponding to a sub-solar metallicity that would challenge standard expectations from both core accretion and gravitational instability, along with potentially elevated CO and CO2 abundances that would require chemical disequilibrium. However, residual wavelength-correlated structure suggests the deterministic model is incomplete. Including a GP to marginalize over this structure broadens the atmospheric posterior distributions, preventing robust constraints on the atmospheric composition and highlighting the challenge of characterizing giant planet atmospheres around M dwarfs. We demonstrate that an eclipse observation could clarify these model-dependent ambiguities: detected emission features would constrain the planet's metallicity and test formation scenarios, while a featureless spectrum would confirm stellar contamination dominates the transmission spectrum, providing an empirical M dwarf contamination spectrum.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2026

The Role of Formation Location in Shaping Sulfur-, Nitrogen-, and Carbon-Bearing Species in Super-Earth and Sub-Neptune Atmospheres

Atmospheric compositions of sub-Neptunes and super-Earths are often interpreted as tracers of formation location relative to volatile ice lines. However, prolonged magma oceans can chemically equilibrate with primordial atmospheres and modify accreted volatile signatures. In this study, we couple a synthetic planet population from the Bern Generation III formation model to an extended global chemical equilibrium framework including sulfur and nitrogen chemistry, and compare accreted and equilibrated compositions for $\sim$ 1200 young planets shortly after formation ($\sim$ 4 Myr) formed inside and outside the water ice line. We find that interior-atmosphere equilibration systematically alters elemental ratios and molecular abundances. The atmospheric C/O ratio shifts relative to the accreted state and remains systematically higher for planets formed outside the ice line. Nitrogen-bearing species NH$_3$, N$_2$ are strongly depleted through dissolution into the silicate melt, while minor amounts of HCN are produced, leading to low atmospheric nitrogen abundances. Sulfur-bearing species remain more abundant than nitrogen-bearing species; during equilibration, accreted H$_2$S partitions into the interior and small amounts of SO$_2$ form, but overall sulfur abundances depend only weakly on formation location. Silicon-bearing gases (SiH$_4$, SiO) are generated in substantial amounts, with narrower distributions for planets formed outside the ice line. We identify atmospheric C/O, SiH$_4$, and H$_2$O as potential indicators of formation location, while nitrogen depletion emerges as a generic outcome of magma ocean equilibration. Comparison with characterized sub-Neptunes such as TOI-270 d, K2-18 b, and GJ 3470 b shows broad consistency with oxygen-dominated, metal-rich atmospheres shaped by interior-atmosphere exchange.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2025

Exoplanet formation inference using conditional invertible neural networks

The interpretation of the origin of observed exoplanets is usually done only qualitatively due to uncertainties of key parameters in planet formation models. To allow a quantitative methodology which traces back in time to the planet birth locations, we train recently developed conditional invertible neural networks (cINN) on synthetic data from a global planet formation model which tracks growth from dust grains to evolved final giant planets. In addition to deterministic single planet formation runs, we also include gravitationally interacting planets in multiplanetary systems, which include some measure of chaos. For the latter case, we treat them as individual planets or choose the two or three planets most likely to be discovered by telescopes. We find that training on multiplanetary data, each planet treated as individual point, is promising. The single-planet data only covers a small range of planets and does not extrapolate well to planet properties not included in the training data. Extension to planetary systems will require more training data due to the higher dimensionality of the problem.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2025

The New Generation Planetary Population Synthesis (NGPPS). VII. Statistical comparison with the HARPS/Coralie survey

We seek to quantify the fidelity with which modern population syntheses reproduce observations in view of their use as predictive tools. We compared synthetic populations from the Generation 3 Bern Model of Planet Formation and Evolution (core accretion, solar-type host stars) and the HARPS/Coralie radial velocity sample. We biased the synthetic planet population according to the completeness of the observed data and performed quantitative statistical comparisons and systematically identified agreements and differences. Our nominal population reproduces many of the main features of the HARPS planets: two main groups of planets (close-in sub-Neptunes and distant giants), a bimodal mass function with a less populated `desert', an observed mean multiplicity of about 1.6, and several key correlations. The remaining discrepancies point to areas that are not fully captured in the model. For instance, we find that the synthetic population has 1) in absolute terms too many planets by ~70%, 2) a `desert' that is too deep by ~60%, 3) a relative excess of giant planets by ~40%, 4) planet eccentricities that are on average too low by a factor of about two (median of 0.07 versus 0.15), and 5) a metallicity effect that is too weak. Finally, the synthetic planets are overall too close to the star compared to the HARPS sample. The differences allowed us to find model parameters that better reproduce the observed planet masses, for which we computed additional synthetic populations. We find that physical processes appear to be missing and that planets may originate on wider orbits than our model predicts. Mechanisms leading to higher eccentricities and slower disc-limited gas accretion also seem necessary. We advocate that theoretical models should make a quantitative comparison between the many current and future large surveys to better understand the origins of planetary systems. (Abridged.)

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2025

The New Generation Planetary Population Synthesis (NGPPS) VIII. Impact of host star metallicity on planet occurrence rates, orbital periods, eccentricities, and radius valley morphology

The dust-to-gas ratio in the protoplanetary disk, which is likely imprinted into the host star metallicity, is a property that plays a crucial role during planet formation. We aim at constraining planet formation and evolution processes by statistically analysing planetary systems generated by the Generation III Bern model, comparing with the correlations derived from observational samples. Using synthetic planets biased to observational completeness, we find that (1) the occurrence rates of large giant planets and Neptune-size planets are positively correlated with [Fe/H], while small sub-Earths exhibit an anti-correlation. In between, for sub-Neptune and super-Earth, the occurrence rate first increases and then decreases with increasing [Fe/H] with an inflection point at 0.1 dex. (2) Planets with orbital periods shorter than ten days are more likely to be found around stars with higher metallicity, and this tendency weakens with increasing planet radius. (3) Both giant planets and small planets exhibit a positive correlation between the eccentricity and [Fe/H], which could be explained by the self-excitation and perturbation of outer giant planets. (4) The radius valley deepens and becomes more prominent with increasing [Fe/H], accompanied by a lower super-Earth-to-sub-Neptune ratio. Furthermore, the average radius of the planets above the valley increases with [Fe/H]. Our nominal model successfully reproduces many observed correlations with stellar metallicity, supporting the description of physical processes and parameters included in the Bern model. However, the dependences of orbital eccentricity and period on [Fe/H] predicted by the synthetic population is however significantly weaker than observed. This discrepancy suggests that long-term dynamical interactions between planets, along with the impact of binaries/companions, can drive the system towards a dynamically hotter state.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2025

Sub-Neptunes Are Drier Than They Seem: Rethinking the Origins of Water-Rich Worlds

Recent claims of biosignature gases in sub-Neptune atmospheres have renewed interest in water-rich sub-Neptunes with surface oceans, often referred to as Hycean planets. These planets are hypothesized to form beyond the snow line, accreting large amounts of H$_2$O (>10 wt%) before migrating inward. However, current interior models often neglect chemical equilibration between primordial atmospheres and molten interiors. Here, we compute global chemical equilibrium states for a synthetic population of sub-Neptunes with magma oceans. Although many initially accrete 5-30 wt% water, interior-atmosphere interactions destroy most of it, reducing final H$_2$O mass fractions to below 1.5 wt%. As a result, none meet the threshold for Hycean planets. Despite that, we find H$_2$O-dominated atmospheres exclusively on planets that accreted the least ice. These planets form inside the snow line, are depleted in carbon and hydrogen, and develop small envelopes with envelope mass fractions below 1%, dominated by endogenic water. In contrast, planets formed beyond the snow line accrete more volatiles, but their water is largely converted to H$_2$ gas or sequestered into the interior, resulting in low atmospheric H$_2$O mass fractions. Most H$_2$O-rich envelopes are also fully miscible with H$_2$, making a separate water layer unlikely. Our results topple the conventional link between ice accretion and water-rich atmospheres, showing instead that H$_2$O-dominated envelopes emerge through chemical equilibration in hydrogen-poor planets formed inside the snow line.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2025

Differentiating Formation Models with New Dynamical Masses for the PDS 70 Protoplanets

Hot- and cold-start planet formation models predict differing luminosities for the young, bright planets that direct imaging surveys are most sensitive to. However, precise mass estimates are required to distinguish between these models observationally. The presence of two directly imaged planets, PDS 70 b and c, in the PDS 70 protoplanetary disk provides us a unique opportunity for dynamical mass measurements, since the masses for these planets are currently poorly constrained. Fitting orbital parameters to new astrometry of these planets, taken with VLTI/GRAVITY in the $K$~band, we find $2\sigma$ dynamical upper mass limits of 4.9 $M_{\rm Jup}$ for b and 13.6 $M_{\rm Jup}$ for c. Adding astrometry from the newly proposed planet candidate PDS 70 d into our model, we determine $2\sigma$ dynamical upper mass limits of 5.3 $M_{\rm Jup}$, 7.5 $M_{\rm Jup}$ and 2.2 $M_{\rm Jup}$ for b, c, and the candidate d respectively. However, $N$-body analysis of the orbits fit in this case suggest that the inclusion of $d$ makes the system unstable. Using the upper mass limits for b and c we rule out the coldest-start formation models for both planets, calculating minimum post-formation entropies ($S_i$) of 9.5 $k_{\rm B}/{\rm baryon}$ and 8.4 $k_{\rm B}/{\rm baryon}$ respectively. This places PDS 70 b and c on the growing list of directly-imaged planets inconsistent with cold-start formation.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2025

Estimating the Mass Escaping Rates of Radius-valley-spanning Planets in the TOI-431 System via X-Ray and Ultraviolet Evaporation

TOI-431 system has 3 close-in exoplanets, which gives an ideal lab to study gas escape. In this study, we measure the XUV luminosity for TOI-431 with XMM-Newton/EPIC-pn and OM data, then calculate the fluxes for the planets in the system. We find that, TOI-431 b's $\rm F_{XUV,b}=$$70286^{+12060}_{-2611}$$\rm \ erg\ cm^{-2}s^{-1}$ is 75 times of TOI-431 d $\rm F_{XUV,d}=$$935^{+160}_{-35}$$\rm \ erg\ cm^{-2}s^{-1}$. Adopting the energy limit method and hydrodynamic code $ATES$ with a set of He/H ratios, we obtain the mass-loss rates of $10^{10.51^{+0.07}_{-0.02}}$ g s$^{-1}$ for TOI-431 b, $10^{9.14^{+0.07}_{-0.02}}$ and $10^{9.84\sim 9.94}$ g s$^{-1}$ for TOI-431 d. We predict the $2.93\sim 7.91 \%$ H I Ly$\alpha$ and $0.19\sim 10.65\%$ He I triplet absorption depths for TOI-431 d, thus its gas escaping is detectable in principle. For both TOI-431 b and d, we select similar planets from the New Generation Planetary Population Synthesis (NGPPS) data. Then show that considering the mass-loss rates, TOI-431 b should be a naked solid planet, and TOI-431 d will likely maintain its gas envelope until the host star dies. According to the formation and evolution tracks, we find that TOI-431 b's potential birthplace (0.1-2 AU) should be inner than TOI-431 d (2-12 AU). Our results are consistent with the interpretation of the radius valley being caused by atmospheric escape. The intrinsic reason may be their birthplace, which will determine how close they can migrate to the host star, then lose mass and result in the Fulton gap.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2025

The NCORES Program: Precise planetary masses, null results, and insight into the planet mass distribution near the radius gap

NCORES was a large observing program on the ESO HARPS spectrograph, dedicated to measuring the masses of Neptune-like and smaller transiting planets discovered by the TESS satellite using the radial velocity technique. This paper presents an overview of the programme, its scientific goals and published results, covering 35 planets in 18 planetary systems. We present spectrally derived stellar characterisation and mass constraints for five additional TOIs where radial velocity observations found only marginally significant signals (TOI-510.01, $M_p=1.08^{+0.58}_{-0.55}M_\oplus$), or found no signal (TOIs 271.01, 641.01, 697.01 and 745.01). A newly detected non-transiting radial velocity candidate is presented orbiting TOI-510 on a 10.0d orbit, with a minimum mass of $4.82^{+1.29}_{-1.26}M_\oplus$, although uncertainties on the system architecture and true orbital period remain. Combining the NCORES sample with archival known planets we investigate the distribution of planet masses and compositions around and below the radius gap, finding that the population of planets below the gap is consistent with a rocky composition and ranges up to a sharp cut-off at $10M_\oplus$. We compare the observed distribution to models of pebble- and planetesimal-driven formation and evolution, finding good broad agreement with both models while highlighting interesting areas of potential discrepancy. Increased numbers of precisely measured planet masses in this parameter space are required to distinguish between pebble and planetesimal accretion.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2024

Water-rich sub-Neptunes and rocky super Earths around different Stars: Radii shaped by Volatile Partitioning, Formation, and Evolution

The nature of sub-Neptunes remains unknown due to degeneracies in interior structure solutions. However, a statistical set of small planets with measured masses and radii can be used to test the planet formation theory prediction of large water reservoirs on sub-Neptunes. Here, we investigate whether water is included in photoevaporative mass loss and how much can partition into the rocky and metallic interior. We couple the result of a planetary formation model to evolution models which assume perfect mixing of water with H/He in the envelope or a layered structure. For the mixed envelopes, we also include fractionation during photoevaporative mass-loss. Further, the effect of equilibrium dissolution of water into an assumed magma ocean and into the metallic core is studied for the first time in coupled formation-evolution models. Out of the four tested scenarios, the mass-radius relation of exoplanets is relatively well matched by all scenarios except the one with layered H/He above water. The agreement depends on mass, with better consistency for the model without dissolution below 3 Earth masses and hints of the opposite at higher masses. In contrast to the significant effect of water dissolution, fractionation is not found to alter the properties of the planets for our initial conditions due to initially massive envelopes on all planets. For all scenarios, we quantify the radius valley location and scaling with stellar mass and conclude that water-rich sub-Neptunes mass-radius relations are broadly consistent with observations. Statistical surveys in mass and radius are required for distinction of the scenarios. The dissolution of different volatiles into the planetary interior and solidification of the magma ocean are natural next steps toward a comprehensive treatment of atmosphere-interior interaction in planet evolution models. (abridged)

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2024

Planetary population synthesis

The planetary population synthesis method aims at comprehensively testing planet formation theories against observational evidence and providing theoretical sets of planets to help interpret observations and inform instrument development. Recent developments on the theoretical and observational sides are reviewed: First, observational constraints are summarized, then, the work flow of population synthesis and its two main components are presented, which are, global end-to-end models of planetary formation and evolution and probability distributions for the disk initial conditions. Next, the output of four recent population synthesis models is compared in detail and differences and similarities are discussed. The goal is to help the reader understand the assumptions that were made and how they impact the results. Furthermore, future directions of research are identified and the impact of current and future observational programs is discussed. With JWST, evidence on disk and planet compositions emerges. Planet formation models need to prepare for these near-future developments by including self-consistent magnetic wind-driven gas and dust disk evolution, planetary migration, as well as employ hybrid pebble and planetesimal accretion, which are identified as dominant modes of accretion in different mass regimes.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2024

Resonant sub-Neptunes are puffier

A systematic, population-level discrepancy exists between the densities of exoplanets whose masses have been measured with transit timing variations (TTVs) versus those measured with radial velocities (RVs). Since the TTV planets are predominantly nearly resonant, it is still unclear whether the discrepancy is attributed to detection biases or to astrophysical differences between the nearly resonant and non resonant planet populations. We defined a controlled, unbiased sample of 36 sub-Neptunes characterised by Kepler, TESS, HARPS, and ESPRESSO. We found that their density depends mostly on the resonant state of the system, with a low probability (of $0.002_{-0.001}^{+0.010}$) that the mass of (nearly) resonant planets is drawn from the same underlying population as the bulk of sub-Neptunes. Increasing the sample to 133 sub-Neptunes reveals finer details: the densities of resonant planets are similar and lower than non-resonant planets, and both the mean and spread in density increase for planets that are away from resonance. This trend is also present in RV-characterised planets alone. In addition, TTVs and RVs have consistent density distributions for a given distance to resonance. We also show that systems closer to resonances tend to be more co-planar than their spread-out counterparts. These observational trends are also found in synthetic populations, where planets that survived in their original resonant configuration retain a lower density; whereas less compact systems have undergone post-disc giant collisions that increased the planet's density, while expanding their orbits. Our findings reinforce the claim that resonant systems are archetypes of planetary systems at their birth.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2024

Planet formation -- observational constraints, physical processes, and compositional patterns

The goal of planet formation as a field of study is not only to provide the understanding of how planets come into existence. It is also an interdisciplinary bridge which links astronomy to geology and mineralogy. Recent observations of young stars accompanied by their protoplanetary disks (Manara et al. 2022) provide direct insights into the conditions at which planets are forming. These astronomical observations can be taken as initial conditions for the models of planet formation. In this chapter, we first give an brief overview of key observational constraints for planet formation theory derived from both the solar system and from the exoplanet population. We then review physical mechanisms governing planetary system formation and discuss how they can be put together to form global planet formation models. Finally, we discuss how the compositional links from protoplanetary disks to planetary atmospheres put novel constraints on planet formation theory. In particular, we are currently gaining insights into the composition of the inner, planet-forming region within the disks thanks to observations from the James Webb Space Telescope (Grant et al. 2023; Perotti et al. 2023). The task for planet formation modelling is then to link these observational properties and compositional content to the physical properties, and also the elementary inventory of meteorites, the Moon, Earth, and the other planets. If successful, this global approach can provide useful constraints for geological studies.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2024

Three Warm Jupiters around Solar-analog stars detected with TESS

We report the discovery and characterization of three giant exoplanets orbiting solar-analog stars, detected by the \tess space mission and confirmed through ground-based photometry and radial velocity (RV) measurements taken at La Silla observatory with \textit{FEROS}. TOI-2373\,b is a warm Jupiter orbiting its host star every $\sim$ 13.3 days, and is one of the two most massive known exoplanet with a precisely determined mass and radius around a star similar to the Sun, with an estimated mass of m$_p$ = $9.3^{+0.2}_{-0.2}\,M_{\mathrm{jup}}$, and a radius of $r_p$ = $0.93^{+0.2}_{-0.2}\,R_{\mathrm{jup}}$. With a mean density of $\rho = 14.4^{+0.9}_{-1.0}\,\mathrm{g\,cm}^{-3}$, TOI-2373\,b is among the densest planets discovered so far. TOI-2416\,b orbits its host star on a moderately eccentric orbit with a period of $\sim$ 8.3 days and an eccentricity of $e$ = $0.32^{+0.02}_{-0.02}$. TOI-2416\,b is more massive than Jupiter with $m_p$ = 3.0$^{+0.10}_{-0.09}\,M_{\mathrm{jup}}$, however is significantly smaller with a radius of $r_p$ = $0.88^{+0.02}_{-0.02},R_{\mathrm{jup}}$, leading to a high mean density of $\rho = 5.4^{+0.3}_{-0.3}\,\mathrm{g\,cm}^{-3}$. TOI-2524\,b is a warm Jupiter near the hot Jupiter transition region, orbiting its star every $\sim$ 7.2 days on a circular orbit. It is less massive than Jupiter with a mass of $m_p$ = $0.64^{+0.04}_{-0.04}\,M_{\mathrm{jup}}$, and is consistent with an inflated radius of $r_p$ = $1.00^{+0.02}_{-0.03}\,R_{\mathrm{jup}}$, leading to a low mean density of $\rho = 0.79^{+0.08}_{-0.08}\,\mathrm{g\,cm}^{-3}$. The newly discovered exoplanets TOI-2373\,b, TOI-2416\,b, and TOI-2524\,b have estimated equilibrium temperatures of $860^{+10}_{-10}$ K, $1080^{+10}_{-10}$ K, and $1100^{+20}_{-20}$ K, respectively, placing them in the sparsely populated transition zone between hot and warm Jupiters.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2024

A radius valley between migrated steam worlds and evaporated rocky cores

The radius valley (or gap) in the observed distribution of exoplanet radii, which separates smaller super-Earths from larger sub-Neptunes, is a key feature that theoretical models must explain. Conventionally, it is interpreted as the result of the loss of primordial H/He envelopes atop rocky cores. However, planet formation models predict that water-rich planets migrate from regions outside the snowline toward the star. Assuming water to be in the form of solid ice in their interior, many of these planets would be located in the radius gap, in disagreement with observations. Here we use an advanced coupled formation and evolution model that describes the planets' origin and evolution starting from moon-sized, planetary seed embryos in the protoplanetary disk to mature Gyr-old planetary systems. Employing new equations of state and interior structure models to treat water as vapor mixed with H/He, we naturally reproduce the valley at the observed location. The model results indicate that the valley separates less massive, in-situ, rocky super-Earths from more massive, ex-situ, water-rich sub-Neptunes. Furthermore, the occurrence drop at larger radii, the so-called radius cliff, is also matched by planets with water-dominated envelopes. Owing to our statistical approach, we can assess that the synthetic distribution of radii quantitatively agrees with observations for the close-in population of planets; but only if atmospheric photoevaporation is also acting, populating the super-Earth peak with evaporated rocky cores. Therefore, we provide a hybrid theoretical explanation of the radius gap and cliff caused by both formation (orbital migration) as well as evolution (atmospheric escape).

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2023

Planetary system architectures with low-mass inner planets: Direct imaging exploration of mature systems beyond 1 au

The discovery of planets orbiting at less than 1 au from their host star and less massive than Saturn in various exoplanetary systems revolutionized our theories of planetary formation. The fundamental question is whether these close-in low-mass planets could have formed in the inner disk interior to 1 au, or whether they formed further out in the planet-forming disk and migrated inward. Exploring the role of additional giant planets in these systems may help us to pinpoint their global formation and evolution. We searched for additional substellar companions by using direct imaging in systems known to host close-in small planets. The use of direct imaging complemented by radial velocity and astrometric detection limits enabled us to explore the giant planet and brown dwarf demographics around these hosts to investigate the potential connection between both populations. We carried out a direct imaging survey with VLT/SPHERE to look for outer giant planets and brown dwarf companions in 27 systems hosting close-in low-mass planets discovered by radial velocity. Our sample is composed of very nearby (<20pc) planetary systems, orbiting G-, K-, and M-type mature (0.5-10Gyr) stellar hosts. We performed homogeneous direct imaging data reduction and analysis to search for and characterize point sources, and derived robust statistical detection limits. Of 337 point-source detections, we do not find any new bound companions. We recovered the emblematic very cool T-type brown dwarf GJ229B. Our typical sensitivities in direct imaging range from 5 to 30 MJup beyond 2 au. The non-detection of massive companions is consistent with predictions based on models of planet formation by core accretion. Our pilot study opens the way to a multi-technique approach for the exploration of very nearby exoplanetary systems with future ground-based and space observatories.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2023

Planetary Population Synthesis and the Emergence of Four Classes of Planetary System Architectures

Planetary population synthesis is a tool to understand the physics of planetary system formation. It builds on a model that includes a multitude of physical processes. The outcome can be statistically compared with exoplanet observations. Here, we review the population synthesis method and then use one population to explore how different planetary system architectures emerge and which conditions lead to their formation. The systems can be classified into four main architectures: Class I of near-in situ compositionally ordered terrestrial and ice planets, Class II of migrated sub-Neptunes, Class III of mixed low-mass and giant planets, broadly similar to the Solar System, and Class IV of dynamically active giants without inner low-mass planets. These four classes exhibit distinct typical formation pathways and are characterised by certain mass scales. Class I systems form from the local accretion of planetesimals followed by a giant impact phase, and the final planet masses correspond to the `Goldreich mass'. Class II systems form when planets reach the `equality mass' (equal accretion and migration timescales) before the dispersal of the gas disc, but not large enough to allow for rapid gas accretion. Giant planets form when the `equality mass' allows for rapid gas accretion while the planet are migrating, i.e. when the critical core mass is reached. The main discriminant of the four classes is the initial mass of solids in the disc, with contributions from the lifetime and mass of the gas disc. The breakdown into classes allows to better understand which physical processes are dominant. Comparison with observations reveals certain differences to the actual population, pointing at limitation of theoretical understanding. For example, the overrepresentation of synthetic super Earths and sub-Neptunes in Class I causes these planets to be found at lower metallicities than in observations.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2023

EDEN Survey: Small Transiting Planet Detection Limits and Constraints on the Occurrence Rates for Late M Dwarfs within 15 pc

Earth-sized exoplanets that transit nearby, late spectral type red dwarfs will be prime targets for atmospheric characterization in the coming decade. Such systems, however, are difficult to find via wide-field transit surveys like Kepler or TESS. Consequently, the presence of such transiting planets is unexplored and the occurrence rates of short-period Earth-sized planets around late M dwarfs remain poorly constrained. Here, we present the deepest photometric monitoring campaign of 22 nearby late M dwarf stars, using data from over 500 nights on seven 1-2 meter class telescopes. Our survey includes all known single quiescent northern late M dwarfs within 15 pc. We use transit-injection-and-recovery tests to quantify the completeness of our survey, successfully identify most ($>80\%$) transiting short-period (0.5-1 d) super-Earths ($R > 1.9 R_\oplus$), and are sensitive ($\sim50\%$) to transiting Earth-sized planets ($1.0-1.2 R_\oplus$). Our high sensitivity to transits with a near-zero false positive rate demonstrates an efficient survey strategy. Our survey does not yield a transiting planet detection, yet it provides the most sensitive upper limits on transiting planets orbiting our target stars. Finally, we explore multiple hypotheses about the occurrence rates of short-period planets (from Earth-sized planets to giant planets) around late M dwarfs. We show, for example, that giant planets at short periods ($<1$ day) are uncommon around our target stars. Our dataset provides some insight into occurrence rates of short-period planets around TRAPPIST-1-like stars, and our results can help test planetary formation and system evolution models, as well as guide future observations of nearby late M dwarfs.

astro-ph.EP↗