LHS 1140 is a nearby mid-M dwarf known to host a temperate rocky super-Earth (LHS 1140 b) on a 24.737-day orbit. Based on photometric observations by MEarth and Spitzer as well as Doppler spectroscopy from HARPS, we report the discovery of 2 Ment et al.an additional transiting rocky companion (LHS 1140 c) with a mass of 1.81 ± 0.39 M ⊕ and a radius of 1.282 ± 0.024 R ⊕ on a tighter, 3.77795-day orbit. We also obtain more precise estimates of the mass and radius of LHS 1140 b to be 6.98 ± 0.89 M ⊕ and 1.727 ± 0.032 R ⊕ . The mean densities of planets b and c are 7.5 ± 1.0 g/cm 3 and 4.7 ± 1.1 g/cm 3 , respectively, both consistent with the Earth's ratio of iron to magnesium silicate. The orbital eccentricities of LHS 1140 b and c are consistent with circular orbits and constrained to be below 0.06 and 0.31, respectively, with 90% confidence. Because the orbits of the two planets are co-planar and because we know from previous analyses of Kepler data that compact systems of small planets orbiting M dwarfs are commonplace, a search for more transiting planets in the LHS 1140 system could be fruitful. LHS 1140 c is one of the few known nearby terrestrial planets whose atmosphere could be studied with the upcoming James Webb Space Telescope.
Data from the newly-commissioned Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has revealed a "hot Earth" around LHS 3844, an M dwarf located 15 pc away. The planet has a radius of 1.32 ± 0.02 R ⊕ and orbits the star every 11 hours. Although the existence of an atmosphere around such a strongly irradiated planet is questionable, the star is bright enough (I = 11.9, K = 9.1) for this possibility to be investigated with transit and occultation spectroscopy. The star's brightness and the planet's short period will also facilitate the measurement of the planet's mass through Doppler spectroscopy.
The N2K planet search program was designed to exploit the planet-metallicity correlation by searching for gas giant planets orbiting metal-rich stars. Here, we present the radial velocity measurements for 378 N2K target stars that were observed with the HIRES spectrograph at Keck Observatory between 2004 and 2017. With this data set, we announce the discovery of six new gas giant exoplanets: a double-planet system orbiting HD 148164 (M sin i of 1.23 and 5.16 M JUP ) and single planet detections around HD 55696 (M sin i = 3.87 M JUP ), HD 98736 (M sin i= 2.33 M JUP ), HD 203473 (M sin i = 7.8 M JUP ), and HD 211810 (M sin i = 0.67 M JUP ). These gas giant companions have orbital semi-major axes between 1.0 and 6.2 AU and eccentricities ranging from 0.13 to 0.71. We also report evidence for three gravitationally bound companions with M sin i between 20 to 30 M JUP , placing them in the mass range of brown dwarfs, around HD 148284, HD 214823, and HD 217850, and four low mass stellar companions orbiting HD 3404, HD 24505, HD 98630, and HD 103459. In addition, we present updated orbital parameters for 42 previously announced planets. We also report a nondetection of the putative companion HD 73256 b. Finally, we highlight the most promising candidates for direct imaging and astrometric detection, and find that many hot Jupiters from our sample could be detectable by state-of-the-art telescopes such as Gaia.
Planets occur most frequently around cool dwarfs, but only a handful of specific examples are known to orbit the latest-type M stars. Using TESS photometry, we report the discovery of two planets transiting the low-mass star called LP 791-18 (identified by TESS as TOI 736). This star has spectral type M6V, effective temperature 2960 K, and radius 0.17R , making it the third-coolest star known to host planets. The two planets straddle the radius gap seen for smaller exoplanets; they include a 1.1R ⊕ planet on a 0.95 day orbit and a 2.3R ⊕ planet on a 5 day orbit. Because the host star is small the decrease in light during these planets' transits is fairly large (0.4% and 1.7%). This has allowed us to detect both planets' transits from ground-based photometry, refining their radii and orbital ephemerides. In the future, radial velocity observations and transmission spectroscopy can both probe these planets' bulk interior and atmospheric compositions, and additional photometric monitoring would be sensitive to even smaller transiting planets.
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