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Nicholas Law

Publications and source records attributed to Nicholas Law.

11 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2022

TOI-712 A System of Adolescent Mini-Neptunes Extending to the Habitable Zone

As an all-sky survey, NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission is able to detect the brightest and rarest types of transiting planetary systems, including young planets that enable study of the evolutionary processes that occur within the first billion years. Here we report the discovery of a young, multiplanet system orbiting the bright K4.5V star, TOI-712 ( V = 10.838, M * = 0.733 +0.026 -0.025 M ⨀ , R * = 0.674 ± 0.016 R ⨀ , T eff = 4622 +61 -60 K). From the TESS light curve, we measure a rotation period of 12.48 days and derive an age between about 500 Myr and 1.1 Gyr. The photometric observations reveal three transiting mini-Neptunes ( R b = 2.049 +0.120 -0.080 R ⊕ , R c = 2.701 +0.092 -0.082 R ⊕ , R d = 2.474 +0.090 -0.082 R ⊕ ), with orbital periods of P b = 9.531 days, P c = 51.699 days, and P d = 84.839 days. After modeling the three-planet system, an additional Earth-sized candidate is identified, TOI-712.05 ( P = 4.32 days, R P = 0.81 ± 0.11 R ⊕ ). We calculate that the habitable zone falls between 0.339 and 0.844 au (82.7 and 325.3 days), placing TOI-712 d near its inner edge. Among planetary systems harboring temperate planets, TOI-712 ( T = 9.9) stands out as a relatively young star bright enough to motivate further characterization.

Exoplanets↗
NASA NTRS2021

TOI-1231 b: A Temperate, Neptune-sized Planet Transiting the Nearby M3 Dwarf NLTT 24399

We report the discovery of a transiting, temperate, Neptune-sized exoplanet orbiting the nearby (d = 27.5 pc), M3V star TOI-1231 (NLTT 24399, L 248-27, 2MASS J10265947-5228099). The planet was detected using photometric data from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite and followed up with observations from the Las Cumbres Observatory and the Antarctica Search for Transiting ExoPlanets program. Combining the photometric data sets, we find that the newly discovered planet has a radius of 3.65(+0.16,-0.15)Rꚛ and an orbital period of 24.246 days. Radial velocity measurements obtained with the Planet Finder Spectrograph on the Magellan Clay telescope confirm the existence of the planet and lead to a mass measurement of 15.5 ± 3.3 Mꚛ. With an equilibrium temperature of just 330 K, TOI-1231 b is one of the coolest small planets accessible for atmospheric studies thus far, and its host star's bright near-infrared brightness (J = 8.88, Ks = 8.07) makes it an exciting target for the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope. Future atmospheric observations would enable the first comparative planetology efforts in the 250–350 K temperature regime via comparisons with K2-18 b. Furthermore, TOI-1231's high systemic radial velocity (70.5 km/s) may allow for the detection of low-velocity hydrogen atoms escaping the planet by Doppler, shifting the H i Lyα stellar emission away from the geocoronal and interstellar medium absorption features.

Jennifer A. Burt↗
NASA NTRS2020

TOI-257b (HD 19916b): a warm sub-saturn orbiting an evolved F-type star

We report the discovery of a warm sub-Saturn, TOI-257b (HD 19916b), based on data from NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). The transit signal was detected by TESS and confirmed to be of planetary origin based on radial velocity observations. An analysis of the TESS photometry, the MINERVA-Australis, FEROS, and HARPS radial velocities, and the asteroseismic data of the stellar oscillations reveals that TOI-257b has a mass of M(P) = 0.138 ± 0.023 M(J) (43.9 ± 7.3 Mꚛ), a radius of R(P) = 0.639 ± 0.013 R(J) (7.16 ± 0.15 Rꚛ⁠), bulk density of 0.65 (+0.12,−0.11) (cgs), and period 18.38818 (+0.00085,−0.00084) days⁠. TOI-257b orbits a bright (V = 7.612 mag) somewhat evolved late F-type star with M⁎ = 1.390 ± 0.046 M(sun)⁠, R⁎ = 1.888 ± 0.033 R(sun)⁠, T(eff) = 6075 ± 90 K⁠, and 𝜈sin 𝑖 = 11.3 ± 0.5 km/s. Additionally, we find hints for a second non-transiting sub-Saturn mass planet on a ∼71 day orbit using the radial velocity data. This system joins the ranks of a small number of exoplanet host stars (∼100) that have been characterized with asteroseismology. Warm sub-Saturns are rare in the known sample of exoplanets, and thus the discovery of TOI-257b is important in the context of future work studying the formation and migration history of similar planetary systems.

asteroseismology↗
NASA NTRS2020

The First Habitable-zone Earth-sized Planet from TESS. I. Validation of the TOI-700 System

We present the discovery and validation of a three-planet system orbiting the nearby (31.1 pc) M2 dwarf star TOI-700 (TIC 150428135). TOI-700 lies in the TESS continuous viewing zone in the Southern Ecliptic Hemisphere; observations spanning 11 sectors reveal three planets with radii ranging from 1 R⊕ to 2.6 R⊕ and orbital periods ranging from 9.98 to 37.43 days. Ground-based follow-up combined with diagnostic vetting and validation tests enables us to rule out common astrophysical false-positive scenarios and validate the system of planets. The outermost planet, TOI-700 d, has a radius of 1.19 ± 0.11 R⊕ and resides within a conservative estimate of the host star's habitable zone, where it receives a flux from its star that is approximately 86% of Earth's insolation. In contrast to some other low-mass stars that host Earth-sized planets in their habitable zones, TOI-700 exhibits low levels of stellar activity, presenting a valuable opportunity to study potentially rocky planets over a wide range of conditions affecting atmospheric escape. While atmospheric characterization of TOI-700 d with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will be challenging, the larger sub-Neptune, TOI-700 c (R = 2.63 R⊕), will be an excellent target for JWST and future space-based observatories. TESS is scheduled to once again observe the Southern Hemisphere, and it will monitor TOI-700 for an additional 11 sectors in its extended mission. These observations should allow further constraints on the known planet parameters and searches for additional planets and transit timing variations in the system.

Emily A. Gilbert↗
NASA NTRS2020

A remnant planetary core in the hot-Neptune desert

The interiors of giant planets remain poorly understood. Even for the planets in the Solar System, difficulties in observation lead to large uncertainties in the properties of planetary cores. Exoplanets that have undergone rare evolutionary processes provide a route to understanding planetary interiors. Planets found in and near the typically barren hot-Neptune ‘desert’ (a region in mass–radius space that contains few planets) have proved to be particularly valuable in this regard. These planets include HD149026b, which is thought to have an unusually massive core, and recent discoveries such as LTT9779b and NGTS-4b, on which photoevaporation has removed a substantial part of their outer atmospheres. Here we report observations of the planet TOI-849b, which has a radius smaller than Neptune’s but an anomalously large mass of 39.1(+2.7−2.6) Earth masses and a density of 5.2(+0.7−0.8) grams per cubic centimetre, similar to Earth’s. Interior-structure models suggest that any gaseous envelope of pure hydrogen and helium consists of no more than 3.9(+0.8−0.9) per cent of the total planetary mass. The planet could have been a gas giant before undergoing extreme mass loss via thermal self-disruption or giant planet collisions, or it could have avoided substantial gas accretion, perhaps through gap opening or late formation. Although photoevaporation rates cannot account for the mass loss required to reduce a Jupiter-like gas giant, they can remove a small (a few Earth masses) hydrogen and helium envelope on timescales of several billion years, implying that any remaining atmosphere on TOI-849b is likely to be enriched by water or other volatiles from the planetary interior. We conclude that TOI-849b is the remnant core of a giant planet.

David J. Armstrong↗
NASA NTRS2020

TOI-1338: TESS’ First Transiting Circumbinary Planet

We report the detection of the first circumbinary planet (CBP) found by Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). The target, a known eclipsing binary, was observed in sectors 1 through 12 at 30 minute cadence and in sectors 4 through 12 at 2 minute cadence. It consists of two stars with masses of 1.1M(ʘ) and 0.3M(ʘ) on a slightly eccentric (0.16), 14.6 day orbit, producing prominent primary eclipses and shallow secondary eclipses. The planet has a radius of ∼6.9R(⊕) and was observed to make three transits across the primary star of roughly equal depths (∼0.2%) but different durations—a common signature of transiting CBPs. Its orbit is nearly circular (e≈0.09) with an orbital period of 95.2 days. The orbital planes of the binary and the planet are aligned to within ∼1°. To obtain a complete solution for the system, we combined the TESS photometry with existing ground-based radialvelocity observations in a numerical photometric-dynamical model. The system demonstrates the discovery potential of TESS for CBPs and provides further understanding of the formation and evolution of planets orbiting close binary stars.

Veselin B. Kostov↗
NASA NTRS2020

LHS 1815b: The First Thick-disk Planet Detected by TESS

We report the first discovery of a thick-disk planet, LHS 1815b (TOI-704b, TIC 260004324), detected in the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) survey. LHS 1815b transits a bright (V = 12.19 mag, K = 7.99 mag) and quiet M dwarf located 29.87 ± 0.02 pc away with a mass of 0.502 ± 0.015 M⊙ and a radius of 0.501 ± 0.030 R⊙. We validate the planet by combining space- and ground-based photometry, spectroscopy, and imaging. The planet has a radius of 1.088 ± 0.064 R⊕ with a 3σ mass upper limit of 8.7 M⊕. We analyze the galactic kinematics and orbit of the host star LHS 1815 and find that it has a large probability (Pthick/Pthin = 6482) to be in the thick disk with a much higher expected maximal height (Zmax = 1.8 kpc) above the Galactic plane compared with other TESS planet host stars. Future studies of the interior structure and atmospheric properties of planets in such systems using, for example, the upcoming James Webb Space Telescope, can investigate the differences in formation efficiency and evolution for planetary systems between different Galactic components (thick disks, thin disks, and halo).

LHS 1815b↗