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Published on: December 11, 2014
TESS DISCOVERY OF A TRANSITING SUPER-EARTH IN THE π MENSAE SYSTEM
Chelsea X Huang1,2, Jennifer Burt1,2, Andrew Vanderburg3,4
1Department of Physics, and Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
Abstract:
We report the detection of a transiting planet around π Men (HD 39091), using data from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). The solar-type host star is unusually bright (V = 5.7) and was already known to host a Jovian planet on a highly eccentric, 5.7-year orbit. The newly discovered planet has a size of 2.04 ± 0.05 R ⊕ and an orbital period of 6.27 days. Radial-velocity data from the HARPS and AAT/UCLES archives also displays a 6.27-day periodicity, confirming the existence of the planet and leading to a mass determination of 4.82±0.85 M ⊕. The star's proximity and brightness will facilitate further investigations, such as atmospheric spectroscopy, asteroseismology, the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect, astrometry, and direct imaging.
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