• DOI:10.3847/1538-4357/ac3ed6
• Corpus ID: 244799213

Kepler-167e as a Probe of the Formation Histories of Cold Giants with Inner Super-Earths

@article{Chachan2021Kepler167eAA,
  title={Kepler-167e as a Probe of the Formation Histories of Cold Giants with Inner Super-Earths},
  author={Yayaati Chachan and Paul A. Dalba and Heather A. Knutson and Benjamin J. Fulton and Daniel P. Thorngren and Charles A. Beichman and David R. Ciardi and Andrew W. Howard and Judah Van Zandt},
  journal={The Astrophysical Journal},
  year={2021},
  volume={926}
}

• Yayaati Chachan, P. Dalba, +6 authors Judah Van Zandt
• Published 1 December 2021
• Physics, Geology
• The Astrophysical Journal

The observed correlation between outer giant planets and inner super-Earths is emerging as an important constraint on planet formation theories. In this study, we focus on Kepler-167, which is currently the only system known to contain both inner transiting super-Earths and a confirmed outer transiting gas giant companion beyond 1 au. Using long-term radial velocity monitoring, we measure the mass of the gas giant Kepler-167e (P = 1071 days) to be 1.01−0.15+0.16 M J, thus confirming it as a Jupiter analog. We refit the Kepler photometry to obtain updated radii for all four planets. Using a planetary structure model, we estimate that Kepler-167e contains 66 ± 19 M ⊕ of solids and is significantly enriched in metals relative to its solar-metallicity host star. We use these new constraints to explore the broader question of how systems like Kepler-167 form in the pebble accretion framework for giant planet core formation. We utilize simple disk evolution models to demonstrate that more massive and metal-rich disks, which are the most favorable sites for giant planet formation, can also deliver enough solids to the inner disk to form systems of super-Earths. We use these same models to constrain the nature of Kepler-167's protoplanetary disk and find that it likely contained ≳300 M ⊕ of dust and was ≳40 au in size. These values overlap with the upper end of the observed dust mass and size distributions of Class 0 and I disks and are also consistent with the observed occurrence rate of Jupiter analogs around Sun-like stars.