• DOI:10.3847/1538-4365/ABB139
• Corpus ID: 221150644

Search for Nearby Earth Analogs .III. Detection of 10 New Planets, 3 Planet Candidates, and Confirmation of 3 Planets around 11 Nearby M Dwarfs

@article{Feng2020SearchFN,
  title={Search for Nearby Earth Analogs .III. Detection of 10 New Planets, 3 Planet Candidates, and Confirmation of 3 Planets around 11 Nearby M Dwarfs},
  author={Fabo Feng and Stephen A. Shectman and Matthew S. Clement and Steven S. Vogt and Mikko Tuomi and Johanna K. Teske and Jennifer A. Burt and Jeffrey D. Crane and Bradford P. Holden and Sharon Xuesong Wang and Ian B. Thompson and Mat{\'i}as R. D{\'i}az and R. Paul Butler},
  journal={The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series},
  year={2020},
  volume={250}
}

• F. Feng, S. Shectman, +10 authors R. P. Butler
• Published 18 August 2020
• Geology, Physics
• The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series

Earth-sized planets in the habitable zones of M dwarfs are good candidates for the study of habitability and detection of biosignatures. To search for these planets, we analyze all available radial velocity data and apply four signal detection criteria to select the optimal candidates. We find 10 strong candidates satisfying these criteria and three weak candidates showing inconsistency over time due to data samplings. We also confirm three previous planet candidates and improve their orbital solutions through combined analyses of updated data sets. Among the strong planet candidates, HIP 38594 b is a temperate super-Earth with a mass of 8.2 ± 1.7 M ⊕ and an orbital period of 60.7 ± 0.1 days, orbiting around an early-type M dwarf. Early-type M dwarfs are less active and thus are better hosts for habitable planets than mid-type and late-type M dwarfs. Moreover, we report the detection of five two-planet systems, including two systems made up of a warm or cold Neptune and a cold Jupiter, consistent with a positive correlation between these two types of planets. We also detect three temperate Neptunes, four cold Neptunes, and four cold Jupiters, contributing to a rarely explored planet population. Due to their proximity to the Sun, these planets on wide orbits are appropriate targets for direct imaging by future facilities such as the Habitable Exoplanet Observatory and the Extremely Large Telescope.