TESS Discovery of a Transiting Super-Earth in the $Ï$ Mensae System
arXiv:1809.05967 · doi:10.3847/2041-8213/aaef91
Abstract
We report the detection of a transiting planet around $Ï$ Mensae (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 $2.04\pm 0.05$ $R_\oplus$ 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 $4.82\pm 0.85$ $M_\oplus$. The star's proximity and brightness will facilitate further investigations, such as atmospheric spectroscopy, asteroseismology, the Rossiter--McLaughlin effect, astrometry, and direct imaging.
Accepted for publication ApJ Letters. This letter makes use of the TESS Alert data, which is currently in a beta test phase. The discovery light curve is included in a table inside the arxiv submission