Using the spectrographs of the CARMENES instrument installed on the 3.5-meter telescope at the Calar Alto Observatory in Spain, an international team of astronomers discovered two almost identical super-earths(GJ 3779b, GJ 1265b) in orbits of red dwarfs.
We report the discovery of two planetary satellites orbiting around low-mass stars. The discovery is based on the analysis of observations of the radial velocity.
-study authors
Today confirmed the existence of about four thousand exoplanets. The overwhelming majority of them are openly by the transit method, based on fixing dips in the star’s luminosity, which indicate the passage of the planet through its disk. This search strategy is used by Kepler telescopes and the recently launched TESS.
However, to open distant worlds with the transit method, their orbit must cross an imaginary line between the observer and the target star. But what about the planets that stubbornly hide from us? Here, among others, Doppler spectroscopy comes to the rescue, which is based on capturing the tiny oscillations of a star under the influence of the gravity of its planetary satellites. This approach provided the discovery of the nearest exoplanets Proxima b, as well as the most promising candidate for the existence of life – Ross 128 b.
The CARMENES project started on January 1, 2016 and is designed for three years. Its main scientific goal is to survey about 300 elderly closest to us, which means quiet red dwarfs in search of earth-like planets of small mass (up to 2 Earth masses) in the habitable zone.
Despite the fact that the second Earth has not yet been discovered, the new find CARMENES surprises with the identity of the open worlds. First, both exoplanets, GJ 3779b (45 light-years from Earth) and GJ 1265b (33 light-years from Earth), are 3026 astronomical units from their stars. Secondly, the year on each of them lasts less than 4 Earth days, more precisely 3.02 days and 3.65 days, respectively. Thirdly, the mass of both super-Earths is approximately 8 Earth masses. And, finally, the first and second planets lie outside the habitable zone.
The data obtained again raise the question of the formation of massive lands, whose analogues have not yet been found in the solar system. The fact is that almost all known super-Earths in the range of 5-8 Earth masses are single and have no neighbors. Conversely, less massive exoplanets (0.5–2 Earth masses) mostly live in multi-planet families. In addition, it is not yet open worlds with masses from 2 to 5 Earth masses with a period of less than 10 Earth days.
All this suggests the idea that either massive super-earths in the orbits of red dwarfs somehow impede the birth of smaller neighbors, or are formed during their collisions. In addition, the processes may depend on the mass of the parent star. The researchers note that the discovery of a larger number of worlds similar to the GJ 3779b and GJ 1265b over the next few years should answer this question.
Two hot super-Earths discovered that pose new questions about planet formation
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