The orbit and mass of the third planet in the Kepler-56 system
Abstract
While the vast majority of multiple-planet systems have orbital angular momentum axes that align with the spin axis of their host star, Kepler-56 is an exception: its two transiting planets are coplanar yet misaligned by at least 40° with respect to the rotation axis of their host star. Additional follow-up observations of Kepler-56 suggest the presence of a massive, non-transiting companion that may help explain this misalignment. We model the transit data along with Keck/HIRES and HARPS-N radial velocity data to update the masses of the two transiting planets and infer the physical properties of the third, non-transiting planet. We employ a Markov Chain Monte Carlo sampler to calculate the best-fitting orbital parameters and their uncertainties for each planet. We find the outer planet has a period of 1002 ± 5 days and minimum mass of 5.61 ± 0.38 MJup . We also place a 95% upper limit of 0.80 m s-1 yr-1 on long-term trends caused by additional, more distant companions.
Citation
Otor , O J , Montet , B T , Johnson , J A , Charbonneau , D , Collier Cameron , A , Howard , A W , Isaacson , H , Latham , D W , Lopez-Morales , M , Lovis , C , Mayor , M , Micela , G , Molinari , E , Pepe , F , Piotto , G , Phillips , D F , Queloz , D , Rice , K , Sasselov , D , Ségransan , D , Sozzetti , A , Udry , S & Watson , C 2016 , ' The orbit and mass of the third planet in the Kepler-56 system ' , Astronomical Journal , vol. 152 , no. 6 , 165 . https://doi.org/10.3847/0004-6256/152/6/165
Publication
Astronomical Journal
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
0004-6256Type
Journal article
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