Revising Properties of Planet-host Binary Systems II: Apparent Near-Earth Analog Planets in Binaries Are Often Sub-Neptunes. (arXiv:2208.07428v1 [astro-ph.EP])
<a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Sullivan_K/0/1/0/all/0/1">Kendall Sullivan</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Kraus_A/0/1/0/all/0/1">Adam L. Kraus</a>
Identifying rocky planets in or near the habitable zones of their stars
(near-Earth analogs) is one of the key motivations of many past and present
planet-search missions. The census of near-Earth analogs is important because
it informs calculations of the occurrence rate of Earth-like planets, which in
turn feed into calculations of the yield of future missions to directly image
other Earths. Only a small number of potential near-Earth analogs have been
identified, meaning that each planet should be vetted carefully and then
incorporated into the occurrence rate calculation. A number of putative
near-Earth analogs have been identified within binary star systems. However,
stellar multiplicity can bias measured planetary properties, meaning that
apparent near-Earth analogs in close binaries may have different radii or
instellations than initially measured. We simultaneously fit unresolved optical
spectroscopy, optical speckle and near-infrared AO contrasts, and unresolved
photometry, and retrieved revised stellar temperatures and radii for a sample
of 11 binary Kepler targets that host at least one near-Earth analog planet,
for a total of 17 planet candidates. We found that 10 of the 17 planets in our
sample had radii that fell in or above the radius gap, suggesting that they are
not rocky planets. Only 2 planets retained super-Earth radii and stayed in the
habitable zone, making them good candidates for inclusion in rocky planet
occurrence rate calculations.
Identifying rocky planets in or near the habitable zones of their stars
(near-Earth analogs) is one of the key motivations of many past and present
planet-search missions. The census of near-Earth analogs is important because
it informs calculations of the occurrence rate of Earth-like planets, which in
turn feed into calculations of the yield of future missions to directly image
other Earths. Only a small number of potential near-Earth analogs have been
identified, meaning that each planet should be vetted carefully and then
incorporated into the occurrence rate calculation. A number of putative
near-Earth analogs have been identified within binary star systems. However,
stellar multiplicity can bias measured planetary properties, meaning that
apparent near-Earth analogs in close binaries may have different radii or
instellations than initially measured. We simultaneously fit unresolved optical
spectroscopy, optical speckle and near-infrared AO contrasts, and unresolved
photometry, and retrieved revised stellar temperatures and radii for a sample
of 11 binary Kepler targets that host at least one near-Earth analog planet,
for a total of 17 planet candidates. We found that 10 of the 17 planets in our
sample had radii that fell in or above the radius gap, suggesting that they are
not rocky planets. Only 2 planets retained super-Earth radii and stayed in the
habitable zone, making them good candidates for inclusion in rocky planet
occurrence rate calculations.
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