Search for Nearby Earth Analogs. II. detection of five new planets, eight planet candidates, and confirmation of three planets around nine nearby M dwarfs. (arXiv:2001.02577v1 [astro-ph.EP])

Search for Nearby Earth Analogs. II. detection of five new planets, eight planet candidates, and confirmation of three planets around nine nearby M dwarfs. (arXiv:2001.02577v1 [astro-ph.EP])
<a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Feng_F/0/1/0/all/0/1">Fabo Feng</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Butler_R/0/1/0/all/0/1">R. Paul Butler</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Shectman_S/0/1/0/all/0/1">Stephen A. Shectman</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Crane_J/0/1/0/all/0/1">Jeffrey D. Crane</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Vogt_S/0/1/0/all/0/1">Steve Vogt</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Chambers_J/0/1/0/all/0/1">John Chambers</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Jones_H/0/1/0/all/0/1">Hugh R. A. Jones</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Wang_S/0/1/0/all/0/1">Sharon Xuesong Wang</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Teske_J/0/1/0/all/0/1">Johanna K. Teske</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Burt_J/0/1/0/all/0/1">Jenn Burt</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Diaz_M/0/1/0/all/0/1">Matias R. Diaz</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Thompson_I/0/1/0/all/0/1">Ian B. Thompson</a>

Zechmeister et al. (2009) surveyed 38 nearby M dwarfs from March 2000 to
March 2007 with VLT2 and the UVES spectrometer. This data has recently been
reanalyzed (Butler et al. 2019), yielding a significant improvement in the
Doppler velocity precision. Spurred by this, we have combined the UVES data
with velocity sets from HARPS, Magellan/PFS, and Keck/HIRES. Sixteen planet
candidates have been uncovered orbiting nine M dwarfs. Five of them are new
planets corresponding to radial velocity signals, which are not sensitive to
the choice of noise models and are identified in multiple data sets over
various timespans. Eight candidate planets require additional observation to be
confirmed. We also confirm three previously reported planets. Among the new
planets, GJ 180 d and GJ 229A c are super-Earths located in the conservative
habitable zones of their host stars. We investigate their dynamical stability
using the Monte Carlo approach and find both planetary orbits are robust to the
gravitational perturbations of the companion planets. Due to their proximity to
the Sun, the angular separation between the host stars and the potentially
habitable planets in these two systems is 25 and 59 mas, respectively. They are
thus good candidates for future direct imaging by JWST and E-ELT. In addition
we find GJ 433 c, a cold super-Neptune belonging to an unexplored population of
Neptune-like planets. With a separation of 0.5 as from its host star, GJ 433 c
is probably the first realistic candidate for direct imaging of cold Neptunes.
A comprehensive survey of these planets is important for the studies of planet
formation.

Zechmeister et al. (2009) surveyed 38 nearby M dwarfs from March 2000 to
March 2007 with VLT2 and the UVES spectrometer. This data has recently been
reanalyzed (Butler et al. 2019), yielding a significant improvement in the
Doppler velocity precision. Spurred by this, we have combined the UVES data
with velocity sets from HARPS, Magellan/PFS, and Keck/HIRES. Sixteen planet
candidates have been uncovered orbiting nine M dwarfs. Five of them are new
planets corresponding to radial velocity signals, which are not sensitive to
the choice of noise models and are identified in multiple data sets over
various timespans. Eight candidate planets require additional observation to be
confirmed. We also confirm three previously reported planets. Among the new
planets, GJ 180 d and GJ 229A c are super-Earths located in the conservative
habitable zones of their host stars. We investigate their dynamical stability
using the Monte Carlo approach and find both planetary orbits are robust to the
gravitational perturbations of the companion planets. Due to their proximity to
the Sun, the angular separation between the host stars and the potentially
habitable planets in these two systems is 25 and 59 mas, respectively. They are
thus good candidates for future direct imaging by JWST and E-ELT. In addition
we find GJ 433 c, a cold super-Neptune belonging to an unexplored population of
Neptune-like planets. With a separation of 0.5 as from its host star, GJ 433 c
is probably the first realistic candidate for direct imaging of cold Neptunes.
A comprehensive survey of these planets is important for the studies of planet
formation.

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