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Towards the characterization of the hot Neptune/super-Earth population around nearby bright stars

Lovis, C. ; Mayor, M. ; Bouchy, F. ; Pepe, F. ; Queloz, D. ; Udry, S. ; Benz, W. ; Mordasini, C.

In: Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union, 2008, vol. 4, no. S253, p. 502-505

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    Titre
    • Towards the characterization of the hot Neptune/super-Earth population around nearby bright stars
    Auteur
    • Lovis, C.. Observatoire de Genève, Université de Genève, 51 ch. des Maillettes, CH-1290 Sauverny, Switzerland email: christophe.lovis@obs.unige.ch
    • Mayor, M.. Observatoire de Genève, Université de Genève, 51 ch. des Maillettes, CH-1290 Sauverny, Switzerland email: christophe.lovis@obs.unige.ch
    • Bouchy, F.. Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris, 98bis Bd Arago, F-75014 Paris, France
    • Pepe, F.. Observatoire de Genève, Université de Genève, 51 ch. des Maillettes, CH-1290 Sauverny, Switzerland email: christophe.lovis@obs.unige.ch
    • Queloz, D.. Observatoire de Genève, Université de Genève, 51 ch. des Maillettes, CH-1290 Sauverny, Switzerland email: christophe.lovis@obs.unige.ch
    • Udry, S.. Observatoire de Genève, Université de Genève, 51 ch. des Maillettes, CH-1290 Sauverny, Switzerland email: christophe.lovis@obs.unige.ch
    • Benz, W.. Physikalisches Institut, Universität Bern, Sidlerstrasse 5, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland
    • Mordasini, C.. Physikalisches Institut, Universität Bern, Sidlerstrasse 5, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland
    Type de document
    • Postprint
    Langue
    • Anglais
    Publié dans
    • Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union, 2008, vol. 4, no. S253, p. 502-505. Cambridge University Press
    Autre version électronique
    Classification
    • Astronomie, Astrophysique
    Identifiant OAI-PMH
    • oai:doc.rero.ch:301170
    Summary
    The HARPS search for low-mass extrasolar planets has been ongoing for more than 4 years, targeting originally about 400 bright FGK dwarfs in the solar neighbourhood. The published low-mass planetary systems coming from this survey are fully confirmed by subsequent observations, which demonstrate the sub-m/s long-term stability reached by HARPS. The complex RV curves of these systems have led us to focus on a smaller sample of stars, accumulating more data points per star. We perform a global search in our data to assess the existence of the large population of ice giants and super-Earths predicted by numerical simulations of planet formation. We indeed detect about 45 candidates having minimum masses below 30 M and orbital periods below 50 days. These numbers are preliminary since the existence of these objects has to be confirmed by subsequent observations. However, they indicate that about 30% of solar-type stars may have such close-in, low-mass planets. Some emerging properties of this low-mass population are presented. We finally discuss the prospects for finding transiting objects among these candidates, which may possibly yield the first nearby, transiting super-Earth