2024/12/03 by Romy Rodríguez Martínez, Martinez, Romy Rodriguez, Jason D. Eastman +94
Physics and Astronomy · Engineering · #Astro and Planetary Science #Space Exploration and Technology #Astronomical Observations and Instrumentation
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2412.02769
We present the detection and characterization of TOI-4994b (TIC 277128619b), a warm Saturn-sized planet discovered by the NASA Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). TOI-4994b transits a G-type star (V = 12.6 mag) with a mass, radius, and effective temperature of M⋆ =1.005+0.064-0.061 M\odot, R⋆ = 1.055+0.040-0.037 R\odot, and T\rm eff = 5640 ± 110 K. We obtained follow-up ground-based photometry from the Las Cumbres Observatory (LCO) and the Antarctic Search for Transiting ExoPlanets (ASTEP) telescopes, and we confirmed the planetary nature of TOI-4994b with multiple radial velocity observations from the PFS, CHIRON, HARPS, FEROS, and CORALIE instruments. From a global fit to the photometry and radial velocities, we determine that TOI-4994b is in a 21.5-day, eccentric orbit (e = 0.32 ± 0.04) and has a mass of MP= 0.280+0.037-0.034 MJ, a radius of RP= 0.762+0.030-0.027RJ, and a Saturn-like bulk density of ρp = 0.78+0.16-0.14 \rm g/cm3. We find that TOI-4994 is a potentially viable candidate for follow-up stellar obliquity measurements. TOI-4994b joins the small sample of warm Saturn analogs and thus sheds light on our understanding of these rare and unique worlds.