The occurrence of small, short-period planets younger than 200 Myr with TESS

The occurrence of small, short-period planets younger than 200 Myr with TESS

April 12, 2024 | SYDNEY VACH, GEORGE ZHOU, CHELSEA X. HUANG, JAMES G. ROGERS, L. G. BOUMA, STEPHANIE T. DOUGLAS, MICHELLE KUNIMOTO, ANDREW W. MANN, MADYSON G. BARBER, SAMUEL N. QUINN, DAVID W. LATHAM, ALLYSON BIERLYA, KAREN COLLINS
This study investigates the occurrence of small, short-period planets around young stars younger than 200 Myr using data from NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). The research team analyzed a sample of 7219 young stars observed in the first 4 years of TESS, focusing on planets with sizes between 2-8 R_⊕ and orbital periods between 1.6-20 days. They used a detection pipeline to identify planet candidates and performed injection and recovery simulations to assess the completeness of their survey. The results show an occurrence rate of 35±13% for mini-Neptunes and 27±10% for super-Neptunes from 2-minute cadence data, and 22±8.6% for mini-Neptunes and 13±3.9% for super-Neptunes from Full Frame Image (FFI) data. The study also compares these results with predictions from Kepler planet statistics and finds a mild increase in the occurrence of super-Neptunes and a significant increase in the occurrence of Neptune-sized planets with orbital periods of 6.2-12 days compared to their mature counterparts. The findings are consistent with evolutionary models of hydrogen-dominated atmospheres undergoing atmospheric escape, rather than heavier atmosphere models. The study highlights the importance of considering the age and evolutionary stage of stars when analyzing exoplanet occurrence rates. The results provide insights into the early evolution of planetary systems and the processes that shape their architectures.This study investigates the occurrence of small, short-period planets around young stars younger than 200 Myr using data from NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). The research team analyzed a sample of 7219 young stars observed in the first 4 years of TESS, focusing on planets with sizes between 2-8 R_⊕ and orbital periods between 1.6-20 days. They used a detection pipeline to identify planet candidates and performed injection and recovery simulations to assess the completeness of their survey. The results show an occurrence rate of 35±13% for mini-Neptunes and 27±10% for super-Neptunes from 2-minute cadence data, and 22±8.6% for mini-Neptunes and 13±3.9% for super-Neptunes from Full Frame Image (FFI) data. The study also compares these results with predictions from Kepler planet statistics and finds a mild increase in the occurrence of super-Neptunes and a significant increase in the occurrence of Neptune-sized planets with orbital periods of 6.2-12 days compared to their mature counterparts. The findings are consistent with evolutionary models of hydrogen-dominated atmospheres undergoing atmospheric escape, rather than heavier atmosphere models. The study highlights the importance of considering the age and evolutionary stage of stars when analyzing exoplanet occurrence rates. The results provide insights into the early evolution of planetary systems and the processes that shape their architectures.
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[slides and audio] The Occurrence of Small%2C Short-period Planets Younger than 200 Myr with TESS