Planet occurrence rates calculated for KOIs

At the orbital periods and planet radii where Kepler observations are complete for all spectral types, the average heavy-element mass locked up in exoplanets increases roughly inversely with stellar mass from 4M_{Earth}_ in F stars to 5M_{Earth}_in G and K stars to 7M_{Earth}_ in M stars. This trend stands in stark contrast with observed protoplanetary disk masses that decrease toward lower mass stars, and provides a challenge for current planet formation models.

Neither models of in situ formation nor migration of fully formed planets are consistent with these results. Instead, these results are indicative of large-scale inward migration of planetary building blocks --either through type-I migration or radial drift of dust grains-- that is more efficient for lower mass stars, but does not result in significantly larger or smaller planets.