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Table · dataset · 2026

TOI-521 and TOI-912 RV datasets

Listed in IVOA Registry (Virtual Observatory)

Sub-Neptunes are absent in the Solar System, yet they are the most common category of planets found in our Galaxy.

Description

This kind of planet challenges the internal structure models and prompts investigation on their formation and evolution, as well as pushing towards atmospheric characterisation studies to break the degeneracy in their inner composition. We report here the discovery and characterisation of new sub-Neptunes orbiting two similar M dwarfs, TOI-521 (Teff=3544+/-100K, V=14.7mag), and TOI-912 (Teff=3572+/-100K, V=12.7mag).

Both stars host a transiting planetary candidate identified by TESS and are part of the THIRSTEE follow-up program, which aims at understanding the sub-Neptune population through in-depth and precise characterisation studies on a population level. We analysed TESS light curves, ground-based photometry and high-precision ESPRESSO, HARPS and IRD radial velocities to confirm the planetary nature of both candidates, infer precise orbital and physical parameters of the planets and investigate the presence of additional planets in the systems.

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The two stars host nearly identical planets in terms of mass and radius. TOI-521 hosts a transiting sub-Neptune in a 1.5-days orbit with radius and mass of R_b_=1.98+/-0.14R_{Earth}_ and M_b_=5.3+/-1.0M_{Earth}_, respectively. Moreover, we identified an additional candidate at 20.3-days, with a minimum mass of Mpsin(i)=10.7M_{Earth}_, currently not detected to transit in our photometric dataset.

Similarly, the planet orbiting TOI-912 is a 4.7-d sub-Neptune with R_b_=1.93+/-0.13R_{Earth}_ and M_b_=5.1+/-0.5M_{Earth}_. Interestingly, TOI-912 b likely possesses an unusually high eccentricity (e=0.58+/-0.02), and it is probably undergoing strong tidal dissipation. If such eccentricity is confirmed, it would make it one of the most eccentric sub-Neptunes known to date.

TOI-521 b and TOI-912 b have very similar densities (4g/cm^3^), and they lie in the degenerate region of the mass-radius diagram where different compositions are plausible, including a volatile-rich composition, or a rocky core surrounded by a H-He envelope. When compared to the other THIRSTEE M-dwarf targets, our sample supports the division of sub-Neptunes into two distinct populations divided by a density gap. Both planets are interesting targets for atmospheric follow-up in the context of understanding the temperature-atmospheric feature trend that starts to emerge thanks to JWST observations.

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Optical
Provenance · 1 source records, 8 field assertions
SourceKeyLast seenRaw
IVOA Registry (Virtual Observatory)ivo://cds.vizier/j/a+a/705/a26014 d agoJSON v1
FieldAssertionExtractorEvidence
access_levelsource · IVOA Registryconnector:ivoa_registry@1.0.0
concepts[field].local:field:astronomymapping · IVOA Registryconnector:ivoa_registry@1.0.0
concepts[modality].ivoa_waveband:opticalsource · IVOA Registryconnector:ivoa_registry@1.0.0
descriptionsource · IVOA Registryconnector:ivoa_registry@1.0.0rr.resource.res_description
license_textsource · IVOA Registryconnector:ivoa_registry@1.0.0
publication_datesource · IVOA Registryconnector:ivoa_registry@1.0.0
titlesource · IVOA Registryconnector:ivoa_registry@1.0.0rr.resource.res_title
updated_datesource · IVOA Registryconnector:ivoa_registry@1.0.0