Planet Hunters Tess I: TOI 813, a subgiant hosting a transiting Saturn-sized planet on an 84-day orbit

Authors

N. L. Eisner, University of Oxford
O. Barragán, University of Oxford
S. Aigrain, University of Oxford
C. Lintott, University of Oxford
G. Miller, University of Oxford
N. Zicher, University of Oxford
T. S. Boyajian, Louisiana State University
C. Briceño, Cerro Tololo Inter American Observatory
E. M. Bryant, University of Warwick
J. L. Christiansen, NASA Ames Research Center
A. D. Feinstein, The University of Chicago
L. M. Flor-Torres, Universidad de Guanajuato
M. Fridlund, Onsala Space Observatory
D. Gandolfi, Università degli Studi di Torino
J. Gilbert, Australian National University, Mount Stromlo Observatory
N. Guerrero, MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research
J. M. Jenkins, NASA Ames Research Center
K. Jones, University of Oxford
M. H. Kristiansen, Danmarks Tekniske Universitet
A. Vanderburg, The University of Texas at Austin
N. Law, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
A. R. López-Sánchez, Macquarie University
A. W. Mann, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
E. J. Safron, Louisiana State University
M. E. Schwamb, Gemini Observatory
K. G. Stassun, Vanderbilt University
H. P. Osborn, Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille
J. Wang, Yale University
A. Zic, The University of Sydney
C. Ziegler, Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics
F. Barnet
S. J. Bean
D. M. Bundy

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-1-2020

Abstract

We report on the discovery and validation of TOI 813 b (TIC55525572b), a transiting exoplanet identified by citizen scientists in data from NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and the first planet discovered by the Planet Hunters TESS project. The host star is a bright (V = 10.3 mag) subgiant (R* = 1.94 R☉, M☉ = 1.32 M☉). It was observed almost continuously by TESS during its first year of operations, during which time four individual transit events were detected. The candidate passed all the standard light curve-based vetting checks, and ground-based follow-up spectroscopy and speckle imaging enabled us to place an upper limit of 2 MJup (99 per cent confidence) on the mass of the companion, and to statistically validate its planetary nature. Detailed modelling of the transits yields a period of 83.8911+0.0027-0.0031 d, a planet radius of 6.71 ± 0.38 R⊕ and a semimajor axis of 0.423+0031-0.037 AU. The planet's orbital period combined with the evolved nature of the host star places this object in a relatively underexplored region of parameter space. We estimate that TOI 813 b induces a reflex motion in its host star with a semi-amplitude of ∼6 m s−1, making this a promising system to measure the mass of a relatively long-period transiting planet.

Publication Source (Journal or Book title)

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

First Page

750

Last Page

763

Recommended Citation

Eisner, N., Barragán, O., Aigrain, S., Lintott, C., Miller, G., Zicher, N., Boyajian, T., Briceño, C., Bryant, E., Christiansen, J., Feinstein, A., Flor-Torres, L., Fridlund, M., Gandolfi, D., Gilbert, J., Guerrero, N., Jenkins, J., Jones, K., Kristiansen, M., Vanderburg, A., Law, N., López-Sánchez, A., Mann, A., Safron, E., Schwamb, M., Stassun, K., Osborn, H., Wang, J., Zic, A., Ziegler, C., Barnet, F., Bean, S., & Bundy, D. (2020). Planet Hunters Tess I: TOI 813, a subgiant hosting a transiting Saturn-sized planet on an 84-day orbit. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 494 (1), 750-763. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staa138