TOI-1338: TESS' First Transiting Circumbinary Planet

Maxted

Abstract

We report the detection of the first circumbinary planet (CBP) found by Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). The target, a known eclipsing binary, was observed in sectors 1 through 12 at 30 minute cadence and in sectors 4 through 12 at 2 minute cadence. It consists of two stars with masses of 1.1 M ? and 0.3 M ? on a slightly eccentric (0.16), 14.6 day orbit, producing prominent primary eclipses and shallow secondary eclipses. The planet has a radius of ~6.9 R ? and was observed to make three transits across the primary star of roughly equal depths (~0.2%) but different durations—a common signature of transiting CBPs. Its orbit is nearly circular (e ˜ 0.09) with an orbital period of 95.2 days. The orbital planes of the binary and the planet are aligned to within ~1°. To obtain a complete solution for the system, we combined the TESS photometry with existing ground-based radial-velocity observations in a numerical photometric-dynamical model. The system demonstrates the discovery potential of TESS for CBPs and provides further understanding of the formation and evolution of planets orbiting close binary stars.

Citation

Maxted. (2020). TOI-1338: TESS' First Transiting Circumbinary Planet. Astronomical Journal, https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ab8a48

• Acceptance Date: Apr 15, 2020
• Publication Date: May 7, 2020
• Journal: Astronomical Journal
• Print ISSN: 0004-6256
• Publisher: American Astronomical Society
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ab8a48
• Keywords: exoplanet astronomy, eclipsing binary stars
• Publisher URL: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-3881/ab8a48