A Neptune-mass exoplanet in close orbit around a very low-mass star challenges formation models

Theories of planet formation predict that low-mass stars should rarely host exoplanets with masses exceeding that of Neptune. We used radial velocity observations to detect a Neptune-mass exoplanet orbiting LHS 3154, a star that is nine times less massive than the Sun. The exoplanet's orbital period is 3.7 days, and its minimum mass is 13.2 Earth masses. We used simulations to show that the high planet-to-star mass ratio (>3.5 × 10-3) is not an expected outcome of either the core accretion or gravitational instability theories of planet formation. In the core-accretion simulations, we show that close-in Neptune-mass planets are only formed if the dust mass of the protoplanetary disk is an order of magnitude greater than typically observed around very low-mass stars.

This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of the AAAS for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Science 382, 2023-12-01, doi: 10.1126/science.abo0233.

Files

Metadata

Work Title A Neptune-mass exoplanet in close orbit around a very low-mass star challenges formation models
Access
Open Access
Creators
  1. Guðmundur Stefánsson
  2. Suvrath Mahadevan
  3. Yamila Miguel
  4. Paul Robertson
  5. Megan Delamer
  6. Shubham Kanodia
  7. Caleb I. Cañas
  8. Joshua N. Winn
  9. Joe P. Ninan
  10. Ryan C. Terrien
  11. Rae Holcomb
  12. Eric B. Ford
  13. Brianna Zawadzki
  14. Brendan P. Bowler
  15. Chad F. Bender
  16. William D. Cochran
  17. Scott Diddams
  18. Michael Endl
  19. Connor Fredrick
  20. Samuel Halverson
  21. Frederick R. Hearty
  22. Gary J. Hill
  23. Andrea S.J. Lin
  24. Andrew J. Metcalf
  25. Andrew Monson
  26. Lawrence William Ramsey
  27. Arpita Roy
  28. Christian Schwab
  29. Jason T. Wright
  30. Gregory Zeimann
License In Copyright (Rights Reserved)
Work Type Article
Publisher
  1. Science
Publication Date November 30, 2023
Publisher Identifier (DOI)
  1. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abo0233
Deposited February 02, 2024

Versions

Analytics

Collections

This resource is currently not in any collection.

Work History

Version 1
published

  • Created
  • Added lhs3154_main.pdf
  • Added lhs3154_supplement.pdf
  • Added Creator Guðmundur Stefánsson
  • Added Creator Suvrath Mahadevan
  • Added Creator Yamila Miguel
  • Added Creator Paul Robertson
  • Added Creator Megan Delamer
  • Added Creator Shubham Kanodia
  • Added Creator Caleb I. Cañas
  • Added Creator Joshua N. Winn
  • Added Creator Joe P. Ninan
  • Added Creator Ryan C. Terrien
  • Added Creator Rae Holcomb
  • Added Creator Eric B. Ford
  • Added Creator Brianna Zawadzki
  • Added Creator Brendan P. Bowler
  • Added Creator Chad F. Bender
  • Added Creator William D. Cochran
  • Added Creator Scott Diddams
  • Added Creator Michael Endl
  • Added Creator Connor Fredrick
  • Added Creator Samuel Halverson
  • Added Creator Frederick R. Hearty
  • Added Creator Gary J. Hill
  • Added Creator Andrea S.J. Lin
  • Added Creator Andrew J. Metcalf
  • Added Creator Andrew Monson
  • Added Creator Lawrence William Ramsey
  • Added Creator Arpita Roy
  • Added Creator Christian Schwab
  • Added Creator Jason T. Wright
  • Added Creator Gregory Zeimann
  • Published
  • Updated Publication Date Show Changes
    Publication Date
    • 2023-12-01
    • 2023-11-30
  • Updated