Publications (28)
The Role of Core Mass in Controlling Evaporation: the Kepler Radius Distribution and the Kepler-36 Density Dichotomy
Eric Lopez, Jonathan Fortney
We use models of coupled thermal evolution and photo-evaporative mass loss to understand the formation and evolution of the Kepler-36 system. We show that the large contrast in mea…
TOI-824 b: A New Planet on the Lower Edge of the Hot Neptune Desert
Jennifer A. Burt, Louise D. Nielsen, Samuel N. Quinn +54
We report the detection of a transiting hot Neptune exoplanet orbiting TOI-824 (SCR J1448-5735), a nearby (d = 64 pc) K4V star, using data from the \textit{Transiting Exoplanet Sur…
A pair of TESS planets spanning the radius valley around the nearby mid-M dwarf LTT 3780
Ryan Cloutier, Jason D. Eastman, Joseph E. Rodriguez +84
We present the confirmation of two new planets transiting the nearby mid-M dwarf LTT 3780 (TIC 36724087, TOI-732, , , =0.374 R, =0.401 M$_{\…
Disc fragmentation rarely forms planetary-mass objects
Ken Rice, Eric Lopez, Duncan Forgan +1
It is now reasonably clear that disc fragmentation can only operate in the outer parts of protostellar discs ( au). It is also expected that any object that forms via disc…
How Rocky Are They? The Composition Distribution of Kepler's Sub-Neptune Planet Candidates within 0.15 AU
Angie Wolfgang, Eric Lopez
The Kepler Mission has found thousands of planetary candidates with radii between 1 and 4 R. These planets have no analogues in our own Solar System, providing an unpreced…
Two Warm Super-Earths Transiting the Nearby M Dwarf TOI-2095
Elisa V. Quintana, Emily A. Gilbert, Thomas Barclay +55
We report the detection and validation of two planets orbiting TOI-2095 (TIC 235678745). The host star is a 3700K M1V dwarf with a high proper motion. The star lies at a distance o…
The sub-Neptune desert and its dependence on stellar type: Controlled by lifetime X-ray irradiation
George D. McDonald, Laura Kreidberg, Eric Lopez
Short-period sub-Neptunes with substantial volatile envelopes are among the most common type of known exoplanets. However, recent studies of the Kepler population have suggested a…
Habitable Evaporated Cores: Transforming Mini-Neptunes into Super-Earths in the Habitable Zones of M Dwarfs
Rodrigo Luger, Rory Barnes, Eric Lopez +3
We show that photoevaporation of small gaseous exoplanets ("mini-Neptunes") in the habitable zones of M dwarfs can remove several Earth masses of hydrogen and helium from these pla…
The Exoplanet Modeling and Analysis Center at NASA Goddard
Joe P. Renaud, Eric Lopez, Jonathan Brande +8
The Exoplanet Modeling and Analysis Center (EMAC) at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is a web-based catalog, repository, and integration platform for modeling and analysis resourc…
A Closely-Packed System of Low-Mass, Low-Density Planets Transiting Kepler-11
Jack J. Lissauer, Daniel C. Fabrycky, Eric B. Ford +36
When an extrasolar planet passes in front of its star (transits), its radius can be measured from the decrease in starlight and its orbital period from the time between transits. M…
The Kepler-19 system: a thick-envelope super-Earth with two Neptune-mass companions characterized using Radial Velocities and Transit Timing Variations
Luca Malavolta, Luca Borsato, Valentina Granata +36
We report a detailed characterization of the Kepler-19 system. This star was previously known to host a transiting planet with a period of 9.29 days, a radius of 2.2 R and…
Absence of extended atmospheres in low-mass star radius-gap planets GJ 9827 b, GJ 9827 d and TOI-1235 b
Vigneshwaran Krishnamurthy, Teruyuki Hirano, Eric Gaidos +20
\textit{Kepler} showed a paucity of planets with radii of 1.5 - 2 around solar mass stars but this radius-gap has not been well studied for low-mass star plane…
An ultra-short period rocky super-Earth with a secondary eclipse and a Neptune-like companion around K2-141
Luca Malavolta, Andrew W. Mayo, Tom Louden +44
Ultra-short period (USP) planets are a class of low mass planets with periods shorter than one day. Their origin is still unknown, with photo-evaporation of mini-Neptunes and in-si…
The L 98-59 System: Three Transiting, Terrestrial-Sized Planets Orbiting a Nearby M-dwarf
Veselin B. Kostov, Joshua E. Schlieder, Thomas Barclay +112
We report the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) discovery of three terrestrial-sized planets transiting L 98-59 (TOI-175, TIC 307210830) -- a bright M dwarf at a distanc…
The Importance of Multiple Observation Methods to Characterize Potentially Habitable Exoplanets: Ground- and Space-Based Synergies
Giada Arney, Natasha Batalha, Nicolas Cowan +8
The discovery of a truly habitable exoplanet would be one of the most important events in the history of science. However, the nature and distribution of habitable environments on…
The First Habitable Zone Earth-sized Planet from TESS. III: Climate States and Characterization Prospects for TOI-700 d
Gabrielle Suissa, Eric T. Wolf, Ravi kumar Kopparapu +11
We present self-consistent three-dimensional climate simulations of possible habitable states for the newly discovered Habitable Zone Earth-sized planet, TOI-700 d. We explore a va…
Four Sub-Saturns with Dissimilar Densities: Windows into Planetary Cores and Envelopes
Erik A. Petigura, Evan Sinukoff, Eric Lopez +12
We present results from a Keck/HIRES radial velocity campaign to study four sub-Saturn-sized planets, K2-27b, K2-32b, K2-39b, and K2-108b, with the goal of understanding their mass…
Ground-Based Radial Velocity as Critical Support for Future NASA Earth-Finding Missions
Courtney D. Dressing, Christopher C. Stark, Peter Plavchan +1
Future space-based direct imaging missions are poised to search for biosignatures in the atmospheres of potentially habitable planets orbiting nearby AFGKM stars. Although these mi…
The Habitable Exoplanet Observatory (HabEx) Mission Concept Study Final Report
B. Scott Gaudi, Sara Seager, Bertrand Mennesson +183
The Habitable Exoplanet Observatory, or HabEx, has been designed to be the Great Observatory of the 2030s. For the first time in human history, technologies have matured sufficient…
Understanding Exoplanet Atmospheres with UV Observations I: NUV and Blue/Optical
Jessie L. Christiansen, Thomas Barclay, Luca Fossati +6
Much of the focus of exoplanet atmosphere analysis in the coming decade will be atinfrared wavelengths, with the planned launches of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the W…
The First Habitable Zone Earth-Sized Planet From TESS II: Confirms TOI-700 d
Joseph E. Rodriguez, Andrew Vanderburg, Sebastian Zieba +43
We present 4.5m observations of the transit of TOI-700 d, a habitable zone Earth-sized planet in a multiplanet system transiting a nearby M-dwarf star (TIC 150428135,…
Imaging Cool Giant Planets in Reflected Light: Science Investigations and Synergy with Habitable Planets
Mark Marley, Nikole Lewis, Giada Arney +38
Planned astronomical observatories of the 2020s will be capable of obtaining reflected light photometry and spectroscopy of cool extrasolar giant planets. Here we explain that such…
Seeing double with K2: Testing re-inflation with two remarkably similar planets around red giant branch stars
Samuel K. Grunblatt, Daniel Huber, Eric Gaidos +15
Despite more than 20 years since the discovery of the first gas giant planet with an anomalously large radius, the mechanism for planet inflation remains unknown. Here, we report t…
A 1.9 Earth radius rocky planet and the discovery of a non-transiting planet in the Kepler-20 system
Lars A. Buchhave, Courtney D. Dressing, Xavier Dumusque +35
Kepler-20 is a solar-type star (V = 12.5) hosting a compact system of five transiting planets, all packed within the orbital distance of Mercury in our own Solar System. A transiti…
A giant impact as the likely origin of different twins in the Kepler-107 exoplanet system
Aldo S. Bonomo, Li Zeng, Mario Damasso +49
Measures of exoplanet bulk densities indicate that small exoplanets with radius less than 3 Earth radii () range from low-density sub-Neptunes containing volatile element…
Precise Masses in the WASP-47 System
Andrew Vanderburg, Juliette C. Becker, Lars A. Buchhave +32
We present precise radial velocity observations of WASP-47, a star known to host a hot Jupiter, a distant Jovian companion, and, uniquely, two additional transiting planets in shor…
Toward Complete Characterization: Prospects for Directly Imaging Transiting Exoplanets
Christopher C. Stark, Courtney Dressing, Shannon Dulz +4
High contrast direct imaging of exoplanets can provide many important observables, including measurements of the orbit, spectra that probe the lower layers of the atmosphere, and p…
The Kepler-454 System: A Small, Not-rocky Inner Planet, a Jovian World, and a Distant Companion
Sara Gettel, David Charbonneau, Courtney D. Dressing +47
Kepler-454 (KOI-273) is a relatively bright (V = 11.69 mag), Sun-like starthat hosts a transiting planet candidate in a 10.6 d orbit. From spectroscopy, we estimate the stellar tem…