Discovery of a hot, transiting, Earth-sized planet and a second temperate, non-transiting planet around the M4 dwarf GJ 3473 (TOI-488)

Abstract

We present the confirmation and characterisation of GJ 3473 b (G 50--16, TOI-488.01), a hot Earth-sized planet orbiting an M4 dwarf star, whose transiting signal ($P=1.1980035\pm 0.0000018\mathrm{d}$) was first detected by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). Through a joint modelling of follow-up radial velocity observations with CARMENES, IRD, and HARPS together with extensive ground-based photometric follow-up observations with LCOGT, MuSCAT, and MuSCAT2, we determined a precise planetary mass, $M_b=1.86\pm 0.30{\mathrm{M}}_{\oplus },$ and radius, $R_b=1.264\pm 0.050{\mathrm{R}}_{\oplus }$. Additionally, we report the discovery of a second, temperate, non-transiting planet in the system, GJ 3473 c, which has a minimum mass, $M_c\sin i=7.41\pm 0.91{\mathrm{M}}_{\oplus },$ and orbital period, $P_c=15.509\pm 0.033\mathrm{d}$. The inner planet of the system, GJ 3473 b, is one of the hottest transiting Earth-sized planets known thus far, accompanied by a dynamical mass measurement, which makes it a particularly attractive target for thermal emission spectroscopy.

21 pages; accepted for publication in A&A