The TESS-Keck Survey. VI. Two Eccentric sub-Neptunes Orbiting HIP-97166

Abstract

We report the discovery of HIP-97166b (TOI-1255b), a transiting sub-Neptune on a 10.3-day orbit around a K0 dwarf 68 pc from Earth. This planet was identified in a systematic search of TESS Objects of Interest for planets with eccentric orbits, based on a mismatch between the observed transit duration and the expected duration for a circular orbit. We confirmed the planetary nature of HIP-97166b with ground-based radial velocity measurements and measured a mass of $M_b=$ 20 $\pm$ 2 $M_\bigoplus$ along with a radius of $R_b=$ 2.7 $\pm$ 0.1 $R_\bigoplus$ from photometry. We detected an additional non-transiting planetary companion with $M_c$ sin$i=$ 10 $\pm$ 2 $M_\bigoplus$ on a 16.8-day orbit. While the short transit duration of the inner planet initially suggested a high eccentricity, a joint RV-photometry analysis revealed a high impact parameter $b=0.84\pm 0.03$ and a moderate eccentricity. Modeling the dynamics with the condition that the system remain stable over $>$10${}^5$ orbits yielded eccentricity constraints $e_b=0.16\pm 0.03$ and $e_c<0.25$. The eccentricity we find for planet b is above average for the small population of sub-Neptunes with well-measured eccentricities. We explored the plausible formation pathways of this system, proposing an early instability and merger event to explain the high density of the inner planet at $5.3\pm 0.9$ g/cc as well as its moderate eccentricity and proximity to a 5:3 mean-motion resonance.

Accepted at The Astronomical Journal; 15 pages, 10 figures