The HARPS search for southern extra-solar planets. XXXVIII. Bayesian re-analysis of three systems. New super-Earths, unconfirmed signals, and magnetic cycles

TL;DR

This study re-analyzed HARPS data for three star systems using Bayesian methods, confirming some planets, discovering a new super-Earth, and questioning the existence of a habitable-zone candidate, while accounting for stellar activity effects.

Contribution

The paper applies Bayesian analysis with activity proxies to re-evaluate planetary signals, improving detection reliability and addressing previous uncertainties in the systems.

Findings

Confirmed four planets in HD40307

Discovered a new super-Earth in HD1461

Questioned the existence of HD40307 g as a habitable candidate

Abstract

We present the analysis of the entire HARPS observations of three stars that host planetary systems: HD1461, HD40307, and HD204313. The data set spans eight years and contains more than 200 nightly averaged velocity measurements for each star. This means that it is sensitive to both long-period and low-mass planets and also to the effects induced by stellar activity cycles. We modelled the data using Keplerian functions that correspond to planetary candidates and included the short- and long-term effects of magnetic activity. A Bayesian approach was taken both for the data modelling, which allowed us to include information from activity proxies such as $\log{(R'_{\rm HK})}$ in the velocity modelling, and for the model selection, which permitted determining the number of significant signals in the system. The Bayesian model comparison overcomes the limitations inherent to the traditional periodogram analysis. We report an additional super-Earth planet in the HD1461 system. Four out of the six planets previously reported for HD40307 are confirmed and characterised. We discuss the remaining two proposed signals. In particular, we show that when the systematic uncertainty associated with the techniques for estimating model probabilities are taken into account, the current data are not conclusive concerning the existence of the habitable-zone candidate HD40307 g. We also fully characterise the Neptune-mass planet that orbits HD204313 in 34.9 days.