A terrestrial planet candidate in a temperate orbit around Proxima Centauri

TL;DR

This paper reports the discovery of a small, Earth-mass planet orbiting Proxima Centauri within the habitable temperature zone, based on new observational data.

Contribution

It presents the detection of a terrestrial planet candidate around Proxima Centauri, a nearby red dwarf, with specific orbital and physical characteristics.

Findings

Detected a planet with minimum mass of 1.3 Earth masses

Orbital period of approximately 11.2 days

Orbital semi-major axis of about 0.05 AU

Abstract

At a distance of 1.295 parsecs, the red-dwarf Proxima Centauri ($\alpha$ Centauri C, GL 551, HIP 70890, or simply Proxima) is the Sun's closest stellar neighbor and one of the best studied low-mass stars. It has an effective temperature of only $\sim$ 3050 K, a luminosity of $\sim$0.1 per cent solar, a measured radius of 0.14 R$_\odot$ and a mass of about 12 per cent the mass of the Sun. Although Proxima is considered a moderately active star, its rotation period is $\sim$ 83 days, and its quiescent activity levels and X-ray luminosity are comparable to the Sun's. New observations reveal the presence of a small planet orbiting Proxima with a minimum mass of 1.3~Earth masses and an orbital period of $\sim$11.2 days. Its orbital semi-major axis is $\sim0.05$ AU, with an equilibrium temperature in the range where water could be liquid on its surface.