An asteroseismic view of the radius valley: stripped cores, not born rocky
Vincent Van Eylen, Camilla Agentoft, Mia. S. Lundkvist, Hans Kjeldsen,, James E. Owen, Benjamin J. Fulton, Erik Petigura, Ignas Snellen

TL;DR
This study uses precise asteroseismic data to analyze the radius distribution of exoplanets, confirming a bimodal radius valley that supports photo-evaporation models and suggests rocky planetary cores.
Contribution
It provides the first detailed characterization of the radius valley using asteroseismology, confirming its shape and slope with high-precision stellar parameters.
Findings
Detection of a clear bimodal distribution of planet radii.
The radius valley has a negative slope consistent with photo-evaporation models.
Planet cores likely contain a significant rocky component.
Abstract
Various theoretical models treating the effect of stellar irradiation on planetary envelopes predict the presence of a radius valley: i.e. a bimodal distribution of planet radii, with super-Earths and sub-Neptune planets separated by a valley at around . Such a valley was observed recently, owing to an improvement in the precision of stellar, and therefore planetary radii. Here we investigate the presence, location and shape of such a valley using a small sample with highly accurate stellar parameters determined from asteroseismology, which includes 117 planets with a median uncertainty on the radius of 3.3%. We detect a clear bimodal distribution, with super-Earths () and sub-Neptunes () separated by a deficiency around . We furthermore characterize the slope of the valley as a power law …
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