A resonant sextuplet of sub-Neptunes transiting the bright star HD 110067.
Rafael LuqueH P OsbornA LeleuEnric PalleA BonfantiO BarragánT G WilsonC BroegA Collier CameronM LendlP F L MaxtedY AlibertDavide GandolfiJean-Baptiste DelisleM J HootonJ A EggerG NowakM LafargaD RapettiJoseph D TwickenJ C MoralesI CarleoJ Orell-MiquelVardan AdibekyanR AlonsoA AlqasimP J AmadoD R AndersonG Anglada-EscudéT BandyT BárczyDavid BarradoS C C BarrosWolfgang BaumjohannD BaylissJ L BeanM BeckT BeckW BenzN BillotX BonfilsL BorsatoA W BoyleA BrandekerE M BryantJuan CabreraS Carrazco-GaxiolaD CharbonneauS CharnozD R CiardiWilliam D CochranK A CollinsI J M CrossfieldSzilárd CsizmadiaP E CubillosF DaiM B DaviesH J DeegM DeleuilA DelineL DelrezOlivier D S DemangeonB-O DemoryDavid EhrenreichA EriksonE Esparza-BorgesB FalkA FortierLuca FossatiM FridlundA FukuiJ Garcia-MejiaS GillM GillonE GoffoY Gómez Maqueo ChewM GüdelEike GuentherM N GüntherArtie P HatzesCh HellingK M HesseS B HowellS HoyerK IkutaK G IsaakJon M JenkinsT KagetaniL L KissT KodamaJudith KorthK W F LamJ LaskarDavid W LathamA Lecavelier des EtangsJ P D LeonJ H LivingstonD MagrinR A MatsonElisabeth C MatthewsChristoph MordasiniMayuko MoriM MoyanoM MunariFelipe MurgasNorio NaritaV NascimbeniG OlofssonH L M OsborneR OttensamerIsabella PaganoHannu ParviainenG PeterG PiottoD PollaccoDidier QuelozS N QuinnA QuirrenbachR RagazzoniN RandoF RattiH RauerSeth RedfieldIgnasi RibasGeorge R RickerA RudatL SabinS SalmonNuno C SantosG ScandariatoN SchancheJ E SchliederSara SeagerD SégransanA ShporerA E SimonAlexis M S SmithS G SousaM StalportGy M SzabóN ThomasA TusonStéphane UdryA M VanderburgV Van EylenV Van GrootelJ VenturiniI WalterN A WaltonN WatanabeJoshua N WinnTiziano ZingalesPublished in: Nature (2023)
Planets with radii between that of the Earth and Neptune (hereafter referred to as 'sub-Neptunes') are found in close-in orbits around more than half of all Sun-like stars 1,2 . However, their composition, formation and evolution remain poorly understood 3 . The study of multiplanetary systems offers an opportunity to investigate the outcomes of planet formation and evolution while controlling for initial conditions and environment. Those in resonance (with their orbital periods related by a ratio of small integers) are particularly valuable because they imply a system architecture practically unchanged since its birth. Here we present the observations of six transiting planets around the bright nearby star HD 110067. We find that the planets follow a chain of resonant orbits. A dynamical study of the innermost planet triplet allowed the prediction and later confirmation of the orbits of the rest of the planets in the system. The six planets are found to be sub-Neptunes with radii ranging from 1.94R ⊕ to 2.85R ⊕ . Three of the planets have measured masses, yielding low bulk densities that suggest the presence of large hydrogen-dominated atmospheres.