_version_ 1866909490309234688
author Armstrong, David J.
Osborn, Ares
Burn, Remo
Venturini, Julia
Adibekyan, Vardan
Bonfanti, Andrea
Burt, Jennifer A.
Collins, Karen A.
Mena, Elisa Delgado
Hadjigeorghiou, Andreas
Howell, Steve
Quinn, Sam
Sousa, Sergio G.
Keniger, Marcelo Aron F.
Barrado, David
Barros, Susana C. C.
Bayliss, Daniel
Bouchy, François
Castro-González, Amadeo
Collins, Kevin I.
Conti, Denis M.
Crossfield, Ian M.
Diaz, Rodrigo
Dumusque, Xavier
Feng, Fabo
Lester, Kathryn V.
Box, Jorge Lillo-
Matson, Rachel A.
Matthews, Elisabeth C.
Mordasini, Christoph
Murgas, Felipe
Osborn, Hugh P.
Palle, Enric
Santos, Nuno
Schwarz, Richard P.
Silva, Tomás Azevedo
Stassun, Keivan
Strøm, Paul
Tan, Thiam-Guan
Teske, Johanna
Wang, Gavin
Wheatley, Peter J.
author_facet Armstrong, David J.
Osborn, Ares
Burn, Remo
Venturini, Julia
Adibekyan, Vardan
Bonfanti, Andrea
Burt, Jennifer A.
Collins, Karen A.
Mena, Elisa Delgado
Hadjigeorghiou, Andreas
Howell, Steve
Quinn, Sam
Sousa, Sergio G.
Keniger, Marcelo Aron F.
Barrado, David
Barros, Susana C. C.
Bayliss, Daniel
Bouchy, François
Castro-González, Amadeo
Collins, Kevin I.
Conti, Denis M.
Crossfield, Ian M.
Diaz, Rodrigo
Dumusque, Xavier
Feng, Fabo
Lester, Kathryn V.
Box, Jorge Lillo-
Matson, Rachel A.
Matthews, Elisabeth C.
Mordasini, Christoph
Murgas, Felipe
Osborn, Hugh P.
Palle, Enric
Santos, Nuno
Schwarz, Richard P.
Silva, Tomás Azevedo
Stassun, Keivan
Strøm, Paul
Tan, Thiam-Guan
Teske, Johanna
Wang, Gavin
Wheatley, Peter J.
contents NCORES was a large observing program on the ESO HARPS spectrograph, dedicated to measuring the masses of Neptune-like and smaller transiting planets discovered by the TESS satellite using the radial velocity technique. This paper presents an overview of the programme, its scientific goals and published results, covering 35 planets in 18 planetary systems. We present spectrally derived stellar characterisation and mass constraints for five additional TOIs where radial velocity observations found only marginally significant signals (TOI-510.01, $M_p=1.08^{+0.58}_{-0.55}M_\oplus$), or found no signal (TOIs 271.01, 641.01, 697.01 and 745.01). A newly detected non-transiting radial velocity candidate is presented orbiting TOI-510 on a 10.0d orbit, with a minimum mass of $4.82^{+1.29}_{-1.26}M_\oplus$, although uncertainties on the system architecture and true orbital period remain. Combining the NCORES sample with archival known planets we investigate the distribution of planet masses and compositions around and below the radius gap, finding that the population of planets below the gap is consistent with a rocky composition and ranges up to a sharp cut-off at $10M_\oplus$. We compare the observed distribution to models of pebble- and planetesimal-driven formation and evolution, finding good broad agreement with both models while highlighting interesting areas of potential discrepancy. Increased numbers of precisely measured planet masses in this parameter space are required to distinguish between pebble and planetesimal accretion.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2501_14355
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle The NCORES Program: Precise planetary masses, null results, and insight into the planet mass distribution near the radius gap
Armstrong, David J.
Osborn, Ares
Burn, Remo
Venturini, Julia
Adibekyan, Vardan
Bonfanti, Andrea
Burt, Jennifer A.
Collins, Karen A.
Mena, Elisa Delgado
Hadjigeorghiou, Andreas
Howell, Steve
Quinn, Sam
Sousa, Sergio G.
Keniger, Marcelo Aron F.
Barrado, David
Barros, Susana C. C.
Bayliss, Daniel
Bouchy, François
Castro-González, Amadeo
Collins, Kevin I.
Conti, Denis M.
Crossfield, Ian M.
Diaz, Rodrigo
Dumusque, Xavier
Feng, Fabo
Lester, Kathryn V.
Box, Jorge Lillo-
Matson, Rachel A.
Matthews, Elisabeth C.
Mordasini, Christoph
Murgas, Felipe
Osborn, Hugh P.
Palle, Enric
Santos, Nuno
Schwarz, Richard P.
Silva, Tomás Azevedo
Stassun, Keivan
Strøm, Paul
Tan, Thiam-Guan
Teske, Johanna
Wang, Gavin
Wheatley, Peter J.
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
NCORES was a large observing program on the ESO HARPS spectrograph, dedicated to measuring the masses of Neptune-like and smaller transiting planets discovered by the TESS satellite using the radial velocity technique. This paper presents an overview of the programme, its scientific goals and published results, covering 35 planets in 18 planetary systems. We present spectrally derived stellar characterisation and mass constraints for five additional TOIs where radial velocity observations found only marginally significant signals (TOI-510.01, $M_p=1.08^{+0.58}_{-0.55}M_\oplus$), or found no signal (TOIs 271.01, 641.01, 697.01 and 745.01). A newly detected non-transiting radial velocity candidate is presented orbiting TOI-510 on a 10.0d orbit, with a minimum mass of $4.82^{+1.29}_{-1.26}M_\oplus$, although uncertainties on the system architecture and true orbital period remain. Combining the NCORES sample with archival known planets we investigate the distribution of planet masses and compositions around and below the radius gap, finding that the population of planets below the gap is consistent with a rocky composition and ranges up to a sharp cut-off at $10M_\oplus$. We compare the observed distribution to models of pebble- and planetesimal-driven formation and evolution, finding good broad agreement with both models while highlighting interesting areas of potential discrepancy. Increased numbers of precisely measured planet masses in this parameter space are required to distinguish between pebble and planetesimal accretion.
title The NCORES Program: Precise planetary masses, null results, and insight into the planet mass distribution near the radius gap
topic Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.14355