Dr. Astudillo-Defru, Nicola

GJ 367 is a bright (V ≈ 10.2) M1 V star that has been recently found to host a transiting ultra-short period sub-Earth on a 7.7 hr orbit. With the aim of improving the planetary mass and radius and unveiling the inner architecture of the system, we performed an intensive radial velocity follow-up campaign with the HARPS spectrograph—collecting 371 high-precision measurements over a baseline of nearly 3 yr—and combined our Doppler measurements with new TESS observations from sectors 35 and 36. We found that GJ 367 b has a mass of Mb = 0.633 ± 0.050 M⊕ and a radius of Rb = 0.699 ± 0.024 R⊕, corresponding to precisions of 8% and 3.4%, respectively. This implies a planetary bulk density of ρb = 10.2 ± 1.3 g cm−3 , i.e., 85% higher than Earth’s density. We revealed the presence of two additional non-transiting low-mass companions with orbital periods of∼11.5 and 34 days and minimum masses of M isinc c = 4.13 ± 0.36 M⊕ and M isind d = 6.03 ± 0.49 M⊕respectively, which lie close to the 3:1 mean motion commensurability. GJ 367 b joins the small class of high-density planets, namely the class of super-Mercuries, being the densest ultra-short period small planet known to date. Thanks to our precise mass and radius estimates, we explored the potential internal composition and structure of GJ 367 b, and found that it is expected to have an iron core with a mass fraction of -+ 0.91 0.23 0.07. How this iron core is formed and how such a high density is reached is still not clear, and we discuss the possible pathways of formation of such a small ultra-dense planet.

Ultrashort-period (USP) exoplanets have orbital periods shorter than 1 day. Precise masses and radii of USP exoplanets could provide constraints on their unknown formation and evolution processes. We report the detection and characterization of the USP planet GJ 367b using high-precision photometry and radial velocity observations. GJ 367b orbits a bright (V-band magnitude of 10.2), nearby, and red (M-type) dwarf star every 7.7 hours. GJ 367b has a radius of 0.718 ± 0.054 Earth-radii and a mass of 0.546 ± 0.078 Earth-masses, making it a sub-Earth planet. The corresponding bulk density is 8.106 ± 2.165 grams per cubic centimeter—close to that of iron. An interior structure model predicts that the planet has an iron core radius fraction of 86 ± 5%, similar to that of Mercury’s interior.