A hot Uranus transiting the nearby M dwarf GJ 3470
Detected with HARPS velocimetry. Captured in transit with TRAPPIST photometry

X. Bonfils, M. Gillon, S. Udry, D. J. Armstrong, F. Bouchy, X. Delfosse, T. Forveille, A. Fumel, E. Jehin, M. Lendl, C. Lovis, M. Mayor, J. McCormac, V. Neves, F. Pepe, C. Perrier, D. Pollacco, D. Queloz, N. C. Santos

Abstract
We report on the discovery of GJ 3470 b, a transiting hot Uranus of mass m_p = 14.0 ± 1.8 M_⊕, radius R_p = 4.2 ± 0.6 R_⊕ and period P = 3.3371 ± 0.0002 day. Its host star is a nearby (d = 25.2 ± 2.9 pc) M1.5 dwarf of mass M_★ = 0.54 ± 0.07 M_☉ and radius R_★ = 0.50 ± 0.06 R_☉. The detection was made during a radial-velocity campaign with Harps that focused on the search for shortperiod planets orbiting M dwarfs. Once the planet was discovered and the transit-search window narrowed to about 10% of an orbital period, a photometric search started with Trappist and quickly detected the ingress of the planet. Additional observations with Trappist, EulerCam and Nites definitely confirmed the transiting nature of GJ 3470b and allowed the determination of its true mass and radius. The star’s visible or infrared brightness (V^mag = 12.3, K^mag = 8.0), together with a large eclipse depth D = 0.57 ± 0.05%, ranks GJ 3470 b among the most suitable planets for follow-up characterizations.

Keywords
techniques: radial velocities – techniques: photometric – planetary systems – stars: late-type – stars: individual: GJ 3470

Notes
Based on observations made with the HARPS instrument on the ESO 3.6 m telescope under the program IDs 183.C-0437 at Cerro La Silla (Chile).
Our radial-velocity and photometric time series are only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/546/A27

Astronomy and Astrophysics
Volume 546, Page A27_1
October 2012

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