A Warm Jupiter-sized Planet Transiting the Pre-main-sequence Star V1298 Tau
Hinkley, Sasha; Fulton, Benjamin J.; Isaacson, Howard T.; Howard, Andrew W.; Petigura, Erik A.; Beichman, Charles A.; Stauffer, John R.; Ciardi, David R.; Gagné, Jonathan; Cody, Ann Marie; Hillenbrand, Lynne A.; Mamajek, Eric E.; Rebull, Luisa M.; David, Trevor J.; Vasisht, Gautam; Hedges, Christina L.; Saunders, Nicholas K.
United States, Canada, United Kingdom
Abstract
We report the detection of V1298 Tau b, a warm Jupiter-sized planet (R P = 0.91 ± 0.05 R Jup, P = 24.1 days) transiting a young solar analog with an estimated age of 23 Myr. The star and its planet belong to Group 29, a young association in the foreground of the Taurus-Auriga star-forming region. While hot Jupiters have been previously reported around young stars, those planets are non-transiting and near-term atmospheric characterization is not feasible. The V1298 Tau system is a compelling target for follow-up study through transmission spectroscopy and Doppler tomography owing to the transit depth (0.5%), host star brightness (K s = 8.1 mag), and rapid stellar rotation (v\sin i = 23 km s-1). Although the planet is Jupiter-sized, its mass is currently unknown due to high-amplitude radial velocity jitter. Nevertheless, V1298 Tau b may help constrain formation scenarios for at least one class of close-in exoplanets, providing a window into the nascent evolution of planetary interiors and atmospheres.