Emiliano Jofré
The TESS/MAROON-X survey for transiting planets around thick-disk stars
It is well known that stars from different galactic populations (thin-disk, thick-disk, and halo) differ not only in their kinematics but also in their chemical composition. Specifically, thick-disk stars typically have lower metallicities and higher values of alpha-element abundances than their thin-disk counterparts. Thus, it is expected that stars from different galactic populations host planets with different overall composition and structure. In particular, small-sized or low-mass planets orbiting thick-disk stars would tend to be less dense than those of similar size/mass around thin-disk objects. So far, only a few tens of transiting planets have been detected around thick-disk stars that are currently in the solar neighborhood. In this context, in 2021 we started a program to detect and characterize transiting planets to increase the number of well-characterized transiting exoplanets with precise mass measurements around thick-disk stars that can provide important observational constraints for planet formation theory and comparative planetology. Based on TESS photometry and Gemini/MAROON-X high-precision radial velocities, here, we present the first results of our survey, including the detection and characterization of a super-Neptune transiting a K-dwarf star chemo-kinematically identified as a member of the transition between the thin and thick Galactic disk populations.
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The TESS/MAROON-X survey for transiting planets around thick-disk stars
