The NCORES programme: precise planetary masses, null results, and insight into the planet mass distribution near the radius gap
ABSTRACT NCORES was a large observing programme 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 characterization and mass constraints for five additional TOIs where radial velocity observations found only marginally significant signals (TOI-510.01, $M_p = 1.08^{+0.58}_{-0.55}{\rm M}_{\rm{\oplus }}$), 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 10.0 d orbit, with a minimum mass of $4.82^{+1.29}_{-1.26}{\rm M}_{\rm{\oplus }}$, 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 $10M_{\rm{\oplus }}$. 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.
Authors
- Thiam-Guan Tan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5603-6895)
- J. Lillo-Box (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3742-1987)
- A. Bonfanti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1916-5935)
- F. Bouchy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7613-393X)
- R. F. Díaz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9289-5160)
- Gavin Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3092-4418)
- Kathryn V. Lester (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9903-9911)
- H. P. Osborn (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4047-4724)
- F. Murgas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9087-1245)
- Daniel Bayliss (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6023-1335)
- C. Mordasini (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1013-2811)
- D. J. Armstrong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5080-4117)
- V. Adibekyan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0601-6199)
- Rachel A. Matson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7233-7508)
- Karen A. Collins (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6588-9574)
- Ian J. M. Crossfield (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1835-1891)
- Steve B. Howell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2532-2853)
- A. Castro-González (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7439-3618)
- Richard P. Schwarz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8227-1020)
- Johanna Teske (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-2801-5040)
- Marcelo Aron Fetzner Keniger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-2761-9190)
- E. Delgado Mena (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4434-2195)
- P. J. Wheatley (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1452-2240)
- Ares Osborn (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5899-7750)
- Kevin I. Collins (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2781-3207)
- Remo Burn (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9020-7309)
- D. Barrado (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5971-9242)
- Dennis M. Conti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2239-0567)
- S. C. C. Barros (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2434-3625)
- N. C. Santos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4422-2919)
- Fabo Feng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6039-0555)
- Andreas Hadjigeorghiou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2222-8746)
- J. Venturini (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9527-2903)
- T. Azevedo Silva (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9379-4895)
- Elisabeth C. Matthews (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0593-1560)
- X. Dumusque (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9332-2011)
- Keivan G. Stassun (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3481-9052)
- Jennifer Burt (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0040-6815)
- S. G. Sousa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9047-2965)
- P. A. Strøm (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7823-1090)
- Sam Quinn
- Enric Palle
Institutions
- University of Geneva (CH)
- University of Bern (CH)
- Ames Research Center (US)
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory (US)
- Austrian Academy of Sciences (AT)
- Johns Hopkins University (US)
- University of Kansas (US)
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (AR)
- Universidad de La Laguna (ES)
- George Mason University (US)
- Universidade do Porto (PT)
- Shanghai Jiao Tong University (CN)
- Carnegie Institution for Science (US)
- American Association of Variable Star Observers (US)
- Vanderbilt University (US)
- National University of General San Martín (AR)
- University of Warwick (GB)
- Institute of Astrophysics and Space Sciences (PT)
- Perth Exoplanet Survey Telescope Observatory (AU)
- Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (DE)
- Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté (FR)
- Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian (US)
- Carnegie Observatories (US)
- Centro de Astrobiología (ES)
- Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (ES)
- United States Naval Observatory (US)
- International Center for Advanced Studies (AR)
- International Space Science Institute (CH)
- McMaster University (CA)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
- Published
- 2025-01-28
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staf175
- Citations
- 3
- Primary Topic
- Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 3.46
Funders
- Science and Technology Facilities Council