Detection and characterisation of a 106-day transiting Jupiter: TOI-2449 b/NGTS-36 b

Context. Only a handful of transiting giant exoplanets with orbital periods longer than 100 days are known. These warm exoplanets are valuable objects, as their radius and mass can be measured and lead to an in-depth characterisation of the planet’s properties. Thanks to low levels of stellar irradiation and large orbital distances, the atmospheric properties and orbital parameters of warm exoplanets remain relatively unaltered by their host star, giving new insights into planetary formation and evolution. Aims. Our aim is to increase the sample of warm giant exoplanets with precise radii and masses. Our goal is to identify suitable candidates in the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite data and perform follow-up observations with ground-based instruments. Methods. We used the Next Generation Transit Survey (NGTS) to detect additional transits of planetary candidates in order to pinpoint their orbital period. We also monitored the target with several high-resolution spectrographs to measure the planetary mass and eccentricity. We studied the planet’s interior composition with a planetary evolution code to determine the planet’s metallicity. Results. We report the discovery of a 106-day period Jupiter-sized planet around the G-type star TOI-2449/NGTS-36. We jointly modelled the photometric and radial velocity data and find that the planet has a mass of 0.70−0.04+0.05 MJ and a radius of 1.001 ± 0.009 RJ. The planetary orbit has a semi-major axis of 0.449 au and is slightly eccentric (e = 0.0098−0.030+0.028). We detected an additional 3-year signal in the radial velocity data that is likely due to the stellar magnetic cycle. Based on the planetary evolution models considered here, we find that TOI-2449 b/NGTS-36 b contains 11−5+6 M⊕ of heavy elements and has a marginal planet-to-star metal enrichment of 3.3−1.8+2.5. Assuming a Jupiter-like bond albedo, TOI-2449 b/NGTS-36 b has an equilibrium temperature of 400 K and is a good target for understanding nitrogen chemistry in cooler atmospheres.