V1298 Tauri

V1298 Tauri is a young (23±4 Myr) weakly-lined T Tauri star[5] that is part of the Taurus-Auriga association in the Taurus Molecular Cloud. Alternatively it is part of a proposed moving group, called Group 29 that is slightly older.[6][7][3] The system has four transiting exoplanets, discovered with the Kepler space telescope in the K2 mission.[5] One of the planets was discovered in August 2019[3] and the other three were discovered in November 2019 by the same team.[5]

V1298 Tauri

The planetary system V1298 Tauri
Credit: Exoplanet Exploration Program and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA’s Astrophysics Division
Observation data
Epoch J2000.0      Equinox J2000.0
ConstellationTaurus
Right ascension04h 05m 19.59121s[1]
Declination+20° 09′ 25.5635″[1]
Apparent magnitude (V)10.31 - 10.43[2]
Characteristics
Spectral typeK0-K1.5[3]
Variable typeIrregular[2]
Astrometry
Proper motion (μ) RA: 5.228 ± 0.131[1] mas/yr
Dec.: -16.077 ± 0.048[1] mas/yr
Parallax (π)9.2139 ± 0.0593 mas[1]
Distance354 ± 2 ly
(108.5 ± 0.7 pc)
Details
Mass1.095+0.049
−0.047
[4] M
Radius1.33+0.04
−0.03
[4] R
Luminosity0.934 ± 0.044[3] L
Temperature4970 ± 120[3] K
Rotation2.97+0.03
−0.04
 d
[4]
Age23 ± 4[3] Myr
Other designations
K2-309, 2MASS J04051959+2009256, BD+19 656, EPIC 210818897, RX J0405.3+2009, 1SWASP J040519.59+200925.5
Database references
SIMBADdata

Stellar characteristics

A light curve for V1298 Tauri, adapted from David et al. (2019)[3]

V1298 Tauri has a spectral type of K0 - K1.5 and it has a mass of about 1.1 M. The star appears in x-rays from ROSAT data and it does show strong lithium absorption lines, both signatures of youth and therefore it was a proposed member of Taurus-Auriga. On the other hand it does not show signs of accretion and it lacks infrared excess. Instead it shows H-alpha in absorption.[3]

The brightness of V1298 Tauri varies in an unpredictable way between a maximum visual magnitude of 10.31 and a minimum of 10.54.[2] The light curve of the star shows quasi-periodic variability that was interpreted as stellar rotation and starspots. The light curve also showed several flares.[3]

Based on Gaia DR2 data this star is part of a co-moving pair, together with HD 284154.[6]

Planetary system

V1298 Tauri has four confirmed planets of which planets c, d and b are near a 1:2:3 resonance (with periods of 8.25, 12.40 and 24.14 days). Planet e only shows a single transit in the K2 light curve and has a period larger than 36 days. Planet e might be in a low-order resonance (of 2:3, 3:5, 1:2, or 1:3) with planet b. The system is very young and might be a precursor of a compact multiplanet system. The 2:3 resonance suggests that some close-in planets may either form in resonances or evolve into them on timescales of less than 10 Myr. The planets in the system have a size between Neptune and Saturn. Only planet b has a size similar to Jupiter.[5]

Models predict that the planets have a minimum core mass of 5 ME and are surrounded by a thick envelope that make up 20% of their mass. The total mass of planet c and d was predicted to be 2 - 28 ME and the total mass of planet d and b was predicted to be 9 - 120 ME.[5] In a follow-up paper the mass of V1298 Tauri b was constrained to <2.2 MJ.[8] The planet c was suspected to be shedding mass due to intense irradiation by the host star, but hydrogen tail existence was refuted by 2021.[9]

Orbits of the planets b and c are nearly coplanar and planet c is not inclined to the equatorial plane of the star, misalignment equals to 2+12
−4
degrees.[10]

The V 1298 Tauri planetary system[5][8]
Companion
(in order from star)
MassSemimajor axis
(AU)
Orbital period
(days)
EccentricityInclinationRadius
c0.0825 ± 0.00138.24958 ± 0.00072<0.4388.49+0.92
−0.72
°
0.499+0.032
−0.029
 RJ
d0.1083 ± 0.001712.4032 ± 0.0015<0.2189.04+0.65
−0.73
°
0.572+0.040
−0.035
 RJ
b<2.2 MJ0.1688 ± 0.002624.1396 ± 0.0018<0.2989.00+0.46
−0.24
°
0.916+0.052
−0.047
 RJ
e0.308+0.182
−0.066
50.29±6.62[11]<0.5789.40+0.26
−0.18
°
0.89±0.04[11] RJ

See also

References