ELEVEN MULTIPLANET SYSTEMS FROM K2 CAMPAIGNS 1 AND 2 AND THE MASSES OF TWO HOT SUPER-EARTHS

Abstract

ABSTRACT We present a catalog of 11 multiplanet systems from Campaigns 1 and 2 of the K2 mission. We report the sizes and orbits of 26 planets split between seven two-planet systems and four three-planet systems. These planets stem from a systematic search of the K2 photometry for all dwarf stars observed by K2 in these fields. We precisely characterized the host stars with adaptive optics imaging and analysis of high-resolution optical spectra from Keck/HIRES and medium-resolution spectra from IRTF/SpeX. We confirm two planet candidates by mass detection and validate the remaining 24 candidates to >99% confidence. Thirteen planets were previously validated or confirmed by other studies, and 24 were previously identified as planet candidates. The planets are mostly smaller than Neptune (21/26 planets), as in the Kepler mission, and all have short periods (P < 50 days) due to the duration of the K2 photometry. The host stars are relatively bright (most have Kp < 12.5 mag) and are amenable to follow-up characterization. For K2-38, we measured precise radial velocities using Keck/HIRES and provide initial estimates of the planet masses. K2-38b is a short-period super-Earth with a radius of 1.55 ± 0.16 R ⊕, a mass of 12.0 ± 2.9 M ⊕, and a high density consistent with an iron-rich composition. The outer planet K2-38c is a lower-density sub-Neptune-size planet with a radius of 2.42 ± 0.29 R ⊕ and a mass of 9.9 ± 4.6 M ⊕ that likely has a substantial envelope. This new planet sample demonstrates the capability of K2 to discover numerous planetary systems around bright stars.