A precise architecture characterization of the π Mensae planetary system

Abstract

Context. The bright star pi Men was chosen as the first target for a radial velocity follow-up to test the performance of ESPRESSO, the new high-resolution spectrograph at the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope. The star hosts a multi-planet system (a transiting 4 M-circle plus planet at similar to 0.07 au and a sub-stellar companion on a similar to 2100-day eccentric orbit), which is particularly suitable for a precise multi-technique characterization.

Aims. With the new ESPRESSO observations, which cover a time span of 200 days, we aim to improve the precision and accuracy of the planet parameters and search for additional low-mass companions. We also take advantage of the new photometric transits of pi Men c observed by TESS over a time span that overlaps with that of the ESPRESSO follow-up campaign.

Methods. We analysed the enlarged spectroscopic and photometric datasets and compared the results to those in the literature. We further characterized the system by means of absolute astrometry with HIPPARCOS and Gaia. We used the high-resolution spectra of ESPRESSO for an independent determination of the stellar fundamental parameters.

Results. We present a precise characterization of the planetary system around pi Men. The ESPRESSO radial velocities alone (37 nightly binned data with typical uncertainty of 10 cm s(-1)) allow for a precise retrieval of the Doppler signal induced by pi Men c. The residuals show a root mean square of 1.2 m s(-1), which is half that of the HARPS data; based on the residuals, we put limits on the presence of additional low-mass planets (e.g. we can exclude companions with a minimum mass less than similar to 2 M-circle plus within the orbit of pi Men c). We improve the ephemeris of pi Men c using 18 additional TESS transits, and, in combination with the astrometric measurements, we determine the inclination of the orbital plane of pi Men b with high precision (i(b) =45.8(-1.1)(+1.4) deg). This leads to precise measurement of its absolute mass m(b) = =14.1(-0.4)(+0.5) M-Jup, indicating that pi Men b can be classified as a brown dwarf.

Conclusions. The pi Men system represents a nice example of the extreme precision radial velocities that can be obtained with ESPRESSO for bright targets. Our determination of the 3D architecture of the pi Men planetary system and the high relative misalignment of the planetary orbital planes put constraints on and challenge the theories of the formation and dynamical evolution of planetary systems. The accurate measurement of the mass of pi Men b contributes to make the brown dwarf desert a bit greener.