The closet exoplanets to the Sun provide opportunities for detailed characterization of planets outside the Solar System. We report the discovery, using radial velocity measurements, of a compact multiplanet system of super-Earth exoplanets orbiting the nearby red dwarf star GJ 887. The two planets have orbital periods of 9.3 and 21.8 days. Assuming an Earth-like albedo, the equilibrium temperature of the 21.8-day planet is similar to 350 kelvin. The planets are interior to, but close to the inner edge of, the liquid-water habitable zone. We also detect an unconfirmed signal with a period of similar to 50 days, which could correspond to a third super-Earth in a more temperate orbit. Our observations show that GJ 887 has photometric variability below 500 parts per million, which is unusually quiet for a red dwarf. ; German Research Foundation (DFG) FOR2544 JE 701/3-1 German Research Foundation (DFG) SPP 1992 JE 701/5-1 Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC) ST/P000584/1 ST/T000295/1 ST/P000592/1 Spanish Agencia Estatal de Investigacion AYA2017-89637R AYA2016-79425-C3-3-S ESP2017-87676-C5-2-R ESP2017-87143R PGC2018-098153-B-C31 ESP2016-80435-C2-2-R Centre of Excellence "Severo Ochoa" Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia SEV-2017-0709 Comision Nacional de Investigacion Cientifica y Tecnologica (CONICYT) CONICYT FONDECYT 3180405 Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) CONICYT/PFCHA-Doctorado Nacional, Chile 21140646 Spanish Government ESP2016-80435-C2-1-R PGC2018-098153-B-C33 European Union (EU) ESP2016-80435-C2-1-R PGC2018-098153-B-C33 Generalitat de Catalunya/CERCA program Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC) ST/M001008/1 Australian Research Council DP0774000 DP130102695 DP170103491 NASA through Hubble Fellowship - Space Telescope Science Institute HST-HF2-51399.001 Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades Ramon y Cajal fellowship RYC-2017-22489 Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC) ST/P000592/1 National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA) NAS5-26555
Context. The nearby ultra-compact multiplanetary system YZ Ceti consists of at least three planets, and a fourth tentative signal. The orbital period of each planet is the subject of discussion in the literature due to strong aliasing in the radial velocity data. The stellar activity of this M dwarf also hampers significantly the derivation of the planetary parameters. Aims. With an additional 229 radial velocity measurements obtained since the discovery publication, we reanalyze the YZ Ceti system and resolve the alias issues. Methods. We use model comparison in the framework of Bayesian statistics and periodogram simulations based on a method by Dawson and Fabrycky to resolve the aliases. We discuss additional signals in the RV data, and derive the planetary parameters by simultaneously modeling the stellar activity with a Gaussian process regression model. To constrain the planetary parameters further we apply a stability analysis on our ensemble of Keplerian fits. Results. We find no evidence for a fourth possible companion. We resolve the aliases: the three planets orbit the star with periods of 2.02 d, 3.06 d, and 4.66 d. We also investigate an effect of the stellar rotational signal on the derivation of the planetary parameters, in particular the eccentricity of the innermost planet. Using photometry we determine the stellar rotational period to be close to 68 d and we also detect this signal in the residuals of a three-planet fit to the RV data and the spectral activity indicators. From our stability analysis we derive a lower limit on the inclination of the system with the assumption of coplanar orbits which is i(min) = 0.9 deg. From the absence of a transit event with TESS, we derive an upper limit of the inclination of i(max) = 87.43 deg. Conclusions. YZ Ceti is a prime example of a system where strong aliasing hindered the determination of the orbital periods of exoplanets. Additionally, stellar activity influences the derivation of planetary parameters and modeling them correctly is important for the reliable estimation of the orbital parameters in this specific compact system. Stability considerations then allow additional constraints to be placed on the planetary parameters. ; German Research Foundation (DFG) FOR2544 RE 2694/4-1 German Max-Planck-Gesellschaft (MPG) Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC) European Union through FEDER/ERF FICTS -2011 -02 Spanish Ministry of Economy German Science Foundation through the Major Research Instrumentation Programme Klaus Tschira Stiftung state of Baden-Wurttemberg state of Niedersachsen Junta de Andalucia High Performance and Cloud Computing Group at the Zentrum fur Datenverarbeitung of the University of Tubingen state of Baden-Wurttemberg through bwHPC German Research Foundation (DFG) INST 37/935 -1 FUGG European FEDER/ERF funds AYA2015-69350-C3-2-P AYA2016-79425-C3-1/2/3-P ESP2017-87676-C5-2-R ESP2017-87143-R Centre of Excellence "Severo Ochoa" award SEV-2015-0548 Centre of Excellence "Maria de Maeztu" award SEV-2015-0548 Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia SEV-2017-0709 Centro de Astrobiologia MDM-2017-0737 Generalitat de Catalunya/CERCA programme Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC) ST/M001008/1 ST/P000584/1 Comision Nacional de Investigacion Cientifica y Tecnologica (CONICYT) CONICYT FONDECYT 1161218 Comision Nacional de Investigacion Cientifica y Tecnologica (CONICYT) PB06 Comision Nacional de Investigacion Cientifica y Tecnologica (CONICYT) CONICYT FONDECYT 3180405 Hong Kong RGC grant HKU 17305618 European Research Council under the Horizon 2020 Framework Program via the ERC 83 24 28 Max-Planck-Institut fur Astronomie Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia Landessternwarte Konigstuhl Institut de Ciencies de l'Espai Insitut fur Astrophysik Gottingen Universidad Complutense de Madrid Thuringer Landessternwarte Tautenburg Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias Hamburger Sternwarte Centro de Astrobiologia Centro Astronomico Hispano -Aleman Agencia Estatal de Investigacion of the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades AYA2015-69350-C3-2-P AYA2016-79425-C3-1/2/3-P ESP2017-87676-C5-2-R ESP2017-87143-R
