S19A0069

In 2018, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS ), which searches for small planets around nearby bright stars, and the Subaru IRD, which can monitor precise radial velocities of cool dwarfs, have successfully started operations. Taking this perfect opportunity of the starting of TESS and IRD, we here propose to precisely determine the masses of 12 new small transiting planets, with the radius typically smaller than ∼2.5 R and the mass lower than ∼10 M, around mid-late M dwarfs. With the proposed project, we will uncover the distribution of small planets in the mass-radius-period diagram, which reflects planet formation processes including atmospheric evaporation. Investigation of the mass-radius-period relation of small planets around mid-late M dwarfs would significantly improve our understanding of planet formation around cool dwarfs. Planets with precise mass measurements from our project will become prime targets for further atmospheric characterizations from space (HST/JWST/ARIEL) and ground (8-10m telescopes). We also intend to include some habitable and/or imagable Earth-like planets among our 12 targets, if available. Such planets will be prime targets for follow-up studies with dedicated instruments on future ELTs and space telescopes in 2030s/2040s.


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