A. K. Stefanov, J. I. González Hernández, A. Suárez Mascareño, N. Nari, R. Rebolo, M. Damasso, A. Castro-González, M. R. Zapatero Osorio, C. Allende Prieto, A. M. Silva, C. J. A. P. Martins
Abstract
A sub-Earth-mass planet orbiting Barnard's star, designated as Barnard b, has recently been announced. At almost the same time, the first photometric data of Barnard's star by the Transit Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) was released in Sector 80. We explore the possibility of emergent transits of Barnard b in TESS photometry. The detrended 2 min light curve appears to be flat, with a flux root mean square of 0.411 parts per thousand. Attempts of blind and informed transit curve model inference suggest no evidence of transiting Barnard b, or any other body. This provides a 3σ upper bound of 87.9 degrees for the orbital inclination of Barnard b.
Keywords
techniques: photometric / stars: low-mass / stars: individual: Barnard's star / stars: individual: HIP 87937 / stars: individual: GJ 699
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Volume 693, Article Number L3, Number of pages 7
2025 January
