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Published February 1, 2009 | Published
Journal Article Open

Nondetection of the Neptune-Mass Planet Reported Around GJ 176

Abstract

Endl et al. reported a Neptune-mass planet in a 10.24 day orbit around GJ 176. This planet has raised interest because of its low mass (Msin i = 24 M_(Earth)), correspondingly small velocity amplitude (K = 11.7 m s^(–1)), and because GJ 176 is an M star. We report 41 precise Doppler measurements of GJ 176 obtained with the Keck-HIRES spectrometer over a 10 year time span. These measurements show no evidence of the 10.24 day companion, at a threshold of 4 m s–1, a factor of 3 less than the amplitude reported by Endl et al. The Keck velocities are consistent with instrumental noise and stellar jitter. The existence of the planet is thus called into question.

Additional Information

© 2009 American Astronomical Society. Received 2008 May 26 Accepted 2008 October 15 Published 2009 February 9 The authors wish to extend special thanks to those of Hawaiian ancestry on whose sacred mountain of Mauna Kea we are privileged to be guests. Without their generous hospitality, the Keck observations presented herein would not have been possible. A.W.H. gratefully acknowledges support from a Townes Fellowship at the Space Sciences Laboratory at U. C. Berkeley. S.S.V. acknowledges NSF grant AST-0307493.

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