We report the detection and characterization of TOI-201 c, a long-period transiting companion to the warm Jupiter TOI-201 b. Its presence was first inferred from high-amplitude transit timing variations (TTVs) in TOI-201 b, pointing to a massive outer body on a 7.7−0.6+1.0-year eccentric orbit. This prediction was confirmed when TESS observed a transit of TOI-201 c, precisely constraining its orbital geometry. A joint fit to TTVs, transit photometry, and archival radial velocities yields a mass of 14.2−1.2+1.0MJup and an eccentricity of 0.643−0.021+0.009. The mutual inclination between planets b and c is 2.9−4.4+4.8 degrees, indicating a nearly coplanar architecture. Long-term numerical integrations confirm dynamical stability over gigayear timescales and predict that transits of TOI-201 b will cease within a few thousand years. TOI-201 c ranks among the longest-period transiting planets with well-constrained properties. Its detection via TTVs, followed by a confirmed transit, represents a rare observational sequence and highlights the power of TTVs and photometric monitoring to uncover distant companions. The TOI-201 system offers a valuable laboratory for testing models of giant planet formation, migration, and secular evolution in multi-planet systems.
@article{arxiv.2507.11504,
title = {A Transiting Giant on a 7.7-Year Orbit Revealed by TTVs in the TOI-201 System},
author = {Gracjan Maciejewski and Weronika Łoboda},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2507.11504},
year = {2025}
}
Comments
Accepted for publication in ApJL on 2025-07-14, submitted on 2025-06-23