English

A Transiting Giant on a 7.7-Year Orbit Revealed by TTVs in the TOI-201 System

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics 2025-12-02 v1

Abstract

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 7.70.6+1.07.7^{+1.0}_{-0.6}-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 14.21.2+1.014.2^{+1.0}_{-1.2} MJupM_{\rm Jup} and an eccentricity of 0.6430.021+0.0090.643^{+0.009}_{-0.021}. The mutual inclination between planets b and c is 2.94.4+4.82.9^{+4.8}_{-4.4} 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.

Keywords

Cite

@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