NIRPS Data Suggests Water-Rich Formation of Super-Earths Around M Dwarfs

This paper presents results from the Near Infrared Planet Searcher (NIRPS) GTO CMF subprogram, focusing on the compositional link between terrestrial super-Earths and their host stars. By refining the masses and computing host stellar abundances of three hot super-Earths around M dwarfs (GJ 1132 b, GJ 1252 b, and LTT 3780 b), the researchers calculated masses of $1.69 \pm 0.15M_\oplus$, $1.54 \pm 0.18M_\oplus$, and $2.34 \pm 0.10M_\oplus$ respectively. The study compares the core mass fractions (CMFs) of these and six further hot super-Earths with precise masses to CMF predictions made from measuring the Fe, Mg, and Si abundances of their host stars. The finding that the CMFs of these planets are smaller than expected from their host stellar abundances suggests the presence of significant reservoirs of water, with interior water mass fractions of approximately 1%. This provides tentative evidence for water-rich formation around M dwarfs. However, further research is needed to confirm these findings and explore the implications for planet formation and habitability.

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