HD 38973 b -- a cold Saturn orbiting a Sun-like star

arXiv:2605.21306 · astro-ph.SR, astro-ph.EP · Submitted 2026-05-20 · Read on arXiv

Adriana Errico, Robert A. Wittenmyer, Jonathan Horner, Brad Carter, Alexander Wallace

astro-ph.SR, astro-ph.EP

Submitted: 2026-05-20

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The gist: We report the detection of a long-period companion to the nearby solar-type star HD,38973 using precision radial-velocity measurements.

Terminology

Abstract

We report the detection of a long-period companion to the nearby solar-type star HD,38973 using precision radial-velocity measurements. The radial-velocity data reveal a coherent Keplerian signal with a period of about 3000 days and moderate eccentricity, yielding a minimum mass in the sub-Jovian regime. We complement the radial-velocity analysis with astrometric constraints from the Hipparcos--Gaia Catalog of Accelerations (HGCA). Although no significant proper-motion anomaly is detected for HD,38973, the absence of an astrometric signal provides an informative upper limit on the companion mass. By combining the radial-velocity posterior with the HGCA likelihood, we rule out high-mass solutions at low inclinations and derive a robust upper bound on the true companion mass. We find the best-fitting true mass to be 0.240-0.040+0.102,M Jup, on an orbit with period 2733+210-190 days, making HD,38973b a likely cold Saturn. This study highlights the diagnostic power of astrometric non-detections when combined with precision radial velocities, demonstrating that meaningful constraints on companion masses can be obtained even in the absence of a detected astrometric signal.

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