Description
We present the discovery and characterization of WASP-148, a new extrasolar system that includes at least two giant planets. The host star is a slowly rotating inactive late-G dwarf with a V=12 magnitude. The planet WASP-148b is a hot Jupiter of 0.72R_Jup_ and 0.29MJup that transits its host with an orbital period of 8.80-days. We found the planetary candidate with the SuperWASP photometric survey, then characterized it with the SOPHIE spectrograph. Our radial velocity measurements subsequently revealed a second planet in the system, WASP-148c, with an orbital period of 34.5-days and a minimum mass of 0.40M_Jup_. No transits of this outer planet were detected. The orbits of both planets are eccentric and fall near the 4:1 mean-motion resonances. This configuration is stable on long timescales, but induces dynamical interactions so that the orbits differ slightly from purely Keplerian orbits. In particular, WASP-148b shows transit-timing variations of typically 15 minutes, making it the first interacting system with transit-timing variations that is detected on ground-based light curves. We establish that the mutual inclination of the orbital plane of the two planets cannot be higher than 35, and the true mass of WASP-148c is below 0.60M_Jup_. We present photometric and spectroscopic observations of this system that cover a time span of ten years. We also provide their Keplerian and Newtonian analyses; these analyses should be significantly improved through future TESS observations.
|