Description
We report the discovery of HAT-P-16b, a transiting extrasolar planet orbiting the V=10.8mag F8 dwarf GSC 2792-01700, with a period P=2.775960+/-0.000003 days, transit epoch T_c_=2455027.59293+/-0.00031 (BJD10), and transit duration 0.1276+/-0.0013 days. The host star has a mass of 1.22+/-0.04M_{sun}_, radius of 1.24+/-0.05R_{sun}_, effective temperature 6158+/-80K, and metallicity [Fe/H]=+0.17+/-0.08. The planetary companion has a mass of 4.193+/-0.094M_J_ and radius of 1.289+/-0.066R_J_, yielding a mean density of 2.42+/-0.35g/cm^3^. Comparing these observed characteristics with recent theoretical models, we find that HAT-P-16b is consistent with a 1Gyr H/He-dominated gas giant planet. HAT-P-16b resides in a sparsely populated region of the mass-radius diagram and has a non-zero eccentricity of e=0.036 with a significance of 10{sigma}.
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