1201.5412 (Jason H. Steffen et al.)

Transit Timing Observations from Kepler: III. Confirmation of 4 Multiple Planet Systems by a Fourier-Domain Study of Anti-correlated Transit Timing Variations    [PDF]

Jason H. Steffen, Daniel C. Fabrycky, Eric B. Ford, Joshua A. Carter, Jean-Michel Desert, Francois Fressin, Matthew J. Holman, Jack J. Lissauer, Althea V. Moorhead, Jason F. Rowe, Darin Ragozzine, William F. Welsh, Natalie M. Batalha, William J. Borucki, Lars A. Buchhave, Steve Bryson, Douglas A. Caldwell, David Charbonneau, David R. Ciardi, William D. Cochran, Michael Endl, Mark E. Everett, Thomas N. Gautier III, Ron L. Gilliland, Forrest R. Girouard, Jon M. Jenkins, Elliott Horch, Steve B. Howell, Howard Isaacson, Todd C. Klaus, David G. Koch, David W. Latham, Jie Li, Philip Lucas, Phillip J. MacQueen, Geoffrey W. Marcy, Sean McCauliff, Christopher K. Middour, Robert L. Morris, Fergal R. Mullally, Samuel N. Quinn, Elisa V. Quintana, Avi Shporer, Martin Still, Peter Tenenbaum, Susan E. Thompson, Joseph D. Twicken, Jeffery Van Cleve

We present a method to confirm the planetary nature of objects in systems with multiple transiting exoplanet candidates. This method involves a Fourier-Domain analysis of the deviations in the transit times from a constant period that result from dynamical interactions within the system. The combination of observed anti-correlations in the transit times and mass constraints from dynamical stability allow us to claim the discovery of four planetary systems Kepler-25, Kepler-26, Kepler-27, and Kepler-28, containing eight planets and one additional planet candidate.

View original: http://arxiv.org/abs/1201.5412