Uncovering the rapidly evolving orbits of the dynamic TOI-201 system

Ismael Mireles; Solène Ulmer-Moll; Donald Liveoak; Diana Dragomir; Judith Korth; Alexander Venner; Karen A. Collins; Amaury H.M.J. Triaud; Tristan Guillot; Antoine Petit; Theron Carmichael; Sarah Millholland; Tim Hallatt; Hannu Parviainen; Hugh P. Osborn; David Rapetti; Thomas A. Baycroft; Siddharth Bhatnagar; François Bouchy; Radmila Dancikova; Pedro Figueira; Monika Lendl; Stéphane Udry; Peter Wheatley; Lyu Abe; Abdelkrim Agabi; Matteo Beltrame; Philippe Bendjoya; Vincent Deloupy; Djamel Mékarnia; François Xavier Schmider; Olga Suárez; Khalid Barkaoui; Keith Horne; Felipe Murgas; Enric Palle; Richard P. Schwarz; Ramotholo Sefako; Avi Shporer; Gregor Srdoc; Chris Stockdale; Francis P. Wilkin; Joel D. Hartman; Lauren A. Sgro; Thiam Guan Tan; Jon M. Jenkins; Attila Bódi; David Havell; Darren Rivett; Ian Transom

doi:10.1126/sciadv.aef2618

Uncovering the rapidly evolving orbits of the dynamic TOI-201 system

Ismael Mireles
, Solène Ulmer-Moll
, Donald Liveoak
, Diana Dragomir
, Judith Korth
, Alexander Venner
, Karen A. Collins
, Amaury H.M.J. Triaud
, Tristan Guillot
, Antoine Petit
, Theron Carmichael
, Sarah Millholland
, Tim Hallatt
, Hannu Parviainen
, Hugh P. Osborn
, David Rapetti
, Thomas A. Baycroft
, Siddharth Bhatnagar
, François Bouchy
, Radmila Dancikova

Pedro Figueira, Monika Lendl, Stéphane Udry, Peter Wheatley, Lyu Abe, Abdelkrim Agabi, Matteo Beltrame, Philippe Bendjoya, Vincent Deloupy, Djamel Mékarnia, François Xavier Schmider, Olga Suárez, Khalid Barkaoui, Keith Horne, Felipe Murgas, Enric Palle, Richard P. Schwarz, Ramotholo Sefako, Avi Shporer, Gregor Srdoc, Chris Stockdale, Francis P. Wilkin, Joel D. Hartman, Lauren A. Sgro, Thiam Guan Tan, Jon M. Jenkins, Attila Bódi, David Havell, Darren Rivett, Ian Transom

Astrophysical Sciences

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

Studying planetary interactions in exoplanet systems informs theories of planet formation and evolution, providing essential context for understanding our own solar system. We combine spectroscopy, transit photometry, transit timing variations, and astrometry to characterize the TOI-201 system. The cotransiting system consists of a superEarth, warm Jupiter, and massive companion at 5.8-, 53-, and 2900-day orbital periods, respectively. We perform dynamical simulations to study the past and future of the system. von-Zeipel-Kozai-Lidov oscillations emerge as the most plausible scenario to explain the outer companion's high orbital eccentricity, with planet-planet scattering a possible but less likely contender. Because of nonzero mutual inclinations between the planets, the system is visibly evolving on very short timescales, with the current cotransiting configuration ending in 200 years.

Original language	English (US)
Article number	eaef2618
Journal	Science Advances
Volume	12
Issue number	16
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aef2618
State	Published - Jan 2026

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

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10.1126/sciadv.aef2618

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Mireles, I., Ulmer-Moll, S., Liveoak, D., Dragomir, D., Korth, J., Venner, A., Collins, K. A., Triaud, A. H. M. J., Guillot, T., Petit, A., Carmichael, T., Millholland, S., Hallatt, T., Parviainen, H., Osborn, H. P., Rapetti, D., Baycroft, T. A., Bhatnagar, S., Bouchy, F., ... Transom, I. (2026). Uncovering the rapidly evolving orbits of the dynamic TOI-201 system. Science Advances, 12(16), Article eaef2618. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aef2618

@article{50108c4230ba4ad09096d8df852d573a,

title = "Uncovering the rapidly evolving orbits of the dynamic TOI-201 system",

abstract = "Studying planetary interactions in exoplanet systems informs theories of planet formation and evolution, providing essential context for understanding our own solar system. We combine spectroscopy, transit photometry, transit timing variations, and astrometry to characterize the TOI-201 system. The cotransiting system consists of a superEarth, warm Jupiter, and massive companion at 5.8-, 53-, and 2900-day orbital periods, respectively. We perform dynamical simulations to study the past and future of the system. von-Zeipel-Kozai-Lidov oscillations emerge as the most plausible scenario to explain the outer companion's high orbital eccentricity, with planet-planet scattering a possible but less likely contender. Because of nonzero mutual inclinations between the planets, the system is visibly evolving on very short timescales, with the current cotransiting configuration ending in 200 years.",

author = "Ismael Mireles and Sol{\`e}ne Ulmer-Moll and Donald Liveoak and Diana Dragomir and Judith Korth and Alexander Venner and Collins, \{Karen A.\} and Triaud, \{Amaury H.M.J.\} and Tristan Guillot and Antoine Petit and Theron Carmichael and Sarah Millholland and Tim Hallatt and Hannu Parviainen and Osborn, \{Hugh P.\} and David Rapetti and Baycroft, \{Thomas A.\} and Siddharth Bhatnagar and Fran{\c c}ois Bouchy and Radmila Dancikova and Pedro Figueira and Monika Lendl and St{\'e}phane Udry and Peter Wheatley and Lyu Abe and Abdelkrim Agabi and Matteo Beltrame and Philippe Bendjoya and Vincent Deloupy and Djamel M{\'e}karnia and Schmider, \{Fran{\c c}ois Xavier\} and Olga Su{\'a}rez and Khalid Barkaoui and Keith Horne and Felipe Murgas and Enric Palle and Schwarz, \{Richard P.\} and Ramotholo Sefako and Avi Shporer and Gregor Srdoc and Chris Stockdale and Wilkin, \{Francis P.\} and Hartman, \{Joel D.\} and Sgro, \{Lauren A.\} and Tan, \{Thiam Guan\} and Jenkins, \{Jon M.\} and Attila B{\'o}di and David Havell and Darren Rivett and Ian Transom",

note = "Publisher Copyright: Copyright {\textcopyright} 2026 the Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. no claim to original U.S. Government Works. distributed under a creative commons Attribution license 4.0 (cc BY).",

year = "2026",

month = jan,

doi = "10.1126/sciadv.aef2618",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "12",

journal = "Science Advances",

issn = "2375-2548",

publisher = "American Association for the Advancement of Science",

number = "16",

}

Mireles, I, Ulmer-Moll, S, Liveoak, D, Dragomir, D, Korth, J, Venner, A, Collins, KA, Triaud, AHMJ, Guillot, T, Petit, A, Carmichael, T, Millholland, S, Hallatt, T, Parviainen, H, Osborn, HP, Rapetti, D, Baycroft, TA, Bhatnagar, S, Bouchy, F, Dancikova, R, Figueira, P, Lendl, M, Udry, S, Wheatley, P, Abe, L, Agabi, A, Beltrame, M, Bendjoya, P, Deloupy, V, Mékarnia, D, Schmider, FX, Suárez, O, Barkaoui, K, Horne, K, Murgas, F, Palle, E, Schwarz, RP, Sefako, R, Shporer, A, Srdoc, G, Stockdale, C, Wilkin, FP, Hartman, JD, Sgro, LA, Tan, TG, Jenkins, JM, Bódi, A, Havell, D, Rivett, D & Transom, I 2026, 'Uncovering the rapidly evolving orbits of the dynamic TOI-201 system', Science Advances, vol. 12, no. 16, eaef2618. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aef2618

TY - JOUR

T1 - Uncovering the rapidly evolving orbits of the dynamic TOI-201 system

AU - Mireles, Ismael

AU - Ulmer-Moll, Solène

AU - Liveoak, Donald

AU - Dragomir, Diana

AU - Korth, Judith

AU - Venner, Alexander

AU - Collins, Karen A.

AU - Triaud, Amaury H.M.J.

AU - Guillot, Tristan

AU - Petit, Antoine

AU - Carmichael, Theron

AU - Millholland, Sarah

AU - Hallatt, Tim

AU - Parviainen, Hannu

AU - Osborn, Hugh P.

AU - Rapetti, David

AU - Baycroft, Thomas A.

AU - Bhatnagar, Siddharth

AU - Bouchy, François

AU - Dancikova, Radmila

AU - Figueira, Pedro

AU - Lendl, Monika

AU - Udry, Stéphane

AU - Wheatley, Peter

AU - Abe, Lyu

AU - Agabi, Abdelkrim

AU - Beltrame, Matteo

AU - Bendjoya, Philippe

AU - Deloupy, Vincent

AU - Mékarnia, Djamel

AU - Schmider, François Xavier

AU - Suárez, Olga

AU - Barkaoui, Khalid

AU - Horne, Keith

AU - Murgas, Felipe

AU - Palle, Enric

AU - Schwarz, Richard P.

AU - Sefako, Ramotholo

AU - Shporer, Avi

AU - Srdoc, Gregor

AU - Stockdale, Chris

AU - Wilkin, Francis P.

AU - Hartman, Joel D.

AU - Sgro, Lauren A.

AU - Tan, Thiam Guan

AU - Jenkins, Jon M.

AU - Bódi, Attila

AU - Havell, David

AU - Rivett, Darren

AU - Transom, Ian

N1 - Publisher Copyright: Copyright © 2026 the Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. no claim to original U.S. Government Works. distributed under a creative commons Attribution license 4.0 (cc BY).

PY - 2026/1

Y1 - 2026/1

N2 - Studying planetary interactions in exoplanet systems informs theories of planet formation and evolution, providing essential context for understanding our own solar system. We combine spectroscopy, transit photometry, transit timing variations, and astrometry to characterize the TOI-201 system. The cotransiting system consists of a superEarth, warm Jupiter, and massive companion at 5.8-, 53-, and 2900-day orbital periods, respectively. We perform dynamical simulations to study the past and future of the system. von-Zeipel-Kozai-Lidov oscillations emerge as the most plausible scenario to explain the outer companion's high orbital eccentricity, with planet-planet scattering a possible but less likely contender. Because of nonzero mutual inclinations between the planets, the system is visibly evolving on very short timescales, with the current cotransiting configuration ending in 200 years.

AB - Studying planetary interactions in exoplanet systems informs theories of planet formation and evolution, providing essential context for understanding our own solar system. We combine spectroscopy, transit photometry, transit timing variations, and astrometry to characterize the TOI-201 system. The cotransiting system consists of a superEarth, warm Jupiter, and massive companion at 5.8-, 53-, and 2900-day orbital periods, respectively. We perform dynamical simulations to study the past and future of the system. von-Zeipel-Kozai-Lidov oscillations emerge as the most plausible scenario to explain the outer companion's high orbital eccentricity, with planet-planet scattering a possible but less likely contender. Because of nonzero mutual inclinations between the planets, the system is visibly evolving on very short timescales, with the current cotransiting configuration ending in 200 years.

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105035815772

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105035815772#tab=citedBy

U2 - 10.1126/sciadv.aef2618

DO - 10.1126/sciadv.aef2618

M3 - Article

C2 - 41984949

AN - SCOPUS:105035815772

SN - 2375-2548

VL - 12

JO - Science Advances

JF - Science Advances

IS - 16

M1 - eaef2618

ER -

Uncovering the rapidly evolving orbits of the dynamic TOI-201 system

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