The radii of small exoplanets form two populations, super-Earths and sub-Neptunes, separated by a gap known as the radius valley. This feature could be produced by the removal of atmospheres by stellar or internal heating or by the lack of an initial envelope. We used transit photometry and radial velocity measurements to detect and characterize four exoplanets orbiting LHS 1903, a red dwarf star in the Milky Way's thick disk. These four planets have orbital periods ranging from 2.2 to 29.3 days and span the radius valley within a single planetary system. The derived densities indicate that LHS 1903 b is rocky, whereas LHS 1903 c and LHS 1903 d have extended atmospheres. The most distant planet from the host star, LHS 1903 e, has no gaseous envelope, indicating that it formed from gas-depleted material.

This White Paper presents the scientific rationale and instrument concept for HRMOS (High-Resolution Multi-Object Spectrograph), a next-generation instrument proposed for the ESO Very Large Telescope within the VLT 2030 roadmap. Current and planned facilities offer either multi-object spectroscopy or ultra-high spectral resolution, but not both. HRMOS fills this gap by combining very high spectral resolution, multi-object capability, and radial-velocity stability, enabling transformative studies in Galactic and extragalactic astrophysics. The baseline design provides a resolving power of R = 80000, radial-velocity precision of 10 m s-1 (goal: 5 m s-1), simultaneous observations of 50-60 targets, and broad optical coverage down to 385 nm. These capabilities enable precise measurements of elemental abundances, isotopic ratios, line profiles, and radial velocities for large stellar samples, including crowded fields, star clusters, the Galactic bulge, and nearby dwarf galaxies. HRMOS will address key questions on the age of the oldest stellar populations through nucleocosmochronology, the formation and survival of planetary systems, the assembly history of the Milky Way and satellites, the origin of the heaviest elements, stellar evolution, and the chemical and dynamical properties of the interstellar and circumgalactic medium. It will bridge large spectroscopic surveys and the next generation of extremely large telescopes, with strong synergies with 4MOST, Gaia, TESS, PLATO, the proposed Haydn mission, and future ELT instruments. Building on VLT/FLAMES heritage, HRMOS represents a strategic investment for European astronomy in the 2030s.

Context. Atmospheric characterisation plays a key role in the study of exoplanetary systems, giving hints about the current and past conditions of the planets. The information retrieved from the analysis of pivotal lines such as the H alpha and He I triplet allow us to constrain the evolutionary path of the planets due to atmospheric photo-evaporation. After focussing for many years on ultra-hot Jupiters, atmospheric characterisation is slowly moving towards smaller and colder planets, which are harder to study due to the difficulties in extracting the planetary signal and which require more precise analysis. Aims. We aim to characterise the atmosphere of TOI-5398 b (P similar to 10.59 days), the outer warm Saturn orbiting a young (similar to 650 Myr) G-type star that also hosts the small inner planet TOI-5398 c (P similar to 4.77 days). Both planets are suitable for atmospheric probing due to the closeness to their host star, which results in strong photo-evaporation processes, especially the larger outer one with an estimated transmission spectroscopy metric of 288 (higher than those of several well-known hot Jupiters). Methods. We investigated the atmosphere of planet b, analysing the data collected during a transit with HARPS-N and GIANO-B high-resolution spectrographs, employing both cross-correlation and single-line analysis to study the presence of atomic species. Incidentally, we recorded the simultaneous transit of planet c, and hence we also focussed on discerning the origin of the signal. We expect planet b to be the cause of the detected signal, since, according to existing evaporation models, it is currently expected to lose more mass than planet c. Results. We detected the presence of H alpha and He I triplets, two markers of the photo-evaporation processes predicted for the system, retrieving a height in the atmosphere of 2.33 Rp and 1.65 Rp, respectively. We confirmed these predictions by employing the models computed with the ATES software, which predict a He I absorption arising from planet b comparable with the observed one. Moreover, the ATES models suggested an He/H ratio of 1/99 to match our observations. The investigation of atomic species led to the detection of an Na I doublet via single-line analysis, while the cross-correlation did not return a detection for any of the atomic species investigated.

Atmospheric escape plays a fundamental role in shaping the properties of exoplanets. The metastable near-infrared helium triplet at 1083.3 nm (HeI) is a powerful proxy of extended and evaporating atmospheres. We used the GIARPS (GIANO-B+HARPS-N) observing mode of the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo to search for HeI absorption in the upper atmosphere of five close-in giant planets hosted by the K and M dwarf stars of our sample, namely WASP-69b, WASP-107b, HAT-P-11b, GJ436b, and GJ3470b. We focused our analysis on the HeI triplet by performing high-resolution transmission spectroscopy. When nightly variability in the HeI absorption signal was identified, we investigated the potential influence of stellar magnetic activity by searching for variations in the H$\alpha$. We spectrally resolve the HeI triplet and confirm the published detections for WASP-69b (3.91$\pm$0.22%, 17.6$\sigma$), WASP-107b (8.17$^{+0.80}_{-0.76}$%, 10.5$\sigma$), HAT-P-11b (1.36$\pm$0.17%, 8.0$\sigma$), and GJ3470b (1.75$^{+0.39}_{-0.36}$%, 4.7$\sigma$). We do not find evidence of extra absorption for GJ436b. We observe night-to-night variations in the HeI absorption signal for WASP-69b, associated with variability in H$\alpha$, which likely indicates the influence of stellar activity. Additionally, we find that the HeI signal of GJ3470b originates from a single transit, thereby corroborating the discrepancies in the existing literature. An inspection of the H$\alpha$ reveals an absorption signal during the same transit. By combining our findings with previous analyses of GIANO-B HeI measurements of planets around K dwarfs, we explore potential trends with planetary/stellar parameters that are thought to affect the HeI absorption. Our analysis is unable to identify clear patterns, emphasising the need for further measurements and the exploration of additional potential parameters that might influence HeI absorption.

Aims. We analysed six primary transits of the ultra-hot Jupiter KELT-9 b obtained with the HARPS-N high-resolution spectrograph in the context of the Global Architecture of Planetary Systems (GAPS2) project, to characterise the atmosphere via single-line analysis. Methods. We extracted the transmission spectrum of each individual line by comparing the master out-of-transit spectrum with the in-transit spectra and computing the weighted average of the tomography in the planet reference frame. We corrected for the centre-to-limb variation and the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect by modelling the region of the star disc obscured by the planet during the transit and subtracting it from the master-out spectrum. Results. We detected all six observable lines of the Balmer series within the HARPS-N wavelength range, from H alpha to H zeta, with a significance exceeding 5 sigma. We also focussed on metal species, detecting Na I, Ca I, Ca II, Fe I, Fe II, Mg I, Ti II, Sc II, and Cr II lines. This is the first detection in the atmosphere of an exoplanet of H & varepsilon; and H zeta lines, as well as of individual lines of Sc II and Cr II. Our detections are supported by a comparison with published synthetic transmission spectra of KELT-9b obtained accounting for non-local thermodynamic equilibrium effects. The results underline the presence of a systematic blueshift due to night-side to day-side winds. Conclusions. The single-line analysis allowed us not only to assess the presence of atomic species in the atmosphere of KELT-9 b, but also to further characterise the local stratification of the atmosphere. Coupling the height distribution of the detected species with the velocity shift retrieved, we acknowledged the height distribution of night-side to day-side winds. Moreover, the study of the rotational broadening of the different species supports the prediction of a tidally locked planet rotating as a rigid body.

The intrinsic variability due to the magnetic activity of young active stars is one of the main challenges in detecting and characterising exoplanets. We present a method able to model the stellar photosphere and its surface inhomogeneities (starspots) in young/active and fast-rotating stars, based on the cross-correlation function (CCF) technique, to extract information about the spot configuration of the star. Within the Global Architecture of Planetary Systems (GAPS) Project at the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo, we analysed more than 300 spectra of the young planet-hosting star V1298 Tau provided by HARPS-N high-resolution spectrograph. By applying the SpotCCF model to the CCFs we extracted the spot configuration (latitude, longitude and projected filling factor) of this star, and also provided the new RVs time series of this target. We find that the features identified in the CCF profiles of V1298 Tau are modulated by the stellar rotation, supporting our assumption that they are caused by starspots. The analysis suggests a differential rotation velocity of the star with lower rotation at higher latitudes. Also, we find that SpotCCF provides an improvement in RVs extraction with a significantly lower dispersion with respect to the commonly used pipelines, with consequent mitigation of the stellar activity contribution modulated with stellar rotation. A detection sensitivity test, by the direct injection of a planetary signal into the data, confirmed that the SpotCCF model improves the sensitivity and ability to recover planetary signals. Our method enables the modelling of the stellar photosphere, extracting the spot configuration of young/active and rapidly rotating stars. It also allows for the extraction of optimised RV time series, thereby enhancing our detection capabilities for new exoplanets and advancing our understanding of stellar activity.

ABSTRACT We present the discovery of three super-Earth candidates orbiting HD 48948, a bright K-dwarf star with an apparent magnitude of $m_V$ = 8.58 mag. As part of the HARPS-N Rocky Planet Search programme, we collect 189 high-precision radial velocity measurements using the HARPS-N spectrograph from 2013 October 6, to 2023 April 16. Various methodologies are applied to extract the radial velocities from the spectra, and we conduct a comprehensive comparative analysis of the outcomes obtained through these diverse extraction techniques. To ensure the robustness of our findings, we employ several methods to address stellar variability, with a focus on Gaussian Process regression. To account for the impact of stellar variability and correlated noise in the radial velocity data set, we include activity indicators, such as $\log R^{^{\prime }}_{\mathrm{HK}}$ and bisector span, in the multidimensional Gaussian Process regression. Our analysis reveals three planetary candidates with orbital periods of 7.3, 38, and 151 d, and minimum masses estimated at $4.88 \pm 0.21$ M$_{\oplus }$, $7.27 \pm 0.70$ M$_{\oplus }$, and $10.59 \pm 1.00$ M$_{\oplus }$, respectively. The outermost planet resides within the (temperate) habitable zone, positioned at a projected distance of $0.029\,{\rm arcsec}$ from its star. Given the close proximity of this planetary system, situated at a distance of 16.8 parsecs, HD 48498 emerges as a promising target (closest super-Earth around FGK stars) for future high-contrast direct imaging and high-resolution spectroscopic studies.

HAT-P-67 b is one of the lowest-density gas giants known to date, making it an excellent target for atmospheric characterization through the transmission spectroscopy technique. In the framework of the GAPS large programme, we collected four transit events, with the aim of studying the exoplanet atmosphere and deriving the orbital projected obliquity. We exploited the high-precision GIARPS observing mode of the TNG, along with additional archival TESS photometry, to explore the activity level of the host star. We performed transmission spectroscopy, both in the VIS and in the nIR wavelength range, and analysed the RML effect both fitting the RVs and the Doppler shadow. Based on the TESS photometry, we redetermined the transit parameters of HAT-P-67 b. By modelling the RML effect, we derived a sky-projected obliquity of ($2.2\pm0.4$){\deg} indicating an aligned planetary orbit. The chromospheric activity index $\log\,R^{\prime}_{\rm HK}$, the CCF profile, and the variability in the transmission spectrum of the H$\alpha$ line suggest that the host star shows signatures of stellar activity and/or pulsations. We found no evidence of atomic or molecular species in the VIS transmission spectra, with the exception of pseudo-signals corresponding to Cr I, Fe I, H$\alpha$, Na I, and Ti I. In the nIR range, we found an absorption signal of the He I triplet of 5.56$^{+0.29}_{-0.30}$%(19.0$\sigma$), corresponding to an effective planetary radius of $\sim$3$R_p$ (where $R_p\sim$2$R_J$) which extends beyond the planet's Roche Lobe radius. Owing to the stellar variability, together with the high uncertainty of the model, we could not confirm the planetary origin of the signals found in the optical transmission spectrum. On the other hand, we confirmed previous detections of the infrared He I triplet, providing a 19.0$\sigma$ detection. Our finding indicates that the planet's atmosphere is evaporating.

Context. Small-sized (<4 R-circle plus) exoplanets in tight orbits around young stars (10-1000 Myr) give us the opportunity to investigate the mechanisms that led to their formation, the evolution of their physical and orbital properties, and, in particular, their atmospheres. Thanks to the all-sky survey carried out by the TESS spacecraft, many of these exoplanets have been discovered, and have subsequently been characterized with dedicated follow-up observations. Aims. In the context of a collaboration among the Global Architecture of Planetary Systems (GAPS) team, the TESS-Keck Survey (TKS) team, and the California Planet Search (CPS) team, we measured - with a high level of precision - the mass and the radius of TOI-1430 b, a young (similar to 700 Myr) exoplanet with an escaping He atmosphere orbiting the K-dwarf star HD 235088 (TOI-1430). Methods. By adopting appropriate stellar parameters, which were measured in this work, we were able to simultaneously model the signals due to strong stellar activity and the transiting planet TOI-1430 b in both photometric and spectroscopic series. This allowed us to measure both the radius and mass (and consequently the density) of the planet with high precision, and to reconstruct the evolution of its atmosphere. Results. TOI-1430 is an active K-dwarf star born 700 +/- 150 Myr ago, with a rotation period of P-rot similar to 12 days. This star hosts a mini-Neptune, whose orbital period is P-b = 7.434133 +/- 0.000004 days. Thanks to long-term photometric and spectroscopic monitoring of this target performed with TESS, HARPS-N, HIRES, and APF, we estimate a radius of R-P,R-b = 1.98 +/- 0.07 R-circle plus, a mass of M-P,M-b = 4.2 +/- 0.8 M-circle plus, and thus a planetary density of rho(b) = 0.5 +/- 0.1 rho(circle plus). TOI-1430 b is therefore a low-density mini-Neptune with an extended atmosphere, and is at the edge of the radius gap. Because this planet is known to have an evaporating atmosphere of He, we reconstructed its atmospheric history. Our analysis supports the scenario in which, shortly after its birth, TOI-1430 b was super-puffy, with a radius 5 x -13 x and a mass 1.5 x -2 x the values of today; in similar to 200 Myr from now, TOI-1430 b should lose its envelope, showing its Earth-size core. We also looked for signals from a second planet in the spectroscopic and photometric series, without detecting any.

We present the characterisation of the two transiting planets around HD 152843 (TOI 2319, TIC 349488688) using an intensive campaign of HARPS-N radial velocities, and two sectors of TESS data. These data reveal a unique and fascinating system: HD 152843 b and c have near equal masses of around 9 M⊕ but differing radii of 3.05 ± 0.11 R⊕and $5.94 _{ - 0.16 } ^ { + 0.18 }$ R⊕, respectively, and orbital periods of $11.62071 _{ - 0.000106 } ^ { + 9.6e-05 }$ days and $19.502104 _{ - 8.5e-05 } ^ { + 7.4e-05 }$ days. This indicates that HD 152843 c is in the lowest fifth-percentile in density of the known exoplanet population, and has the longest orbital period among these low density planets. Further, HD 152843 c’s radius places it in the ‘Saturn valley’, the observed lack of planets larger than Neptune, but smaller than Saturn. The orbital periods of these planets indicate they are near a 5 : 3 mean motion resonance, indicating the possibility of transit timing variations, and hints at the possibility of interaction with a third planet at some point in the evolution of this system. Further, the brightness of the host star and the low density of HD 152843 c make it a key target for atmospheric characterisation.

We report on the detailed characterization of the HD 77946 planetary system. HD 77946 is an F5 (M-* = 1.17 M-circle dot, R-* = 1.31 R-circle dot) star, which hosts a transiting planet recently discovered by NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), classified as TOI-1778 b. Using TESS photometry, high-resolution spectroscopic data from HARPS-N, and photometry from CHEOPS, we measure the radius and mass from the transit and radial velocity observations, and find that the planet, HD 77946 b, orbits with period P-b = 6.527282(-0.000020)(+0.000015) d, has a mass of M-b = 8.38 +/- 1.32 M-circle plus, and a radius of R-b = 2.705(-0.081)(+0.086)R(circle plus). From the combination of mass and radius measurements, and the stellar chemical composition, the planet properties suggest that HD 77946 b is a sub-Neptune with a similar to 1 per cent H/He atmosphere. However, a degeneracy still exists between water-world and silicate/iron-hydrogen models, and even though interior structure modelling of this planet favours a sub-Neptune with a H/He layer that makes up a significant fraction of its radius, a water-world composition cannot be ruled out, as with T-eq =1248(-38)(+40) K, water may be in a supercritical state. The characterization of HD 77946 b, adding to the small sample of well-characterized sub-Neptunes, is an important step forwards on our journey to understanding planetary formation and evolution pathways. Furthermore, HD 77946 b has one of the highest transmission spectroscopic metrics for small planets orbiting hot stars, thus transmission spectroscopy of this key planet could prove vital for constraining the compositional confusion that currently surrounds small exoplanets.

Atmospheric characterization is key to understanding exoplanetary systems, offering insights into the planets current and past conditions. By analyzing key lines like H alpha and the He I triplet, we can trace the evolution of planets through atmospheric photo-evaporation. While ultra-hot Jupiters have been the focus for years, attention is shifting toward smaller, colder planets, which are more challenging to study due to weaker signals, requiring more precise techniques. This study aims to characterize the atmosphere of TOI-5398 b, a warm Saturn with a 10.59-day orbit around a young (650 Myr) G-type star. The system also hosts a smaller inner planet, TOI-5398 c, with a 4.77-day orbit. Both planets are ideal for atmospheric studies due to their proximity to the host star, which drives strong photo-evaporation, especially in planet b, whose high transmission spectroscopy metric (288) makes it a prime target. We analyzed data from a transit observed with the HARPS-N and GIANO-B high-resolution spectrographs, using cross-correlation and single-line analysis to search for atomic species. During this observation, planet c was also transiting, so we investigated the source of the signals. Based on photo-evaporation models, we attribute the signal mainly to planet b, which is expected to lose more mass. We detected H alpha and He I triplets, key markers of photo-evaporation, corresponding to atmospheric heights of 2.33 Rp and 1.65 Rp, respectively. The ATES models supported our observations, predicting a similar He I absorption for planet b and suggesting an He/H ratio of 1/99. Additionally, we detected an Na I doublet via single-line analysis, though cross-correlation did not reveal other atomic species.

Abstract Many important advances in planet formation theory have come from the discovery of unexpected planets. The thousands of discovered exoplanets have unveiled demographic trends, such as the bimodality of planetary radius distribution known as the radius valley. Modelling these trends can probe underlying processes, e.g. the formation environment and atmospheric evolution. Here, we report the discovery and characterisation of a four-planet system around the kinematically thick-disk M-dwarf LHS 1903 with orbital periods of 2.16, 6.23, 12.57, and 29.32 days that becomes the only known M-dwarf hosting four small, well-characterised planets spanning the radius valley. We utilise high-precision transit photometry from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and the CHaracterising ExOPlanets Satellite (CHEOPS) to measure the radii of LHS 1903 b, c, d, and e (1.382+/-0.046, 2.046^+0.078_-0.074, 2.500^+0.078_-0.077, and 1.732^+0.059_-0.058 R_oplus). Combined with HARPS-N radial velocity data, we determine the planetary bulk densities (1.24^+0.21_-0.19, 0.53^+0.11_-0.09, 0.38^+0.09_-0.08, and 1.11^+0.33_-0.31 rho_oplus). Our compositional analysis finds that planet b is rocky, planets c and d have extended atmospheres, and LHS 1903 e does not have a gaseous envelope. Our discovery that planet e, the longest-period well-characterised terrestrial M-dwarf planet, lacks an extended atmosphere causes tension with thermally-driven mass loss radius valley predictions, but supports a gas-depleted formation explanation. The observed broken atmospheric-mass fraction trend is at odds with current formation theory, but provides further evidence for a gas-depleted formation environment for terrestrial M-dwarf planets.

Aims. We aim to extract the transmission spectrum of the HI Balmer lines of the ultra-hot Jupiter (UHJ) KELT-20b/MASCARA-2b from observations and to further compare the results with what was obtained through forward modelling, accounting for non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) effects. Methods. We extracted the line profiles from six transits obtained with the HARPS-N high-resolution spectrograph attached to the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo telescope. We computed the temperature-pressure (TP) profile employing the HELIOS code in the lower atmosphere and the CLOUDY NLTE code in the middle and upper atmosphere. We further used CLOUDY to compute the theoretical planetary transmission spectrum in LTE and NLTE for comparison with observations. Results. We detected the Hα (0.79±0.03%; 1.25 Rp), Ηβ (0.52±0.03%; 1.17 Rp), and Ηγ (0.39±0.06%; 1.13 Rp) lines, and we detected the Ηδ line at almost 4σ (0.27±0.07%; 1.09 Rp). The models predict an isothermal temperature of ≈2200 K at pressures >10−2 bar and of ≈7700 K at pressures <10−8 bar, with a roughly linear temperature rise in between. In the middle and upper atmosphere, the NLTE TP profile is up to ~3000 K hotter than in LTE. The synthetic transmission spectrum derived from the NLTE TP profile is in good agreement with the observed HI Balmer line profiles, validating our obtained atmospheric structure. Instead, the synthetic transmission spectrum derived from the LTE TP profile leads to significantly weaker absorption compared to the observations. Conclusions. Metals appear to be the primary agents leading to the temperature inversion in UHJs, and the impact of NLTE effects on them increases the magnitude of the inversion. We find that the impact of NLTE effects on the TP profile of KELT-20b/MASCARA-2b is larger than for the hotter UHJ KELT-9b, and thus NLTE effects might also be relevant for planets cooler than KELT-20b/MASCARA-2b.

Context. Massive substellar companions orbiting active low-mass stars are rare. They, however, offer an excellent opportunity to study the main mechanisms involved in the formation and evolution of substellar objects. Aims. We aim to unravel the physical nature of the transit signal observed by the TESS space mission on the active M dwarf TOI-5375. Methods. We analysed the available TESS photometric data as well as high-resolution (R $\sim$ 115000) HARPS-N spectra. We combined these data to characterise the star TOI-5375 and to disentangle signals related to stellar activity from the companion transit signal in the light-curve data. We ran an MCMC analysis to derive the orbital solution and apply state-of-the-art Gaussian process regression to deal with the stellar activity signal. Results. We reveal the presence of a companion in the brown dwarf / very-low-mass star boundary orbiting around the star TOI-5375. The best-fit model corresponds to a companion with an orbital period of 1.721564 $\pm$ 10$^{\rm -6}$ d, a mass of 77 $\pm$ 8 $M_{\rm J}$ and a radius of 0.99 $\pm$ 0.16 $R_{\rm J}$. Conclusions. We derive a rotation period for the host star of 1.9692 $\pm$ 0.0004 d, and we conclude that the star is very close to synchronising its rotation with the orbital period of the companion.

Context. Massive substellar companions orbiting active low-mass stars are rare. They, however, offer an excellent opportunity to study the main mechanisms involved in the formation and evolution of substellar objects. Aims. We aim to unravel the physical nature of the transit signal observed by the TESS space mission on the active M dwarf TOI-5375. Methods. We analysed the available TESS photometric data as well as high-resolution ( R ~ 115 000) HARPS-N spectra. We combined these data to characterise the star TOI-5375 and to disentangle signals related to stellar activity from the companion transit signal in the light-curve data. We ran a Markov chain Monte Carlo analysis to derive the orbital solution and applied state-of-the-art Gaussian process regression to deal with the stellar activity signal. Results. We reveal the presence of a companion in the boundary between the brown dwarfs and the very-low-mass stars orbiting around the star TOI-5375. The best-fit model corresponds to a companion with an orbital period of 1.721564 ± 10 −6 d, a mass of 77 ± 8 M J , and a radius of 0.99 ± 0.16 R J . Conclusions. We derive a rotation period for the host star of 1.9692 ± 0.0004 d, and we conclude that the star is very close to synchronising its rotation with the orbital period of the companion.

We present the results of a high-cadence and high-precision radial velocity (RV) monitoring of 3 late-type dwarf stars hosting long-period giants with well-measured orbits, in order to search for short-period sub-Neptunes (SN, $M \sin i<30$ M$_\oplus$). Building on the results and expertise of our previous studies, we carry out combined fits of our HARPS-N data with literature RVs, using MCMC analyses and Gaussian Process regression. We then use the results of our survey to estimate the frequency of sub-Neptunes in systems hosting cold-Jupiters, $f(SN|CJ)$, and compare it with the frequency around field M-dwarfs, $f(SN)$. We identify a new short-period low-mass planet orbiting GJ 328, GJ 328\,c, with $P_c = 241.8^{+1.3}_{-1.7}$ d and $M_c \sin i = 21.4^{+ 3.4}_{- 3.2}$ M$_\oplus$. We moreover identify and model the chromospheric activity signals and rotation periods of GJ 649 and GJ 849, around which no additional planet is found. Then, taking into account also planetary system around the previosuly-analyzed low-mass star BD-11 4672, we derive an estimate of the frequencies of inner planets in such systems. In particular $f(SN|CJ) = 0.25^{+0.58}_{-0.07}$ for mini-Neptunes ($10$ M$_\oplusf(SN)$. This might indicate that cold Jupiters have an opposite influence in the formation of inner sub-Neptunes around late-type dwarfs as opposed to their solar-type counterparts, boosting the formation of mini-Neptunes instead of impeding it.

We report the confirmation of three exoplanets transiting TOI-4010 (TIC-352682207), a metal-rich K dwarf observed by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite in Sectors 24, 25, 52, and 58. We confirm these planets with the High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher for the Northern Hemisphere radial velocity observations and measure their masses with 8-12% precision. TOI-4010 b isa sub-Neptune (P = 1.3 days, R-p = 3.02(-0.08)(+0.08) R-circle plus, M-p = 11.00(-1.29)(+1.27) M-circle plus) in the hot-Neptune desert, and is one of the few such planets with known companions. Meanwhile, TOI-4010 c (P = 5.4 days, R-p = 5.93(-0.12)(+0.11) R-circle plus, M-p = 20.31(-2.11)(+2.13) M-circle plus and TOI-4010 d (P = 14.7 days, R-p = 6.18(-0.14)(+0.15) R-circle plus, M-p 38.15(-3.22)(+3.27)M(circle plus)) are similarly sized sub-Saturns on short-period orbits. Radial velocity observations also reveal a super-Jupiter-mass companion called TOI-4010 e in a long-period, eccentric orbit (P 762 days and e 0.26 based on available observations). TOI-4010 is one of the few systems with multiple short-period sub-Saturns to be discovered so far.

The leading spectrographs used for exoplanets' sceince offer online data reduction softwares (DRS) that yield as an ancillary result the full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of the cross-correlation function (CCF) that is used to estimate the radial velocity of the host star. The FWHM also contains information on the stellar projected rotational velocity vsini We wanted to establish a simple relationship to derive the vsini directly from the FWHM computed by the HARPS-N DRS in the case of slow-rotating solar-like stars. This may also help to recover the stellar inclination i, which in turn affects the exoplanets' parameters. We selected stars with an inclination of the spin axis compatible with 90 deg by looking at exoplanetary transiting systems with known small sky-projected obliquity: for these stars, we can presume that vsini is equal to stellar equatorial velocity veq. We derived their rotational periods from photometric time-series and their radii from SED fitting. This allowed us to recover their veq, which we could compare to the FWHM values of the CCFs obtained both with G2 and K5 spectral type masks. We obtained an empirical relation for each mask, useful for slow rotators (FWHM < 20 km/s). We applied them to 273 exoplanet-host stars observed with HARPS-N, obtaining homogeneous vsini measurements. We compared our results with the literature ones to confirm the reliability of our work, and we found a good agreement with the values found with more sophisticated methods for stars with log g > 3.5. We also tried our relations on HARPS and SOPHIE data, and we conclude that they can be used also on FWHM derived by HARPS DRS with G2 and K5 mask, and they may be adapted to the SOPHIE data as long as the spectra are taken in the high-resolution mode. We were also able to recover or constrain i for 12 objects with no prior vsini estimation.

The exoplanet population characterized by relatively short orbital periods (P < 100 d) around solar-type stars is dominated by super-Earths and sub-Neptunes. However, these planets are missing in our Solar System and the reason behind this absence is still unknown. Two theoretical scenarios invoke the role of Jupiter as the possible culprit: Jupiter may have acted as a dynamical barrier to the inward migration of sub-Neptunes from beyond the water iceline; alternatively, Jupiter may have considerably reduced the inward flux of material (pebbles) required to form superEarths inside that iceline. Both scenarios predict an anti-correlation between the presence of small planets and that of cold Jupiters in exoplanetary systems. To test that prediction, we homogeneously analyzed the radial-velocity measurements of 38 Kepler and K2 transiting small planet systems gathered over nearly ten years with the HARPS-N spectrograph, as well as publicly available radial velocities collected with other facilities. We used Bayesian differential evolution Markov chain Monte Carlo techniques, which in some cases were coupled with Gaussian process regression to model non-stationary variations due to stellar magnetic activity phenomena. We detected five cold Jupiters in three systems: two in Kepler-68, two in Kepler-454, and a very eccentric one in K2-312. We also found linear trends caused by bound companions in Kepler-93, Kepler-454, and K2-12, with slopes that are still compatible with a planetary mass for outer bodies in the Kepler-454 and K2-12 systems. By using binomial statistics and accounting for the survey completeness, we derived an occurrence rate of 9.3+7.7 −2.9 % for cold Jupiters with 0.3 − 13 MJup and 1 − 10 AU, which is lower but still compatible at 1.3σ with the value measured from radial-velocity surveys for solar-type stars, regardless of the presence or absence of small planets. The sample is not large enough to draw a firm conclusion about the predicted anticorrelation between small planets and cold Jupiters; nevertheless, we found no evidence of previous claims of an excess of cold Jupiters in small planet systems. As an important byproduct of our analyses, we homogeneously determined the masses of 64 Kepler and K2 small planets, reaching a precision better than 5, 7.5, and 10σ for 25, 13, and 8 planets, respectively. Finally, we release the 3661 HARPS-N radial velocities used in this work to the scientific community. These radial-velocity measurements mainly benefit from an improved data reduction software that corrects for subtle prior systematic effects.