TOI-1235 Radial velocities & optical spectroscopy

Models of thermally driven atmospheric mass loss and of terrestrial planet formation in a gas-poor environment make distinct predictions regarding the location of this rocky/nonrocky transition in period-radius space. Here we present the confirmation of TOI-1235b (P=3.44days, r_p_=1.738_-0.076_^+0.087^R_{Earth}_), a planet whose size and period are intermediate between the competing model predictions, thus making the system an important test case for emergence models of the rocky/nonrocky transition around early M dwarfs (R_s_=0.630{+/-}0.015R_{sun}_, M_s_=0.640{+/-}0.016M_{sun}_).

We confirm the TESS planet discovery using reconnaissance spectroscopy, ground-based photometry, high- resolution imaging, and a set of 38 precise radial velocities (RVs) from HARPS-N and HIRES. We measure a planet mass of 6.91_-0.85_^+0.75^M_{Earth}_, which implies an iron core mass fraction of 20_-12_^+15^% in the absence of a gaseous envelope. The bulk composition of TOI-1235b is therefore consistent with being Earth-like, and we constrain an H/He envelope mass fraction to be <0.5% at 90% confidence.