The Mass Distribution of Extrasolar Planet Candidates and Spectroscopic Binary Low-Mass Companions

Abstract
Spectroscopic orbits have been reported for nine unseen companions orbiting solar-type stars with minimum possible masses in the range 0.5-10 Jupiter masses. We compare the mass distribution of these nine planet candidates with the distribution of low-mass secondaries in spectroscopic binaries. Although we still have only a very small number of systems, the two distributions suggest two distinctive populations. The transition region between the two populations might be at the range of 10-30 Jupiter masses.
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