Three Low-Mass Planets from the Anglo-Australian Planet Search^*

We report the detection of three new low-mass planets from the Anglo-Australian Planet Search. The three parent stars of these planets are chromospherically quiet main-sequence G dwarfs with metallicities ranging from roughly solar (HD 117618 and HD 208487) to metal enriched (HD 102117). The orbital periods range from 20.8 to 130 days, the minimum masses from roughly 0.5M_Sat to 0.5M_Jup, and the eccentricities from 0.08 to 0.37, with the planet in the smallest orbit (HD 102117) having the smallest eccentricity. With semiamplitudes of 10.6-19 m s^-1, these planets induce Doppler amplitudes similar to those of Jupiter analogs, albeit with shorter periods. Many of the most interesting future Doppler planets will be detected at these semiamplitude levels, placing a premium on measurement precision. The detection of such amplitudes in data extending back 6 yr gives confidence in the Anglo-Australian Planet Search's ability to detect Jupiter analogs as our time baseline extends to 12 yr. We discuss the criticality of such detections for the design of the next generation of extremely large telescopes and also highlight prospects for suitable observing strategies to push to below 1 m s^-1 precisions for bright stars in a search for sub-Neptunian planets.