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Some interesting quotes from the paper ...
i) on the precision of the measurements:
"Long-term radial velocity monitoring at 1 m s−1 precision was necessary to detect the low RV amplitudes of these planets".
...
"Following 400 stars to search for radial velocity signals at the m s−1 level requires a lot of telescope time, and this survey is by construction a long-term project".
I'll bet it is ... oops .. not allowed to mention the 'b*t' word. Sorry.
ii) on atmosphere detection:
"The characterization of a significant sample of low-mass objects, through their mean density and some basic atmospheric properties, is also at hand and will bring much desired insights into their composition and the physical processes at play during planet formation".
Overall, it seems like they're trying to probe (establish?) the relationship between metallicity of the star and the planetary system mass. Pretty tenuous relationship at this stage, too - lots more data/discoveries required, I think. (Ie: from the graphs presented in the conclusion section).
Cheers
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