Spin-orbit alignments for Three Transiting Hot Jupiters: WASP-103b, WASP-87b, & WASP-66b

Spin-orbit alignments for Three Transiting Hot Jupiters: WASP-103b, WASP-87b, & WASP-66b

Authors:

Addison et al

Abstract:

We have measured the sky-projected spin-orbit alignments for three transiting Hot Jupiters, WASP-103b, WASP-87b, and WASP-66b, using spectroscopic measurements of the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect, with the CYCLOPS2 optical-fiber bundle system feeding the UCLES spectrograph on the Anglo-Australian Telescope. The resulting sky projected spin-orbit angles of λ=3∘±33∘, λ=−8∘±11∘, and λ=−4∘±22∘ for WASP-103b, WASP-87b, and WASP-66b, respectively, suggest that these three planets are likely on nearly aligned orbits with respect to their host star's spin axis. WASP-103 is a particularly interesting system as its orbital distance is only 20% larger than its host star's Roche radius and the planet likely experiences strong tidal effects. WASP-87 and WASP-66 are hot (Teff=6450±120 K and Teff=6600±150 K, respectively) mid-F stars making them similar to the majority of stars hosting planets on high obliquity orbits. Moderate spin-orbit misalignments for WASP-103b and WASP-66b are consistent with our data, but polar and retrograde orbits are not favored for these systems.