The fate of close-in planets: tidal or magnetic migration?

The fate of close-in planets: tidal or magnetic migration?

Authors: 

Strugarek et al 

Abstract: 

Planets in close-in orbits interact magnetically and tidally with their host stars. These interactions lead to a net torque that makes close-in planets migrate inward or outward depending on their orbital distance. We compare systematically the strength of magnetic and tidal torques for typical observed star-planet systems (T-Tauri & hot Jupiter, M dwarf & Earth-like planet, K star & hot Jupiter) based on state-of-the-art scaling-laws. We find that depending on the characteristics of the system, tidal or magnetic effects can dominate. For very close-in planets, we find that both torques can make a planet migrate on a timescale as small as 10 to 100 thousands of years. Both effects thus have to be taken into account when predicting the evolution of compact systems.

Average Albedos of Close-in Super-Earths and Super-Neptunes from Statistical Analysis of Long-cadence Kepler Secondary Eclipse Data

Average Albedos of Close-in Super-Earths and Super-Neptunes from Statistical Analysis of Long-cadence Kepler Secondary Eclipse Data
Authors: 

Sheets et al 

Abstract:

We present the results of our work to determine the average albedo for small, close-in planets in the Kepler candidate catalog. We have adapted our method of averaging short-cadence light curves of multiple Kepler planet candidates to long-cadence data, in order to detect an average albedo for the group of candidates. Long-cadence data exist for many more candidates than the short-cadence data, and so we separate the candidates into smaller radius bins than in our previous work: 1–2 ${R}_{\oplus }$, 2–4 ${R}_{\oplus }$, and 4–6 ${R}_{\oplus }$. We find that, on average, all three groups appear darker than suggested by the short-cadence results, but not as dark as many hot Jupiters. The average geometric albedos for the three groups are 0.11 ± 0.06, 0.05 ± 0.04, and 0.23 ± 0.11, respectively, for the case where heat is uniformly distributed about the planet. If heat redistribution is inefficient, the albedos are even lower, since there will be a greater thermal contribution to the total light from the planet. We confirm that newly identified false-positive Kepler Object of Interest (KOI) 1662.01 is indeed an eclipsing binary at twice the period listed in the planet candidate catalog. We also newly identify planet candidate KOI 4351.01 as an eclipsing binary, and we report a secondary eclipse measurement for Kepler-4b (KOI 7.01) of ~7.50 ppm at a phase of ~0.7, indicating that the planet is on an eccentric orbit.

Magnetospheric Truncation, Tidal Inspiral, and the Creation of Short-period and Ultra-short-period Planets

Magnetospheric Truncation, Tidal Inspiral, and the Creation of Short-period and Ultra-short-period Planets


Authors:

Lee et al

Abstract:
Sub-Neptunes around FGKM dwarfs are evenly distributed in log orbital period down to ~10 days, but dwindle in number at shorter periods. Both the break at ~10 days and the slope of the occurrence rate down to ~1 day can be attributed to the truncation of protoplanetary disks by their host star magnetospheres at corotation. We demonstrate this by deriving planet occurrence rate profiles from empirical distributions of pre-main-sequence stellar rotation periods. Observed profiles are better reproduced when planets are distributed randomly in disks—as might be expected if planets formed in situ—rather than piled up near disk edges, as would be the case if they migrated in by disk torques. Planets can be brought from disk edges to ultra-short (less than 1 day) periods by asynchronous equilibrium tides raised on their stars. Tidal migration can account for how ultra-short-period planets are more widely spaced than their longer-period counterparts. Our picture provides a starting point for understanding why the sub-Neptune population drops at ~10 days regardless of whether the host star is of type FGK or early M. We predict planet occurrence rates around A stars to also break at short periods, but at ~1 day instead of ~10 days because A stars rotate faster than stars with lower masses (this prediction presumes that the planetesimal building blocks of planets can drift inside the dust sublimation radius).

Dynamics and Collisional Evolution of Closely Packed Planetary Systems

Dynamics and Collisional Evolution of Closely Packed Planetary Systems


Authors:

Hwang et al

Abstract:
High-multiplicity Kepler systems (referred to as Kepler multis) are often tightly packed and may be on the verge of instability. Many systems of this type could have experienced past instabilities, where the compact orbits and often low densities make physical collisions likely outcomes. We use numerical simulations to study the dynamical instabilities and planet-planet interactions in a synthetically generated sample of closely-packed, high-multiplicity systems. We focus specifically on systems resembling Kepler-11, a Kepler multi with six planets, and run a suite of dynamical integrations, sampling the initial orbital parameters around the nominal values reported in Lissauer et al. (2011a), finding that most of the realizations are unstable, resulting in orbit crossings and, eventually, collisions and mergers. We study in detail the dependence of stability on the orbital parameters of the planets and planet-pair characteristics to identify possible precursors to instability, compare the systems that emerge from dynamical instabilities to the observed Kepler sample (after applying observational corrections), and propose possible observable signatures of these instabilities. We examine the characteristics of each planet-planet collision, categorizing collisions by the degree of contact and collision energy, and find that grazing collisions are more common than direct impacts. Since the structure of many planets found in Kepler multis is such that the mass is dominated by a rocky core, but the volume is dominated by a low-density gaseous envelope, the sticky-sphere approximation may not be valid, and we present hydrodynamic calculations of planet-planet collisions clearly deviating from this approximation. Finally, we rerun a subset of our dynamical calculations using instead a modified prescription to handle collisions, finding, in general, higher multiplicity remnant systems.

Collisional Fragmentation is not a Barrier to Close-in Planet Formation

Collisional Fragmentation is not a Barrier to Close-in Planet Formation 

Authors:

Wallace et al

Abstract:
Collisional fragmentation is shown to not be a barrier to rocky planet formation at small distances from the host star. Simple analytic arguments demonstrate that rocky planet formation via collisions of homogeneous gravity-dominated bodies is possible down to distances of order the Roche radius (rRoche). Extensive N-body simulations that include plausible models for fragmentation and merging of gravity-dominated bodies confirm this conclusion and demonstrate that rocky planet formation is possible down to ∼1.1 rRoche. At smaller distances, tidal effects cause collisions to be too fragmenting to allow mass build-up to a final, dynamically stable planetary system. We argue that even differentiated bodies can accumulate to form planets at distances that are not much larger than rRoche.

Spin dynamics of close-in planets exhibiting large TTVs

Spin dynamics of close-in planets exhibiting large TTVs

Authors:

Delisle et al

Abstract:
We study the spin evolution of close-in planets in compact multi-planetary systems. The rotation period of these planets is often assumed to be synchronous with the orbital period due to tidal dissipation. Here we show that planet-planet perturbations can drive the spin of these planets into non-synchronous or even chaotic states. In particular, we show that the transit timing variation (TTV) is a very good probe to study the spin dynamics, since both are dominated by the perturbations of the mean longitude of the planet. We apply our model to KOI-227b and Kepler-88b, which are both observed undergoing strong TTVs. We also perform numerical simulations of the spin evolution of these two planets. We show that for KOI-227b non-synchronous rotation is possible, while for Kepler-88b the rotation can be chaotic.

Tidal dissipation in rotating low-mass stars and implications for the orbital evolution of close-in massive planets.

Tidal dissipation in rotating low-mass stars and implications for the orbital evolution of close-in massive planets. II. Effect of stellar metallicity

Authors:

Bolmont et al

Abstract:
Observations of hot Jupiter type exoplanets suggest that their orbital period distribution depends on the metallicity of their host star. We investigate here whether the impact of the stellar metallicity on the evolution of the tidal dissipation inside the convective envelope of rotating stars and its resulting effect on the planetary migration might be a possible explanation for this observed statistical trend.

We use a frequency-averaged tidal dissipation formalism coupled to an orbital evolution code and to rotating stellar evolution models to estimate the effect of a change of stellar metallicity on the evolution of close-in planets. We consider here two different stellar masses: 0.4 and 1.0 M⊙ evolving from the early pre-main sequence phase up to the red giant branch.

We show that the metallicity of a star has a strong effect on the stellar parameters which in turn strongly influence the tidal dissipation in the convective region. While on the pre-main sequence the dissipation of a metal poor Sun-like star is higher than the dissipation of a metal rich Sun-like star, on the main sequence it is the opposite. However, for the 0.4 M⊙ star, the dependence of the dissipation with metallicity is much less visible.

Using an orbital evolution model, we show that changing the metallicity leads to different orbital evolutions (e.g., planets migrate farther out from an initially fast rotating metal rich star). By using this model, we qualitatively reproduced the observational trends of the population of hot Jupiters with the metallicity of their host stars. However, more steps are needed to improve our model to try to quantitatively fit our results to the observations. Namely, we need to improve the treatment of the rotation evolution in the orbital evolution model and ultimately we need to consistently couple of the orbital model to the stellar evolution model.

HD 106315c: a SubSaturn Detected by K2

Two Small Transiting Planets and a Possible Third Body Orbiting HD 106315

Authors:

Crossfield et al

Abstract:

The masses, atmospheric makeups, spin–orbit alignments, and system architectures of extrasolar planets can be best studied when the planets orbit bright stars. We report the discovery of three bodies orbiting HD 106315, a bright (V = 8.97 mag) F5 dwarf targeted by our K2 survey for transiting exoplanets. Two small transiting planets are found to have radii ${2.23}_{-0.25}^{+0.30}\,{R}_{\oplus }$ and ${3.95}_{-0.39}^{+0.42}\,{R}_{\oplus }$ and orbital periods 9.55 days and 21.06 days, respectively. A radial velocity (RV) trend of 0.3 ± 0.1 m s−1 day−1 indicates the likely presence of a third body orbiting HD 106315 with period gsim160 days and mass gsim45 M ⊕. Transits of this object would have depths gsim0.1% and are definitively ruled out. Although the star has v sin i = 13.2 km s−1, it exhibits a short-timescale RV variability of just 6.4 m s−1. Thus, it is a good target for RV measurements of the mass and density of the inner two planets and the outer object's orbit and mass. Furthermore, the combination of RV noise and moderate v sin i makes HD 106315 a valuable laboratory for studying the spin–orbit alignment of small planets through the Rossiter–McLaughlin effect. Space-based atmospheric characterization of the two transiting planets via transit and eclipse spectroscopy should also be feasible. This discovery demonstrates again the power of K2 to find compelling exoplanets worthy of future study.

Formation of Close-in SuperEarths by Giant Impacts

Formation of Close-in Super-Earths by Giant Impacts: Effects of Initial Eccentricities and Inclinations of Protoplanets

Authors:
Matsumoto et al

Abstract:
Recent observations have revealed the eccentricity and inclination distributions of close-in super-Earths. These distributions have the potential to constrain their formation processes. In the in-situ formation scenario, the eccentricities and inclinations of planets are determined by gravitational scattering and collisions between protoplanets on the giant impact stage. We investigate the effect of the initial eccentricities and inclinations of protoplanets on the formation of close-in super-Earths. We perform N-body simulations of protoplanets in gas-free disks, changing the initial eccentricities and inclinations systematically. We find that while the eccentricities of protoplanets are well relaxed through their evolution, the inclinations are not. When the initial inclinations are small, they are not generally pumped up since scattering is less effective and collisions occur immediately after orbital crossing. On the other hand, when the initial inclinations are large, they tend to be kept large since collisional damping is less effective. Not only the resultant inclinations of planets, but also their number, eccentricities, angular momentum deficit, and orbital separations are affected by the initial inclinations of protoplanets.

Kepler's Ultra-Short-Period Planets Formed Water-Poor

Born Dry in the Photo-Evaporation Desert: Kepler's Ultra-Short-Period Planets Formed Water-Poor

Author:

Lopez

Abstract:

Recent surveys have uncovered an exciting new population of ultra-short-period (USP) planets with orbital periods less than a day. These planets typically have radii ≲1.5 R⊕, indicating that they likely have rocky compositions. This stands in contrast to the overall distribution of planets out to ∼100 days, which is dominated by low-density sub-Neptunes above 2 R⊕, which must have gaseous envelopes to explain their size. However, on ultra-short-period orbits, planets are bombarded by intense levels of photo-ionizing radiation and consequently gaseous sub-Neptunes are extremely vulnerable to losing their envelopes to atmospheric photo-evaporation. Using models of planet evolution, I show that the rocky USP planets can easily be produced as the evaporated remnants of sub-Neptunes with H/He envelopes and that we can therefore understand the observed dearth of USP sub-Neptunes as a natural consequence of photo-evaporation. Critically however, planets on USP orbits could often retain their envelopes if they formed with very high-metallicity water dominated envelopes. Such water-rich planets would commonly be ≳2 R⊕ today, which is inconsistent with the observed evaporation desert, indicating that most USP planets likely formed from water-poor material within the snow-line. Finally, I examine the special case of 55 Cancri e and its possible composition in the light of recent observations, and discuss the prospects for further characterizing this population with future observations.

PLANETARY CAUSTIC PERTURBATIONS OF A CLOSE-SEPARATION PLANET ON MICROLENSING

PLANETARY CAUSTIC PERTURBATIONS OF A CLOSE-SEPARATION PLANET ON MICROLENSING

Authors:

Ryu et al

Abstract:

Most planetary events discovered up to date by the planetary caustic of close-separation planets have low-mass ratios. In next-generation microlensing experiments with a wider field of view and a higher cadence, it is possible to obtain densely covered planetary signals induced by the planetary caustic of close-separation planets without missing events. Therefore, the planetary caustic perturbation of close-separation planets would be the more important channel to detect low-mass exoplanets in the next generation of microlensing surveys. In this paper, we investigate the theoretical properties and detection conditions for the planetary caustic perturbation of close-separation planets. To find the properties of the planetary caustic perturbation, we construct deviation maps by subtracting the single-lensing magnification of the lens star from the planetary lensing magnification for various lensing parameters. We find that each deviation area of the positive and negative perturbations disappears at the same normalized source radius according to a given deviation threshold regardless of mass ratio but disappears at a different normalized source radius according to the separation. We also estimate the upper limit of the normalized source radius to detect the planetary caustic perturbation. We find simple relations between the upper limit of the normalized source radius and the lensing parameters. From the relations, we obtain an analytic condition for the theoretical detection limit of the planet, which shows that we can sufficiently discover a planet with a sub-Earth-mass for typical microlensing events. Therefore, we conclude that our planet-detection condition of can be used as an important criteria for maximal planet detections, considering the source type and the photometric accuracy and expect that a number of low-mass planets will be added from the next-generation microlensing experiments.

Coupled orbital and spin evolution of the CoRoT-7 two-planet system using a Maxwell viscoelastic rheology

Coupled orbital and spin evolution of the CoRoT-7 two-planet system using a Maxwell viscoelastic rheology

Authors:

Rodriguez et al

Abstract:

We investigate the orbital and rotational evolution of the CoRoT-7 two-planet system, assuming that the innermost planet behaves like a Maxwell body. We numerically resolve the coupled differential equations governing the instantaneous deformation of the inner planet together with the orbital motion of the system. We show that, depending on the relaxation time for the deformation of the planet, the orbital evolution has two distinct behaviours: for relaxation times shorter than the orbital period, we reproduce the results from classic tidal theories, for which the eccentricity is always damped. However, for longer relaxation times, the eccentricity of the inner orbit is secularly excited and can grow to high values. This mechanism provides an explanation for the present high eccentricity observed for CoRoT-7 b, as well as for other close-in super-Earths in multiple planetary systems.

Hunting for Close-in Circum Brown Dwarf Exoplanets

First limits on the occurrence rate of short-period planets orbiting brown dwarfs

Authors:

He et al

Abstract:

Planet formation theories predict a large but still undetected population of short-period terrestrial planets orbiting brown dwarfs. Should specimens of this population be discovered transiting relatively bright and nearby brown dwarfs, the Jupiter-size and the low luminosity of their hosts would make them exquisite targets for detailed atmospheric characterisation with JWST and future ground-based facilities. The eventual discovery and detailed study of a significant sample of transiting terrestrial planets orbiting nearby brown dwarfs could prove to be useful not only for comparative exoplanetology but also for astrobiology, by bringing us key information on the physical requirements and timescale for the emergence of life.

In this context, we present a search for transit-signals in archival time-series photometry acquired by the Spitzer Space Telescope for a sample of 44 nearby brown dwarfs. While these 44 targets were not particularly selected for their brightness, the high precision of their Spitzer light curves allows us to reach sensitivities below Earth-sized planets for 75% of the sample and down to Europa-sized planets on the brighter targets. We could not identify any unambiguous planetary signal. Instead, we could compute the first limits on the presence of planets on close-in orbits. We find that within a 1.28 day orbit, the occurrence rate of planets with a radius between 0.75 and 3.25 R⊕ is {\eta} < 67 ± 1%. For planets with radii between 0.75 and 1.25 R⊕, we place a 95% confident upper limit of {\eta} < 87 ± 3%. If we assume an occurrence rate of {\eta} = 27% for these planets with radii between 0.75 and 1.25 R⊕, as the discoveries of the Kepler-42b and TRAPPIST-1b systems would suggest, we estimate that 175 brown dwarfs need to be monitored in order to guarantee (95%) at least one detection.

Hunting for hot Jupiters in Open Stellar Clusters

MULTIPLEXING PRECISION RVs: SEARCHING FOR CLOSE-IN GAS GIANTS IN OPEN CLUSTERS

Authors:

Bailey et al

Abstract:

We present a multiplexed high-resolution (R ~ 50,000 median) spectroscopic survey designed to detect exoplanet candidates in two southern star clusters (NGC 2516 and NGC 2422) using the Michigan/Magellan Fiber System (M2FS) on the Magellan/Clay telescope at Las Campanas Observatory. With 128 available fibers in our observing mode, we are able to target every star in the core half-degree of each cluster that could plausibly be a solar-analog member. Our template-based spectral fits provide precise measurements of fundamental stellar properties—T eff (±30 K), [Fe/H] and [α/Fe] (±0.02 dex), and ${v}_{r}\mathrm{sin}(i)$ (±0.3 km s−1)—and radial velocities (RVs) by using telluric absorption features from 7160 to 7290 Å as a wavelength reference for 251 mid-F to mid-K stars (126 in NGC 2516 and 125 in NGC 2422) that comprise our survey. In each cluster, we have obtained ~10–12 epochs of our targets. Using repeat observations of an RV standard star, we show our approach can attain a single-epoch velocity precision of 25–60 m s−1 over a broad range of signal-to-noise ratios throughout our observational baseline of 1.1 years. Our technique is suitable for nonrapidly rotating stars cooler than mid-F. In this paper, we describe our observational sample and analysis methodology and present a detailed study of the attainable precision and measurement capabilities of our approach. Subsequent papers will provide results for stars observed in the target clusters, analyze our data set of RV time series for stellar jitter and stellar and substellar companions, and consider the implications of our findings on the clusters themselves.

Many Magma Exoplanets may Have Surface Compositions That Change Over Time

Atmosphere-interior exchange on hot rocky exoplanets

Authors:

Kite et al

Abstract:

We provide estimates of atmospheric pressure and surface composition on short-period rocky exoplanets with dayside magma pools and silicate vapor atmospheres. Atmospheric pressure tends toward vapor-pressure equilibrium with surface magma, and magma-surface composition is set by the competing effects of fractional vaporization and surface-interior exchange. We use basic models to show how surface-interior exchange is controlled by the planet's temperature, mass, and initial composition. We assume that mantle rock undergoes bulk melting to form the magma pool, and that winds flow radially away from the substellar point. With these assumptions, we find that: (1) atmosphere-interior exchange is fast when the planet's bulk-silicate FeO concentration is low, and slow when FeO concentration is high; (2) magma pools are compositionally well-mixed for substellar temperatures ≲ 2400 K, but compositionally variegated and rapidly variable for substellar temperatures ≳ 2400 K; (3) currents within the magma pool tend to cool the top of the solid mantle ("tectonic refrigeration"); (4) contrary to earlier work, many magma planets have time-variable surface compositions.

Transit timing variation and transmission spectroscopy analyses of the hot Neptune GJ 3470b

Transit timing variation and transmission spectroscopy analyses of the hot Neptune GJ3470b

Authors:

Awiphan et al

Abstract:

GJ3470b is a hot Neptune exoplanet orbiting an M dwarf and the first sub-Jovian planet to exhibit Rayleigh scattering. We present transit timing variation (TTV) and transmission spectroscopy analyses of multi-wavelength optical photometry from 2.4-m and 0.5-m telescopes at the Thai National Observatory, and the 0.6-m PROMPT-8 telescope in Chile. Our TTV analysis allows us to place an upper mass limit for a second planet in the system. The presence of a hot Jupiter with a period of less than 10 days or a planet with an orbital period between 2.5 and 4.0 days are excluded. Combined optical and near-infrared transmission spectroscopy favour a H/He dominated haze (mean molecular weight 1.18±0.22) with high particle abundance at high altitude. We also argue that previous near-infrared data favour the presence of methane in the atmosphere of GJ3470b.

On turbulence driven by axial precession and tidal evolution of the spin-orbit angle of hot Jupiters

On turbulence driven by axial precession and tidal evolution of the spin-orbit angle of close-in giant planets

Authors:

Barker et al

Abstract:

The spin axis of a rotationally deformed planet is forced to precess about its orbital angular momentum vector, due to the tidal gravity of its host star, if these directions are misaligned. This induces internal fluid motions inside the planet that are subject to a hydrodynamic instability. We study the turbulent damping of precessional fluid motions, as a result of this instability, in the simplest local computational model of a giant planet (or star), with and without a weak internal magnetic field. Our aim is to determine the outcome of this instability, and its importance in driving tidal evolution of the spin-orbit angle in precessing planets (and stars). We find that this instability produces turbulent dissipation that is sufficiently strong that it could drive significant tidal evolution of the spin-orbit angle for hot Jupiters with orbital periods shorter than about 10-18 days. If this mechanism acts in isolation, this evolution would be towards alignment or anti-alignment, depending on the initial angle, but the ultimate evolution (if other tidal mechanisms also contribute) is expected to be towards alignment. The turbulent dissipation is proportional to the cube of the precession frequency, so it leads to much slower damping of stellar spin-orbit angles, implying that this instability is unlikely to drive evolution of the spin-orbit angle in stars (either in planetary or close binary systems). We also find that the instability-driven flow can act as a system-scale dynamo, which may play a role in producing magnetic fields in short-period planets.

On turbulence driven by axial precession and tidal evolution of the spin–orbit angle of close-in giant planets

On turbulence driven by axial precession and tidal evolution of the spin–orbit angle of close-in giant planets

Author:

Barker

Abstract:

The spin axis of a rotationally deformed planet is forced to precess about its orbital angular momentum vector, due to the tidal gravity of its host star, if these directions are misaligned. This induces internal fluid motions inside the planet that are subject to a hydrodynamic instability. We study the turbulent damping of precessional fluid motions, as a result of this instability, in the simplest local computational model of a giant planet (or star), with and without a weak internal magnetic field. Our aim is to determine the outcome of this instability, and its importance in driving tidal evolution of the spin–orbit angle in precessing planets (and stars). We find that this instability produces turbulent dissipation that is sufficiently strong that it could drive significant tidal evolution of the spin–orbit angle for hot Jupiters with orbital periods shorter than about 10–18 days. If this mechanism acts in isolation, this evolution would be towards alignment or anti-alignment, depending on the initial angle, but the ultimate evolution (if other tidal mechanisms also contribute) is expected to be towards alignment. The turbulent dissipation is proportional to the cube of the precession frequency, so it leads to much slower damping of stellar spin–orbit angles, implying that this instability is unlikely to drive evolution of the spin–orbit angle in stars (either in planetary or close binary systems). We also find that the instability-driven flow can act as a system-scale dynamo, which may play a role in producing magnetic fields in short-period planets.

Close-in Planetary Systems Around Giant Stars Lack Hot Jupiters

Close-in planets around giant stars. Lack of hot-Jupiters and prevalence of multi-planetary systems

Authors:

Lillo-Box et al

Abstract:

Extrasolar planets abound in almost any possible configuration. However, until five years ago, there was a lack of planets orbiting closer than 0.5 au to giant or subgiant stars. Since then, recent detections have started to populated this regime by confirming 13 planetary systems. We discuss the properties of these systems in terms of their formation and evolution off the main sequence. Interestingly, we find that 70.0±6.6 % of the planets in this regime are inner components of multiplanetary systems. This value is 4.2σ higher than for main-sequence hosts, which we find to be 42.4±0.1 %. The properties of the known planets seem to indicate that the closest-in planets (a less than 0.06 au) to main-sequence stars are massive (i.e., hot Jupiters) and isolated and that they are subsequently engulfed by their host as it evolves to the red giant branch, leaving only the predominant population of multiplanetary systems in orbits 0.06 less than a less than 0.5 au. We discuss the implications of this emerging observational trend in the context of formation and evolution of hot Jupiters.

Can Planet Traps Explain Close-in SuperEarth Formation?

Trapping planets in an evolving protoplanetary disk: preferred time, locations and planet mass

Authors:

Baillié et al

Abstract:

Planet traps are necessary to prevent forming planets from falling onto their host star by type I migration. Surface mass density and temperature gradient irregularities favor the apparition of traps and deserts. Such features are found at the dust sublimation lines and heat transition barriers. We study how planets may remain trapped or escape as they grow and as the disk evolves. We model the temporal viscous evolution of a protoplanetary disk by coupling its dynamics, thermodynamics, geometry and composition. The resulting mid-plane density and temperature profiles allow the modeling of the interactions of such an evolving disk with potential planets, even before the steady state is reached. We follow the viscous evolution of a MMSN and compute the Lindblad and corotation torques that such a disk would exert on potential planets of various masses located within the planetary formation region. We determine the position of planet traps and deserts in relationship with the sublimation lines, shadowed regions and heat transition barriers. Planets that are a few tens of Earth masses can be trapped at the sublimation lines until they reach a certain mass while planets more massive than 100ME can only be trapped permanently at the heat transition barriers. Coupling a bimodal planetary migration model with a self-consistent evolved disk, we were able to distinguish several potential planet populations after 5 million years of evolution: two populations of giant planets that could stay trapped around 5.5 and 9 au and possibly open gaps, some super-Earths trapped around 5 and 7.5 au and a population of close-in super-Earths trapped inside 1 au. The traps corresponding to the last group could help validating the in-situ formation scenarios of the observed close-in super-Earths.