Orbital Evolution and Migration of Extrasolar Planets

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy

Scientific paper

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

Scientific paper

Giant planets in circumstellar disks can migrate inward from their initial (formation) positions. Migration is caused by inward torques between the planet and the disk; by outward torques between the planet and the spinning star; and by outward torques due to Roche lobe overflow and mass loss from the planet. Summing torques on planets in disks with various physical parameters, we find that Jupiter-mass planets can stably arrive and survive at small heliocentric distances. Inward migration timescales can be approximately equal to or less than disk lifetimes and star spindown timescales. Therefore, the range of fates of Jupiter-mass planets is broad, and generally comprises three classes: (I) planets which migrate inward too rapidly and lose all their mass due to Roche lobe overflow; (II) planets which migrate inward and survive in very small orbits; and (III) planets which do not migrate very far. Some, but not all, of the planets in Class II lose mass during their evolution and migration times, resulting in planets with final masses smaller than their initial masses. For example, in our model, we produce planets similar to 51 Peg b which have lost ~ 75% of their initial mass. The observed extrasolar planets, both those with extremely small semi-major axes (51 Peg b at 0.05 AU, tau Boo b (0.046 AU), upsilon And b (0.057 AU), and 55 Cnc b (0.11 AU)) and those with more moderate semi-major axes (rho Cor Bor b (0.23 AU), 47 UMa b (2.1 AU)) form a subset of the potential outcomes of the system, in that Jupiter-mass objects can stably survive in orbits with a wide range of semi-major axes. Our numerical model produces planets which have similar characteristics to the observed planets, as well as planets similar to Jupiter, and many intermediate cases. Since Jupiters can stably migrate to various orbital separations, we predict that, as planetary detection techniques improve, Jupiter-mass planets will be found in a wide range of orbits, from much less than 1 AU to several AU or more.

No associations

LandOfFree

Say what you really think

Search LandOfFree.com for scientists and scientific papers. Rate them and share your experience with other people.

Rating

Orbital Evolution and Migration of Extrasolar Planets does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Orbital Evolution and Migration of Extrasolar Planets, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Orbital Evolution and Migration of Extrasolar Planets will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1189494

  Search
All data on this website is collected from public sources. Our data reflects the most accurate information available at the time of publication.