Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2006-09-11
Astrophys.J.652:L137-L140,2006
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
6 pages, 2 figures, 1 table, accepted to ApJL. Added references, new transiting planets to table; minor corrections
Scientific paper
10.1086/510235
Theoretical studies predict that Trojans are likely a frequent byproduct of planet formation and evolution. We present a novel method of detecting Trojan companions to transiting extrasolar planets which involves comparing the time of central eclipse with the time of the stellar reflex velocity null. We demonstrate that this method offers the potential to detect terrestrial-mass Trojans using existing ground-based observatories. This method rules out Trojan companions to HD 209458b and HD 149026b more massive than ~13 Earth masses and \~25 Earth masses at a 99.9% confidence level. Such a Trojan would be dynamically stable, would not yet have been detected by photometric or spectroscopic monitoring, and would be unrecognizable from radial velocity observations alone. We outline the future prospects for this method, and show that the detection of a "Hot Trojan" of any mass would place a significant constraint on theories of orbital migration.
Ford Eric B.
Gaudi Scott B.
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