Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2007-02-05
Mon.Not.Roy.Astron.Soc.Lett.377:L44-L48,2007
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
6 pages, 3 figures, MNRAS letter, accepted 2007 February 1
Scientific paper
10.1111/j.1745-3933.2007.00300.x
The satellite COROT will search for close-in exo-planets around a few thousand stars using the transit search method. The COROT mission holds the promise of detecting numerous exo-planets. Together with radial velocity follow-up observations, the masses of the detected planets will be known. We have devised a method for predicting the expected planetary populations and compared it to the already known exo-planets. Our method works by looking at all hydrostatic envelope solutions of giant gas planets that could possibly exist in arbitrary planetary nebulae and comparing the relative abundance of different masses. We have completed the first such survey of hydrostatic equilibria in an orbital range covering periods of 1 to 50 days. Statistical analysis of the calculated envelopes suggests division into three classes of giant planets that are distinguished by orbital separation. We term them classes G (close-in), H, and J (large separation). Each class has distinct properties such as a typical mass range. Furthermore, the division between class H and J appears to mark important changes in the formation: For close-in planets (classes G and H) the concept of a critical core-mass is meaningless while it is important for class J. This result needs confirmation by future dynamical analysis.
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