Masses and orbital inclinations of planets in the PSR B1257+12 system

Details Masses and orbital inclinations of planets in the PSR B1257+12 system Masses and orbital inclinations of planets in the PSR B1257+12 system

2003-05-28

arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0305536v1

Astrophys.J. 591 (2003) L147-L150

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

2 figures, to appear in ApJL

Scientific paper

10.1086/377093

We present measurements of the true masses and orbital inclinations of the two Earth-mass planets in the PSR B1257+12 system, based on the analysis of their mutual gravitational perturbations detectable as microsecond variations of the arrival times of radio pulses from the pulsar. The 6.2-millisecond pulsar, PSR B1257+12, has been regularly timed with the Arecibo telescope since late 1990. Assuming the standard pulsar mass of 1.4 M_Sun, the derived masses of planets B and C are 4.3 +/- 0.2 M_Earth and 3.9 +/- 0.2 M_Earth, respectively. The corresponding orbital inclinations of 53.4 and 47.3 deg (or 127 and 133 deg) imply that the two orbits are almost coplanar. This result, together with the known near 3:2 resonance between the orbits of the two planets, strongly supports the hypothesis of a disk origin of the PSR B1257+12 planetary system. The system's long-term stability is guaranteed by the low, Earth-like masses of planets B and C.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

Masses and orbital inclinations of planets in the PSR B1257+12 system 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 Masses and orbital inclinations of planets in the PSR B1257+12 system, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Masses and orbital inclinations of planets in the PSR B1257+12 system will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-648512