Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics; Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Abstract :
[en] Many of the known hot Jupiters are formally unstable to tidal orbital decay. The only hot Jupiter for which orbital decay has been directly detected is WASP-12, for which transit-timing measurements spanning more than a decade have revealed that the orbital period is decreasing at a rate of dP/dt ≈ 10^{-9}, corresponding to a reduced tidal quality factor of about 2 × 10[SUP]5[/SUP]. Here, we present a compilation of transit- timing data for WASP-12 and 11 other systems that are especially favorable for detecting orbital decay: KELT-16; WASP-18, 19, 43, 72, 103, 114, and 122; HAT-P-23; HATS-18; and OGLE-TR-56. For most of these systems we present new data that extend the time baseline over which observations have been performed. None of the systems besides WASP-12 display convincing evidence for period changes, with typical upper limits on dP/dt on the order of 10[SUP]-9[/SUP] or 10[SUP]-10[/SUP], and lower limits on the reduced tidal quality factor on the order of 10[SUP]5[/SUP]. One possible exception is WASP-19, which shows a statistically significant trend, although it may be a spurious effect of starspot activity. Further observations are encouraged.
Disciplines :
Space science, astronomy & astrophysics
Author, co-author :
Patra, Kishore C.; Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
Winn, Joshua N.; Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, 4 Ivy Lane, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
Holman, Matthew J.; Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
Gillon, Michaël ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département d'astrophys., géophysique et océanographie (AGO) > Exotic
Burdanov, Artem; Astrobiology Research Unit, Université de Liège, Allée du 6 août 17, Sart Tilman, B-4000, Liège 1, Belgium
Jehin, Emmanuel ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département d'astrophys., géophysique et océanographie (AGO) > Origines Cosmologiques et Astrophysiques (OrCa)
Delrez, Laetitia ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département d'astrophys., géophysique et océanographie (AGO) > Astrophysique stellaire théorique et astérosismologie
Pozuelos Romero, Francisco José ; Astrobiology Research Unit, Université de Liège, Allée du 6 août 17, Sart Tilman, B-4000, Liège 1, Belgium ; STAR Research Unit, Université de Liège, Allée du 6 août 17, Sart Tilman, B-4000, Liège 1, Belgium
Benkhaldoun, Zouhair; Oukaimeden Observatory, High Energy Physics and Astrophysics Laboratory, Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakech, Morocco
Narita, Norio; Astrobiology Center, 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588, Japan ; JST, PRESTO, 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588, Japan ; National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588, Japan ; Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, Vía Láctea s/n, E-38205 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
Fukui, Akihiko; Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, Vía Láctea s/n, E-38205 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain ; Department of Earth and Planetary Science, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
Kusakabe, Nobuhiko; Astrobiology Center, 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588, Japan
Kawauchi, Kiyoe; Department of Earth and Planetary Science, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
Terada, Yuka; Department of Astronomy, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
Bouma, L. G.; Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, 4 Ivy Lane, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
Weinberg, Nevin N.; Department of Physics, and Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
Broome, Madelyn; Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, 4 Ivy Lane, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA)
