The Continuing Search for Evidence of Tidal Orbital Decay of Hot Jupiters

Patra, Kishore C.; Winn, Joshua N.; Holman, Matthew J.; Gillon, Michael; Burdanov, Artem; Jehin, Emmanuel; Delrez, Laetitia; Pozuelos, Francisco J.; Barkaoui, Khalid; Benkhaldoun, Zouhair; Narita, Norio; Fukui, Akihiko; Kusakabe, Nobuhiko; Kawauchi, Kiyoe; Terada, Yuka; Bouma, L. G.; Weinberg, Nevin N.; Broome, Madelyn
Bibliographical reference

The Astronomical Journal

Advertised on:
4
2020
Number of authors
18
IAC number of authors
2
Citations
67
Refereed citations
58
Description
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 × 105. 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 10-9 or 10-10, and lower limits on the reduced tidal quality factor on the order of 105. 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.
Related projects
Projects' name image
Exoplanets and Astrobiology
The search for life in the universe has been driven by recent discoveries of planets around other stars (known as exoplanets), becoming one of the most active fields in modern astrophysics. The growing number of new exoplanets discovered in recent years and the recent advance on the study of their atmospheres are not only providing new valuable
Enric
Pallé Bago