Hostname: page-component-5c6d5d7d68-wtssw Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-08-18T04:41:26.812Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Transforming Gas Giant Planets into Smaller Objects Through Tidal Disruption

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 April 2014

Shang-Fei Liu*
Affiliation:
Dept. of Astronomy and Kavli Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
James Guillochon
Affiliation:
Dept. of Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, U.S.A.
Douglas N. C. Lin
Affiliation:
Dept. of Astronomy and Kavli Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China Dept. of Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, U.S.A.
Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz
Affiliation:
Dept. of Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, U.S.A.
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Recent observations have revealed several Jupiter-mass planets with highly eccentric and / or misaligned orbits, which clearly suggests that dynamical processes operated in these systems. These dynamical processes may result in close encounters between Jupiter-like planets and their host stars. Using three-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations, we find that planets with cores are more likely to be retained by their host stars in contrast with previous studies which suggested that coreless planets are often ejected. We propose that after a long term evolution some gas giant planets could be transformed into super-Earths or Neptune-like planets, which is supported by our adiabatic evolution models. Finally, we analyze the orbits and structure of known planets and Kepler candidates and find that our model is capable of producing some of the shortest-period objects.

Type
Contributed Papers
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2014 

References

Faber, J. A., Rasio, F. A., & Willems, B. 2005, Icarus, 175, 248CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fryxell, B., et al. 2000, ApJS, 131, 273CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guillochon, J., Ramirez-Ruiz, E., & Lin, D. 2011, ApJ, 732, 74Google Scholar
Hjellming, M. S. & Webbink, R. F. 1987, ApJ, 318, 794Google Scholar
Kozai, Y. 1962, AJ, 67, 591Google Scholar
Lin, D. N. C., Bodenheimer, P., & Richardson, D. C. 1996, Nature, 380, 606Google Scholar
Lin, D. N. C. & Ida, S. 1997, ApJ, 477, 781CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nettelmann, N., Holst, B., Kietzmann, A., French, M., Redmer, R., & Blaschke, D. 2008, ApJ, 683, 1217Google Scholar
Ohta, Y., Taruya, A., & Suto, Y. 2005, ApJ, 622, 1118Google Scholar
Pollack, J. B., Hubickyj, O., Bodenheimer, P., Lissauer, J. J., Podolak, M., & Greenzweig, Y. 1996, Icarus, 124, 62CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rappaport, S., Verbunt, F., & Joss, P. C. 1983, ApJ, 275, 713Google Scholar
Rasio, F. A. & Ford, E. B. 1996, Science, 274, 954Google Scholar
Triaud, A. H. M. J., et al. 2010, A&A, 524, A25Google Scholar
Winn, J. N., Fabrycky, D., Albrecht, S., & Johnson, J. A. 2010, ApJ, 718, L145CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wu, Y. & Lithwick, Y. 2011, ApJ, 735, 109Google Scholar