Impact of Stellar Dynamics on the Frequency of Giant Planets in Close Binaries
- Creators
- Pfahl, Eric
- Muterspaugh, Matthew
Abstract
Hostile tidal forces may inhibit the formation of Jovian planets in binaries with semimajor axes of ≾50 AU, binaries that might be called "close" in this context. As an alternative to in situ planet formation, a binary can acquire a giant planet when one of its original members is replaced in a dynamical interaction with another star that hosts a planet. Simple scaling relations for the structure and evolution of star clusters, coupled with analytic arguments regarding binary-single and binary-binary scattering, indicate that dynamical processes can deposit Jovian planets in <1% of close binaries. If ongoing and future exoplanet surveys measure a much larger fraction, it may be that giant planets do somehow form frequently in such systems.
Additional Information
© 2006. The American Astronomical Society. Received 2006 June 27; accepted 2006 August 14. Print publication: Issue 2 (2006 December 1). We thank Phil Arras and the referee, John Chambers, for valuable comments and Maciej Konacki for providing details on his survey. E.P. was supported by NSF grant PHY 99-07949. M.M. was supported by the Michelson Graduate Fellowship and NASA grant NNG05GJ58G issued through the Terrestrial Planet Finder Foundation Science Program. M.M. appreciates the hospitality of the KITP during the week in which this work began.Attached Files
Published - PFAapj06.pdf
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Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 12985
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:PFAapj06
- PHY 99-07949
- National Science Foundation
- NNG05GJ58G
- NASA
- Created
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2009-01-14Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2021-11-08Created from EPrint's last_modified field