Observability of the General Relativistic Precession of Periastra in Exoplanets

Abstract

The general relativistic precession rate of periastra in close-in exoplanets can be orders of magnitude larger than the magnitude of the same effect for Mercury. The realization that some of the close-in exoplanets have significant eccentricities raises the possibility that this precession might be detectable. We explore in this work the observability of the periastra precession using radial velocity and transit light curve observations. Our analysis is independent of the source of precession, which can also have significant contributions due to additional planets and tidal deformations. We find that precession of the periastra of the magnitude expected from general relativity can be detectable in timescales of <~ 10 years with current observational capabilities by measuring the change in the primary transit duration or in the time difference between primary and secondary transits. Radial velocity curves alone would be able to detect this precession for super-massive, close-in exoplanets orbiting inactive stars if they have ~100 datapoints at each of two epochs separated by ~20 years. We show that the contribution to the precession by tidal deformations may dominate the total precession in cases where the relativistic precession is detectable. Studies of transit durations with Kepler might need to take into account effects arising from the general relativistic and tidal induced precession of periastra for systems containing close-in, eccentric exoplanets. Such studies may be able to detect additional planets with masses comparable to that of Earth by detecting secular variations in the transit duration induced by the changing longitude of periastron.

13 pages, 5 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ

References in corpus (13)

• DHP Framework: Digital Health Passports Using Blockchain -- Use case on international tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic
• Detection of Thermal Emission from an Extrasolar Planet
• Hubble Space Telescope times-series photometry of the planetary transit of HD189733: no moon, no rings, starspots
• Strong Infrared Emission from the Extrasolar Planet HD189733b
• HD147506b: A Super-Massive Planet in an Eccentric Orbit Transiting a Bright Star
• XO-3b: A Massive Planet in an Eccentric Orbit Transiting an F5V Star
• Long Term Evolution of Close Planets Including the Effects of Secular Interactions
• Using long-term transit timing to detect terrestrial planets
• Characterizing the Orbital Eccentricities of Transiting Extrasolar Planets with Photometric Observations
• Thermal Emission from Transiting Very-Hot Jupiters: Prospects for Ground-based Detection at Optical Wavelengths
• A ~5 M_earth Super-Earth Orbiting GJ 436?: The Power of Near-Grazing Transits
• Refined parameters and spectroscopic transit of the super-massive planet HD147506b
• Effects of Secular Interactions in Extrasolar Planetary Systems

Cited by in corpus (33)

• EXOFAST: A fast exoplanetary fitting suite in IDL
• General Relativity and Cosmology: Unsolved Questions and Future Directions
• The Orbit of WASP-12b is Decaying
• TESS Transit Timing of Hundreds of Hot Jupiters
• The GAPS Programme with HARPS-N@TNG V. A comprehensive analysis of the XO-2 stellar and planetary systems
• Improved parameters of seven Kepler giant companions characterized with SOPHIE and HARPS-N
• Revisiting Spitzer transit observations with Independent Component Analysis: new results for the GJ436 system
• Stellar proper motion and the timing of planetary transits
• Constraints on the Atmospheric Circulation and Variability of the Eccentric Hot Jupiter XO-3b
• Classical and relativistic node precessional effects in WASP-33b and perspectives for detecting them
• Classical and relativistic long-term time variations of some observables for transiting exoplanets
• Novel constraints on fifth forces and ultralight dark sector with asteroidal data
• Planet-Induced Stellar Pulsations in HAT-P-2's Eccentric System
• On the impact of tides on the transit-timing fits to the TRAPPIST-1 system
• The GAPS Programme with HARPS-N@TNG VI: The Curious Case of TrES-4b
• Spacecraft Clocks and Relativity: Prospects for Future Satellite Missions
• Measuring the orbit shrinkage rate of hot Jupiters due to tides
• PEXO: a global modeling framework for nanosecond timing, microsecond astrometry, and $\mu$m/s radial velocities
• Parametrized Post-Newtonian Orbital Effects in Extrasolar Planets
• Transit Timing Variation of XO-3b: Evidence for Tidal Evolution of Hot Jupiter with High Eccentricity
• Revisiting Orbital Evolution in HAT-P-2 b and Confirmation of HAT-P-2 c
• Detecting General Relativistic Orbital Precession in Transiting Hot Jupiters
• Post-Newtonian effects on some characteristic timescales of transiting exoplanets
• TESS Timings of 31 Hot Jupiters with Ephemeris Uncertainties
• Frame-Dragging in Extrasolar Circumbinary Planetary Systems
• Precise Transit Photometry Using TESS II: Revisiting 28 Additional Transiting Systems With Updated Physical Properties
• Extreme exomoons in WASP-49 Ab: dynamics and detectability
• When the anomalistic, draconitic and sidereal orbital periods do not coincide: the impact of post-Keplerian perturbing accelerations
• Detecting and Monitoring Tidal Dissipation of Hot Jupiters in the Era of SiTian
• Search for Super Earths by Timing of Transits with CoRoT
• The HD 217107 Planetary System: Twenty Years of Radial Velocity Measurements
• The Influence of General Relativity on the Spins of Celestial Bodies in Inclined Orbits
• The Observational Effects and Signatures of Tidally Distorted Solid Exoplanets