Where to Find Habitable "Earths" in Circumbinary Systems

Abstract

Hitherto, six P-type planets are found around five binary systems, i.e. Kepler-16 b, 34 b, 35 b, 38 b, 47 b, c, which are all Neptune or Jupiter-like planets. The stability of planets and the habitable zones are influenced by the gravitational and radiative perturbations of binary companions. In this Letter, we check the stability of an additional habitable Earth-mass planet in each system. Based on our simulations in 10 Myr, a habitable "Earth" is hardly stable in Kepler-16 while a stable "Earth" in Kepler-47 close to the boundaries of the habitable zone is possible. In contrast, Kepler-34, 35 and 38 seem to have high probabilities of being able to tolerate a stable "Earth" in their habitable zones. The affects of transit time variations are quite small due to the small mass of an undetected "Earth", except that of Kepler-16 b. With a time precision of 0.001 day(~ 88 s), an "Earth" in the corotational resonance with Kepler-16 b can be detected in 3 years, while habitable "Earths" in Kepler-34 and 38 systems can be detected in 10 years. Habitable "Earths" in Kepler-35 and 47 are not likely to be detected in 10 years under this precision.

7 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables

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Cited by in corpus (10)

• Calculating the Habitable Zone of Binary Star Systems I: S-Type Binaries
• Calculating the Habitable Zone of Binary Star Systems II: P-Type Binaries
• Calculating the Habitable Zone of Multiple Star Systems (http://astro.twam.info/hz)
• The Dynamical Fate of Self-Gravitating Disc Fragments After Tidal Downsizing
• Surface Flux Patterns on Planets in Circumbinary Systems, and Potential for Photosynthesis
• Habitable Zone Boundaries for Circumbinary Planets
• Transits of Planets with Small Intervals in Circumbinary Systems
• Formation of Earth-sized planets within the Kepler-1647 System Habitable Zone
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• Swift J1644+5734: the EVN view