Planet Packing in Circumbinary Systems

Abstract

The recent discovery of planets orbiting main sequence binaries will provide crucial constraints for theories of binary and planet formation. The formation pathway for these planets is complicated by uncertainties in the formation mechanism of the host stars. In this paper, we compare the dynamical states of single and binary star planetary systems. Specifically, we pose two questions: (1) What does it mean for a circumbinary system to be dynamically packed? (2) How many systems are required to differentiate between a population of packed or sparse planets? We determine when circumbinary systems become dynamically unstable as a function of the separation between the host-stars and the inner planet, and the first and second planets. We show that these represent unique stability constraints compared to single-star systems. We find that although the existing Kepler data is insufficient to distinguish between a population of packed or sparse circumbinary systems, a more thorough study of circumbinary TTVs combined with an order of magnitude increase in the number of systems may prove conclusive. Future space missions such as TESS provide the best opportunity for increasing the sample size.

9 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

References in corpus (5)

• The Transiting Circumbinary Planets Kepler-34 and Kepler-35
• The Formation of Ice Giants in a Packed Oligarchy: Instability and Aftermath
• `Tail-end' Bondi-Hoyle accretion in young star clusters: Implications for disks, planets, and stars
• Formation of circumbinary planets in a dead zone
• Neptune migration model with one extra planet

Cited by in corpus (27)

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• Discovery of a Third Transiting Planet in the Kepler-47 Circumbinary System
• Stability Limits of Circumbinary Planets: Is There a Pile-up in the Kepler CBPs?
• Uncovering Circumbinary Planetary Architectural Properties from Selection Biases
• No circumbinary planets transiting the tightest Kepler binaries - a possible fingerprint of a third star
• Circumbinary planets - why they are so likely to transit
• Planet Scattering Around Binaries: Ejections, Not Collisions
• Orbital Stability of Circumstellar Planets in Binary Systems
• Predicting a third planet in the Kepler-47 circumbinary system
• Efficient Geometric Probabilities of Multi-Transiting Exoplanetary Systems from CORBITS
• The unseen planets of double belt debris disk systems
• Kepler-1661 b: A Neptune-sized Kepler Transiting Circumbinary Planet around a Grazing Eclipsing Binary
• On The Lack of Circumbinary Planets Orbiting Isolated Binary Stars
• Instabilities in Multi-Planet Circumbinary Systems
• Formation of S-type planets in close binaries: scattering induced tidal capture of circumbinary planets
• Circumbinary discs with radiative cooling and embedded planets
• Effects of non-Kozai mutual inclinations on two-planet system stability through all phases of stellar evolution
• Habitability properties of circumbinary planets
• Sculpting the circumbinary planet size distribution through resonant interactions with companion planets
• The scattering outcomes of Kepler circumbinary planets: planet mass ratio
• A Pluto-Charon Sonata: The Dynamical Architecture of the Circumbinary Satellite System
• A Pluto--Charon Sonata: Dynamical Limits on the Masses of the Small Satellites
• Earth-size planet formation in the habitable zone of circumbinary stars
• Could there be an undetected inner planet near the stability limit in Kepler-1647?
• Orbital Evolution of a Circumbinary Planet in a Gaseous Disk
• Stellar Stripping and Disruption in Disks around Supermassive Black Hole Binaries: Repeating nuclear transients prior to LISA events
• A Pluto--Charon Sonata IV. Improved Constraints on the Dynamical Behavior and Masses of the Small Satellites