A Pair of Planets Likely in Mean-motion Resonance From Gravitational Microlensing

Abstract

We combine statistical arguments and dynamical analysis to study the orbital configuration of the microlensing planetary system OGLE-2012-BLG-0026L. This system is known to host two massive planets, with both projected close to the Einstein ring at the time of the detection. Assuming an isotropic distribution for the orbital orientation, we find that the two planets should also be closely spaced in three-dimensional space and that the ratio of their orbital periods is almost certainly less than two. With N-body numerical integrations, we then identify two types of stable configurations: the two planets can be in first-order mean-motion resonances (MMRs) and have significant ($\gtrsim 0.1$) eccentricities, or they stay out of MMRs and have nearly circular orbits. The latter is disfavored, given the absence of similar planet pairs in radial velocity (RV) observations as well as the theoretical difficulties in forming such a configuration. Therefore, the two massive planets in OGLE-2012-BLG-0026L are likely in a resonance configuration. Our work shows that the microlensing technique, which usually only measures the projected configurations, can also probe the detailed dynamical state of multi-planet systems. We also discuss theoretical implications of measuring the multiplicity and the orbital architecture of cold planets.

published on ApJ Letters

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