Visual Analysis and Demographics of Kepler Transit Timing Variations

Abstract

We visually analyzed the Transit Timing Variation (TTV) data of 5930 Kepler Objects of Interest (KOIs) homogeneously. Using data from Rowe et al. 2014 and Holczer et al. 2016, we investigated TTVs for KOIs in Kepler's Data Release 24 catalog. Using TTV plots, periodograms, and folded quadratic sinusoid fits, we visually rated each KOI's TTV data in five categories. Our ratings emphasize the hundreds of planets with TTVs that are weaker than the 200 or so that have been studied in detail. Our findings are consistent with statistical methods for identifying strong TTVs (Holczer et al. 2016), though we find some additional systems worth investigation. Between about 3-50 days and 1.3-6 Earth radii, the frequency of strong TTVs increases with period and radius. As expected, strong TTVs are very common when period ratios are near a resonance, but there is not a one-to-one correspondence. The observed planet-by-planet frequency of strong TTVs is only somewhat lower in systems with 1-2 known planets (7 +/- 1 percent) than in systems with 3+ known planets (11 +/- 2 percent). We attribute TTVs to known planets in multi-transiting systems, but find about 30 cases where the perturbing planet is unknown. Our conclusions are valuable as an ensemble for learning about planetary system architectures and individually as stepping stones towards more detailed mass-radius constraints. We also discuss Data Release 25 TTVs, about 100 KOIs with Transit Duration and/or Depth Variations, and that the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) will likely find roughly 10 planets with strong TTVs.

21 pages, 4 figures; accepted to AAS Journals; TTV plots and other data available at https://haumea.byu.edu/kanettv/

References in corpus (15)

• DHP Framework: Digital Health Passports Using Blockchain -- Use case on international tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic
• EXOFAST: A fast exoplanetary fitting suite in IDL
• Kepler constraints on planets near hot Jupiters
• A Dynamical Analysis of the Kepler-80 System of Five Transiting Planets
• The period ratio distribution of Kepler's candidate multiplanet systems
• A 1.9 Earth radius rocky planet and the discovery of a non-transiting planet in the Kepler-20 system
• Time variation of Kepler transits induced by stellar spots - a way to distinguish between prograde and retrograde motion. II. Application to KOIs
• Eccentric Companions to Kepler-448b and Kepler-693b: Clues to the Formation of Warm Jupiters
• A spectral approach to transit timing variations
• The Value of Systems with Multiple Transiting Planets
• A population of planetary systems characterized by short-period, Earth-sized planets
• Planet Detection Simulations for Several Possible TESS Extended Missions
• Photo-Dynamical Analysis of Three Kepler Objects of Interest with Significant Transit Timing Variations
• Uniform Modeling of KOIs: MCMC Data Release Notes
• Eclipsing binaries and fast rotators in the Kepler sample. Characterization via radial velocity analysis from Calar Alto

Cited by in corpus (9)

• Mutual Orbital Inclinations Between Cold Jupiters and Inner Super-Earths
• Formation of compact systems of super-Earths via dynamical instabilities and giant impacts
• Science Extraction from TESS Observations of Known Exoplanet Hosts
• Transit Timing Variations in the three-planet system: TOI-270
• A search for transit timing variations within the exomoon corridor using Kepler data
• The Exomoon Corridor for Multiple Moon Systems
• Observable Predictions from Perturber-coupled High-eccentricity Tidal Migration of Warm Jupiters
• Evidence for a Non-Dichotomous Solution to the Kepler Dichotomy: Mutual Inclinations of Kepler Planetary Systems from Transit Duration Variations
• Exploring Long-period Architectures: Four New Planet Candidates from Kepler with Periods >342 days