A disk-driven resonance as the origin of high inclinations of close-in planets

Abstract

The recent characterization of transiting close-in planets has revealed an intriguing population of sub-Neptunes with highly tilted and even polar orbits relative to their host star's equator. Any viable theory for the origin of these close-in, polar planets must explain (1) the observed stellar obliquities, (2) the substantial eccentricities, and (3) the existence of Jovian companions with large mutual inclinations. In this work, we propose a theoretical model that satisfies these requirements without invoking tidal dissipation or large primordial inclinations. Instead, tilting is facilitated by the protoplanetary disk dispersal during the late stage of planet formation, initiating a process of resonance sweeping and parametric instability. This mechanism consists of two steps. First, a nodal secular resonance excites the inclination to large values; then, once the inclination reaches a critical value, a linear eccentric instability is triggered, which detunes the resonance and ends inclination growth. The critical inclination is pushed to high values by general relativistic precession, making polar orbits an inherently post-Newtonian outcome. Our model predicts that polar, close-in sub-Neptunes coexist with cold Jupiters in low stellar obliquity orbits.

arXiv commentsubmitted to AAS Journals

References in corpus (39)

• New evolutionary models for pre-main sequence and main sequence low-mass stars down to the hydrogen-burning limit
• Shrinking binary and planetary orbits by Kozai cycles with tidal friction
• The Disk Substructures at High Angular Resolution Project (DSHARP): I. Motivation, Sample, Calibration, and Overview
• Dynamical Outcomes of Planet-Planet Scattering
• The Occurrence and Architecture of Exoplanetary Systems
• Homogeneous studies of transiting extrasolar planets. IV. Thirty systems with space-based light curves
• Stellar Spin-Orbit Misalignment in a Multiplanet System
• The inner regions of protoplanetary disks
• Breeding Super-Earths and Birthing Super-Puffs in Transitional Disks
• Exoplanetary Spin-Orbit Alignment: Results from the Ensemble of Rossiter-McLaughlin Observations
• Hints for a Turnover at the Snow Line in the Giant Planet Occurrence Rate
• In Situ Formation and Dynamical Evolution of Hot Jupiter Systems
• About 30% of Sun-like Stars Have Kepler-like Planetary Systems: A Study of their Intrinsic Architecture
• The Disk Population of the Upper Scorpius Association
• Suppression of extreme orbital evolution in triple systems with short range forces
• An Excess of Jupiter Analogs in Super-Earth Systems
• The Super Earth-Cold Jupiter Relations
• Satellite dynamics on the Laplace surface
• Orbital misalignment of the Neptune-mass exoplanet GJ 436b with the spin of its cool star
• Obliquities of Kepler Stars: Comparison of Single- and Multiple-Transit Systems
• Planets Near Mean-Motion Resonances
• The destruction of inner planetary systems during high-eccentricity migration of gas giants
• Reducing the Probability of Capture into Resonance
• HAT-P-11: Discovery of a Second Planet and a Clue to Understanding Exoplanet Obliquities
• An Observational Perspective of Transitional Disks
• Evidence for a high mutual inclination between the cold Jupiter and transiting super Earth orbiting $\pi$ Men
• Kepler-108: A Mutually Inclined Giant Planet System
• Why do warm Neptunes present nonzero eccentricity?
• Nearly Polar orbit of the sub-Neptune HD3167 c: Constraints on a multi-planet system dynamical history
• Why do Earth satellites stay up?
• A significant mutual inclination between the planets within the $\pi$ Mensae system
• Hidden Planetary Friends: On the Stability Of 2-Planet Systems in the Presence of a Distant, Inclined Companion
• Eccentricity pumping of a planet on an inclined orbit by a disc
• Orbital misalignment of the super-Earth $\pi$ Men c with the spin of its star
• The gravitational interaction between planets on inclined orbits and protoplanetary disks as the origin of primordial spin--orbit misalignments
• Spin-orbit alignment of the $\beta$ Pictoris planetary system
• Statistical Trends in the Obliquity Distribution of Exoplanet Systems
• Secular transport during disk dispersal: the case of Kepler-419
• Exponential growth of eccentricity in secular theory

Cited by in corpus (40)

• Stellar obliquities in exoplanetary systems
• A Preponderance of Perpendicular Planets
• WASP-107b's density is even lower: a case study for the physics of planetary gas envelope accretion and orbital migration
• The Warm Neptune GJ 3470b has a Polar Orbit
• DREAM I. Orbital architecture orrery
• A Tendency Toward Alignment in Single-Star Warm Jupiter Systems
• The TESS-Keck Survey IV: A Retrograde, Polar Orbit for the Ultra-Low-Density, Hot Super-Neptune WASP-107b
• The JADE code: Coupling secular exoplanetary dynamics and photo-evaporation
• Orbital Architectures of Planet-Hosting Binaries II. Low Mutual Inclinations Between Planetary and Stellar Orbits
• DREAM II. The spin-orbit angle distribution of close-in exoplanets under the lens of tides
• The polar orbit of the warm Neptune GJ436b seen with VLT/ESPRESSO
• Ponderings on the Possible Preponderance of Perpendicular Planets
• Obliquities of Exoplanet Host Stars: 19 New and Updated Measurements, and Trends in the Sample of 205 Measurements
• Hot Stars With Kepler Planets Have High Obliquities
• Are WASP-107-like Systems Consistent with High-eccentricity Migration?
• Evidence for Primordial Alignment: Insights from Stellar Obliquity Measurements for Compact Sub-Saturn Systems
• TOI-1859b: A 64-Day Warm Jupiter on an Eccentric and Misaligned Orbit
• Kepler-1656b's Extreme Eccentricity: Signature of a Gentle Giant
• HATS-38 b and WASP-139 b join a growing group of hot Neptunes on polar orbits
• The chaotic history of the retrograde multi-planet system in K2-290A driven by distant stars
• The Spin-Orbit Misalignment of TOI-1842b: The First Measurement of the Rossiter-McLaughlin Effect for a Warm Sub-Saturn around a Massive Star
• The Spin-Orbit Alignment of 8 Warm Gas Giant Systems
• NEID Reveals that The Young Warm Neptune TOI-2076 b Has a Low Obliquity
• WASP-131 b with ESPRESSO I: A bloated sub-Saturn on a polar orbit around a differentially rotating solar-type star
• A possible misaligned orbit for the young planet AU Mic c
• Mutual Inclination of Ultra-Short-Period Planets with Time Varying Stellar J2-moment
• TOI-1442 b and TOI-2445 b: two potentially rocky ultra-short period planets around M dwarfs
• Precise Transit Photometry Using TESS: Updated Physical Properties for 28 Exoplanets Around Bright Stars
• Excitation of Spin-Orbit Misalignments in Stellar Binaries with Circumbinary Disks: Application to DI Herculis
• The Aligned Orbit of a Hot Jupiter around the M Dwarf TOI-4201
• Multi-band, Multi-epoch Photometry of the Spot-crossing System TOI-3884: Refined System Geometry and Spot Properties
• TOI-858 B b: A hot Jupiter on a polar orbit in a loose binary
• A high mutual inclination system around KOI-134 revealed by transit timing variations
• Sculpting of Exoplanetary Systems Driven by a Misaligned Disk and Stellar Oblateness: Origin of Perpendicular Orbits in HD 3167
• The low density, hot Jupiter TOI-640 b is on a polar orbit
• True spin-orbit obliquities distribution: data-driven confirmation of no clustering of misaligned planets
• Evidence for a Nonzero Eccentricity Superpuff Exoplanet WASP-107 b Using JWST Occultation Observation
• Constraining protoplanetary disks with exoplanetary dynamics: Kepler-419 as an example
• Bifurcated Evolutionary Pathways in Multi-planet Systems Driven by Misaligned Protoplanetary Disks
• A TESS Disappearing Act: The Vanishing Transits of TOI-2535 b