On the Survival of Short-Period Terrestrial Planets

Abstract

The currently feasible method of detection of Earth-mass planets is transit photometry, with detection probability decreasing with a planet's distance from the star. The existence or otherwise of short-period terrestrial planets will tell us much about the planet formation process, and such planets are likely to be detected first if they exist. Tidal forces are intense for short-period planets, and result in decay of the orbit on a timescale which depends on properties of the star as long as the orbit is circular. However, if an eccentric companion planet exists, orbital eccentricity ($e_i$) is induced and the decay timescale depends on properties of the short-period planet, reducing by a factor of order $10^5{e}_i^2$ if it is terrestrial. Here we examine the influence companion planets have on the tidal and dynamical evolution of short-period planets with terrestrial structure, and show that the relativistic potential of the star is fundamental to their survival.

13 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

References in corpus (1)

• Spin-Orbit Evolution Of Short-Period Planets

Cited by in corpus (47)

• The James Webb Space Telescope
• Tidal friction in close-in satellites and exoplanets. The Darwin theory re-visited
• Tidal Evolution of Close-in Planets
• Toward a Deterministic Model of Planetary Formation VI: Dynamical Interaction and Coagulation of Multiple Rocky Embryos and Super-Earth Systems around Solar Type Stars
• Characterizing the Cool KOIs III. KOI-961: A Small Star with Large Proper Motion and Three Small Planets
• Observational Evidence for Tidal Destruction of Exoplanets
• Tidally Heated Terrestrial Exoplanets: Viscoelastic Response Models
• Long-term tidal evolution of short-period planets with companions
• Long Term Evolution of Close Planets Including the Effects of Secular Interactions
• Observable Consequences of Planet Formation Models in Systems with Close-in Terrestrial Planets
• Tidal Heating of Terrestrial Extra-Solar Planets and Implications for their Habitability
• The Kepler-19 System: A Transiting 2.2 R_Earth Planet and a Second Planet Detected via Transit Timing Variations
• Tides and the Evolution of Planetary Habitability
• Origin and Ubiquity of Short-Period Earth-like Planets: Evidence for the Sequential-Accretion Theory of Planet Formation
• The Detectability of Transit Depth Variations due to Exoplanetary Oblateness and Spin Precession
• Four Sub-Saturns with Dissimilar Densities: Windows into Planetary Cores and Envelopes
• Ultra-short-period planets from secular chaos
• Coupled Evolution with Tides of the Radius and Orbit of Transiting Giant Planets: General Results
• The Roles of Tidal Evolution and Evaporative Mass Loss in the Origin of CoRoT-7 b
• Kepler Exoplanet Candidate Host Stars are Preferentially Metal Rich
• A Population of Very-Hot Super-Earths in Multiple-Planet Systems Should be Uncovered by Kepler
• Effects of Secular Interactions in Extrasolar Planetary Systems
• Could the 47 UMa Planetary System be a Second Solar System: predicting the Earth-like planets
• Radial Velocity Detectability of Low Mass Extrasolar Planets in Close Orbits
• The HD 40307 Planetary System: Super-Earths or Mini-Neptunes?
• Near 3:2 and 2:1 mean motion resonances formation in the systems observed by Kepler
• Refined physical properties of the HAT-P-13 planetary system
• Predictions for the correlation between giant and terrestrial extrasolar planets in dynamically evolved systems
• Tidal effects on brown dwarfs: Application to the eclipsing binary 2MASSJ05352184-0546085 - The anomalous temperature reversal in the context of tidal heating
• Predicting the Configuration of Planetary System: KOI-152 Observed by Kepler
• Tidal decay and orbital circularization in close-in two-planet systems
• Secular Effects of Tidal Damping in Compact Planetary Systems
• Embryo impacts and gas giant mergers II: Diversity of Hot Jupiters' internal structure
• Formation of hot Jupiters through disk migration and evolving stellar tides
• The Relativistic Factor in the Orbital Dynamics of Point Masses
• On the potentially dramatic history of the super-Earth rho 55 Cancri e
• Near Mean-motion Resonances in the Systems Observed by Kepler: Affected by Mass Accretion and Type I Migration
• The TESS-Keck Survey. VI. Two Eccentric sub-Neptunes Orbiting HIP-97166
• An advanced N-body model for interacting multiple stellar systems
• Near Mean Motion Resonance of Terrestrial Planet Pair Induced by Giant Planet: Application to Kepler-68 System
• VaTEST I: Validation of Sub-Saturn Exoplanet TOI-181b in Narrow Orbit from its Host Star
• Hiding Planets Near and Far: The Parameter Space of Hidden Companions for Known Planetary Systems
• Possible scenarios for eccentricity evolution in the extrasolar planetary system HD 181433
• The TESS-Keck Survey. XIII. An Eccentric Hot Neptune with a Similar-Mass Outer Companion around TOI-1272
• The Rate of Planet-star Coalescences Due to Tides and Stellar Evolution
• Formation and tidal evolution of hot super-Earths in multiple planetary systems
• Radius and mass distribution of ultra-short period planets