Formation of Polar Terrestrial Circumbinary Planets
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
10-6-2021
Publication Title
Astrophysical Journal Letters
Volume
920
Issue
1
First page number:
1
Last page number:
6
Abstract
All circumbinary planets (CBPs) currently detected are in orbits that are almost coplanar to the binary orbit. While misaligned CBPs are more difficult to detect, observations of polar-aligned circumbinary gas and debris disks around eccentric binaries suggest that polar planet formation may be possible. A polar-aligned planet has a stable orbit that is inclined by 90° to the orbital plane of the binary with an angular momentum vector that is aligned to the binary eccentricity vector. With n-body simulations we model polar terrestrial planet formation using hydrodynamic gas disk simulations to motivate the initial particle distribution. Terrestrial planet formation around an eccentric binary is more likely in a polar alignment than in a coplanar alignment. Similar planetary systems form in a polar alignment around an eccentric binary and a coplanar alignment around a circular binary. The polar planetary systems are stable even with the effects of general relativity. Planetary orbits around an eccentric binary exhibit tilt and eccentricity oscillations at all inclinations; however, the oscillations are larger in the coplanar case than the polar case. We suggest that polar-aligned terrestrial planets will be found in the future.
Keywords
Binary stars; Solar system terrestrial planets; Extrasolar rocky planets; Exoplanet formation
Disciplines
Stars, Interstellar Medium and the Galaxy | The Sun and the Solar System
Language
English
Rights
IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Repository Citation
Childs, A. C.,
Martin, R. G.
(2021).
Formation of Polar Terrestrial Circumbinary Planets.
Astrophysical Journal Letters, 920(1),
1-6.
http://dx.doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ac2957
