No Arabic abstract
We study the stability regions and families of periodic orbits of two planets locked in a co-orbital configuration. We consider different ratios of planetary masses and orbital eccentricities, also we assume that both planets share the same orbital plane. Initially we perform numerical simulations over a grid of osculating initial conditions to map the regions of stable/chaotic motion and identify equilibrium solutions. These results are later analyzed in more detail using a semi-analytical model. Apart from the well known quasi-satellite (QS) orbits and the classical equilibrium Lagrangian points L4 and L5, we also find a new regime of asymmetric periodic solutions. For low eccentricities these are located at $(sigma,Deltaomega) = (pm 60deg, mp 120deg)$, where sigma is the difference in mean longitudes and Deltaomega is the difference in longitudes of pericenter. The position of these Anti-Lagrangian solutions changes with the mass ratio and the orbital eccentricities, and are found for eccentricities as high as ~ 0.7. Finally, we also applied a slow mass variation to one of the planets, and analyzed its effect on an initially asymmetric periodic orbit. We found that the resonant solution is preserved as long as the mass variation is adiabatic, with practically no change in the equilibrium values of the angles.
Co-orbital planets have not yet been discovered, although they constitute a frequent by-product of planetary formation and evolution models. This lack may be due to observational biases, since the main detection methods are unable to spot co-orbital companions when they are small or near the Lagrangian equilibrium points. However, for a system with one known transiting planet (with mass $m_1$), we can detect a co-orbital companion (with mass $m_2$) by combining the time of mid-transit with the radial-velocity data of the star. Here, we propose a simple method that allows the detection of co-orbital companions, valid for eccentric orbits, that relies on a single parameter $alpha$, which is proportional to the mass ratio $m_2/m_1$. Therefore, when $alpha$ is statistically different from zero, we have a strong candidate to harbour a co-orbital companion. We also discuss the relevance of false positives generated by different planetary configurations.
Several celestial bodies in co-orbital configurations exist in the solar system. However, co-orbital exoplanets have not yet been discovered. This lack may result from a degeneracy between the signal induced by co-orbital planets and other orbital configurations. Here we determine a criterion for the detectability of quasi-circular co-orbital planets and develop a demodulation method to bring out their signature from the observational data. We show that the precision required to identify a pair of co-orbital planets depends only on the libration amplitude and on the planets mass ratio. We apply our method to synthetic radial velocity data, and show that for tadpole orbits we are able to determine the inclination of the system to the line of sight. Our method is also valid for planets detected through the transit and astrometry techniques.
We study the phase space of eccentric coplanar co-orbitals in the non-restricted case. Departing from the quasi-circular case, we describe the evolution of the phase space as the eccentricities increase. We find that over a given value of the eccentricity, around $0.5$ for equal mass co-orbitals, important topological changes occur in the phase space. These changes lead to the emergence of new co-orbital configurations and open a continuous path between the previously distinct trojan domains near the $L_4$ and $L_5$ eccentric Lagrangian equilibria. These topological changes are shown to be linked with the reconnection of families of quasi-periodic orbits of non-maximal dimension.
We propose that two of the most surprising results so far among exoplanet discoveries are related: the existences of both hot Jupiters and the high frequency of multi-planet systems with periods $Plesssim200$~days. In this paradigm, the vast majority of stars rapidly form along with multiple close-in planets in the mass range of Mars to super-Earths/mini-Neptunes. Such systems of tightly-packed inner planets (STIPs) are metastable, with the time scale of the dynamical instability having a major influence on final planet types. In most cases, the planets consolidate into a system of fewer, more massive planets, but long after the circumstellar gas disk has dissipated. This can yield planets with masses above the traditional critical core of $sim$10 $M_oplus$, yielding short-period giants that lack abundant gas. A rich variety of physical states are also possible given the range of collisional outcomes and formation time of the close-in planets. However, when dynamical consolidation occurs before gas dispersal, a critical core can form that then grows via gas capture into a short-period gas giant. In this picture the majority of Hot and Warm Jupiters formed locally, rather than migrating down from larger distances.
Exoplanet systems with multiple planets in mean motion resonances have often been hailed as a signpost of disk driven migration. Resonant chains like Kepler-223 and Kepler-80 consist of a trio of planets with the three-body resonant angle librating and/or with a two-body resonant angle librating for each pair. Here we investigate whether close-in super-Earths and mini-Neptunes forming in situ can lock into resonant chains due to dissipation from a depleted gas disk. We simulate the giant impact phase of planet formation, including eccentricity damping from a gaseous disk, followed by subsequent dynamical evolution over tens of millions of years. In a fraction of simulated systems, we find that planets naturally lock into resonant chains. These planets achieve a chain of near-integer period ratios during the gas disk stage, experience eccentricity damping that captures them into resonance, stay in resonance as the gas disk dissipates, and avoid subsequent giant impacts, eccentricity excitation, and chaotic diffusion that would dislodge the planets from resonance. Disk conditions that enable planets to complete their formation during the gas disk stage enable those planets to achieve tight period ratios <= 2 and, if they happen to be near integer period ratios, lock into resonance. Using the weighting of different disk conditions deduced by MacDonald et al. (2020) and forward modeling Kepler selection effects, we find that our simulations of in situ formation via oligarchic growth lead to a rate of observable trios with integer period ratios and librating resonant angles comparable to observed Kepler systems.