No Arabic abstract
We evaluate the orbital evolution and several plausible origins scenarios for the mutually inclined orbits of Upsilon Andromedae c and d. These two planets have orbital elements that oscillate with large amplitudes and lie close to the stability boundary. This configuration, and in particular the observed mutual inclination, demands an explanation. The planetary system may be influenced by a nearby low-mass star, Upsilon And B, which could perturb the planetary orbits, but we find it cannot modify two coplanar orbits into the observed mutual inclination of ~30 deg. However, it could incite ejections or collisions between planetary companions that subsequently raise the mutual inclination to >30 deg. Our simulated systems with large mutual inclinations tend to be further from the stability boundary than Upsilon And, but we are able to produce similar systems. We conclude that scattering is a plausible mechanism to explain the observed orbits of Upsilon And c and d, but we cannot determine whether the scattering was caused by instabilities among the planets themselves or by perturbations from Upsilon And B. We also develop a procedure to quantitatively compare numerous properties of the observed system to our numerical models. Although we only implement this procedure to Upsilon And, it may be applied to any exoplanetary system.
The stability of Trojan type orbits around Neptune is studied. As the first part of our investigation, we present in this paper a global view of the stability of Trojans on inclined orbits. Using the frequency analysis method based on the FFT technique, we construct high resolution dynamical maps on the plane of initial semimajor axis $a_0$ versus inclination $i_0$. These maps show three most stable regions, with $i_0$ in the range of $(0^circ,12^circ), (22^circ,36^circ)$ and $(51^circ,59^circ)$ respectively, where the Trojans are most probably expected to be found. The similarity between the maps for the leading and trailing triangular Lagrange points $L_4$ and $L_5$ confirms the dynamical symmetry between these two points. By computing the power spectrum and the proper frequencies of the Trojan motion, we figure out the mechanisms that trigger chaos in the motion. The Kozai resonance found at high inclination varies the eccentricity and inclination of orbits, while the $ u_8$ secular resonance around $i_0sim44^circ$ pumps up the eccentricity. Both mechanisms lead to eccentric orbits and encounters with Uranus that introduce strong perturbation and drive the objects away from the Trojan like orbits. This explains the clearance of Trojan at high inclination ($>60^circ$) and an unstable gap around $44^circ$ on the dynamical map. An empirical theory is derived from the numerical results, with which the main secular resonances are located on the initial plane of $(a_0,i_0)$. The fine structures in the dynamical maps can be explained by these secular resonances.
The Upsilon Andromedae system is the first exoplanetary system to have the relative inclination of two planets orbital planes directly measured, and therefore offers our first window into the 3-dimensional configurations of planetary systems. We present, for the first time, full 3-dimensional, dynamically stable configurations for the 3 planets of the system consistent with all observational constraints. While the outer 2 planets, c and d, are inclined by about 30 degrees, the inner planets orbital plane has not been detected. We use N-body simulations to search for stable 3-planet configurations that are consistent with the combined radial velocity and astrometric solution. We find that only 10 trials out of 1000 are robustly stable on 100 Myr timescales, or about 8 billion orbits of planet b. Planet bs orbit must lie near the invariable plane of planets c and d, but can be either prograde or retrograde. These solutions predict bs mass is in the range 2 - 9 $M_{Jup}$ and has an inclination angle from the sky plane of less than 25 degrees. Combined with brightness variations in the combined star/planet light curve (phase curve), our results imply that planet bs radius is about 1.8 $R_{Jup}$, relatively large for a planet of its age. However, the eccentricity of b in several of our stable solutions reaches values greater than 0.1, generating upwards of $10^{19}$ watts in the interior of the planet via tidal dissipation, possibly inflating the radius to an amount consistent with phase curve observations.
Many of the observed spin--orbit alignment properties of exoplanets can be explained in the context of the primordial disk misalignment model, in which an initially aligned protoplanetary disk is torqued by a distant stellar companion on a misaligned orbit, resulting in a precessional motion that can lead to large-amplitude oscillations of the spin--orbit angle. We consider a variant of this model in which the companion is a giant planet with an orbital radius of a few au. Guided by the results of published numerical simulations, we model the dynamical evolution of this system by dividing the disk into inner and outer parts---separated at the location of the planet---that behave as distinct, rigid disks. We show that the planet misaligns the inner disk even as the orientation of the outer disk remains unchanged. In addition to the oscillations induced by the precessional motion, whose amplitude is larger the smaller the initial inner-disk-to-planet mass ratio, the spin--orbit angle also exhibits a secular growth in this case---driven by ongoing mass depletion from the disk---that becomes significant when the inner disks angular momentum drops below that of the planet. Altogether, these two effects can produce significant misalignment angles for the inner disk, including retrograde configurations. We discuss these results within the framework of the Stranded Hot Jupiter scenario and consider their implications, including to the interpretation of the alignment properties of debris disks.
We study the interaction between massive planets and a gas disc with a mass in the range expected for protoplanetary discs. We use SPH simulations to study the orbital evolution of a massive planet as well as the dynamical response of the disc for planet masses between 1 and $6 rmn{M_J}$ and the full range of initial relative orbital inclinations. Gap formation can occur for planets in inclined orbits. For given planet mass, a threshold relative orbital inclination exists under which a gap forms. At high relative inclinations, the inclination decay rate increases for increasing planet mass and decreasing initial relative inclination. For an initial semi-major axis of 5 AU and relative inclination of $i_0=80^circ,$ the times required for the inclination to decay by $10^circ$ is $sim10^{6} rmn{yr}$ and $sim10^{5} rmn{yr}$ for $1 rmn{M_J}$ and $6 rmn{M_J}$. Planets on inclined orbits warp the disc by an extent that is negligible for $1 rmn{M_J}$ but increases with increasing mass becoming quite significant for a planet of mass $6 rmn{M_J}$. We also find a solid body precession of both the total disc angular momentum vector and the planet orbital momentum vector about the total angular momentum vector. Our results illustrate that the influence of an inclined massive planet on a protoplanetary disc can lead to significant changes of the disc structure and orientation which can in turn affect the orbital evolution of the planet significantly.
The orbits of giant extrasolar planets often have surprisingly small semi-major axes, large eccentricities, or severe misalignments between their normals and their host stars spin axes. In some formation scenarios invoking Kozai-Lidov oscillations, an external planetary companion drives a planet onto an orbit having these properties. The mutual inclinations for Kozai-Lidov oscillations can be large and have not been confirmed observationally. Here we deduce that observed eccentric warm Jupiters with eccentric giant companions have mutual inclinations that oscillate between 35-65 deg. Our inference is based on the pairs observed apsidal separations, which cluster near 90 deg. The near-orthogonality of periapse directions is effected by the outer companions quadrupolar and octupolar potentials. These systems may be undergoing a stalled version of tidal migration that produces warm Jupiters over hot Jupiters, and provide evidence for a population of multi-planet systems that are not flat and have been sculpted by Kozai-Lidov oscillations.