No Arabic abstract
Recent observational findings have suggested a positive correlation between the occurrence rates of inner super-Earths and outer giant planets. These results raise the question of whether this trend can be reproduced and explained by planet formation theory. Here, we investigate the properties of inner super-Earths and outer giant planets that form according to a core accretion scenario. We study the mutual relations between these planet species in synthetic planetary systems and compare them to the observed exoplanet population. We invoked the Generation 3 Bern model of planet formation and evolution to simulate 1000 multi-planet systems. We then confronted these synthetic systems with the observed sample, taking into account the detection bias that distorts the observed demographics. The formation of warm super-Earths and cold Jupiters in the same system is enhanced compared to the individual appearances, although it is weaker than what has been proposed through observations. We attribute the discrepancy to warm and dynamically active giant planets that frequently disrupt the inner systems, particularly in high-metallicity environments. In general, a joint occurrence of the two planet types requires intermediate solid reservoirs in the originating protoplanetary disk. Furthermore, we find differences in the volatile content of planets in different system architectures and predict that high-density super-Earths are more likely to host an outer giant. This correlation can be tested observationally.
Previous work concerning planet formation around low-mass stars has often been limited to large planets and individual systems. As current surveys routinely detect planets down to terrestrial size in these systems, a more holistic approach that reflects their diverse architectures is timely. Here, we investigate planet formation around low-mass stars and identify differences in the statistical distribution of planets. We compare the synthetic planet populations to observed exoplanets. We used the Generation III Bern model of planet formation and evolution to calculate synthetic populations varying the central star from solar-like stars to ultra-late M dwarfs. This model includes planetary migration, N-body interactions between embryos, accretion of planetesimals and gas, and long-term contraction and loss of the gaseous atmospheres. We find that temperate, Earth-sized planets are most frequent around early M dwarfs and more rare for solar-type stars and late M dwarfs. The planetary mass distribution does not linearly scale with the disk mass. The reason is the emergence of giant planets for M*>0.5 Msol, which leads to the ejection of smaller planets. For M*>0.3 Msol there is sufficient mass in the majority of systems to form Earth-like planets, leading to a similar amount of Exo-Earths going from M to G dwarfs. In contrast, the number of super-Earths and larger planets increases monotonically with stellar mass. We further identify a regime of disk parameters that reproduces observed M-dwarf systems such as TRAPPIST-1. However, giant planets around late M dwarfs such as GJ 3512b only form when type I migration is substantially reduced. We quantify the stellar mass dependence of multi-planet systems using global simulations of planet formation and evolution. The results compare well to current observational data and predicts trends that can be tested with future observations.
(abridged) Observations of exoplanets indicate the existence of several correlations in the architecture of planetary systems. Exoplanets within a system tend to be of similar size and mass, evenly spaced, and are often ordered in size and mass. Small planets are frequently packed in tight configurations, while large planets often have wider orbital spacing. Together, these correlations are called the peas in a pod trends in the architecture of planetary systems. In this paper these trends are investigated in theoretically simulated planetary systems and compared with observations. Whether these correlations emerge from astrophysical processes or the detection biases of the transit method is examined. Synthetic planetary system were simulated using the Generation III Bern Model. KOBE, a new computer code, simulates the geometrical limitations of the transit method and applies the detection biases and completeness of the Kepler survey. This allows simulated planetary systems to be compared with observations. The architecture of synthetic planetary systems, observed via KOBE, show the peas in a pod trends in good agreement with observations. These correlations are also present in the theoretical underlying population, from the Bern Model, indicating that these trends are probably of astrophysical origin. The physical processes involved in planet formation are responsible for the emergence of evenly spaced planets with similar sizes and masses. The size--mass similarity trends are primordial and originate from the oligarchic growth of protoplanetary embryos and the uniform growth of planets at early times. Later stages in planet formation allows planets within a system to grow at different rates, thereby decreasing these correlations. The spacing and packing correlations are absent at early times and arise from dynamical interactions.
Accreting planets have been detected through their hydrogen-line emission, specifically H$alpha$. To interpret this, stellar-regime empirical correlations between the H$alpha$ luminosity $L_mathrm{Halpha}$ and the accretion luminosity $L_mathrm{acc}$ or accretion rate $dot{M}$ have been extrapolated to planetary masses, however without validation. We present a theoretical $L_mathrm{acc}$--$L_mathrm{Halpha}$ relationship applicable to a shock at the surface of a planet. We consider wide ranges of accretion rates and masses and use detailed spectrally-resolved, non-equilibrium models of the postshock cooling. The new relationship gives a markedly higher $L_mathrm{acc}$ for a given $L_mathrm{Halpha}$ than fits to young stellar objects, because Ly-$alpha$, which is not observable, carries a large fraction of $L_mathrm{acc}$. Specifically, an $L_mathrm{Halpha}$ measurement needs ten to 100 times higher $L_mathrm{acc}$ and $dot{M}$ than previously predicted, which may explain the rarity of planetary H$alpha$ detections. We also compare the $dot{M}$--$L_mathrm{Halpha}$ relationships coming from the planet-surface shock or implied by accretion-funnel emission. Both can contribute simultaneously to an observed H$alpha$ signal but at low (high) $dot{M}$ the planetary-surface shock (heated funnel) dominates. Only the shock produces Gaussian line wings. Finally, we discuss accretion contexts in which different emission scenarios may apply, putting recent literature models in perspective, and also present $L_mathrm{acc}$--$L_mathrm{line}$ relationships for several other hydrogen lines.
High resolution spectroscopy (HRS) has been used to detect a number of species in the atmospheres of hot Jupiters. Key to such detections is accurately and precisely modelled spectra for cross-correlation against the R$gtrsim$20,000 observations. There is a need for the latest generation of opacities which form the basis for high signal-to-noise detections using such spectra. In this study we present and make publicly available cross sections for six molecular species, H$_2$O, CO, HCN, CH$_4$, NH$_3$ and CO$_2$ using the latest line lists most suitable for low- and high-resolution spectroscopy. We focus on the infrared (0.95-5~$mu$m) and between 500-1500~K where these species have strong spectral signatures. We generate these cross sections on a grid of pressures and temperatures typical for the photospheres of super Earth, warm Neptunes and hot Jupiters using the latest H$_2$ and He pressure broadening. We highlight the most prominent infrared spectral features by modelling three representative exoplanets, GJ~1214~b, GJ~3470~b and HD~189733~b, which encompass a wide range in temperature, mass and radii. In addition, we verify the line lists for H$_2$O, CO and HCN with previous high resolution observations of hot Jupiters. However, we are unable to detect CH$_4$ with our new cross sections from HRS observations of HD~102195~b. These high accuracy opacities are critical for atmospheric detections with HRS and will be continually updated as new data becomes available.
We simulate a Kepler-like observation of a theoretical exoplanet population and we show that the observed orbital period distribution of the Kepler giant planet candidates is best matched by an average stellar specific dissipation function Q_* in the interval 10^6 ~< Q_* ~< 10^7. In that situation, the few super-Earths that are driven to orbital periods P < 1 day by dynamical interactions in multiple-planet systems will survive tidal disruption for a significant fraction of the main-sequence lifetimes of their stellar hosts. Consequently, though these very-hot super-Earths are not characteristic of the overall super-Earth population, their substantial transit probability implies that they should be significant contributors to the full super-Earth population uncovered by Kepler. As a result, the CoRoT-7 system may be the first representative of a population of very-hot super-Earths that we suggest should be found in multiple-planet systems preferentially orbiting the least-dissipative stellar hosts in the Kepler sample.