Planet-star interactions with precise transit timing. I. The refined orbital decay rate for WASP-12 b and initial constraints for HAT-P-23 b, KELT-1 b, KELT-16 b, WASP-33 b, and WASP-103 b. (arXiv:1812.02438v1 [astro-ph.EP])
<a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Maciejewski_G/0/1/0/all/0/1">G. Maciejewski</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Fernandez_M/0/1/0/all/0/1">M. Fernández</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Aceituno_F/0/1/0/all/0/1">F. Aceituno</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Martin_Ruiz_S/0/1/0/all/0/1">S. Martín-Ruiz</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Ohlert_J/0/1/0/all/0/1">J. Ohlert</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Dimitrov_D/0/1/0/all/0/1">D. Dimitrov</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Szyszka_K/0/1/0/all/0/1">K. Szyszka</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+vonEssen_C/0/1/0/all/0/1">C. vonEssen</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Mugrauer_M/0/1/0/all/0/1">M. Mugrauer</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Bischoff_R/0/1/0/all/0/1">R. Bischoff</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Michel_K/0/1/0/all/0/1">K.-U. Michel</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Mallonn_M/0/1/0/all/0/1">M. Mallonn</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Stangret_M/0/1/0/all/0/1">M. Stangret</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Mozdzierski_D/0/1/0/all/0/1">D. Moździerski</a>
Theoretical calculations and some indirect observations show that massive
exoplanets on tight orbits must decay due to tidal dissipation within their
host stars. This orbital evolution could be observationally accessible through
precise transit timing over a course of decades. The rate of planetary
in-spiralling may not only help us to understand some aspects of evolution of
planetary systems, but also can be used as a probe of the stellar internal
structure. In this paper we present results of transit timing campaigns
organised for a carefully selected sample of hot Jupiter-like planets which
were found to be the best candidates for detecting planet-star tidal
interactions on the Northern hemisphere. Among them, there is the WASP-12
system which is the best candidate for possessing an in-falling giant
exoplanet. Our new observations support the scenario of orbital decay of
WASP-12 b and allow us to refine its rate. The derived tidal quality parameter
of the host star Q’_{*} = (1.82 +/- 0.32) x 10^5 is in agreement with
theoretical predictions for subgiant stars. For the remaining systems –
HAT-P-23, KELT-1, KELT-16, WASP-33, and WASP-103 – our transit timing data
reveal no deviations from the constant-period models, hence constraints on the
individual rates of orbital decay were placed. The tidal quality parameters of
host stars in at least 4 systems – HAT-P-23, KELT-1, WASP-33, and WASP-103 –
were found to be greater than the value reported for WASP-12. This is in line
with the finding that those hosts are main sequence stars, for which efficiency
of tidal dissipation is predicted to be relatively weak.
Theoretical calculations and some indirect observations show that massive
exoplanets on tight orbits must decay due to tidal dissipation within their
host stars. This orbital evolution could be observationally accessible through
precise transit timing over a course of decades. The rate of planetary
in-spiralling may not only help us to understand some aspects of evolution of
planetary systems, but also can be used as a probe of the stellar internal
structure. In this paper we present results of transit timing campaigns
organised for a carefully selected sample of hot Jupiter-like planets which
were found to be the best candidates for detecting planet-star tidal
interactions on the Northern hemisphere. Among them, there is the WASP-12
system which is the best candidate for possessing an in-falling giant
exoplanet. Our new observations support the scenario of orbital decay of
WASP-12 b and allow us to refine its rate. The derived tidal quality parameter
of the host star Q’_{*} = (1.82 +/- 0.32) x 10^5 is in agreement with
theoretical predictions for subgiant stars. For the remaining systems –
HAT-P-23, KELT-1, KELT-16, WASP-33, and WASP-103 – our transit timing data
reveal no deviations from the constant-period models, hence constraints on the
individual rates of orbital decay were placed. The tidal quality parameters of
host stars in at least 4 systems – HAT-P-23, KELT-1, WASP-33, and WASP-103 –
were found to be greater than the value reported for WASP-12. This is in line
with the finding that those hosts are main sequence stars, for which efficiency
of tidal dissipation is predicted to be relatively weak.
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