Can Planets Exist in the Habitable Zone of 55~Cancri?. (arXiv:1902.09613v1 [astro-ph.EP])
<a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Satyal_S/0/1/0/all/0/1">Suman Satyal</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Cuntz_M/0/1/0/all/0/1">Manfred Cuntz</a>
The aim of our study is to explore the possible existence of Earth-mass
planets in the habitable zone of 55~Cancri, an effort pursued based on detailed
orbital stability simulations. This star is known to possess (at least) five
planets with masses ranging between super-Earth and Jupiter-type. Additionally,
according to observational constraints, there is a space without planets
between $sim$0.8~au and $sim$5.7~au, noting that the inner part of this gap
largely coincides with 55~Cnc’s habitable zone — a sincere motivation for the
search of potentially habitable planets. It has previously been argued that
terrestrial habitable planets are able to exist in the 55~Cnc system, including
a planet at $sim$1.5~au. We explore this possibility through employing sets of
orbital integrations and assuming an integration time of 50~Myr. We found that
the possibility of Earth-mass planets in the system’s habitable zone strongly
depends on the adopted system parameters, notably the eccentricity of 55~Cnc-f,
which is controversial as both a high value ($e sim 0.32$) and a low value ($e
sim 0.08$) have previously been deduced. In case that the low value is adopted
(together with other updates for the system parameters), the more plausible and
most recent value, Earth-mass planets would be able to exist in the gap between
1.0~au and 2.0~au, thus implying the possibility of habitable system planets.
Thus, 55~Cnc should be considered a favorable target for future habitable
planet search missions.
The aim of our study is to explore the possible existence of Earth-mass
planets in the habitable zone of 55~Cancri, an effort pursued based on detailed
orbital stability simulations. This star is known to possess (at least) five
planets with masses ranging between super-Earth and Jupiter-type. Additionally,
according to observational constraints, there is a space without planets
between $sim$0.8~au and $sim$5.7~au, noting that the inner part of this gap
largely coincides with 55~Cnc’s habitable zone — a sincere motivation for the
search of potentially habitable planets. It has previously been argued that
terrestrial habitable planets are able to exist in the 55~Cnc system, including
a planet at $sim$1.5~au. We explore this possibility through employing sets of
orbital integrations and assuming an integration time of 50~Myr. We found that
the possibility of Earth-mass planets in the system’s habitable zone strongly
depends on the adopted system parameters, notably the eccentricity of 55~Cnc-f,
which is controversial as both a high value ($e sim 0.32$) and a low value ($e
sim 0.08$) have previously been deduced. In case that the low value is adopted
(together with other updates for the system parameters), the more plausible and
most recent value, Earth-mass planets would be able to exist in the gap between
1.0~au and 2.0~au, thus implying the possibility of habitable system planets.
Thus, 55~Cnc should be considered a favorable target for future habitable
planet search missions.
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