Examining the orbital decay targets KELT-9 b, KELT-16 b, and WASP-4 b, and the transit-timing variations of HD 97658 b,
Journal article, 2023

Context. Tidal orbital decay is suspected to occur for hot Jupiters in particular, with the only observationally confirmed case of this being WASP-12 b. By examining this effect, information on the properties of the host star can be obtained using the so-called stellar modified tidal quality factor Q′∗, which describes the efficiency with which the kinetic energy of the planet is dissipated within the star. This can provide information about the interior of the star. Aims. In this study, we aim to improve constraints on the tidal decay of the KELT-9, KELT-16, and WASP-4 systems in order to find evidence for or against the presence of tidal orbital decay. With this, we want to constrain the Q′∗ value for each star. In addition, we aim to test the existence of the transit timing variations (TTVs) in the HD 97658 system, which previously favoured a quadratic trend with increasing orbital period. Methods. Making use of newly acquired photometric observations from CHEOPS (CHaracterising ExOplanet Satellite) and TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite), combined with archival transit and occultation data, we use Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithms to fit three models to the data, namely a constant-period model, an orbital-decay model, and an apsidal-precession model. Results. We find that the KELT-9 system is best described by an apsidal-precession model for now, with an orbital decay trend at over 2 σ being a possible solution as well. A Keplerian orbit model with a constant orbital period provides the best fit to the transit timings of KELT-16 b because of the scatter and scale of their error bars. The WASP-4 system is best represented by an orbital decay model at a 5 σ significance, although apsidal precession cannot be ruled out with the present data. For HD 97658 b, using recently acquired transit observations, we find no conclusive evidence for a previously suspected strong quadratic trend in the data.

techniques: photometric

planets and satellites: dynamical evolution and stability

planet-star interactions

Author

J. V. Harre

German Aerospace Center (DLR)

A. M.S. Smith

German Aerospace Center (DLR)

S. C.C. Barros

University of Porto

G. Boue´

Paris Observatory

Szilard Csizmadia

German Aerospace Center (DLR)

D. Ehrenreich

University of Geneva

H.-G. Florén

Stockholm University

A. Fortier

University of Bern

P. Maxted

Keele University

M.J. Hooton

University of Cambridge

University of Bern

B. Akinsanmi

University of Porto

University of Geneva

L. M. Serrano

University of Turin

N. M. Rosário

University of Porto

B.O. Demory

University of Bern

K. Jones

University of Bern

J. Laskar

Paris Observatory

V. Adibekyan

University of Porto

Y. Alibert

University of Bern

R. Alonso

University of La Laguna

Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias

D. R. Anderson

The University of Warwick

G. Anglada

Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)

Centre Tecnològic de Telecomunicacions de Catalunya (CTTC)

J. Asquier

European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESA ESTEC)

T. Bárczy

Admatis

D. Barrado Y Navascues

European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC)

W. Baumjohann

Institut fur Weltraumforschung

M. Beck

University of Geneva

T. Beck

University of Bern

W. Benz

University of Bern

N. Billot

University of Geneva

F. Biondi

Max Planck Society

Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)

A. Bonfanti

Institut fur Weltraumforschung

X. Bonfils

Institut de Planétologie et d’Astrophysique de Grenoble (IPAG)

A. Brandeker

Stockholm University

C. Broeg

University of Bern

J. Cabrera

German Aerospace Center (DLR)

V. Cessa

University of Bern

S. Charnoz

Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris

A. Collier Cameron

University of St Andrews

M. B. Davies

Lund University

M. Deleuil

Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille

L. Delrez

University of Liège

O. Demangeon

University of Porto

Anders Erikson

German Aerospace Center (DLR)

L. Fossati

Institut fur Weltraumforschung

Malcolm Fridlund

Leiden University

Chalmers, Space, Earth and Environment, Astronomy and Plasmaphysics

D. Gandolfi

University of Turin

Michaël Gillon

University of Liège

M. Gudel

University of Vienna

Coel Hellier

Keele University

Kevin Heng

University of Bern

The University of Warwick

S. Hoyer

Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille

K. Isaak

European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESA ESTEC)

L.L. Kiss

Hungarian Academy of Sciences

Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE)

A. L. des Etangs

Institut d 'Astrophysique de Paris

M. Lendl

University of Geneva

C. Lovis

University of Geneva

A. Luntzer

University of Vienna

D. Magrin

Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)

Valerio Nascimbeni

Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)

G. Olofsson

Stockholm University

R. Ottensamer

University of Vienna

I. Pagano

Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)

E. Palle

Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias

Carina Persson

Chalmers, Space, Earth and Environment, Astronomy and Plasmaphysics

G. Peter

German Aerospace Center (DLR)

Giampaolo P. Piotto

University of Padua

Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)

D. Pollacco

The University of Warwick

D. Queloz

Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich (ETH)

University of Cambridge

Roberto Ragazzoni

University of Padua

Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)

N. Rando

European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESA ESTEC)

H. Rauer

German Aerospace Center (DLR)

Technische Universität Berlin

Freie Universität Berlin

I. Ribas

Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)

Centre Tecnològic de Telecomunicacions de Catalunya (CTTC)

G. R. Ricker

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

S. Salmon

University of Geneva

N. C. Santos

University of Porto

Gaetano Scandariato

Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)

S. Seager

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

D. Segransan

University of Geneva

A.E. Simon

University of Bern

S. G. Sousa

University of Porto

Manfred B. Steller

Institut fur Weltraumforschung

Gy M. Szabó

Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE)

N. Thomas

University of Bern

S. Udry

University of Geneva

B. Ulmer

German Aerospace Center (DLR)

V. Van Grootel

University of Liège

N. A. Walton

University of Cambridge

T. G. Wilson

University of St Andrews

J. N. Winn

Princeton University

B. Wohler

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

SETI Institute

Astronomy and Astrophysics

0004-6361 (ISSN) 1432-0746 (eISSN)

Vol. 669 A124

Subject Categories (SSIF 2011)

Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology

Embedded Systems

Probability Theory and Statistics

DOI

10.1051/0004-6361/202244529

More information

Latest update

3/9/2025 1