Chaotic Dynamics of Stellar Spin in Binaries and the Production of Misaligned Hot Jupiters

Many exoplanetary systems containing hot Jupiters are observed to have highly misaligned orbital axes relative to the stellar spin axes. Kozai-Lidov oscillations of orbital eccentricity/inclination induced by a binary companion, in conjunction with tidal dissipation, is a major channel for the produ...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:arXiv.org 2014-09
Main Authors: Storch, Natalia I, Anderson, Kassandra R, Lai, Dong
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Axes (reference lines)
Binary stars
Companion stars
Eccentric orbits
Extrasolar planets
Gas giant planets
Inclination
Jupiter
Misalignment
Planetary rotation
Planetary systems
Spin dynamics
Stellar evolution
Stellar rotation
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Many exoplanetary systems containing hot Jupiters are observed to have highly misaligned orbital axes relative to the stellar spin axes. Kozai-Lidov oscillations of orbital eccentricity/inclination induced by a binary companion, in conjunction with tidal dissipation, is a major channel for the production of hot Jupiters. We demonstrate that gravitational interaction between the planet and its oblate host star can lead to chaotic evolution of the stellar spin axis during Kozai cycles. As parameters such as the planet mass and stellar rotation period vary, periodic islands can appear in an ocean of chaos, in a manner reminiscent of other dynamical systems. In the presence of tidal dissipation, the complex spin evolution can leave an imprint on the final spin-orbit misalignment angles.
ISSN:2331-8422
DOI:10.48550/arxiv.1409.3247