Prospects of the detection of circumbinary planets with Kepler and CoRoT using the variations of eclipse timing

In close eclipsing binaries, measurements of the variations in binary's eclipse timing may be used to infer information about the existence of circumbinary objects. To determine the possibility of the detection of such variations with CoRoT and Kepler space telescopes, we have carried out an ex...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 2011-07, Vol.414 (3), p.2763-2770
Main Authors: Schwarz, R., Haghighipour, N., Eggl, S., Pilat-Lohinger, E., Funk, B.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Astronomy
binaries: eclipsing
celestial mechanics
Earth, ocean, space
Eclipses
Exact sciences and technology
Extrasolar planets
methods: numerical
planet-star interactions
Space telescopes
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Summary:In close eclipsing binaries, measurements of the variations in binary's eclipse timing may be used to infer information about the existence of circumbinary objects. To determine the possibility of the detection of such variations with CoRoT and Kepler space telescopes, we have carried out an extensive study of the dynamics of a binary star system with a circumbinary planet, and calculated its eclipse timing variations (ETVs) for different values of the mass ratio and orbital elements of the binary and the perturbing body. Here, we present the results of our study and assess the detectability of the planet by comparing the resulting values of ETVs with the temporal sensitivity of CoRoT and Kepler. Results point to extended regions in the parameter space where the perturbation of a planet may be large enough to create measurable variations in the eclipse timing of the secondary star. Many of these variations point to potentially detectable ETVs and the possible inference of Jovian-type planets.
ISSN:0035-8711
1365-2966
DOI:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2011.18594.x