Article (Scientific journals)
Searching for Rapid Orbital Decay of WASP-18b
Wilkins, Ashlee N.; Delrez, Laetitia; Barker, Adrian J. et al.
2017In Astrophysical Journal. Letters, 836
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Keywords :
planets and satellites: atmospheres; stars: individual: WASP-18; techniques: photometric; techniques: spectroscopic
Abstract :
[en] The WASP-18 system, with its massive and extremely close-in planet, WASP-18b (M [SUB] p [/SUB] = 10.3M [SUB] J [/SUB], a = 0.02 au, P = 22.6 hr), is one of the best-known exoplanet laboratories to directly measure Q‧, the modified tidal quality factor and proxy for efficiency of tidal dissipation, of the host star. Previous analysis predicted a rapid orbital decay of the planet toward its host star that should be measurable on the timescale of a few years, if the star is as dissipative as is inferred from the circularization of close-in solar-type binary stars. We have compiled published transit and secondary eclipse timing (as observed by WASP, TRAPPIST, and Spitzer) with more recent unpublished light curves (as observed by TRAPPIST and Hubble Space Telescope) with coverage spanning nine years. We find no signature of a rapid decay. We conclude that the absence of rapid orbital decay most likely derives from Q‧ being larger than was inferred from solar-type stars and find that Q‧ ≥ 1 × 10[SUP]6[/SUP], at 95% confidence; this supports previous work suggesting that F stars, with their convective cores and thin convective envelopes, are significantly less tidally dissipative than solar-type stars, with radiative cores and large convective envelopes.
Disciplines :
Space science, astronomy & astrophysics
Author, co-author :
Wilkins, Ashlee N. ;  Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742-2421, USA
Delrez, Laetitia ;  University of Cambridge > Cavendish Laboratory
Barker, Adrian J.;  Department of Applied Mathematics, School of Mathematics, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
Deming, Drake;  Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742-2421, USA
Hamilton, Douglas;  Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742-2421, USA
Gillon, Michaël  ;  Université de Liège > Département d'astrophys., géophysique et océanographie (AGO) > Origines Cosmologiques et Astrophysiques (OrCa)
Jehin, Emmanuel  ;  Université de Liège > Département d'astrophys., géophysique et océanographie (AGO) > Origines Cosmologiques et Astrophysiques (OrCa)
Language :
English
Title :
Searching for Rapid Orbital Decay of WASP-18b
Publication date :
01 February 2017
Journal title :
Astrophysical Journal. Letters
ISSN :
2041-8205
eISSN :
2041-8213
Publisher :
IOP Publishing, Bristol, United Kingdom
Volume :
836
Peer reviewed :
Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi
Available on ORBi :
since 23 July 2017

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