New light-travel time models and orbital stability study of the proposed planetary system HU Aquarii
Abstract
In this work we propose a new orbital architecture for the two proposed circumbinary planets around the polar eclipsing binary HU Aquarii. We base the new two-planet, light-travel time model on the result of a Monte Carlo simulation driving a least-squares Levenberg-Marquardt minimization algorithm on the observed eclipse egress times. Our best-fitting model with ? resulted in high final eccentricities for the two companions leading to an unstable orbital configuration. From a large ensemble of initial guesses, we examined the distribution of final eccentricities and semimajor axes for different ? parameter intervals and encountered qualitatively a second population of best-fitting parameters. The main characteristic of this population is described by low-eccentric orbits favouring long-term orbital stability of the system. We present our best-fitting model candidate for the proposed two-planet system and demonstrate orbital stability over one million years using numerical integrations.
- Publication:
-
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
- Pub Date:
- March 2012
- DOI:
- 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2011.20283.x
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1112.0066
- Bibcode:
- 2012MNRAS.420.3609H
- Keywords:
-
- binaries: close;
- binaries: eclipsing;
- stars: individual: HU Aquarii;
- Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
- E-Print:
- 9 Figures (B/W) and 2 tables, accepted for publication in MNRAS, this is pre-proof version