Tidal dynamics of transiting exoplanets

Transits give us the mass, radius, and orbital properties of the planet, all of which inform dynamical theories. Two properties of the hot Jupiters suggest they had a dramatic origin via tidal damping from high eccentricity. First, the tidally circularized planets (in the 1-4 day pile-up) lie along a relation or boundary in the mass-period plane. This observation may implicate a tidal damping process regulated by planetary radius inflation and Roche lobe overflow, early in the planets' lives. Second, the host stars of many planets have spins misaligned from the planets' orbits. This observation was not expected a priori from the conventional disk migration theory, and it was a boon for the alternative theories of planet-planet scattering and Kozai cycles, accompanied by tidal friction, which predicted it. Now we are faced with a curious observation that the misalignment angle depends on the stellar temperature. It may mean that the tide raised on the stars realigns them, the final result being the tidal consumption of hot Jupiters.