Are there exoplanets near their Roche limits?
Abstract
We survey the Kepler catalog for planets that are potentially at or very near the Roche limit separation (a_R) from their host stars. The main challenge is of course that, albeit they have known radii, most candidate planets have unknown masses. We first determine the required mean densities (ρ_R) for the candidate planets if they were truly at a_R. We then compare these $rho_R$ values with the planetary densities previously measured via a combination of transit, TTV, and radial velocity measurements. We identify several planet candidates for which $ρ_R is within the observed range of planetary densities. Detailed study of mass loss via Roche-lobe overflow is potentially interesting for these systems.
- Publication:
-
American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #227
- Pub Date:
- January 2016
- Bibcode:
- 2016AAS...22713820S