HAT-P-65b and HAT-P-66b: Two Transiting Inflated Hot Jupiters and Observational Evidence for the Reinflation of Close-in Giant Planets

We present the discovery of the transiting exoplanets HAT-P-65b and HAT-P-66b, with orbital periods of 2.6055 and 2.9721 days, masses of 0.527+/- 0.083 {M}_{{J}} and 0.783+/- 0.057 {M}_{{J}}, and inflated radii of 1.89+/- 0.13 {R}_{{J}} and {1.59}_-0.10^+0.16 {R}_{{J}}, respectively. They orbit moderately bright (V=13.145+/- 0.029 and V=12.993+/- 0.052) stars of mass 1.212+/- 0.050 {M}_⊙ and {1.255}_-0.054^+0.107 {M}_⊙ . The stars are at the main-sequence turnoff. While it is well known that the radii of close-in giant planets are correlated with their equilibrium temperatures, whether or not the radii of planets increase in time as their hosts evolve and become more luminous is an open question. Looking at the broader sample of well-characterized close-in transiting giant planets, we find that there is a statistically significant correlation between planetary radii and the fractional ages of their host stars, with a false-alarm probability of only 0.0041%. We find that the correlation between the radii of planets and the fractional ages of their hosts is fully explained by the known correlation between planetary radii and their present-day equilibrium temperatures; however, if the zero-age main-sequence equilibrium temperature is used in place of the present-day equilibrium temperature, then a correlation with age must also be included to explain the planetary radii. This suggests that, after contracting during the pre-main-sequence, close-in giant planets are reinflated over time due to the increasing level of irradiation received from their host stars. Prior theoretical work indicates that such a dynamic response to irradiation requires a significant fraction of the incident energy to be deposited deep within the planetary interiors.

Based on observations obtained with the Hungarian-made Automated Telescope Network. Based on observations obtained at the W. M. Keck Observatory, which is operated by the University of California and the California Institute of Technology. Keck time has been granted by NOAO (A289Hr, A245Hr) and NASA (N029Hr, N154Hr, N130Hr, N133Hr, N169Hr, N186Hr). Based on observations obtained with the Tillinghast Reflector 1.5 m telescope and the 1.2 m telescope, both operated by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory in Arizona. Based on observations made with the Nordic Optical Telescope, operated by the Nordic Optical Telescope Scientific Association at the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos, La Palma, Spain, of the Intituto de Astrofísica de Canarias. Based on observations made with the SOPHIE spectrograph on the 1.93 m telescope at Observatoire de Haute-Provence (OHP, CNRS/AMU), France (programs 15A.PNP.HEBR and 15B.PNP.HEBR). Data presented herein were obtained at the WIYN Observatory from telescope time allocated to NN-EXPLORE through the scientific partnership of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Science Foundation, and the National Optical Astronomy Observatory. This work was supported by a NASA WIYN PI Data Award, administered by the NASA Exoplanet Science Institute.