A ‘perfect tidal storm’ makes this newly discovered planet shine: ScienceAlert

Can tidal forces cause the surface of an exoplanet to radiate heat?

This is what a recent study accepted The astronomical magazine hopes to tackle as a team of international researchers used data collected from ground-based instruments to confirm the existence of a second exoplanet in the exoplanetary system, HD 104067, along with the use of NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS ) mission to identify an additional exoplanet candidate exoplanet also.

What is unique about this candidate exoplanet, which orbits in the innermost orbit compared to the other two, is that the tidal forces of the outer two exoplanets may cause the candidate’s surface to radiate, with surface temperatures reaching up to 2,300 degrees Celsius (4,200 degrees Celsius). degrees Fahrenheit), which the researchers call a “perfect tidal storm.”

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Here, Universe today discusses this fantastic research with Dr. Stephen Kane, professor of planetary astrophysics at UC Riverside and lead author of the study, on the motivation behind the study, significant results, the significance of the “tidal storm” aspects, follow-up research, and implications for this system when studying other exoplanetary systems.

What was the motivation behind this research?

“The star (HD 104067) was a star known to host a giant planet in a 55-day orbit, and I have a long history of being obsessed with known systems,” says Dr. Kane. Universe today.

“When TESS discovered a possible passing Earth-sized planet in a 2.2 day orbit (TOI-6713.01), I decided to investigate the system further. We collected all the RV data and discovered that there was ANOTHER planet (Uranus -mass) is in a 13-day orbit. So it started with the TESS data, but the system became more and more interesting the more we studied it.”

Dr. Kane’s history of exoplanetary research covers a wide range of solar system architecture, particularly those with highly eccentric exoplanets, but also includes follow-up work after exoplanets have been confirmed within a system.

Most recently, he was the second author of a study discussing a revised system architecture in the HD 134606 system, along with the discovery of two new super-Earths within that system.

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For this most recent study, Dr. Kane and his colleagues used data from the High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS) and High Resolution Echelle Spectrometer (HIRES) ground instruments and the aforementioned TESS mission to determine the characteristics and parameters of both. the parent star, HD 105067, and the corresponding exoplanets orbiting it.

But apart from discovering even more exoplanets within the system, what are Dr. Kane points out, the most important results of this study?

Dr. Kane narrates Universe today“The most astonishing result of our work was that the dynamics of the system causes the 2.2 day period to experience massive tidal effects, similar to those experienced by Io. However, in this case, TOI-6713.01 experiences 10 million times more tidal energy than Io, which results in a surface temperature of 2600 K (2300 degrees Celsius (4200 degrees Fahrenheit)). This means that the planet literally glows at optical wavelengths.

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Jupiter’s moon, Io, is the most volcanically active planetary body in the Solar System, produced by tidal heating caused by Jupiter’s enormous gravity in Io’s slightly eccentric (elongated) orbit lasting 1.77 days. This means that Io moves closer to Jupiter at certain points and further away from Jupiter at other points, compressing and expanding Io respectively.

Over millions of years, this constant friction within Io’s interior has led to the heating of its core, resulting in the hundreds of volcanoes that form Io’s surface and no visible impact craters.

Like Dr. Kane mentions, this new exoplanet candidate experiences “10 million times more tidal energy than Io,” which could raise additional questions about its own volcanic activity or other geological processes. Therefore, what is the significance of the “tidal storm” aspects of TOI-6713.01?

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Dr. Kane narrates Universe today“The reason TOI-6713.01 experiences such strong tidal forces is because of the eccentricity of the two outer giant planets, which also forces TOI-6713.01 into an eccentric orbit. That’s why I referred to the planet as being caught in a perfect tidal storm.”

The HD 104067 system, with its two outer giant exoplanets forcing the inner TOI-6713.01 into a ‘perfect tidal storm’, is somewhat reminiscent of the first three Galilean moons of Jupiter, Io, Europa and Ganymede, in their gravitational effects on each other during their jobs. .

There are some differences, however, as Jupiter’s enormous gravity is the main force driving Io’s volcanic activity, and all three moons are in what is known as orbital resonance, meaning their orbits are in proportion to each other. For example, for every four orbits of Io, there are two orbits of Europa and one orbit of Ganymede, making their orbital resonance 4:2:1, resulting in each moon regularly causing gravitational influences on each other.

Now that the tidal storm aspect on TOI-6713.01 is caused by the eccentricities of the two outer giants, how does this relate to the relationship between Io, Europa, and Ganymede?

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Dr. Kane narrates Universe today“The Laplace resonance of the Galilean moons creates a particularly powerful configuration, where regular alignments of the inner three moons regularly force Io into an eccentric orbit. The HD 104067 system is not in resonance, but is still capable of a power configuration produce by virtue of the b and c planets being so massive and therefore more of a ‘brute force’ effect of forcing the inner transit planet into an eccentric orbit.’

As mentioned, TOI-6713.01 was discovered using the radial velocity method, also known as Doppler spectroscopy. This means that astronomers have measured the tiny changes in the motion of the parent star as it is gently pulled by the planet during its orbit.

These small changes cause the parent star to wobble as the two bodies pull together, and astronomers use a spectrograph to detect changes in these wobbles as the star moves ‘closer’ and ‘further away’ from us to find exoplanets.

This method has proven to be very effective in finding exoplanets, as it accounts for almost 20 percent of the total number of confirmed exoplanets to date, and the first exoplanet orbiting a star like ours was also discovered using this method.

However, despite the effectiveness of the radial velocity, the study notes that TOI-6713.01 “remains to be confirmed,” so what additional observations are needed to confirm its existence?

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Dr. Kanes says Universe today“Because the planet is so small, it is difficult to detect it from the radial velocity data. However, the transits look clean and we have ruled out star contamination. Additional transits will help, but we are confident that the planet is at this point.”

This study comes as the total number of exoplanetary systems is almost 4,200, while the number of confirmed exoplanets exceeds 5,600 and there are also hopefully more than 10,100 exoplanet candidates waiting to be confirmed. These system architectures appear to be very different from our own solar system, which consists of the terrestrial (rocky) planets closer to the Sun and the gas giants orbiting the Sun much further away.

Examples include hot Jupiters orbiting dangerously close to their parent stars, some in just a few days, and other systems with seven Earth-sized exoplanets, some orbiting within the habitable zone.

What can this unique solar system architecture therefore teach us about exoplanetary systems in general, and what other exoplanetary systems reflect this?

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Dr. Kane narrates Universe today“This system is a great example of extreme environments that planets can find themselves in. There have been several cases of terrestrial planets being close to their star and being heated by the star’s energy, but there are very few cases where the tidal energy is melting the planet from within.”

The potential discovery of an exoplanet orbiting a “perfect tidal storm” further demonstrates the myriad features that exoplanets and exoplanetary systems exhibit, while contrasting both our own solar system and what astronomers have learned about it so far.

If confirmed, TOI-6713.01 will continue to shape our understanding of the formation and evolution of exoplanets and exoplanetary systems, not only in our Milky Way Galaxy, but also throughout the cosmos.

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“The universe is an amazing place!” Dr. Kane narrates Universe today. “The cool thing about this particular project is that it all started with ‘Hmm… this could be interesting’ and then grew into something much more fascinating than I could have imagined! It just goes to show: never miss the opportunity to to follow your curiosity.”

How will this tidal storm exoplanet teach us about other exoplanets and exoplanetary systems in the years and decades to come? Only time will tell, and this is why we are science!

As always, keep doing science and keep looking up!

This article was originally published by Universe Today. Read the original article.