Investigating the Atmospheric Mass Loss of the Kepler-105 Planets Straddling the Radius Gap
An intriguing pattern among exoplanets is the lack of detected planets between approximately 1.5 R _⊕ and 2.0 R _⊕ . One proposed explanation for this “radius gap” is the photoevaporation of planetary atmospheres, a theory that can be tested by studying individual planetary systems. Kepler-105 is an...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2024-01-01
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| Series: | The Astronomical Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ad19c6 |
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| author | Aaron Householder Lauren M. Weiss James E. Owen Howard Isaacson Andrew W. Howard Daniel Fabrycky Leslie A. Rogers Hilke E. Schlichting Benjamin J. Fulton Erik A. Petigura Steven Giacalone Joseph M. Akana Murphy Corey Beard Ashley Chontos Fei Dai Judah Van Zandt Jack Lubin Malena Rice Alex S. Polanski Paul Dalba Sarah Blunt Emma V. Turtelboom Ryan Rubenzahl Casey Brinkman |
| author_facet | Aaron Householder Lauren M. Weiss James E. Owen Howard Isaacson Andrew W. Howard Daniel Fabrycky Leslie A. Rogers Hilke E. Schlichting Benjamin J. Fulton Erik A. Petigura Steven Giacalone Joseph M. Akana Murphy Corey Beard Ashley Chontos Fei Dai Judah Van Zandt Jack Lubin Malena Rice Alex S. Polanski Paul Dalba Sarah Blunt Emma V. Turtelboom Ryan Rubenzahl Casey Brinkman |
| author_sort | Aaron Householder |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | An intriguing pattern among exoplanets is the lack of detected planets between approximately 1.5 R _⊕ and 2.0 R _⊕ . One proposed explanation for this “radius gap” is the photoevaporation of planetary atmospheres, a theory that can be tested by studying individual planetary systems. Kepler-105 is an ideal system for such testing due to the ordering and sizes of its planets. Kepler-105 is a Sun-like star that hosts two planets straddling the radius gap in a rare architecture with the larger planet closer to the host star ( R _b = 2.53 ± 0.07 R _⊕ , P _b = 5.41 days, R _c = 1.44 ± 0.04 R _⊕ , P _c = 7.13 days). If photoevaporation sculpted the atmospheres of these planets, then Kepler-105b would need to be much more massive than Kepler-105c to retain its atmosphere, given its closer proximity to the host star. To test this hypothesis, we simultaneously analyzed radial velocities and transit-timing variations of the Kepler-105 system, measuring disparate masses of M _b = 10.8 ± 2.3 M _⊕ ( ρ _b = 3.68 ± 0.84 g cm ^−3 ) and M _c = 5.6 ± 1.2 M _⊕ ( ρ _c = 10.4 ± 2.39 g cm ^−3 ). Based on these masses, the difference in gas envelope content of the Kepler-105 planets could be entirely due to photoevaporation (in 76% of scenarios), although other mechanisms like core-powered mass loss could have played a role for some planet albedos. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T09:26:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f8b0d835bd28431b9c8fb23d12f92dc7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1538-3881 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T09:26:30Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astronomical Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-f8b0d835bd28431b9c8fb23d12f92dc72024-01-31T09:58:45ZengIOP PublishingThe Astronomical Journal1538-38812024-01-0116728410.3847/1538-3881/ad19c6Investigating the Atmospheric Mass Loss of the Kepler-105 Planets Straddling the Radius GapAaron Householder0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5812-3236Lauren M. Weiss1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3725-3058James E. Owen2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4856-7837Howard Isaacson3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0531-1073Andrew W. Howard4https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8638-0320Daniel Fabrycky5https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3750-0183Leslie A. Rogers6https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0638-3455Hilke E. Schlichting7https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0298-8089Benjamin J. Fulton8https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3504-5316Erik A. Petigura9https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0967-2893Steven Giacalone10https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8965-3969Joseph M. Akana Murphy11https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8898-8284Corey Beard12https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7708-2364Ashley Chontos13https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1125-2564Fei Dai14https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8958-0683Judah Van Zandt15https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4290-6826Jack Lubin16https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8342-7736Malena Rice17https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7670-670XAlex S. Polanski18https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7047-8681Paul Dalba19https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4297-5506Sarah Blunt20https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3199-2888Emma V. Turtelboom21https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1845-2617Ryan Rubenzahl22https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3856-3143Casey Brinkman23https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4480-310XDepartment of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA 02139, USA ; aaron593@mit.edu; Department of Astronomy, Yale University , 52 Hillhouse, New Haven, CT 06511, USADepartment of Physics and Astronomy, University of Notre Dame , Notre Dame, IN 46556, USAAstrophysics Group, Department of Physics, Imperial College London , Prince Consort Road, London SW7 2AZ, UKDepartment of Astronomy, University of California Berkeley , Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; Centre for Astrophysics, University of Southern Queensland , Toowoomba, QLD, AustraliaDepartment of Astronomy, California Institute of Technology , Pasadena, CA 91125, USADept. of Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Chicago , 5640 S. Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USADepartment of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Chicago , Chicago, IL 60637, USADepartment of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, The University of California , Los Angeles, 595 Charles E. Young Drive East, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USACahill Center for Astronomy & Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology , Pasadena, CA 91125, USA; IPAC-NASA Exoplanet Science Institute , Pasadena, CA 91125, USADepartment of Physics & Astronomy, University of California Los Angeles , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USADepartment of Astronomy, University of California Berkeley , Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; Department of Astronomy, California Institute of Technology , Pasadena, CA 91125, USADepartment of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California , Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USADepartment of Physics & Astronomy, The University of California , Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USADepartment of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University , 4 Ivy Lane, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA; Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii , 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822 USADepartment of Astronomy, California Institute of Technology , Pasadena, CA 91125, USA; Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences , 1200 E California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USADepartment of Physics & Astronomy, University of California Los Angeles , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USADepartment of Physics & Astronomy, University of California Irvine , Irvine, CA 92697, USADepartment of Astronomy, Yale University , 52 Hillhouse, New Haven, CT 06511, USADepartment of Physics and Astronomy, University of Kansas , Lawrence, KS 66045, USADepartment of Earth & Planetary Sciences, University of California Riverside , 900 University Avenue, Riverside, CA 92521, USADepartment of Astronomy, California Institute of Technology , Pasadena, CA 91125, USADepartment of Astronomy, 501 Campbell Hall, University of California , Berkeley, CA 94720, USADepartment of Astronomy, California Institute of Technology , Pasadena, CA 91125, USAInstitute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii , 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822 USAAn intriguing pattern among exoplanets is the lack of detected planets between approximately 1.5 R _⊕ and 2.0 R _⊕ . One proposed explanation for this “radius gap” is the photoevaporation of planetary atmospheres, a theory that can be tested by studying individual planetary systems. Kepler-105 is an ideal system for such testing due to the ordering and sizes of its planets. Kepler-105 is a Sun-like star that hosts two planets straddling the radius gap in a rare architecture with the larger planet closer to the host star ( R _b = 2.53 ± 0.07 R _⊕ , P _b = 5.41 days, R _c = 1.44 ± 0.04 R _⊕ , P _c = 7.13 days). If photoevaporation sculpted the atmospheres of these planets, then Kepler-105b would need to be much more massive than Kepler-105c to retain its atmosphere, given its closer proximity to the host star. To test this hypothesis, we simultaneously analyzed radial velocities and transit-timing variations of the Kepler-105 system, measuring disparate masses of M _b = 10.8 ± 2.3 M _⊕ ( ρ _b = 3.68 ± 0.84 g cm ^−3 ) and M _c = 5.6 ± 1.2 M _⊕ ( ρ _c = 10.4 ± 2.39 g cm ^−3 ). Based on these masses, the difference in gas envelope content of the Kepler-105 planets could be entirely due to photoevaporation (in 76% of scenarios), although other mechanisms like core-powered mass loss could have played a role for some planet albedos.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ad19c6Exoplanet atmospheresExoplanet formationExoplanet evolutionRadial velocityTransit timing variation methodExoplanets |
| spellingShingle | Aaron Householder Lauren M. Weiss James E. Owen Howard Isaacson Andrew W. Howard Daniel Fabrycky Leslie A. Rogers Hilke E. Schlichting Benjamin J. Fulton Erik A. Petigura Steven Giacalone Joseph M. Akana Murphy Corey Beard Ashley Chontos Fei Dai Judah Van Zandt Jack Lubin Malena Rice Alex S. Polanski Paul Dalba Sarah Blunt Emma V. Turtelboom Ryan Rubenzahl Casey Brinkman Investigating the Atmospheric Mass Loss of the Kepler-105 Planets Straddling the Radius Gap The Astronomical Journal Exoplanet atmospheres Exoplanet formation Exoplanet evolution Radial velocity Transit timing variation method Exoplanets |
| title | Investigating the Atmospheric Mass Loss of the Kepler-105 Planets Straddling the Radius Gap |
| title_full | Investigating the Atmospheric Mass Loss of the Kepler-105 Planets Straddling the Radius Gap |
| title_fullStr | Investigating the Atmospheric Mass Loss of the Kepler-105 Planets Straddling the Radius Gap |
| title_full_unstemmed | Investigating the Atmospheric Mass Loss of the Kepler-105 Planets Straddling the Radius Gap |
| title_short | Investigating the Atmospheric Mass Loss of the Kepler-105 Planets Straddling the Radius Gap |
| title_sort | investigating the atmospheric mass loss of the kepler 105 planets straddling the radius gap |
| topic | Exoplanet atmospheres Exoplanet formation Exoplanet evolution Radial velocity Transit timing variation method Exoplanets |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ad19c6 |
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