1,005 research outputs found
On the Inclination and Habitability of the HD 10180 System
There are numerous multi-planet systems that have now been detected via a
variety of techniques. These systems exhibit a range of both planetary
properties and orbital configurations. For those systems without detected
planetary transits, a significant unknown factor is the orbital inclination.
This produces an uncertainty in the mass of the planets and their related
properties, such as atmospheric scale height. Here we investigate the HD~10180
system which was discovered using the radial velocity technique. We provide a
new orbital solution for the system which allows for eccentric orbits for all
planets. We show how the inclination of the system affects the mass/radius
properties of the planets and how the detection of phase signatures may resolve
the inclination ambiguity. We finally evaluate the Habitable Zone properties of
the system and show that the g planet spends 100\% of an eccentric orbit within
the Habitable Zone.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in the
Astrophysical Journa
Exoplanetary Transit Constraints Based Upon Secondary Eclipse Observations
Transiting extrasolar planets provide an opportunity to study the mass-radius
relation of planets as well as their internal structure. The existence of a
secondary eclipse enables further study of the thermal properties of the the
planet by observing at infrared wavelengths. The probability of an observable
secondary eclipse depends upon the orbital parameters of the planet,
particularly eccentricity and argument of periastron. Here we provide
analytical expressions for these probabilities, investigate their properties,
and calculate their values for the known extrasolar planets. We furthermore
quantitatively discuss constraints on existence and observability of primary
transits if a secondary eclipse is observed. Finally, we calculate the
a-posteriori transit probabilities of the known extrasolar planets, and we
present several case studies in which orbital constraints resulting from the
presence of a secondary eclipse may be applied in observing campaigns.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, 1 table; accepted for publication in PAS
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