Compact planetary systems perturbed by an inclined companion: II. Stellar spin-orbit evolution

The stellar spin orientation relative to the orbital planes of multiplanet systems are becoming accessible to observations. Here, we analyze and classify different types of spin-orbit evolution in compact multiplanet systems perturbed by an inclined outer companion. Our study is based on classical secular theory, using a vectorial approach developed in a separate paper. When planet-planet perturbations are truncated at the second order in eccentricity and mutual inclination, and the planet-companion perturbations are developed at the quadrupole order, the problem becomes integrable. The motion is composed of a uniform precession of the whole system around the total angular momentum, and in the rotating frame, the evolution is periodic. Here, we focus on the relative motion associated to the oscillations of the inclination between the planet system and the outer orbit, and of the obliquities of the star with respect to the two orbital planes. The solution is obtained using a powerful geometric method. With this technique, we identify four different regimes characterized by the nutation amplitude of the stellar spin-axis relative to the orbital plane of the planets. In particular, the obliquity of the star reaches its maximum when the system is in the Cassini regime where planets have more angular momentum than the star, and where the precession rate of the star is similar to that of the planets induced by the companion. In that case, spin-orbit oscillations exceed twice the inclination between the planets and the companion. Even if mutual inclination is only ~ 20 deg, this resonant case can cause the spin-orbit angle to oscillate between perfectly aligned and retrograde values.Comment: 29 pages, 15 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Mergers and Obliquities in Stellar Triples

Many close stellar binaries are accompanied by a far-away star. The "eccentric Kozai-Lidov" (EKL) mechanism can cause dramatic inclination and eccentricity fluctuations, resulting in tidal tightening of inner binaries of triple stars. We run a large set of Monte-Carlo simulations including the secular evolution of the orbits, general relativistic precession and tides, and we determine the semimajor axis, eccentricity, inclination and spin-orbit angle distributions of the final configurations. We find that the efficiency of forming tight binaries (<~16 d) when taking the EKL mechanism into account is ~ 21%, and about 4% of all simulated systems ended up in a merger event. These merger events can lead to the formation of blue-stragglers. Furthermore, we find that the spin-orbit angle distribution of the inner binaries carries a signature of the initial setup of the system, thus observations can be used to disentangle close binaries' birth configuration. The resulting inner and outer final orbits' period distributions, and their estimated fraction, suggests secular dynamics may be a significant channel for the formation of close binaries in triples and even blue stragglers.Comment: Accepted to ApJ, 10 figure