Kepler-413B: A slightly misaligned, Neptune-size transiting circumbinary planet
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States)
- Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)
- Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille, 38 rue Frédéric Joliot-Curie, F-13388 Marseille cedex 13 (France)
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Chicago, 5640 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637 (United States)
- Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris, UMR 7095 CNRS, Université Pierre and Marie Curie, 98 bis boulevard Arago, F-75014 Paris (France)
- Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI), Advanced Astronomy and Space Science Division, Daejeon 305-348 (Korea, Republic of)
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Tel Aviv University, 69978 Tel Aviv (Israel)
We report the discovery of a transiting, R{sub p} = 4.347 ± 0.099R {sub ⊕}, circumbinary planet (CBP) orbiting the Kepler K+M eclipsing binary (EB) system KIC 12351927 (Kepler-413) every ∼66 days on an eccentric orbit with a{sub p} = 0.355 ± 0.002 AU, e{sub p} = 0.118 ± 0.002. The two stars, with M{sub A} = 0.820 ± 0.015 M {sub ☉}, R{sub A} = 0.776 ± 0.009 R {sub ☉} and M{sub B} = 0.542 ± 0.008 M {sub ☉}, R{sub B} = 0.484 ± 0.024 R {sub ☉}, respectively, revolve around each other every 10.11615 ± 0.00001 days on a nearly circular (e {sub EB} = 0.037 ± 0.002) orbit. The orbital plane of the EB is slightly inclined to the line of sight (i {sub EB} = 87.°33 ± 0.°06), while that of the planet is inclined by ∼2.°5 to the binary plane at the reference epoch. Orbital precession with a period of ∼11 yr causes the inclination of the latter to the sky plane to continuously change. As a result, the planet often fails to transit the primary star at inferior conjunction, causing stretches of hundreds of days with no transits (corresponding to multiple planetary orbital periods). We predict that the next transit will not occur until 2020. The orbital configuration of the system places the planet slightly closer to its host stars than the inner edge of the extended habitable zone. Additionally, the orbital configuration of the system is such that the CBP may experience Cassini State dynamics under the influence of the EB, in which the planet's obliquity precesses with a rate comparable to its orbital precession. Depending on the angular precession frequency of the CBP, it could potentially undergo obliquity fluctuations of dozens of degrees (and complex seasonal cycles) on precession timescales.
- OSTI ID:
- 22351457
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 784, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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