ON THE SEMIMAJOR AXIS DISTRIBUTION OF EXTRASOLAR GAS GIANT PLANETS: WHY HOT JUPITERS ARE RARE AROUND HIGH-MASS STARS

2009/02/28 by Thayne Currie · 2 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Scientific Research and Discoveries #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph.EP #astro-ph.SR

paper · pdf · doi:10.1088/0004-637x/694/2/l171

13 pages, 3 figures, 1 table; matched to published version & references updated, published in ApJ Letters

openalex publication_date 2009/03/13 · arxiv created 2009/03/17 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31

Abstract

Based on a suite of Monte Carlo simulations, I show that a stellar-mass-dependent lifetime of the gas disks from which planets form can explain the lack of hot Jupiters/close-in giant planets around high-mass stars and other key features of the observed semimajor axis distribution of radial velocity-detected giant planets. Using reasonable parameters for the Type II migration rate, regions of planet formation, and timescales for gas giant core formation, I construct synthetic distributions of Jovian planets. A planet formation/migration model assuming a stellar-mass-dependent gas disk lifetime reproduces key features in the observed distribution by preferentially stranding planets around high-mass stars at large semimajor axes.

Citations

• Variations on Debris Disks: Icy Planet Formation at 30–150 AU for 1–3M⊙Main‐Sequence Stars
• RAPID FORMATION OF ICY SUPER-EARTHS AND THE CORES OF GAS GIANT PLANETS
• The Keck Planet Search: Detectability and the Minimum Mass and Orbital Period Distribution of Extrasolar Planets

Cited by

• Substellar Companions to Seven Evolved Intermediate-Mass Stars
• Kepler-432 b: a massive warm Jupiter in a 52-day eccentric orbit transiting a giant star