2013/04/04 by Alexandre C. M. Correia, Adrian Rodriguez, Adrián Rodríguez
Physics and Astronomy · #Astro and Planetary Science #Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph.EP #physics.geo-ph #physics.space-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1088/0004-637x/767/2/128
published as The Astrophysical Journal, 767:128 (5pp), 2013 April 20 · 5 pages, 2 figures
arxiv created 2013/04/04 · openalex publication_date 2013/04/04 · arxiv updated 2013/04/05 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
Many exoplanets have been observed close to their parent stars with orbital periods of a few days. As for the major satellites of the Jovian planets, the figure of these planets is expected to be strongly shaped by tidal forces. However, contrary to solar system satellites, exoplanets may present high values for the obliquity and eccentricity due to planetary perturbations, and may also be captured in spin–orbit resonances different from the synchronous one. Here we give a general formulation of the equilibrium figure of those bodies that makes no particular assumption on the spin and/or orbital configurations. The gravity field coefficients computed here are well suited for describing the figure evolution of a body whose spin and orbit undergo substantial variations in time.