Article (Scientific journals)
A compact system of small planets around a former red giant star
Charpinet, Stéphane; Fontaine, Gilles; Brassard, Pierre et al.
2011In Nature, 480, p. 496-499
Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi
 

Files


Full Text
nature10631.pdf
Publisher postprint (322.3 kB)
Request a copy

All documents in ORBi are protected by a user license.

Send to



Details



Abstract :
[en] Planets that orbit their parent star at less than about one astronomical unit (1AU is the Earth-Sun distance) are expected to be engulfed when the star becomes a red giant. Previous observations have revealed the existence of post-red-giant host stars with giant planets orbiting as close as 0.116AU or with brown dwarf companions in tight orbits, showing that these bodies can survive engulfment. What has remained unclear is whether planets can be dragged deeper into the red-giant envelope without being disrupted and whether the evolution of the parent star itself could be affected. Here we report the presence of two nearly Earth-sized bodies orbiting the post-red-giant, hot B subdwarf star KIC 05807616 at distances of 0.0060 and 0.0076AU, with orbital periods of 5.7625 and 8.2293 hours, respectively. These bodies probably survived deep immersion in the former red-giant envelope. They may be the dense cores of evaporated giant planets that were transported closer to the star during the engulfment and triggered the mass loss necessary for the formation of the hot B subdwarf, which might also explain how some stars of this type did not form in binary systems.
Disciplines :
Space science, astronomy & astrophysics
Author, co-author :
Charpinet, Stéphane;  Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (IRAP)
Fontaine, Gilles;  Université de Montréal - UdeM > Département de Physique
Brassard, Pierre;  Université de Montréal - UdeM > Département de Physique
Green, Elizabeth M.;  University of Arizona
Van Grootel, Valérie  ;  Université de Liège - ULiège > Département d'astrophys., géophysique et océanographie (AGO) > Astrophysique stellaire théorique et astérosismologie
Randall, Suzanna K.;  European Southern Observatory (ESO)
Silvotti, Roberto;  INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Torino
Baran, Andrzej;  Mt. Suhora Observatory
Ostensen, Roy H.;  Katholieke Universiteit Leuven - KUL > Instituut voor Sterrenkunde
Kawaler, Steve D.;  Iowa State University
Telting, John H.;  Nordic Optical Telescope
Language :
English
Title :
A compact system of small planets around a former red giant star
Publication date :
22 December 2011
Journal title :
Nature
ISSN :
0028-0836
eISSN :
1476-4687
Publisher :
Nature Publishing Group, Basingstoke, United Kingdom
Volume :
480
Pages :
496-499
Peer reviewed :
Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi
Available on ORBi :
since 19 January 2012

Statistics


Number of views
101 (6 by ULiège)
Number of downloads
0 (0 by ULiège)

Scopus citations®
 
130
Scopus citations®
without self-citations
94
OpenCitations
 
142

Bibliography


Similar publications



Contact ORBi