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A gap in the mass distribution for warm Neptune and terrestrial planets
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Armstrong, David J., Meru, Farzana, Bayliss, Daniel D. R., Kennedy, Grant M. and Veras, Dimitri (2019) A gap in the mass distribution for warm Neptune and terrestrial planets. The Astrophysical Journal Letters . (In Press)
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WRAP-gap-mass-distribution-warm-Neptune-terrestrial-planets-Armstrong-2019.pdf - Accepted Version - Requires a PDF viewer. Download (758Kb) | Preview |
Abstract
Structure in the planet distribution provides an insight into the processes that shape the formation and evolution of planets. The Kepler mission has led to an abundance of statistical discoveries in regards to planetary radius, but the number of observed planets with measured masses is much smaller. By incorporating results from recent mass determination programs, we have discovered a new gap emerging in the planet population for sub-Neptune mass planets with orbital periods less than 20 days. The gap follows a slope of decreasing mass with increasing orbital period, has a width of a few M⊕, and is potentially completely devoid of planets. Fitting gaussian mixture models to the planet population in this region favours a bimodel distribution over a unimodel one with a reduction in Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC) of 19.9, highlighting the gap significance. We discuss several processes which could generate such a feature in the planet distribution, including a pileup of planets above the gap region, tidal interactions with the host star, dynamical interactions with the disk, with other planets, or with accreting material during the formation process.
| Item Type: | Journal Article | |||||||||||||||
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| Subjects: | Q Science > QB Astronomy | |||||||||||||||
| Divisions: | Faculty of Science > Physics | |||||||||||||||
| Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Extrasolar planets , Stars with planets , Planets -- Internal structure | |||||||||||||||
| Journal or Publication Title: | The Astrophysical Journal Letters | |||||||||||||||
| Publisher: | Institute of Physics Publishing, Inc. | |||||||||||||||
| ISSN: | 2041-8205 | |||||||||||||||
| Official Date: | 2019 | |||||||||||||||
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| Date of first compliant deposit: | 28 June 2019 | |||||||||||||||
| Status: | Peer Reviewed | |||||||||||||||
| Publication Status: | In Press | |||||||||||||||
| Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access | |||||||||||||||
| RIOXX Funder/Project Grant: |
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