A Short History of (Orbital) Decay: Roman’s Prospects for Detecting Dying Planets
The Roman Space Telescope Galactic Bulge Time Domain Survey (GBTDS) is expected to detect ∼10 ^5 transiting planets. Many of these planets will have short orbital periods and are thus susceptible to tidal decay. We use a catalog of simulated transiting planet detections to predict the yield of orbit...
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| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
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| Series: | The Astronomical Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ade3d9 |
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| Summary: | The Roman Space Telescope Galactic Bulge Time Domain Survey (GBTDS) is expected to detect ∼10 ^5 transiting planets. Many of these planets will have short orbital periods and are thus susceptible to tidal decay. We use a catalog of simulated transiting planet detections to predict the yield of orbital decay detections in the Roman GBTDS. Assuming a constant stellar tidal dissipation factor, ${Q}_{* }^{{\prime} }$ , of 10 ^6 , we predict ∼5–10 detections. We additionally consider an empirical period-dependent parameterization of ${Q}_{* }^{{\prime} }\propto {P}^{-3}$ and find a substantially suppressed yield. We conclude that Roman will provide constraints on the rate of planet engulfment in the Galaxy and probe the physics of tidal dissipation in stars. |
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| ISSN: | 1538-3881 |