Searcharxiv⌕ Search

arXiv subjects

Adrien Leleu

Publications and source records attributed to Adrien Leleu.

24 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
arXiv2017

Detection of co-orbital planets by combining transit and radial-velocity measurements

Co-orbital planets have not yet been discovered, although they constitute a frequent by-product of planetary formation and evolution models. This lack may be due to observational biases, since the main detection methods are unable to spot co-orbital companions when they are small or near the Lagrangian equilibrium points. However, for a system with one known transiting planet (with mass $m_1$), we can detect a co-orbital companion (with mass $m_2$) by combining the time of mid-transit with the radial-velocity data of the star. Here, we propose a simple method that allows the detection of co-orbital companions, valid for eccentric orbits, that relies on a single parameter $α$, which is proportional to the mass ratio $m_2/m_1$. Therefore, when $α$ is statistically different from zero, we have a strong candidate to harbour a co-orbital companion. We also discuss the relevance of false positives generated by different planetary configurations.

astro-ph.EP↗
arXiv2017

Dynamics of co-orbital exoplanets

This work focuses on the dynamics and the detection methods of co-orbital exoplanets. We call "co-orbital" any configuration in which two planets orbit with the same mean mean-motion around the same star. First, we revisit the results of the circular coplanar case. We also recall that the manifold associated to the coplanar case and the manifold corresponding to the circular case are both invariant by the flow of the averaged Hamiltonian. We hence study these two particular cases. We focus mainly on the coplanar case (eccentric), where we study the evolution of families of non-maximal quasi-periodic orbits parametrized by the eccentricity of the planets. We show that the geometry of these families is highly dependent on the eccentricity, which causes significant topology changes across the space of phases as the latter increases. A chapter is dedicated to the detection of co-orbital exoplanets. We recall the different detection methods adapted to the co-orbital case. We focus on the radial velocity technique, and the combination of radial velocity and transit measurements. Finally, we describe a method to study the effect of orbital perturbations on the spin-orbit resonances for a rigid body. We apply this method in two cases: the eccentric co-orbital case and the circumbinary case.

astro-ph.EP↗
arXiv2016

Detectability of quasi-circular co-orbital planets. Application to the radial velocity technique

Several celestial bodies in co-orbital configurations exist in the solar system. However, co-orbital exoplanets have not yet been discovered. This lack may result from a degeneracy between the signal induced by co-orbital planets and other orbital configurations. Here we determine a criterion for the detectability of quasi-circular co-orbital planets and develop a demodulation method to bring out their signature from the observational data. We show that the precision required to identify a pair of co-orbital planets depends only on the libration amplitude and on the planet's mass ratio. We apply our method to synthetic radial velocity data, and show that for tadpole orbits we are able to determine the inclination of the system to the line of sight. Our method is also valid for planets detected through the transit and astrometry techniques.

astro-ph.EP↗
arXiv2015

Spin-orbit coupling and chaotic rotation for circumbinary bodies. Application to the small satellites of the Pluto-Charon system

We investigate the resonant rotation of circumbinary bodies in planar quasi-circular orbits. Denoting $n_b$ and $n$ the orbital mean motion of the inner binary and of the circumbinary body, respectively, we show that spin-orbit resonances exist at the frequencies $n\pm kν/2$, where $ν= n_b - n$, and $k$ is an integer. Moreover, when the libration at natural frequency has the same magnitude as $ν$, the resonances overlap and the rotation becomes chaotic. We apply these results to the small satellites in the Pluto-Charon system, and conclude that their rotations are likely chaotic. However, the rotation can also be stable and not synchronous for small axial asymmetries.

astro-ph.EP↗
arXiv2014

Spin-orbit resonances and rotation of coorbital bodies in quasi-circular orbits

The rotation of asymmetric bodies in eccentric Keplerian orbits can be chaotic when there is some overlap of spin-orbit resonances. Here we show that the rotation of two coorbital bodies (two planets orbiting a star or two satellites of a planet) can also be chaotic even for quasi-circular orbits around the central body. When dissipation is present, the rotation period of a body on a nearly circular orbit is believed to always end synchronous with the orbital period. Here we demonstrate that for coorbital bodies in quasi-circular orbits, stable non-synchronous rotation is possible for a wide range of mass ratios and body shapes. We further show that the rotation becomes chaotic when the natural rotational libration frequency, due to the axial asymmetry, is of the same order of magnitude as the orbital libration frequency.

astro-ph.EP↗