arXiv subjects

Michelle Vick

Publications and source records attributed to Michelle Vick.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Case Study of a Super-eccentric Warm Jupiter Migrating via Equilibrium and Dynamical Tides

A leading theory for hot Jupiter formation is high-eccentricity migration, in which planets are born at large separations and excited to near-unity eccentricities, creating extreme tidal dissipation that shrinks and circularizes their orbits. The most direct evidence for this scenario is the detection of highly eccentric planets caught in the act of migrating. Although such planets are rare, the recent discovery of TIC 241249530 b - a super-eccentric ($e = 0.94$) and retrograde hot Jupiter progenitor - presents an ideal case study to explore high-eccentricity migration and the accompanying tidal physics. In this paper, we examine the migration history of TIC 241249530 b and test two different models of tidal dissipation: equilibrium tides and chaotic dynamical tides. We show that TIC 241249530 b's properties can be explained by high-eccentricity migration triggered by von Zeipel-Lidov-Kozai oscillations induced by the observed distant binary star in the system, but only if the dominant tidal dissipation takes the form of equilibrium tides. Chaotic dynamical tides fail to explain the system because they require the planet to have migrated substantially closer to its star.

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arXiv2026

Self-consistent Dynamical and Chaotic Tides in the REBOUNDx framework

At high eccentricities, tidal forcing excites vibrational modes within orbiting bodies known as dynamical tides. In this paper, we implement the coupled evolution of these modes with the body's orbit in the \texttt{REBOUNDx} framework, an extension to the popular $N$-body integrator \texttt{REBOUND}. We provide a variety of test cases relevant to exoplanet dynamics and demonstrate overall agreement with prior studies of dynamical tides in the secular regime. Our implementation is readily applied to various high-eccentricity scenarios and allows for fast and accurate $N$-body investigations of astrophysical systems for which dynamical tides are relevant.

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arXiv2022

High-Eccentricity Migration with Disk-Induced Spin-Orbit Misalignment: a Preference for Perpendicular Hot Jupiters

High-eccentricity migration is a likely formation mechanism for many observed hot Jupiters, particularly those with a large misalignment between the stellar spin axis and orbital angular momentum axis of the planet. In one version of high-eccentricity migration, an inclined stellar companion excites von Zeipel-Lidov-Kozai (ZLK) eccentricity oscillations of a cold Jupiter, and tidal dissipation causes the planet's orbit to shrink and circularize. Throughout this process, the stellar spin can evolve chaotically, resulting in highly misaligned hot Jupiters. Previous population studies of this migration mechanism have assumed that the stellar spin is aligned with the planetary orbital angular momentum when the companion begins to induce ZLK oscillations. However, in the presence of a binary companion, the star's obliquity may be significantly excited during the dissipation of its protoplanetary disk. We calculate the stellar obliquities produced in the protoplanetary disk phase and use these to perform an updated population synthesis of ZLK-driven high-eccentricity migration. We find that the resulting obliquity distribution of HJ systems is predominantly retrograde with a broad peak near 90$^\circ$. The distribution we obtain has intriguing similarities to the recently-observed preponderance of perpendicular planets close to their host stars.

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arXiv2022

Tidal Wave Breaking in the Eccentric Lead-In to Mass Transfer and Common Envelope Phases

The evolution of many close binary and multiple star systems is defined by phases of mass exchange and interaction. As these systems evolve into contact, tidal dissipation is not always sufficient to bring them into circular, synchronous orbits. In these cases, encounters of increasing strength occur while the orbit remains eccentric. This paper focuses on the outcomes of close tidal passages in eccentric orbits. Close eccentric passages excite dynamical oscillations about the stars' equilibrium configurations. These tidal oscillations arise from the transfer of orbital energy into oscillation mode energy. When these oscillations reach sufficient amplitude, they break near the stellar surface. The surface wave-breaking layer forms a shock-heated atmosphere that surrounds the object. The continuing oscillations in the star's interior launch shocks that dissipate into the this atmosphere, damping the tidal oscillations. We show that the rapid, nonlinear dissipation associated with the wave breaking of fundamental oscillation modes therefore comes with coupled mass loss to the wave breaking atmosphere. The mass ratio is an important characteristic that defines the relative importance of mass loss and energy dissipation and therefore determines the fate of systems evolving under the influence of nonlinear dissipation. The outcome can be rapid tidal circularization ($q\ll1$) or runaway mass exchange ($q\gg1$).

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arXiv2020

Tidal Dissipation Impact on the Eccentric Onset of Common Envelope Phases in Massive Binary Star Systems

Tidal dissipation due to turbulent viscosity in the convective regions of giant stars plays an important role in shaping the orbits of pre-common envelope systems. Such systems are possible sources of transients and close compact binary systems that will eventually merge and produce detectable gravitational wave signals. Most previous studies of the onset of common envelope episodes have focused on circular orbits and synchronously rotating donor stars under the assumption that tidal dissipation can quickly spin up the primary and circularize the orbit before the binary reaches Roche-lobe overflow (RLO). We test this assumption by coupling numerical models of the post main sequence stellar evolution of massive-stars with the model for tidal dissipation in convective envelopes developed in Vick & Lai (2020) $-$ a tidal model that is accurate even for highly eccentric orbits with small pericentre distances. We find that, in many cases, tidal dissipation does not circularize the orbit before RLO. For a $10~M_\odot$ ($15~M_\odot$) primary star interacting with a $1.4~M_\odot$ companion, systems with pericentre distances within 3 AU (6 AU) when the primary leaves the main sequence will retain the initial orbital eccentricity when the primary grows to the Roche radius. Even in systems that tidally circularize before RLO, the donor star may be rotating subsynchronously at the onset of mass transfer. Our results demonstrate that some possible precursors to double neutron star systems are likely eccentric at the Roche radius. The effects of pre-common envelope eccentricity on the resulting compact binary merit further study.

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arXiv2019

Tidal Evolution of Eccentric Binaries Driven by Convective Turbulent Viscosity

Tidal dissipation due to convective turbulent viscosity shapes the evolution of a variety of astrophysical binaries. For example, this type of dissipation determines the rate of orbital circularization in a binary with a post-main sequence star that is evolving toward a common envelope phase. Viscous dissipation can also influence binaries with solar-type stars, or stars with a close-in giant planet. In general, the effective viscosity in a convective stellar envelope depends on the tidal forcing frequency $\omega_{\rm tide}$; when $\omega_{\rm tide}$ is larger than the turnover frequency of convective eddies, the viscosity is reduced. Previous work has focused on binaries in nearly circular orbits. However, for eccentric orbits, the tidal potential has many forcing frequencies. In this paper, we develop a formalism for computing tidal dissipation that captures the effect of frequency-dependent turbulent viscosity and is valid for arbitrary binary eccentricities. We also present an alternative simpler formulation that is suitable for very high eccentricities. We apply our formalisms to a giant branch (GB) star model and a solar-type star model. We find that a range of pseudosynchronous rotation rates are possible for both stellar models, and the pseudosynchronous rate can differ from the prediction of the commonly-used weak tidal friction theory by up to a factor of a few. We also find that tidal decay and circularization due to turbulent viscosity can be a few orders of magnitude faster than predicted by weak tidal friction in GB stars on eccentric, small pericentre orbits, but is suppressed by a few orders of magnitude in solar-type stars due to viscosity reduction.

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arXiv2019

Tidal Effects in Eccentric Coalescing Neutron Star Binaries

Dynamically formed compact object binaries may still be eccentric while in the LIGO/Virgo band. For a neutron star (NS) in an eccentric binary, the fundamental modes (f-modes) are excited at pericenter, transferring energy from the orbit to oscillations in the NS. We model this system by coupling the evolution of the NS f-modes to the orbital evolution of the binary as it circularizes and moves toward coalescence. NS f-mode excitation generally speeds up the orbital decay and advances the phase of the gravitational wave signal from the system. We calculate how this effect changes the timing of pericenter passages and examine how the cumulative phase shift before merger depends on the initial eccentricity of the system. This phase shift can be much larger for highly eccentric mergers than for circular mergers, and can be used to probe the NS equation of state.

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arXiv2019

Formation of Hot Jupiters through Secular Chaos and Dynamical Tides

The population of giant planets on short-period orbits can potentially be explained by some flavours of high-eccentricity migration. In this paper we investigate one such mechanism involving "secular chaos", in which secular interactions between at least three giant planets push the inner planet to a highly eccentric orbit, followed by tidal circularization and orbital decay. In addition to the equilibrium tidal friction, we incorporate dissipation due to dynamical tides that are excited inside the giant planet. Using the method of Gaussian rings to account for planet-planet interactions, we explore the conditions for extreme eccentricity excitation via secular chaos and the properties of hot Jupiters formed in this migration channel. Our calculations show that once the inner planet reaches a sufficiently large eccentricity, dynamical tides quickly dissipate the orbital energy, producing an eccentric warm Jupiter, which then decays in semi-major axis through equilibrium tides to become a hot Jupiter. Dynamical tides help the planet avoid tidal disruption, increasing the chance of forming a hot Jupiter, although not all planets survive the process. We find that the final orbital periods generally lie in the range of 2-3 days, somewhat shorter than those of the observed hot Jupiter population. We couple the planet migration to the stellar spin evolution to predict the final spin-orbit misalignments. The distribution of the misalignment angles we obtain shows a lack of retrograde orbits compared to observations. Our results suggest that high-eccentricity migration via secular chaos can only account for a fraction of the observed hot Jupiter population.

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arXiv2018

Polygram Stars: Resonant Tidal Excitation of Fundamental Oscillation Modes in Asynchronous Stellar Coalescence

The prevalence of binary stars at close separations implies that many of these systems will interact or merge during the binary's lifetime. This paper presents hydrodynamic simulations of the scenario of binary coalescence through unstable mass transfer, which drives the pair to closer separations. When the donor star does not rotate synchronously with respect to the orbit, dynamical tidal waves are excited in its envelope. We show that resonance crossings with high azimuthal-order $(m\sim3$ to $6$) fundamental modes induce a visible "polygram" distortion to the star. As the binary orbit tightens, the system sweeps through resonance with modes of decreasing azimuthal order, which are selectively excited. We compare our hydrodynamic simulations to predictions from linear theory of resonant mode excitation. The linear theory provides an estimate of mode amplitudes to within a factor of two, even as the oscillations become quite non-linear as the stars coalesce. We estimate that a wave with 10% radial amplitude generates approximately 1% photometric variability; this may be detectible if such a binary coalescence is caught in action by future photometric all-sky surveys.

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arXiv2018

Chaotic Tides in Migrating Gas Giants: Forming Hot and Transient Warm Jupiters via High-Eccentricity Migration

High-eccentricity migration is an important channel for the formation of hot Jupiters (HJs). In particular, Lidov-Kozai (LK) oscillations of orbital eccentricity/inclination induced by a distant planetary or stellar companion, combined with tidal friction, have been shown to produce HJs on Gyr timescales, provided that efficient tidal dissipation operates in the planet. We re-examine this scenario with the inclusion of dynamical tides. When the planet's orbit is in a high-eccentricity phase, the tidal force from the star excites oscillatory f-modes and r-modes in the planet. For sufficiently large eccentricity and small pericentre distance, the mode can grow chaotically over multiple pericentre passages and eventually dissipate non-linearly, drawing energy from the orbit and rapidly shrinking the semi-major axis. We study the effect of such chaotic tides on the planet's orbital evolution. We find that this pathway produces very eccentric ($e\gtrsim 0.9$) warm Jupiters (WJs) on short timescales (a few to 100 Myrs). These WJs efficiently circularize to become HJs due to their persistently small pericentre distances. Chaotic tides can also save some planets from tidal disruption by truncating the LK eccentricity oscillations, significantly increasing the HJ formation fraction for a range of planet masses and radii. Using a population synthesis calculation, we determine the characteristics of WJs and HJs produced in this scenario, including the final period distribution, orbital inclinations and stellar obliquities. Chaotic tides endow LK migration with several favorable features to explain observations of HJs. We expect that chaotic tides are also important in other flavours of high-$e$ migration.

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arXiv2017

Dynamical Tides in Highly Eccentric Binaries: Chaos, Dissipation and Quasi-Steady State

Highly eccentric binary systems appear in many astrophysical contexts, ranging from tidal capture in dense star clusters, precursors of stellar disruption by massive black holes, to high-eccentricity migration of giant planets. In a highly eccentric binary, the tidal potential of one body can excite oscillatory modes in the other during a pericenter passage, resulting in energy exchange between the modes and the binary orbit. These modes exhibit one of three behaviors over multiple passages: low-amplitude oscillations, large amplitude oscillations corresponding to a resonance between the orbital frequency and the mode frequency, and chaotic growth. We study these phenomena with an iterative map, fully exploring how the mode evolution depends on the pericenter distance and other parameters. In addition, we show that the dissipation of mode energy results in a quasi-steady state, with gradual orbital decay punctuated by resonances, even in systems where the mode amplitude would initially grow stochastically. A newly captured star around a black hole can experience significant orbital decay and heating due to the chaotic growth of the mode amplitude and dissipation. A giant planet pushed into a high-eccentricity orbit may experience a similar effect and become a hot or warm Jupiter.

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arXiv2016

Tidal Dissipation and Evolution of White Dwarfs Around Massive Black Holes: An Eccentric Path to Tidal Disruption

A white dwarf (WD) captured into a high-eccentricity orbit around a massive black hole (MBH) may undergo many pericenter passages before tidal disruption. During these passages, the tidal potential of the MBH excites internal oscillations or waves in the WD, and the dissipation of these oscillations can significantly influence the physical properties of the WD prior to its disruption. We calculate the amplitude of the tidally excited gravity (buoyancy) waves in the WD as a function of the pericenter distance and eccentricity for realistic WD models, under the assumption that these outgoing gravity waves are efficiently dissipated in outer layers of the WD by non-linear effects or radiative damping. We obtain fitting formulae for the tidal energy and angular momentum transfer rates as well as the tidal heating rate. We find that these dynamical tides are much weaker than gravitational radiation in driving the orbital decay of the WD-MBH binary, and they are also inefficient in changing the WD spin during the orbital evolution. Incorporating our computed tidal dissipation rate into a MESA-based WD evolution code, we find that tidal heating can lead to appreciable brightening of the WD and may induce runaway fusion in the hydrogen envelope well before the WD undergoes tidal disruption.

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