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Sean N. Raymond

Publications and source records attributed to Sean N. Raymond.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
arXiv2011

Tidal evolution of planets around brown dwarfs

The tidal evolution of planets orbiting brown dwarfs (BDs) presents an interesting case study because BDs' terrestrial planet forming region is located extremely close-in. In fact, the habitable zones of BDs range from roughly 0.001 to 0.03 AU and for the lowest-mass BDs are located interior to the Roche limit. In contrast with stars, BDs spin up as they age. Thus, the corotation distance moves inward. This has important implications for the tidal evolution of planets around BDs. We used a standard equilibrium tidal model to compute the orbital evolution of a large ensemble of planet-BD systems. We tested the effect of numerous parameters such as the initial semi-major axis and eccentricity, the rotation period of the BD, the masses of both the BD and planet, and the tidal dissipation factors. We find that all planets that form at or beyond the corotation distance and with initial eccentricities smaller than \sim 0.1 are repelled from the BD. Some planets initially interior to corotation can survive if their inward tidal evolution is slower than the BD's spin evolution, but most initially close-in planets fall onto the BD. We find that the most important parameter for the tidal evolution is the initial orbital distance with respect to the corotation distance. Some planets can survive in the habitable zone for Gyr timescales, although in many cases the habitable zone moves inward past the planet's orbit in just tens to hundreds of Myr. Surviving planets can have orbital periods of less than 10 days (as small as 10 hrs), so they could be observable by transit.

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arXiv2011

Two phase, inward-then-outward migration of Jupiter and Saturn in the gaseous Solar Nebula

It has recently been shown that the terrestrial planets and asteroid belt can be reproduced if the giant planets underwent an inward-then-outward migration (the "Grand Tack"; Walsh et al 2011). Inward migration occurs when Jupiter opens a gap and type II migrates inward. The planets "tack" and migrate outward when Saturn reaches the gap-opening mass and is caught in the 3:2 resonance with Jupiter. The aim is to test the viability of the Grand Tack model and to study the dynamical evolution of Jupiter and Saturn during their growth from 10 Earth masses cores. We have performed numerical simulations using a grid-based hydrodynamical code. Most of our simulations assume an isothermal equation of state for the disk but a subset use a fully-radiative version of the code. For an isothermal disk the two phase migration of Jupiter and Saturn is very robust and independent of the mass-growth history of these planets provided the disk is cool enough. For a radiative disk the we find some outcomes with two phase migrations and others with more complicated behavior. We construct a simple, 1-D model of an evolving viscous disk to calculate the evolution of the disk's radiative properties: the disk transitions from radiative to isothermal from its outermost regions inward in time. We show that a two-phase migration is a natural outcome at late times even under the limiting assumption that isothermal conditions are required. Thus, our simulations provide strong support for the Grand Tack scenario.

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arXiv2011

55 Cancri: Stellar Astrophysical Parameters, a Planet in the Habitable Zone, and Implications for the Radius of a Transiting Super-Earth

The bright star 55 Cancri is known to host five planets, including a transiting super-Earth. The study presented here yields directly determined values for 55 Cnc's stellar astrophysical parameters based on improved interferometry: $R=0.943 \pm 0.010 R_{\odot}$, $T_{\rm EFF} = 5196 \pm 24$ K. We use isochrone fitting to determine 55 Cnc's age to be 10.2 $\pm$ 2.5 Gyr, implying a stellar mass of $0.905 \pm 0.015 M_{\odot}$. Our analysis of the location and extent of the system's habitable zone (0.67--1.32 AU) shows that planet f, with period $\sim$ 260 days and $M \sin i = 0.155 M_{Jupiter}$, spends the majority of the duration of its elliptical orbit in the circumstellar habitable zone. Though planet f is too massive to harbor liquid water on any planetary surface, we elaborate on the potential of alternative low-mass objects in planet f's vicinity: a large moon, and a low-mass planet on a dynamically stable orbit within the habitable zone. Finally, our direct value for 55 Cancri's stellar radius allows for a model-independent calculation of the physical diameter of the transiting super-Earth 55 Cnc e ($\sim 2.05 \pm 0.15 R_{\earth}$), which, depending on the planetary mass assumed, implies a bulk density of 0.76 $ρ_{\earth}$ or 1.07 $ρ_{\earth}$.

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arXiv2011

The debris disk - terrestrial planet connection

The eccentric orbits of the known extrasolar giant planets provide evidence that most planet-forming environments undergo violent dynamical instabilities. Here, we numerically simulate the impact of giant planet instabilities on planetary systems as a whole. We find that populations of inner rocky and outer icy bodies are both shaped by the giant planet dynamics and are naturally correlated. Strong instabilities -- those with very eccentric surviving giant planets -- completely clear out their inner and outer regions. In contrast, systems with stable or low-mass giant planets form terrestrial planets in their inner regions and outer icy bodies produce dust that is observable as debris disks at mid-infrared wavelengths. Fifteen to twenty percent of old stars are observed to have bright debris disks (at wavelengths of ~70 microns) and we predict that these signpost dynamically calm environments that should contain terrestrial planets.

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arXiv2011

Debris disks as signposts of terrestrial planet formation

Circumstantial evidence suggests that most known extra-solar planetary systems are survivors of violent dynamical instabilities. Here we explore how giant planet instabilities affect the formation and survival of terrestrial planets. We simulate planetary system evolution around Sun-like stars from initial conditions that comprise: an inner disk of planetesimals and planetary embryos, three giant planets at Jupiter-Saturn distances, and a massive outer planetesimal disk. We then calculate dust production rates and debris disk SEDs assuming that each planetesimal particle represents an ensemble of smaller bodies in collisional equilibrium. We predict a strong correlation between the presence of terrestrial planets and debris disks, mediated by the giant planets. Strong giant planet instabilities destroy all rocky material - including fully-formed terrestrial planets if the instabilities occur late - along with the icy planetesimals. Stable or weakly unstable systems allow terrestrial planets to accrete and significant dust to be produced in their outer regions. Stars older than ~100 Myr with bright cold dust emission (at ~70 microns) signpost the dynamically calm environments conducive to efficient terrestrial accretion. We predict that while the typical eccentricities of terrestrial planets are small, there should exist a novel class of terrestrial planet system whose single planet undergoes large amplitude oscillations in eccentricity and inclination. By scaling to the observed semimajor axis distribution of giant exoplanets, we estimate that terrestrial exoplanets in the same systems should be a few times more abundant at 0.5 AU than giant or terrestrial exoplanets at 1 AU. Finally, we discuss the Solar System, which appears to be unusual in combining a rich terrestrial planet system with a low dust content.

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arXiv2010

Habitable Climates: The Influence of Eccentricity

In the outer regions of the habitable zone, the risk of transitioning into a globally frozen "snowball" state poses a threat to the habitability of planets with the capacity to host water-based life. We use a one-dimensional energy balance climate model (EBM) to examine how obliquity, spin rate, orbital eccentricity, and ocean coverage might influence the onset of such a snowball state. For an exoplanet, these parameters may be strikingly different from the values observed for Earth. Since, for constant semimajor axis, the annual mean stellar irradiation scales with (1-e^2)^(-1/2), one might expect the greatest habitable semimajor axis (for fixed atmospheric composition) to scale as (1-e^2)^(-1/4). We find that this standard ansatz provides a reasonable lower bound on the outer boundary of the habitable zone, but the influence of obliquity and ocean fraction can be profound in the context of planets on eccentric orbits. For planets with eccentricity 0.5, our EBM suggests that the greatest habitable semimajor axis can vary by more than 0.8 AU (78%!) depending on obliquity, with higher obliquity worlds generally more stable against snowball transitions. One might also expect that the long winter at an eccentric planet's apoastron would render it more susceptible to global freezing. Our models suggest that this is not a significant risk for Earth-like planets around Sun-like stars since such planets are buffered by the thermal inertia provided by oceans covering at least 10% of their surface. Since planets on eccentric orbits spend much of their year particularly far from the star, such worlds might turn out to be especially good targets for direct observations with missions such as TPF-Darwin. Nevertheless, the extreme temperature variations achieved on highly eccentric exo-Earths raise questions about the adaptability of life to marginally or transiently habitable conditions.

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arXiv2010

Tidal Effects on the Habitability of Exoplanets: The Case of GJ 581 d

Tides may be crucial to the habitability of exoplanets. If such planets form around low-mass stars, then those in the circumstellar habitable zone will be close enough to their host stars to experience strong tidal forces. Tides may result in orbital decay and circularization, evolution toward zero obliquity, a fixed rotation rate (not necessarily synchronous), and substantial internal heating. Due to tidal effects, the range of habitable orbital locations may be quite different from that defined by the traditional concept of a habitable zone (HZ) based on stellar insolation, atmospheric effects, and liquid water on a planet's surface. Tidal heating may make locations within the traditional HZ too hot, while planets outside the traditional zone could be rendered quite habitable due to tides. Here we consider these effects on the exoplanet GJ 581 d.

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arXiv2010

Generalized Milankovitch Cycles and Longterm Climatic Habitability

Although the Earth's orbit is never far from circular, terrestrial planets around other stars might experience substantial changes in eccentricity that could lead to climate changes, including possible "phase transitions" such as the snowball transition (or its opposite). There is evidence that Earth has gone through at least one globally frozen, "snowball" state in the last billion years, which it is thought to have exited after several million years because global ice-cover shut off the carbonate-silicate cycle, thereby allowing greenhouse gases to build up to sufficient concentration to melt the ice. Due to the positive feedback caused by the high albedo of snow and ice, susceptibility to falling into snowball states might be a generic feature of water-rich planets with the capacity to host life. This paper has two main thrusts. First, we revisit one-dimensional energy balance climate models as tools for probing possible climates of exoplanets, investigate the dimensional scaling of such models, and introduce a simple algorithm to treat the melting of the ice layer on a globally-frozen planet. We show that if a terrestrial planet undergoes Milankovitch-like oscillations of eccentricity that are of great enough magnitude, it could melt out of a snowball state. Second, we examine the kinds of variations of eccentricity that a terrestrial planet might experience due to the gravitational influence of a giant companion. We show that a giant planet on a sufficiently eccentric orbit can excite extreme eccentricity oscillations in the orbit of a habitable terrestrial planet. More generally, these two results demonstrate that the longterm habitability (and astronomical observables) of a terrestrial planet can depend on the detailed architecture of the planetary system in which it resides.

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arXiv2010

The Roles of Tidal Evolution and Evaporative Mass Loss in the Origin of CoRoT-7 b

CoRoT-7 b is the first confirmed rocky exoplanet, but, with an orbital semi-major axis of 0.0172 AU, its origins may be unlike any rocky planet in our solar system. In this study, we consider the roles of tidal evolution and evaporative mass loss in CoRoT-7 b's history, which together have modified the planet's mass and orbit. If CoRoT-7 b has always been a rocky body, evaporation may have driven off almost half its original mass, but the mass loss may depend sensitively on the extent of tidal decay of its orbit. As tides caused CoRoT-7 b's orbit to decay, they brought the planet closer to its host star, thereby enhancing the mass loss rate. Such a large mass loss also suggests the possibility that CoRoT-7 b began as a gas giant planet and had its original atmosphere completely evaporated. In this case, we find that CoRoT-7 b's original mass probably didn't exceed 200 Earth masses (about 2/3 of a Jupiter mass). Tides raised on the host star by the planet may have significantly reduced the orbital semi-major axis, perhaps causing the planet to migrate through mean-motion resonances with the other planet in the system, CoRoT-7 c. The coupling between tidal evolution and mass loss may be important not only for CoRoT-7 b but also for other close-in exoplanets, and future studies of mass loss and orbital evolution may provide insight into the origin and fate of close-in planets, both rocky and gaseous.

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arXiv2010

Planet-planet scattering in planetesimal disks II: Predictions for outer extrasolar planetary systems

We develop an idealized dynamical model to predict the typical properties of outer extrasolar planetary systems, at radii beyond 5 AU. Our hypothesis is that dynamical evolution in outer planetary systems is controlled by a combination of planet-planet scattering and planetary interactions with an exterior disk of small bodies ("planetesimals"). Using 5,000 long duration N-body simulations, we follow the evolution of three planets surrounded by a 50 Earth mass primordial planetesimal disk. For large planet masses (above that of Saturn) the influence of the disk is modest, and we recover the observed eccentricity distribution of extrasolar planets (observed primarily at smaller radii). We explain the observed mass dependence of the eccentricity by invoking strong correlations between planet masses in the same system. For lower mass planets we observe diverse dynamical behavior: strong scattering events, sudden jumps in eccentricity due to resonance crossings, and re-circularization of scattered low-mass planets in the disk. We present distributions of the final eccentricity and inclination, and discuss how they vary with planet mass and initial system architecture. We predict a transition to lower eccentricities for low mass planets at radii where disks influence the dynamics. Radial velocity measurements capable of detecting planets with K~5 m/s and periods in excess of 10 years will constrain this regime. We also study the population of resonant and non-resonant multiple planet systems. We show that, among systems with Jupiter-mass planets that avoid close encounters, the planetesimal disk acts as a damping mechanism that frequently populates mean motion resonances. Resonant chains ought to be common among massive planets in outer planetary systems.

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arXiv2009

Tidal Constraints on Planetary Habitability

We review how tides may impact the habitability of terrestrial-like planets. If such planets form around low-mass stars, then planets in the circumstellar habitable zone will be close enough to their host stars to experience strong tidal forces. We discuss 1) decay of semi-major axis, 2) circularization of eccentric orbits, 3) evolution toward zero obliquity, 4) fixed rotation rates (not necessarily synchronous), and 5) internal heating. We briefly describe these effects using the example of a 0.25 solar mass star with a 10 Earth-mass companion. We suggest that the concept of a habitable zone should be modified to include the effects of tides.

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arXiv2009

CoRoT-7 b: Super-Earth or Super-Io?

CoRoT-7 b, a planet about 70% larger than the Earth orbiting a Sun-like star, is the first-discovered rocky exoplanet, and hence has been dubbed a "super-Earth". Some initial studies suggested that since the planet is so close to its host star, it receives enough insolation to partially melt its surface. However, these past studies failed to take into consideration the role that tides may play in this system. Even if the planet's eccentricity has always been zero, we show that tidal decay of semi-major axis could have been large enough that the planet formed on a wider orbit which received less insolation. Moreover, CoRoT-7 b could be tidally heated at a rate that dominates its geophysics and drives extreme volcanism. In this case, CoRoT-7 b is a "super-Io" that, like Jupiter's volcanic moon, is dominated by volcanism and rapid resurfacing. Such heating could occur with an eccentricity of just 10^-5. This small value could be driven by CoRoT-7 c if its own eccentricity is larger than ~10^-4. CoRoT-7 b may be the first of a class of planetary super-Ios likely to be revealed by the CoRoT and Kepler spacecraft.

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arXiv2009

Dynamical Models of Terrestrial Planet Formation

We review the problem of the formation of terrestrial planets, with particular emphasis on the interaction of dynamical and geochemical models. The lifetime of gas around stars in the process of formation is limited to a few million years based on astronomical observations, while isotopic dating of meteorites and the Earth-Moon system suggest that perhaps 50-100 million years were required for the assembly of the Earth. Therefore, much of the growth of the terrestrial planets in our own system is presumed to have taken place under largely gas-free conditions, and the physics of terrestrial planet formation is dominated by gravitational interactions and collisions. The earliest phase of terrestrial-planet formation involve the growth of km-sized or larger planetesimals from dust grains, followed by the accumulations of these planetesimals into ~100 lunar- to Mars-mass bodies that are initially gravitationally isolated from one-another in a swarm of smaller planetesimals, but eventually grow to the point of significantly perturbing one-another. The mutual perturbations between the embryos, combined with gravitational stirring by Jupiter, lead to orbital crossings and collisions that drive the growth to Earth-sized planets on a timescale of 10-100 million years. Numerical treatment of this process has focussed on the use of symplectic integrators which can rapidly integrate the thousands of gravitationally-interacting bodies necessary to accurately model planetary growth. While the general nature of the terrestrial planets--their sizes and orbital parameters--seem to be broadly reproduced by the models, there are still some outstanding dynamical issues. One of these is the presence of an embryo-sized body, Mars, in our system in place of the more massive objects that simulations tend to yield. [Abridged]

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arXiv2009

Tidal Limits to Planetary Habitability

The habitable zones of main sequence stars have traditionally been defined as the range of orbits that intercept the appropriate amount of stellar flux to permit surface water on a planet. Terrestrial exoplanets discovered to orbit M stars in these zones, which are close-in due to decreased stellar luminosity, may also undergo significant tidal heating. Tidal heating may span a wide range for terrestrial exoplanets and may significantly affect conditions near the surface. For example, if heating rates on an exoplanet are near or greater than that on Io (where tides drive volcanism that resurface the planet at least every 1 Myr) and produce similar surface conditions, then the development of life seems unlikely. On the other hand, if the tidal heating rate is less than the minimum to initiate plate tectonics, then CO_2 may not be recycled through subduction, leading to a runaway greenhouse that sterilizes the planet. These two cases represent potential boundaries to habitability and are presented along with the range of the traditional habitable zone for main sequence, low-mass stars. We propose a revised habitable zone that incorporates both stellar insolation and tidal heating. We apply these criteria to GJ 581 d and find that it is in the traditional habitable zone, but its tidal heating alone may be insufficient for plate tectonics.

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arXiv2009

Building the Terrestrial Planets: Constrained Accretion in the Inner Solar System

To date, no accretion model has succeeded in reproducing all observed constraints in the inner Solar System. These constraints include 1) the orbits, in particular the small eccentricities, and 2) the masses of the terrestrial planets -- Mars' relatively small mass in particular has not been adequately reproduced in previous simulations; 3) the formation timescales of Earth and Mars, as interpreted from Hf/W isotopes; 4) the bulk structure of the asteroid belt, in particular the lack of an imprint of planetary embryo-sized objects; and 5) Earth's relatively large water content, assuming that it was delivered in the form of water-rich primitive asteroidal material. Here we present results of 40 high-resolution (N=1000-2000) dynamical simulations of late-stage planetary accretion with the goal of reproducing these constraints, although neglecting the planet Mercury. We assume that Jupiter and Saturn are fully-formed at the start of each simulation, and test orbital configurations that are both consistent with and contrary to the "Nice model." We find that a configuration with Jupiter and Saturn on circular orbits forms low-eccentricity terrestrial planets and a water-rich Earth on the correct timescale, but Mars' mass is too large by a factor of 5-10 and embryos are often stranded in the asteroid belt. A configuration with Jupiter and Saturn in their current locations but with slightly higher initial eccentricities (e = 0.07-0.1) produces a small Mars, an embryo-free asteroid belt, and a reasonable Earth analog but rarely allows water delivery to Earth. None of the configurations we tested reproduced all the observed constraints. (abridged)

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arXiv2009

Planet-planet scattering in planetesimal disks

We study the final architecture of planetary systems that evolve under the combined effects of planet-planet and planetesimal scattering. Using N-body simulations we investigate the dynamics of marginally unstable systems of gas and ice giants both in isolation and when the planets form interior to a planetesimal belt. The unstable isolated systems evolve under planet-planet scattering to yield an eccentricity distribution that matches that observed for extrasolar planets. When planetesimals are included the outcome depends upon the total mass of the planets. For system masses exceeding about one Jupiter mass the final eccentricity distribution remains broad, whereas for lower mass planetary systems a combination of divergent orbital evolution and recircularization of scattered planets results in a preponderance of nearly circular final orbits. We also study the fate of marginally stable multiple planet systems in the presence of planetesimal disks, and find that for high planet masses the majority of such systems evolve into resonance. A significant fraction lead to resonant chains that are planetary analogs of Jupiter's Galilean satellites. We predict that a transition from eccentric to near-circular orbits will be observed once extrasolar planet surveys detect sub-Jovian mass planets at orbital radii of 5-10 AU.

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arXiv2009

Planet-planet scattering leads to tightly packed planetary systems

The known extrasolar multiple-planet systems share a surprising dynamical attribute: they cluster just beyond the Hill stability boundary. Here we show that the planet-planet scattering model, which naturally explains the observed exoplanet eccentricity distribution, can reproduce the observed distribution of dynamical configurations. We calculated how each of our scattered systems would appear over an appropriate range of viewing geometries; as Hill stability is weakly dependent on the masses, the mass-inclination degeneracy does not significantly affect our results. We consider a wide range of initial planetary mass distributions and find that some are poor fits to the observed systems. In fact, many of our scattering experiments overproduce systems very close to the stability boundary. The distribution of dynamical configurations of two-planet systems actually may provide better discrimination between scattering models than the distribution of eccentricity. Our results imply that, at least in their inner regions which are weakly affected by gas or planetesimal disks, planetary systems should be "packed", with no large gaps between planets.

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