Transits in the planetary system WASP-4 were recently found to occur 80 s earlier than expected in observations from the TESS satellite. We present 22 new times of mid-transit that confirm the existence of transit timing variations, and are well fitted by a quadratic ephemeris with period decay dP/dt = −9.2 ± 1.1 ms yr−1. We rule out instrumental issues, stellar activity, and the Applegate mechanism as possible causes. The light-time effect is also not favoured due to the non-detection of changes in the systemic velocity. Orbital decay and apsidal precession are plausible but unproven. WASP-4 b is only the third hot Jupiter known to show transit timing variations to high confidence. We discuss a variety of observations of this and other planetary systems that would be useful in improving our understanding of WASP-4 in particular and orbital decay in general.
Southworth, J., Dominik, M., Jorgensen, U.g., Andersen, M.i., Bozza, V., Burgdorf, M.j., et al. (2019). Transit timing variations in the WASP-4 planetary system. MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, 490(3), 4230-4236 [10.1093/mnras/stz2602].
Transit timing variations in the WASP-4 planetary system
Mancini L.;
2019-01-01
Abstract
Transits in the planetary system WASP-4 were recently found to occur 80 s earlier than expected in observations from the TESS satellite. We present 22 new times of mid-transit that confirm the existence of transit timing variations, and are well fitted by a quadratic ephemeris with period decay dP/dt = −9.2 ± 1.1 ms yr−1. We rule out instrumental issues, stellar activity, and the Applegate mechanism as possible causes. The light-time effect is also not favoured due to the non-detection of changes in the systemic velocity. Orbital decay and apsidal precession are plausible but unproven. WASP-4 b is only the third hot Jupiter known to show transit timing variations to high confidence. We discuss a variety of observations of this and other planetary systems that would be useful in improving our understanding of WASP-4 in particular and orbital decay in general.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
---|---|---|---|
185-2019-MNRAS-490-4230.pdf
solo utenti autorizzati
Licenza:
Copyright dell'editore
Dimensione
552.33 kB
Formato
Adobe PDF
|
552.33 kB | Adobe PDF | Visualizza/Apri Richiedi una copia |
I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.