The Distribution of Planet Radius in Kepler Multiplanet Systems Depends on Gap Complexity

David R. Rice, Jason H. Steffen, Allona Vazan

פרסום מחקרי: פרסום בכתב עתמאמרביקורת עמיתים

תקציר

The distribution of small planet radius (<4 R ) is an indicator of the underlying processes governing planet formation and evolution. We investigate the correlation between the radius distribution of exoplanets in Kepler multiplanet systems and the system-level complexity in orbital period spacing. Utilizing a sample of 234 planetary systems with three or more candidate planets orbiting FGK main-sequence stars, we measure the gap complexity (C) to characterize the regularity of planetary spacing and compare it with other measures of period spacing and spacing uniformity. We find that systems with higher gap complexity exhibit a distinct radius distribution compared to systems with lower gap complexity. Specifically, we find that the radius valley, which separates super-Earths and sub-Neptunes, is more pronounced in systems with lower gap complexity (C < 0.165). Planets in high-complexity systems (C > 0.35) exhibit a lower frequency of sub-Earths (2.5 times less) and sub-Neptunes (1.3 times less) and a higher frequency of super-Earths (1.4 times more) than planets in low-complexity systems. This may suggest that planetary systems with more irregular spacings are more likely to undergo dynamic interactions that influence planet scattering, composition, and atmospheric retention. The gap complexity metric proves to be a valuable tool in linking the orbital configurations of planets to their physical characteristics.

שפה מקוריתאנגלית
מספר המאמרL4
כתב עתAstrophysical Journal Letters
כרך973
מספר גיליון1
מזהי עצם דיגיטלי (DOIs)
סטטוס פרסוםפורסם - 1 ספט׳ 2024

הערה ביבליוגרפית

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.

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