Exoplanets and Stellar Physics

Abstract:

Sub-Neptunes (planets with radii between 2 and 4 R⊕) are abundant around M-dwarf stars, yet the atmospheric dynamics of these planets is relatively unexplored. In this paper, we aim to provide a basic underpinning of the dry dynamics of general low-mean-molecular-weight, temperate sub-Neptune atmospheres. We use the ExoFMS general circulation model (GCM) with an idealized gray-gas radiation scheme to simulate planetary atmospheres with different levels of instellation and rotation rates, using the atmosphere of K2-18b as our control. We find that the atmospheres of tidally locked (TL), temperate sub-Neptunes have weak horizontal temperature gradients owing to their slow rotation rates and hydrogen-dominated composition. The zonal wind structure is dominated by high-latitude cyclostrophic jets driven by the conservation of angular momentum. At low pressures we observe superrotating equatorial jets, which we propose are driven by a Rossby–Kelvin instability similar to the type seen in simulations of idealized atmospheres with axisymmetric forcing. By viewing the flow in TL coordinates, we find the predominant overturning circulation to be between the day side and night side, and we derive scaling relations linking the TL stream function and vertical velocities to instellation. Comparing our results to the only other GCM study of K2-18b, we find significant qualitative differences in dynamics, highlighting the need for further collaboration and investigation into the effects of different dynamical cores and physical parameterizations. This paper provides a baseline for studying the dry dynamics of temperate sub-Neptunes, which will be built on in part II with the introduction of moist effects.

Abstract:

We report the discovery and analysis of a massive, compact, hierarchical triple system (TIC 470710327) initially identified by citizen scientists in data obtained by NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). Spectroscopic follow-up observations obtained with the HERMES spectrograph, combined with eclipse-timing variations (ETVs), confirm that the system is comprised of three OB stars, with a compact 1.10 d eclipsing binary and a non-eclipsing tertiary on a 52.04 d orbit. Dynamical modelling of the system (from radial velocity and ETVs) reveal a rare configuration wherein the tertiary star (O9.5-B0.5V; 14–17 M⊙) is more massive than the combined mass of the inner binary (10.9–13.2 M⊙). Given the high mass of the tertiary, we predict that this system will undergo multiple phases of mass transfer in the future, and likely end up as a double neutron star gravitational wave progenitor or an exotic Thorne–Żytkow object. Further observational characterization of this system promises constraints on both formation scenarios of massive stars as well as their exotic evolutionary end-products.