Work

The turbulent origin of spin–orbit misalignment in planetary systems

Year: 2015

Type: article

Abstract: The turbulent environment from which stars form may lead to misalignment between the stellar spin and the remnant protoplanetary disc. By using hydrodynamic and magnetohydrodynamic simulations, we demonstrate that a wide range of stellar obliquities may be produced as a by-product of forming a star within a turbulent environment. We present a simple semi-analytic model that reveals this connection between the turbulent motions and the orientation of a star and its disc. Our results are consistent with the observed obliquity distribution of hot Jupiters. Migration of misaligned hot Jupiters may, therefore, be due to tidal dissipation in the disc, rather than tidal dissipation of the star–planet interaction.

Source: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stv836

Authors: Drummond B. Fielding, Christopher F. McKee, Aristotle Socrates, Andrew J. Cunningham, Richard I. Klein

Institutions: University of California, Berkeley, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Language: English

Topic: Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies

Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory