Work

A Short History of (Orbital) Decay: Roman's Prospects for Detecting Dying Planets

Year: 2025

Type: preprint

Abstract: The Roman Space Telescope Galactic Bulge Time Domain Survey (GBTDS) is expected to detect ~$10^5$ transiting planets. Many of these planets will have short orbital periods and are thus susceptible to tidal decay. We use a catalog of simulated transiting planet detections to predict the yield of orbital decay detections in the Roman GBTDS. Assuming a constant stellar tidal dissipation factor, $Q^{'}_{*}$, of $10^6$, we predict ~ 5 - 10 detections. We additionally consider an empirical period-dependent parameterization of $Q^{'}_{*} \propto P^{-3}$ and find a substantially suppressed yield. We conclude that Roman will provide constraints on the rate of planet engulfment in the Galaxy and probe the physics of tidal dissipation in stars.

Source: arXiv (Cornell University)

Authors: Carden, Kylee, Gaudi, B. Scott, Wilson, Robert F.

Institutions: The Ohio State University, Goddard Space Flight Center, University of Maryland, College Park

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 Aeronautics and Space Administration, Ohio State University, Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, Goddard Space Flight Center

Awards: G3782671888, G4266415239, G6561015458

OpenAlex ID: W6979262005

Cites:

Cited by:

Related to: