Prospects of the detection of circumbinary planets with Kepler and CoRoT using the variations of eclipse timing

R. Schwarz, N. Haghighipour, S. Eggl, E. Pilat-Lohinger, B. Funk

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

In close eclipsing binaries, measurements of the variations in binary's eclipse timing may be used to infer information about the existence of circumbinary objects. To determine the possibility of the detection of such variations with CoRoT and Kepler space telescopes, we have carried out an extensive study of the dynamics of a binary star system with a circumbinary planet, and calculated its eclipse timing variations (ETVs) for different values of the mass ratio and orbital elements of the binary and the perturbing body. Here, we present the results of our study and assess the detectability of the planet by comparing the resulting values of ETVs with the temporal sensitivity of CoRoT and Kepler. Results point to extended regions in the parameter space where the perturbation of a planet may be large enough to create measurable variations in the eclipse timing of the secondary star. Many of these variations point to potentially detectable ETVs and the possible inference of Jovian-type planets.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)2763-2770
Number of pages8
JournalMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Volume414
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2011
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Binaries: eclipsing
  • Celestial mechanics
  • Eclipses
  • Methods: numerical
  • Planet-star interactions

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
  • Space and Planetary Science

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