The research study of extrasolar worlds has led to some astounding discoveries, numerous of which have actually defied the expectations of astronomers and challenged our notions about the forms planetary systems can take. The discovery of Jupiter-sized worlds that orbit closely to their stars (” Hot Jupiters”) defied what astronomers thought about gas giants. Formerly, the basic consensus was that gas giants form beyond the “Frost Line”– the limit beyond which volatile aspects (like water) freeze solid– and remain there for the rest of their lives.
Interestingly, this will occur when our Sun leaves its main series stage and enters its Red Giant Branch (RGB) stage. When their parent stars broaden to end up being Red Giants, this raises the question of what takes place to Hot Jupiters. Utilizing sophisticated 3D simulations, a team of scientists led by the Compact Object Mergers: Population Astrophysics and Statistics (COMPAS) consortium simulated how red giants will broaden to swallow up Hot Jupiters. Their findings could respond to another mystery facing astronomers, which is why some binary systems have one rapidly-rotating star with weird chemical structures.
The research was led by Mike Lau, a Ph.D. trainee at Monash Universitys School of Physics & & Astronomy, and other members of the COMPAS consortium, a collaborative effort to study the advancement of binary systems. They were joined by members of The ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav), the Flatiron Institutes Center for Computational Astrophysics, Princeton University, and the Harvard & & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA). Their paper, “Hot Jupiter engulfment by a red giant in 3D hydrodynamics,” just recently appeared in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
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This artists impression reveals an ultra-hot exoplanet as it is about to transit in front of its host star. Credit: ESO
In the meantime, Lau and his colleagues carried out a series of 3D hydrodynamic simulations that recreated the engulfment process. As he described it:
This represents the huge star and hot Jupiter as collections of particles that follows the fluids movement, like a ball pit however with millions of balls. A crucial result from our simulation is that the hot Jupiter may lose most of its material due to friction as it spirals into the star.”
In the future, Lau and his colleagues hope that more advances in computing will permit for higher-resolution simulations. Their outcomes could account for rapidly-rotating stars with abnormal chemical makeups in binary systems if verified. When they take a look at these systems and their exoplanets and can obtain spectra from them straight, they likewise provide a sneak peek of what future studies will show.
Further Reading: arXiv
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This image tracks the life of a Sun-like star, from its birth on the left side of the frame to its development into a Red Giant star on the. Credit: ESO/M. Kornmesser
As Lau explained to Universe Today via email, the subject of Hot Jupiter engulfment is of interest to astrophysicists because they think it may explain a few of the “odd” stars that have been observed in our galaxy– quickly turning and chemically enriched huge stars. The current surge in exoplanet discoveries has permitted for various theories to be tested, including the possibility that when stars broaden to end up being Red Giants, planets that utilized to orbit at a safe distance will spiral towards the stars center, stirring up stellar material while doing so. Said Lau:
” This is, therefore, one way of discussing observed quickly rotating giant stars. Any planetary product that comes off throughout the in-spiral could modify stars surface area chemical makeup. This might assist us comprehend why a little fraction of stars are observed to be unusually rich in lithium. Lastly, we may be able to directly find this procedure by trying to find stars that have swollen up and brightened from eating a planet, though we will have to be really fortunate to catch them in the act.”
The ability to directly observe engulfments and the resulting result on stars will be possible thanks to next-generation space telescopes like the James Webb and ground-based telescopes with 30-meter (~ 98 ft) main mirrors. This consists of the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT)– both of which are under building and construction in the Atacama desert in Chile– and the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT), presently being developed on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. Utilizing a combination of adaptive optics, coronographs, and spectrometers, these observatories will be able to straight find exoplanets orbiting near to their stars.
The discovery of Jupiter-sized worlds that orbit closely to their stars (” Hot Jupiters”) defied what astronomers presumed about gas giants. This image tracks the life of a Sun-like star, from its birth on the left side of the frame to its advancement into a Red Giant star on the. As Lau explained to Universe Today by means of e-mail, the subject of Hot Jupiter engulfment is of interest to astrophysicists because they believe it might describe some of the “odd” stars that have actually been observed in our galaxy– quickly rotating and chemically enriched giant stars. The recent explosion in exoplanet discoveries has actually allowed for numerous theories to be checked, including the possibility that when stars broaden to become Red Giants, worlds that used to orbit at a safe distance will spiral toward the stars center, stirring up outstanding product in the process.” This is, therefore, one way of discussing observed rapidly turning giant stars.
