Kepler-36: A Pair of Planets with Neighboring Orbits and Dissimilar Densities
Abstract
In the Solar system the planets' compositions vary with orbital distance, with rocky planets in close orbits and lower-density gas giants in wider orbits. The detection of close-in giant planets around other stars was the first clue that this pattern is not universal, and that planets' orbits can change substantially after their formation. Here we report another violation of the orbit-composition pattern: two planets orbiting the same star with orbital distances differing by only 10%, and densities differing by a factor of 8. One planet is likely a rocky `super-Earth', whereas the other is more akin to Neptune. These planets are thirty times more closely spaced--and have a larger density contrast--than any adjacent pair of planets in the Solar system.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1206.4718,
title = {Kepler-36: A Pair of Planets with Neighboring Orbits and Dissimilar Densities},
author = {Joshua A. Carter and Eric Agol and William J. Chaplin and Sarbani Basu and Timothy R. Bedding and Lars A. Buchhave and Jørgen Christensen-Dalsgaard and Katherine M. Deck and Yvonne Elsworth and Daniel C. Fabrycky and Eric B. Ford and Jonathan J. Fortney and Steven J. Hale and Rasmus Handberg and Saskia Hekker and Matthew J. Holman and Daniel Huber and Christopher Karoff and Steven D. Kawaler and Hans Kjeldsen and Jack J. Lissauer and Eric D. Lopez and Mikkel N. Lund and Mia Lundkvist and Travis S. Metcalfe and Andrea Miglio and Leslie A. Rogers and Dennis Stello and William J. Borucki and Steve Bryson and Jessie L. Christiansen and William D. Cochran and John C. Geary and Ronald L. Gilliland and Michael R. Haas and Jennifer Hall and Andrew W. Howard and Jon M. Jenkins and Todd Klaus and David G. Koch and David W. Latham and Phillip J. MacQueen and Dimitar Sasselov and Jason H. Steffen and Joseph D. Twicken and Joshua N. Winn},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1206.4718},
year = {2015}
}
Comments
Accepted for publication in Science. Published online on June 21, 2012. Main Text and supplemental information included in a single merged file, 69 pages. Attachments to the supplemental material are available for free on Science website