Detection of a planetary system orbiting the eclipsing polar HU Aqr

Bibliographic Details
Title: Detection of a planetary system orbiting the eclipsing polar HU Aqr
Authors: Qian, S. -B., Liu, L., Liao, W. -P., Li, L. -J., Zhu, L. -Y., Dai, Z. -B., He, J. -J., Zhao, E. -G., Zhang, J., Li, K.
Source: MNRAS Letter, 2011
Publication Year: 2011
Collection: Astrophysics
Subject Terms: Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
More Details: Using the precise times of mid-egress of the eclipsing polar HU Aqr, we discovered that this polar is orbited by two or more giant planets. The two planets detected so far have masses of at least 5.9 and 4.5\,M_{Jup}. Their respective distances from the polar are 3.6 AU and 5.4 AU with periods of 6.54 and 11.96 years, respectively. The observed rate of period decrease derived from the downward parabolic change in O-C curve is a factor 15 larger than the value expected for gravitational radiation. This indicates that it may be only a part of a long-period cyclic variation, revealing the presence of one more planet. It is interesting to note that the two detected circumbinary planets follow the Titus-Bode law of solar planets with n=5 and 6. We estimate that another 10 years of observations will reveal the presence of the predicted third planet.
Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables
Document Type: Working Paper
DOI: 10.1111/j.1745-3933.2011.01045.x
Access URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/1103.2005
Accession Number: edsarx.1103.2005
Database: arXiv
More Details
DOI:10.1111/j.1745-3933.2011.01045.x