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A Secular Resonant Origin for the Loneliness of Hot Jupiters

• Authors: Christopher Spalding, and Konstantin Batygin

2017 The Astronomical Journal 154 93.

• Provider: AAS Journals

Caption: Figure 1.

A schematic of the set up considered in the text. A giant planet with mass m2 follows a circular orbit with semimajor axis a1. Exterior, lies a lower-mass planet m2 on circular orbit with semimajor axis a2. The exterior orbit is forced to undergo nodal regression due to a combination of stellar quadrupolar potential and secular perturbations from the inner giant planet’s orbit. The giant’s orbit, in turn, is regressing mostly owing to secular perturbations form the stellar oblateness. Initially, the inner planet regresses faster but as the stellar quadrupole decays (as a result of physical contraction), a commensurability is encountered in the two frequencies, leading to the secular resonant excitation of mutual inclinations between the planets.