Orbital Stability and Secular Dynamics of the Proxima Centauri Planetary System

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Livesey, Joseph R., Barnes, Rory, Deitrick, Russell
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2024
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author Livesey, Joseph R.
Barnes, Rory
Deitrick, Russell
author_facet Livesey, Joseph R.
Barnes, Rory
Deitrick, Russell
contents The two innermost planets of the Proxima Centauri system are separated by just 0.02 au, inducing strong gravitational interactions between them. We assess this interaction by leveraging fast orbital stability indicators and find that orbital stability is very likely if the initial eccentricities of planets b and d are less than $\sim 0.2$, but cannot confirm stability at larger values. We find that stability is not strongly affected by the true masses of the planets or by the distant planet c. However, mutual inclinations between 95$^\circ$ and 142$^\circ$ often result in unstable motion. We further explore the long-term evolution of the orbits in these stable regions of parameter space and find that circularization can take over 5 Gyr. This tidal evolution could support surface energy fluxes in excess of 1 W m$^{-2}$ for over 1 Gyr, possibly affecting planet b's habitability.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2401_08773
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Orbital Stability and Secular Dynamics of the Proxima Centauri Planetary System
Livesey, Joseph R.
Barnes, Rory
Deitrick, Russell
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
The two innermost planets of the Proxima Centauri system are separated by just 0.02 au, inducing strong gravitational interactions between them. We assess this interaction by leveraging fast orbital stability indicators and find that orbital stability is very likely if the initial eccentricities of planets b and d are less than $\sim 0.2$, but cannot confirm stability at larger values. We find that stability is not strongly affected by the true masses of the planets or by the distant planet c. However, mutual inclinations between 95$^\circ$ and 142$^\circ$ often result in unstable motion. We further explore the long-term evolution of the orbits in these stable regions of parameter space and find that circularization can take over 5 Gyr. This tidal evolution could support surface energy fluxes in excess of 1 W m$^{-2}$ for over 1 Gyr, possibly affecting planet b's habitability.
title Orbital Stability and Secular Dynamics of the Proxima Centauri Planetary System
topic Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2401.08773