Observational Evidence for Tidal Interaction in Close Binary Systems

By T. Mazeh. 2007

133 citations recorded by the source corpus.

This paper reviews the rich corpus of observational evidence for tidal effects, mostly based on photometric and radial-velocity measurements. This is done in a period when the study of binaries is being revolutionized by large-scaled photometric surveys that are detecting many thousands of new binaries and tens of extrasolar planets. We begin by examining the short-term effects, such as ellipsoidal variability and apsidal motion. We next turn to the long-term effects, of which circularization was studied the most: a transition period between circular and eccentric orbits has been derived for eight coeval samples of binaries. The study of synchronization and spin-orbit alignment is less advanced. As binaries are supposed to reach synchronization before circularization, one can expect finding eccentric binaries in pseudo-synchronization state, the evidence for which is reviewed. We also discuss synchronization in PMS and young stars, and compare the emerging timescale with the circularization timescale. We next examine the tidal interaction in close binaries that are orbited by a third distant companion, and review the effect of pumping the binary eccentricity by the third star. We elaborate on the impact of the pumped eccentricity on the tidal evolution of close binaries residing in triple systems, which may shrink the binary separation. Finally we consider the extrasolar planets and the observational evidence for tidal interaction with their parent stars. This includes a mechanism that can induce radial drift of short-period planets, either inward or outward, depending on the planetary radial position relative to the corotation radius. Another effect is the circularization of planetary orbits, the evidence for which can be found in eccentricity-versus-period plot of the planets already known. Whenever possible, the paper attempts to address the possible confrontation between theory and observations, and to point out noteworthy cases and observations that can be performed in the future and may shed some light on the key questions that remain open.

Subfields: Astronomy and Astrophysics, Instrumentation, Statistical and Nonlinear Physics

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/37cd7b5f6895a551d38867f81c4970b854f384cb

How researchers see this paper

The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In Astronomy and Astrophysics

1. Timothy Morton
2. D. Charbonneau
3. J. Johnson
4. J. Winn
5. Andrew W. Howard
6. G. Marcy
7. C. Dressing
8. J. Southworth

In Instrumentation

1. Timothy Morton
2. D. Charbonneau
3. J. Johnson
4. G. Marcy
5. J. Winn
6. Andrew W. Howard
7. C. Dressing
8. J. Southworth

In Statistical and Nonlinear Physics

1. Timothy Morton
2. D. Charbonneau
3. G. Torres
4. Andrew W. Howard
5. J. Johnson
6. G. Marcy
7. C. Dressing
8. J. Winn

Citations in the corpus

• THE TRANSITING EXOPLANET SURVEY SATELLITE: SIMULATIONS OF PLANET DETECTIONS AND ASTROPHYSICAL FALSE POSITIVES (2015, background): “Mazeh (2008) gave a simple expression for the dominant component, which has a period equal to half of the orbital period, and a semi-amplitude ∆Γ1 Γ1 = 0.15 (15 + u1)(1 + τ ) (3 − u1) q ( R1 a )2 sin2 i, (24) where R1 is the primary radius, a is the orbital distance, i is the orbital inclination,…”
• PLANET HUNTERS: A TRANSITING CIRCUMBINARY PLANET IN A QUADRUPLE STAR SYSTEM (2012, background): “Orbital circularization is predicted to be the last to occur (see Mazeh 2008 and references within).”
• Accurate masses and radii of normal stars: modern results and applications (2009, background): “In addition, the axial rotations and their degree of synchronisation with the orbital motion are direct probes of the tidal forces acting between the two stars (e.g., Mazeh 2008), as is the orbital eccentricity.”
• OBLIQUITIES OF HOT JUPITER HOST STARS: EVIDENCE FOR TIDAL INTERACTIONS AND PRIMORDIAL MISALIGNMENTS (2012, background): “Torres et al. (2010) and Mazeh (2008) review the evidence for tidal interactions in double-star systems, and provide more access points to the literature.”
• STELLAR ROTATION PERIODS OF THE KEPLER OBJECTS OF INTEREST: A DEARTH OF CLOSE-IN PLANETS AROUND FAST ROTATORS (2013, background): “Finally, in the last phase of their evolution, tidal interaction for short enough orbital periods might shift some of the systems, probably towards 1:1 spin-orbit synchronization (Mazeh 2008; Zahn 2008).”