The California planet survey. III. a possible 2:1 resonance in the exoplanetary triple system HD 37124

J. T. Wright, Dimitri Veras, Eric B. Ford, John Asher Johnson, G. W. Marcy, A. W. Howard, H. Isaacson, D. A. Fischer, J. Spronck, J. Anderson, J. Valenti

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Abstract

We present new radial velocities from Keck Observatory and both Newtonian and Keplerian solutions for the triple-planet system orbiting HD 37124. The orbital solution for this system has improved dramatically since the third planet was first reported in Vogt etal. with an ambiguous orbital period. The period ambiguity is resolved, and the outer two planets have an apparent period commensurability of 2:1. A dynamical analysis finds both resonant and non-resonant configurations consistent with the radial velocity data and constrains the mutual inclinations of the planets to be <30°. We discuss HD 37124 in the context of the other 19 exoplanetary systems with apparent period commensurabilities, which we summarize in a table. We show that roughly one in three well-characterized multiplanet systems has a apparent low-order period commensurability, which is more than would navely be expected if the periods of exoplanets in known multiplanet systems were drawn randomly from the observed distribution of planetary orbital periods.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number93
JournalAstrophysical Journal
Volume730
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 1 2011

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
  • Space and Planetary Science

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