Spin-orbit alignment for the circumbinary planet host Kepler-16 A

Joshua N. Winn; Simon Albrecht; John Asher Johnson; Guillermo Torres; William D. Cochran; Geoffrey W. Marcy; Andrew W. Howard; Howard Isaacson; Debra Fischer; Laurance Doyle; William Welsh; Joshua A. Carter; Daniel C. Fabrycky; Darin Ragozzine; Samuel N. Quinn; Avi Shporer; Steve B. Howell; David W. Latham; Jerome Orosz; Andrej Prsa; Robert W. Slawson; William J. Borucki; David Koch; Thomas Barclay; Alan P. Boss; Jørgen Christensen-Dalsgaard; Forrest R. Girouard; Jon Jenkins; Todd C. Klaus; Søren Meibom; Robert L. Morris; Dimitar Sasselov; Martin Still; Jeffrey Van Cleve

doi:10.1088/2041-8205/741/1/L1

Spin-orbit alignment for the circumbinary planet host Kepler-16 A

Joshua N. Winn, Simon Albrecht, John Asher Johnson, Guillermo Torres, William D. Cochran, Geoffrey W. Marcy, Andrew W. Howard, Howard Isaacson, Debra Fischer, Laurance Doyle, William Welsh, Joshua A. Carter, Daniel C. Fabrycky, Darin Ragozzine, Samuel N. Quinn, Avi Shporer, Steve B. Howell, David W. Latham, Jerome Orosz, Andrej PrsaRobert W. Slawson, William J. Borucki, David Koch, Thomas Barclay, Alan P. Boss, Jørgen Christensen-Dalsgaard, Forrest R. Girouard, Jon Jenkins, Todd C. Klaus, Søren Meibom, Robert L. Morris, Dimitar Sasselov, Martin Still, Jeffrey Van Cleve

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52 Scopus citations

Abstract

Kepler-16 is an eccentric low-mass eclipsing binary with a circumbinary transiting planet. Here, we investigate the angular momentum of the primary star, based on Kepler photometry and Keck spectroscopy. The primary star's rotation period is 35.1 1.0 days, and its projected obliquity with respect to the stellar binary orbit is 16 24. Therefore, the three largest sources of angular momentum - the stellar orbit, the planetary orbit, and the primary's rotation - are all closely aligned. This finding supports a formation scenario involving accretion from a single disk. Alternatively, tides may have realigned the stars despite their relatively wide separation (0.2 AU), a hypothesis that is supported by the agreement between the measured rotation period and the "pseudosynchronous" period of tidal evolution theory. The rotation period, chromospheric activity level, and fractional light variations suggest a main-sequence age of 2-4Gyr. Evolutionary models of low-mass stars can match the observed masses and radii of the primary and secondary stars to within about 3%.

Original language	English (US)
Article number	L1
Journal	Astrophysical Journal Letters
Volume	741
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/741/1/L1
State	Published - Nov 1 2011
Externally published	Yes

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

Astronomy and Astrophysics
Space and Planetary Science

Keywords

binaries: general
planets and satellites: formation
stars: individual (Kepler-16 A, KIC 12644769)
stars: low-mass
stars: rotation

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10.1088/2041-8205/741/1/L1

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Winn, J. N., Albrecht, S., Johnson, J. A., Torres, G., Cochran, W. D., Marcy, G. W., Howard, A. W., Isaacson, H., Fischer, D., Doyle, L., Welsh, W., Carter, J. A., Fabrycky, D. C., Ragozzine, D., Quinn, S. N., Shporer, A., Howell, S. B., Latham, D. W., Orosz, J., ... Van Cleve, J. (2011). Spin-orbit alignment for the circumbinary planet host Kepler-16 A. Astrophysical Journal Letters, 741(1), Article L1. https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/741/1/L1

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title = "Spin-orbit alignment for the circumbinary planet host Kepler-16 A",

abstract = "Kepler-16 is an eccentric low-mass eclipsing binary with a circumbinary transiting planet. Here, we investigate the angular momentum of the primary star, based on Kepler photometry and Keck spectroscopy. The primary star's rotation period is 35.1 1.0 days, and its projected obliquity with respect to the stellar binary orbit is 16 24. Therefore, the three largest sources of angular momentum - the stellar orbit, the planetary orbit, and the primary's rotation - are all closely aligned. This finding supports a formation scenario involving accretion from a single disk. Alternatively, tides may have realigned the stars despite their relatively wide separation (0.2 AU), a hypothesis that is supported by the agreement between the measured rotation period and the {"}pseudosynchronous{"} period of tidal evolution theory. The rotation period, chromospheric activity level, and fractional light variations suggest a main-sequence age of 2-4Gyr. Evolutionary models of low-mass stars can match the observed masses and radii of the primary and secondary stars to within about 3%.",

keywords = "binaries: general, planets and satellites: formation, stars: individual (Kepler-16 A, KIC 12644769), stars: low-mass, stars: rotation",

author = "Winn, {Joshua N.} and Simon Albrecht and Johnson, {John Asher} and Guillermo Torres and Cochran, {William D.} and Marcy, {Geoffrey W.} and Howard, {Andrew W.} and Howard Isaacson and Debra Fischer and Laurance Doyle and William Welsh and Carter, {Joshua A.} and Fabrycky, {Daniel C.} and Darin Ragozzine and Quinn, {Samuel N.} and Avi Shporer and Howell, {Steve B.} and Latham, {David W.} and Jerome Orosz and Andrej Prsa and Slawson, {Robert W.} and Borucki, {William J.} and David Koch and Thomas Barclay and Boss, {Alan P.} and J{\o}rgen Christensen-Dalsgaard and Girouard, {Forrest R.} and Jon Jenkins and Klaus, {Todd C.} and S{\o}ren Meibom and Morris, {Robert L.} and Dimitar Sasselov and Martin Still and {Van Cleve}, Jeffrey",

year = "2011",

month = nov,

day = "1",

doi = "10.1088/2041-8205/741/1/L1",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "741",

journal = "Astrophysical Journal Letters",

issn = "2041-8205",

publisher = "American Astronomical Society",

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Winn, JN, Albrecht, S, Johnson, JA, Torres, G, Cochran, WD, Marcy, GW, Howard, AW, Isaacson, H, Fischer, D, Doyle, L, Welsh, W, Carter, JA, Fabrycky, DC, Ragozzine, D, Quinn, SN, Shporer, A, Howell, SB, Latham, DW, Orosz, J, Prsa, A, Slawson, RW, Borucki, WJ, Koch, D, Barclay, T, Boss, AP, Christensen-Dalsgaard, J, Girouard, FR, Jenkins, J, Klaus, TC, Meibom, S, Morris, RL, Sasselov, D, Still, M & Van Cleve, J 2011, 'Spin-orbit alignment for the circumbinary planet host Kepler-16 A', Astrophysical Journal Letters, vol. 741, no. 1, L1. https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/741/1/L1

TY - JOUR

T1 - Spin-orbit alignment for the circumbinary planet host Kepler-16 A

AU - Winn, Joshua N.

AU - Albrecht, Simon

AU - Johnson, John Asher

AU - Torres, Guillermo

AU - Cochran, William D.

AU - Marcy, Geoffrey W.

AU - Howard, Andrew W.

AU - Isaacson, Howard

AU - Fischer, Debra

AU - Doyle, Laurance

AU - Welsh, William

AU - Carter, Joshua A.

AU - Fabrycky, Daniel C.

AU - Ragozzine, Darin

AU - Quinn, Samuel N.

AU - Shporer, Avi

AU - Howell, Steve B.

AU - Latham, David W.

AU - Orosz, Jerome

AU - Prsa, Andrej

AU - Slawson, Robert W.

AU - Borucki, William J.

AU - Koch, David

AU - Barclay, Thomas

AU - Boss, Alan P.

AU - Christensen-Dalsgaard, Jørgen

AU - Girouard, Forrest R.

AU - Jenkins, Jon

AU - Klaus, Todd C.

AU - Meibom, Søren

AU - Morris, Robert L.

AU - Sasselov, Dimitar

AU - Still, Martin

AU - Van Cleve, Jeffrey

PY - 2011/11/1

Y1 - 2011/11/1

N2 - Kepler-16 is an eccentric low-mass eclipsing binary with a circumbinary transiting planet. Here, we investigate the angular momentum of the primary star, based on Kepler photometry and Keck spectroscopy. The primary star's rotation period is 35.1 1.0 days, and its projected obliquity with respect to the stellar binary orbit is 16 24. Therefore, the three largest sources of angular momentum - the stellar orbit, the planetary orbit, and the primary's rotation - are all closely aligned. This finding supports a formation scenario involving accretion from a single disk. Alternatively, tides may have realigned the stars despite their relatively wide separation (0.2 AU), a hypothesis that is supported by the agreement between the measured rotation period and the "pseudosynchronous" period of tidal evolution theory. The rotation period, chromospheric activity level, and fractional light variations suggest a main-sequence age of 2-4Gyr. Evolutionary models of low-mass stars can match the observed masses and radii of the primary and secondary stars to within about 3%.

AB - Kepler-16 is an eccentric low-mass eclipsing binary with a circumbinary transiting planet. Here, we investigate the angular momentum of the primary star, based on Kepler photometry and Keck spectroscopy. The primary star's rotation period is 35.1 1.0 days, and its projected obliquity with respect to the stellar binary orbit is 16 24. Therefore, the three largest sources of angular momentum - the stellar orbit, the planetary orbit, and the primary's rotation - are all closely aligned. This finding supports a formation scenario involving accretion from a single disk. Alternatively, tides may have realigned the stars despite their relatively wide separation (0.2 AU), a hypothesis that is supported by the agreement between the measured rotation period and the "pseudosynchronous" period of tidal evolution theory. The rotation period, chromospheric activity level, and fractional light variations suggest a main-sequence age of 2-4Gyr. Evolutionary models of low-mass stars can match the observed masses and radii of the primary and secondary stars to within about 3%.

KW - binaries: general

KW - planets and satellites: formation

KW - stars: individual (Kepler-16 A, KIC 12644769)

KW - stars: low-mass

KW - stars: rotation

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=80054973792&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=80054973792&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1088/2041-8205/741/1/L1

DO - 10.1088/2041-8205/741/1/L1

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:80054973792

SN - 2041-8205

VL - 741

JO - Astrophysical Journal Letters

JF - Astrophysical Journal Letters

IS - 1

M1 - L1

ER -

Spin-orbit alignment for the circumbinary planet host Kepler-16 A

Abstract

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

Keywords

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