Density and Eccentricity of Kepler Planets

TL;DR

This study analyzes Kepler transit timing variations to determine densities and eccentricities of sub-Jovian planets, revealing distinct groups with different compositions and effects of photoevaporation.

Contribution

It provides new insights into planet densities, compositions, and the influence of stellar mass and temperature, distinguishing between mid-sized and compact planets.

Findings

Most planet pairs have low eccentricities (~0.01).

Mid-sized planets are less dense than water, indicating H/He envelopes.

Hotter compact planets tend to be denser and smaller.

Abstract

We analyze the transit timing variations obtained by the Kepler mission for 22 sub-jovian planet pairs (17 published, 5 new) that lie close to mean motion resonances. We find that the TTV phases for most of these pairs lie close to zero, consistent with an eccentricity distribution that has a very low RMS value of e ~ 0.01; but about a quarter of the pairs possess much higher eccentricities, up to 0.1 - 0.4. For the low-eccentricity pairs, we are able to statistically remove the effect of eccentricity to obtain planet masses from TTV data. These masses, together with those measured by radial velocity, yield a best fit mass-radius relation M~3 M_E (R/R_E). This corresponds to a constant surface escape velocity of 20km/s. We separate the planets into two distinct groups, "mid-sized" (those greater than 3 R_E), and "compact" (those smaller). All mid-sized planets are found to be less dense than water and therefore contain extensive H/He envelopes, likely comparable in mass to that of their cores. We argue that these planets have been significantly sculpted by photoevaporation. Surprisingly, mid-sized planets are discovered exclusively around stars more massive than 0.8 M_sun. The compact planets, on the other hand, are often denser than water. Combining our density measurements with those from radial velocity studies, we find that hotter compact planets tend to be denser, with the hottest ones reaching rock density. Moreover, hotter planets tend to be smaller in sizes. These results can be explained if the compact planets are made of rocky cores overlaid with a small amount of hydrogen, < 1% in mass, with water contributing little to their masses or sizes. Photoevaporation has exposed bare rocky cores in cases of the hottest planets. Our conclusion that these planets are likely not water-worlds contrasts with some previous studies.