Stability Analysis of Possible Terrestrial Planets in the HD 60532 System

TL;DR

This study assesses the stability of potential terrestrial planets in the HD 60532 system using numerical simulations and secular perturbation theory, identifying stable regions and confirming the stability of known gas giants.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed stability analysis of potential Earth-like planets in the HD 60532 system, combining numerical and theoretical methods.

Findings

The system remains stable for at least 65 million years.

No stable regions exist between 0.25 and 3.6 AU due to planetary perturbations.

Mutual inclination variations up to 20° have minimal impact on stability zones.

Abstract

Investigations were carried out on the stability of the two gas giant system HD 60532 itself including additional, smaller bodies. The methods used were numerical simulations with the Lie Series integration method, and secular perturbation theory. The aims were to find stable regions for potential Earth-like planets within the system, and confirming the stability of the detected planets. As results, the given configuration can be considered stable for a period of at least 65 million years. The two planets create a large unstable section between 0.25 and 3.6 AU, where no additional body is able to remain stable. Variations in the mutual inclination between test bodies and the rest of the system of up to 20{\deg} have little effects on the size of the zone of instability.