The effects of external planets on inner systems: multiplicities, inclinations, and pathways to eccentric warm Jupiters

TL;DR

This paper investigates how outer planetary systems and binary stars influence the architecture of inner planetary systems, revealing that outer dynamics can reduce multiplicity, induce misalignments, and lead to eccentric warm Jupiters through various interaction pathways.

Contribution

It introduces new pathways for eccentric warm Jupiter formation and quantifies the impact of outer system dynamics on inner system multiplicity and alignment.

Findings

Outer system dynamics reduce Kepler-detectable multiplicity by 20-25%.

Approximately 18% of close-in systems are destabilized by outer companions.

Outer interactions can produce systems similar to Kepler-56 and Kepler-108.

Abstract

We study how close-in systems such as those detected by Kepler are affected by the dynamics of bodies in the outer system. We consider two scenarios: outer systems of giant planets potentially unstable to planet--planet scattering, and wide binaries that may be capable of driving Kozai or other secular variations of outer planets' eccentricities. Dynamical excitation of planets in the outer system reduces the multiplicity of Kepler-detectable planets in the inner system in $\sim20-25\%$ of our systems. Accounting for the occurrence rates of wide-orbit planets and binary stars, $\approx18\%$ of close-in systems could be destabilised by their outer companions in this way. This provides some contribution to the apparent excess of systems with a single transiting planet compared to multiple, however, it only contributes at most $25\%$ of the excess. The effects of the outer dynamics can generate systems similar to Kepler-56 (two coplanar planets significantly misaligned with the host star) and Kepler-108 (two significantly non-coplanar planets in a binary). We also identify three pathways to the formation of eccentric warm Jupiters resulting from the interaction between outer and inner systems: direct inelastic collision between an eccentric outer and an inner planet, secular eccentricity oscillations that may "freeze out" when scattering resolves in the outer system; and scattering in the inner system followed by "uplift", where inner planets are removed by interaction with the outer planets. In these scenarios, the formation of eccentric warm Jupiters is a signature of a past history of violent dynamics among massive planets beyond $\sim1$ au.