Higher Order Harmonics in the Light Curves of Eccentric Planetary Systems

TL;DR

This paper analyzes higher-order harmonics in stellar light curves caused by eccentric planets, highlighting their detectability and dependence on system parameters, with implications for current and future photometric observations.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive analysis of harmonics from tides, beaming, and reflection in eccentric systems and provides publicly available code for modeling these signals.

Findings

Higher-order harmonics are detectable at moderate eccentricities.

Harmonic signals depend on system parameters like eccentricity and orbital inclination.

The study discusses prospects for observing these signals with missions like TESS.

Abstract

As a planet orbits, it causes periodic modulations in the light curve of its host star. Due to the combined effects of the planet raising tides on the host star, relativistic beaming of the starlight, and reflection of light off the planet's surface, these modulations occur at the planet's orbital frequency, as well as integer multiples of this frequency. In particular, planets on eccentric orbits induce third and higher-order harmonics in the stellar light curve which cannot be explained by circular-orbit models. Even at moderate eccentricities, such as those typical of Solar System planets, these harmonics are detectable in current and future photometric data. We present an analysis of the harmonics caused by tides, beaming, and reflection in eccentric planetary systems. We explore the dependence of these signals on the parameters of the system, and we discuss prospects for current and future observations of these signals, particularly by the NASA TESS mission. Finally, we present publicly available code for computation of light curves with tidal, beaming, and reflection signals, OoT.