Transit-Timing Variation Signature of Planet Migration: The Case of K2-24

TL;DR

This paper investigates how disc-induced migration affects transit timing variations in resonant planet pairs, using K2-24 as a case study, and proposes a formation scenario involving eccentricity damping and excitation.

Contribution

It introduces a formation scenario that explains the observed TTVs and eccentricities of K2-24 by combining migration, eccentricity damping, and excitation during disc dispersal.

Findings

Disc-induced migration creates a correlation between TTV amplitude and period.

Simple migration models cannot reproduce K2-24's observed TTVs.

A combined scenario explains K2-24's current orbital and TTV properties.

Abstract

The convergent migration of two planets in a gaseous disc can lead to capture in mean motion resonance (MMR). In addition, pairs of planets in or near MMRs are known to produce strong transit timing variations (TTVs). In this paper we study the impact of disc-induced migrations on the TTV signal of pairs of planets that enter a resonant configuration. We show that disc-induced migration creates a correlation between the amplitude and the period of the TTVs. We study the case of K2-24, a system of two planets whose period ratio indicates that they are in or near the 2:1 MMR, with non-zero eccentricities and large-amplitude TTVs. We show that a simple disc-induced migration cannot reproduce the observed TTVs, and we propose a formation scenario in which the capture in resonance occurring during migration in a disc with strong eccentricity damping is followed by eccentricity excitation during the dispersal of the disc, assisted by a third planet whose presence has been suggested by radial velocity observations. This scenario accounts for the eccentricities of the two planets and their period ratio, and accurately reproduces the amplitude and period of the TTVs. It allows for a unified view of the formation and evolution history of K2-24, from disc-induced migration to its currently observed properties.