Exoplanet Orbital Distribution around FGK Sun-like Host Stars II: a valley in the orbital semi-major axis distribution of sub-Neptunes

TL;DR

This paper presents evidence suggesting that planet orbits around stars exhibit quantization, potentially due to long-range standing waves in proto-planetary disks, influencing planet distribution within 1 AU.

Contribution

It provides observational evidence for orbital quantization around stars, linking wave phenomena in disks to planet distribution patterns.

Findings

Evidence of quantized planet orbits around stars.

Detection of ring-like structures in proto-planetary disks.

Potential influence of standing waves on planet formation.

Abstract

More than one hundred years ago, physics has been revolutionized when people realized that electronic orbitals, or electromagnetic interactions in general, are quantized. Now, in this study, we are presenting evidence of quantization of planet orbits around stars. Confining a wave in spatial dimensions "quantizes" its wave number. Therefore, this study points to the evidence of the existence of long-range standing waves in the proto-planetary disks. Such waves, although being on a much larger scale of few tens of AU, have already been found by ALMA observation-so called ring-like structure. Now we see that it may exist within 1 AU, and may exert its effect on the existence and distribution of planets within this distance range to the host star. Careful analysis has been carried out to compare the results of different surveys.