Multi-Body Resonances in Extrasolar Systems
Faculty Mentor Name
Daniel Jontof-Hutter
Research or Creativity Area
Natural Sciences
Abstract
The Kepler space telescope mission was designed to detect exoplanets using the transit method, measuring periodic dips in stellar brightness to determine planetary orbital periods and radii. We analyze multi-planet systems identified by Kepler, which has discovered thousands of exoplanets across a wide range of stellar systems, to search for signatures of orbital resonance. Orbital resonance occurs when planets have orbital periods near small integer ratios (e.g., 2:1, 3:2, 5:3), enabling strong gravitational coupling. Based on these relationships, we investigate potential three-body resonances, in which multiple planets may participate in a dynamically linked configuration. We identify candidate systems by first selecting adjacent planet pairs with near-integer orbital period ratios, which serve as a diagnostic for potential three-body resonant configurations. We then assess whether these systems satisfy three-body resonance conditions and perform N-body simulations using the REBOUND package (Rein, H., & Liu, S.-X. (2012)) to model their dynamical evolution where planetary masses are unknown. Because planetary masses are not directly measured by Kepler, they are estimated using mass–radius relations to initialize the simulations. Our analysis reproduces resonant or near-resonant behavior in systems identified in previous studies (KOI-500: MacDonald et al. (2017); KOI-730: Fabrycky et al. (2014); KOI-2086: Jontof-Hutter et al. (2016)) and we highlight KOI-707 as a particularly interesting case. Our results indicate that its orbital configuration may be consistent with a three-body resonant relationship. This discrepancy may arise because its orbital period ratios deviate more significantly from exact integer values than those of previously confirmed resonant systems. These findings suggest that some systems previously classified as non-resonant may warrant re-examination, with implications for understanding planetary system dynamics and formation.
Multi-Body Resonances in Extrasolar Systems
The Kepler space telescope mission was designed to detect exoplanets using the transit method, measuring periodic dips in stellar brightness to determine planetary orbital periods and radii. We analyze multi-planet systems identified by Kepler, which has discovered thousands of exoplanets across a wide range of stellar systems, to search for signatures of orbital resonance. Orbital resonance occurs when planets have orbital periods near small integer ratios (e.g., 2:1, 3:2, 5:3), enabling strong gravitational coupling. Based on these relationships, we investigate potential three-body resonances, in which multiple planets may participate in a dynamically linked configuration. We identify candidate systems by first selecting adjacent planet pairs with near-integer orbital period ratios, which serve as a diagnostic for potential three-body resonant configurations. We then assess whether these systems satisfy three-body resonance conditions and perform N-body simulations using the REBOUND package (Rein, H., & Liu, S.-X. (2012)) to model their dynamical evolution where planetary masses are unknown. Because planetary masses are not directly measured by Kepler, they are estimated using mass–radius relations to initialize the simulations. Our analysis reproduces resonant or near-resonant behavior in systems identified in previous studies (KOI-500: MacDonald et al. (2017); KOI-730: Fabrycky et al. (2014); KOI-2086: Jontof-Hutter et al. (2016)) and we highlight KOI-707 as a particularly interesting case. Our results indicate that its orbital configuration may be consistent with a three-body resonant relationship. This discrepancy may arise because its orbital period ratios deviate more significantly from exact integer values than those of previously confirmed resonant systems. These findings suggest that some systems previously classified as non-resonant may warrant re-examination, with implications for understanding planetary system dynamics and formation.
