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An Earth-sized Planet on the Verge of Tidal Disruption

An Earth-sized Planet on the Verge of Tidal Disruption
Abstract TOI-6255 b (GJ 4256) is an Earth-sized planet (1.079 ± 0.065 R ⊕) with an orbital period of only 5.7 hr. With the newly commissioned Keck Planet Finder and CARMENES spectrographs, we determine the planet’s mass to be 1.44 ± 0.14 M ⊕. The planet is just outside the Roche limit, with P orb/P Roche = 1.13 ± 0.10. The strong tidal force likely deforms the planet into a triaxial ellipsoid with a long axis that is ∼10% longer than the short axis. Assuming a reduced stellar tidal quality factor Q ⋆ ′ ≈ 10 7 , we predict that tidal orbital decay will cause TOI-6255 to reach the Roche limit in roughly 400 Myr. Such tidal disruptions may produce the possible signatures of planet engulfment that have been seen on stars with anomalously high refractory elemental abundances compared to their conatal binary companions. TOI-6255 b is also a favorable target for searching for star–planet magnetic interactions, which might cause interior melting and hasten orbital decay. TOI-6255 b is a top target (with an Emission Spectroscopy Metric of about 24) for phase-curve observations with the James Webb Space Telescope.
- University of California, Berkeley United States
- Spanish National Research Council Spain
- Osaka University Japan
- Complutense University of Madrid Spain
- University of Sydney Australia
Exoplanet formation, Exoplanet evolution, Astronomy, QB1-991, Star-planet interactions, 530, 520
Exoplanet formation, Exoplanet evolution, Astronomy, QB1-991, Star-planet interactions, 530, 520
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