Hot-Jupiters and hot-Neptunes: a common origin?

Astrophysics, abstract
astro-ph/0505054

From: Isabelle Baraffe dr [view email]

Date: Tue, 3 May 2005 12:41:07 GMT   (31kb)

We compare evolutionary models for close-in exoplanets coupling irradiation
and evaporation due respectively to the thermal and high energy flux of the
parent star with observations of recently discovered new transiting planets.
The models provide an overall good agreement with observations, although at the
very limit of the quoted error bars of OGLE-TR-10, depending on its age. Using
the same general theory, we show that the three recently detected hot-Neptune
planets (GJ436, $\rho$ Cancri, $\mu$ Ara) may originate from more massive gas
giants which have undergone significant evaporation. We thus suggest that
hot-Neptunes and hot-Jupiters may share the same origin and evolution history.
Our scenario provides testable predictions in terms of the mass-radius
relationships of these hot-Neptunes.

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