http://arxiv.org/abs/1801.03994
Applying survival function analysis to planet orbital period and semi-major axis distribution from the Kepler sample, we found that all exoplanets are uniformly distributed in (Log a) or (Log P), where a is the orbit semi-major axis and P is orbital period, with an inner cut-off of closest distance to the host star. This inner cut-off is 0.04 AU for rocky worlds (1-2 Earth radii), 0.08 AU for water worlds (2-4 Earth radii), and 0.4 AU for gas-rich planets (>4 Earth radii). Moreover, the transitional planets (4-10 Earth radii) and gas giants (>10 Earth radii) have a different statistical distribution inside 0.4 AU which is uniform in a^(1/2). This difference in distribution is likely caused by the difference in the efficiency of planet migration in the inner disk, and the susceptibility to host stellar irradiation, for gas-poor (<4 Earth radii) versus gas-rich (>4 Earth radii) planets. Armed with this knowledge, and combined with the survival function analysis of planet size distribution, we can make precise estimates of planet occurrence rate and predict the TESS mission yield.
L. Zeng, S. Jacobsen, D. Sasselov, et. al.
Mon, 15 Jan 18
38/59
Comments: 10 pages, 3 figures, submitted to ApJ