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KIC 8462852: Will the Trojans return in 2021?

Authors :
Fernando J. Ballesteros
Vicent J. Martínez
Alberto Fernández-Soto
Pablo Arnalte-Mur
Source :
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters. 473:L21-L25
Publication Year :
2017
Publisher :
Oxford University Press (OUP), 2017.

Abstract

KIC 8462852 stood out among more than 100,000 stars in the Kepler catalogue because of the strange features of its light curve: a wide, asymmetric dimming taking up to 15 per cent of the light at D793 and a period of multiple, narrow dimmings happening approximately 700 days later. Several models have been proposed to account for this abnormal behaviour, most of which require either unlikely causes or a finely-tuned timing. We aim at offering a relatively natural solution, invoking only phenomena that have been previously observed, although perhaps in larger or more massive versions. We model the system using a large, ringed body whose transit produces the first dimming and a swarm of Trojan objects sharing its orbit that causes the second period of multiple dimmings. The resulting orbital period is $T\approx12$ years, with a semi-major axis $a\approx6$ au. Our model allows us to make two straightforward predictions: we expect the passage of a new swarm of Trojans in front of the star starting during the early months of 2021, and a new transit of the main object during the first half of 2023.<br />Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures. v3: Accepted for publication in MNRAS Letters

Details

ISSN :
17453933 and 17453925
Volume :
473
Database :
OpenAIRE
Journal :
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Accession number :
edsair.doi.dedup.....086986f524d3239e27a7ad45a4f12389
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1093/mnrasl/slx105