The three-body problem is one of Nature\u2019s thorniest problems. The gravitational interactions and resulting movements of three bodies are notoriously difficult to predict because of instability. A planet orbiting two stars is an example of the three-body problem, but it\u2019s sometimes called a \u201crestricted three-body problem.\u201d In that case, there are some potential stable orbits for a planet. <\/p>\n
A new study shows that the nearby Alpha Centauri AB pair could host a Super Jupiter in a stable orbit. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n The research is \u201cStability of the Potential Super Jupiter in Alpha Centauri System.\u201d It\u2019s available on the preprint site arxiv.org. The sole author is Tinglong Feng, an undergraduate at Xi\u2019an Jiaotong University in China. <\/p>\n \u201cThe three-body problem, which seeks stable orbit configurations among gravitating bodies, is a longstanding challenge in celestial mechanics,\u201d Feng writes. Feng examines ? Centauri AB, our nearest binary neighbour, to understand if the system could host a super Jupiter and what orbit the giant planet could follow. <\/p>\n Feng isn\u2019t the first astronomer to tackle the problem. \u201cAs the closest triple stellar system to Earth, Alpha Centauri system has attracted diverse studies in astronomy, including exoplanet stability,\u201d Feng writes. Though the entire Alpha Centauri system is a triple star system, ? Centauri AB are far enough from the third star that they comprise a binary system. <\/p>\n There are some solutions to the three-body problem if one of the bodies has a negligible mass compared to the other two. ? Centauri AB is a pair of Sun-like stars. ? Centauri A is a class G star a little more massive than the Sun, and ? Centauri B is a class K star a little less massive than the Sun. <\/p>\n The study compares the ? Centauri AB system with a similar star system named GJ65AB (Gliese 65). It\u2019s a binary pair known to host a Neptune-mass exoplanet. Though Gliese 65 is a pair of M-dwarfs, the comparison is still valuable because it \u201cshares similar mass ratios and orbital eccentricities,\u201d Feng writes. Gliese 65 is also close at only about 8.8 light-years from Earth. Feng also performed simulations of the ? Centauri AB system to test the idea of it hosting an exoplanet. <\/p>\n \u201cThe similarities between GJ65AB and Alpha Centauri AB, together with the newly detected stable super Neptune in the GJ65 system, suggest the stability of the corresponding potential super Jupiter in Alpha Centauri AB,\u201d Feng writes. The Gliese 65 and the Alpha Centauri AB systems have nearly identical mass ratios and eccentricities. If GJ65 can host a planet in a stable orbit, can ? Centauri AB also host one?<\/p>\n Feng used the Mean Exponential Growth factor of Nearby Orbits\u00a0(MEGNO) method to test the potential stability of a super Jupiter at ? Centauri AB. First, he used it to simulate the GJ65AB system and the newly discovered planet to verify the planet\u2019s orbital stability. Then, he did the same with ? Centauri AB. \u201cFor this simulation, we restricted the semimajor axis of the planet to range from 0.1 to 5.0 au, and eccentricities less than 0.5,\u201d Feng writes.<\/p>\n The MEGNO simulations for Gliese 65 showed that the newly discovered Neptune mass planet should be stable. <\/p>\n The next step was to find stable orbits for a planet orbiting ? Centauri AB. To do that, Feng used ? Centauri A as the primary star and injected a 350 Earth-mass planet at a distance of 23.336 AU. All of the other parameters were similar to GJ65 but scaled to ? Centauri AB. \u201cWe figured out the stable zone with ? Feng says that the \u201cpotentially stable planet\u201d should have ? about equal to 1.189 and ? about equal to 0.33. Those numbers place the planet in the stable zone in MEGNO results. <\/p>\n Of course, none of this means there is a planet there. It just shows that a potential stable orbit is available. <\/p>\n Feng\u2019s work proposes that exoplanets in binary systems with nearly identical mass ratios and eccentricities can exhibit similar stability properties. \u201cFrom this hypothesis, together with the newly detected Neptune-mass planet in the GJ65 system, which is similar to Alpha Centauri AB, we assume the existence of a potential Jupiter-mass planet with corresponding orbital parameters in Alpha Centauri AB should also be possible,\u201d Feng writes. <\/p>\n No planets have been detected around ? Centauri AB, but that doesn\u2019t mean there isn\u2019t one there. Our planet-hunting methods are far from absolute, and there are bound to be many planets in nearby systems that we haven\u2019t been able to detect yet. <\/p>\n There are many proposals for missions to the region or for telescopes designed to probe the system more deeply. Their neighbour, Proxima Centauri, has two confirmed exoplanets. And there\u2019ve been tantalizing hints that Alpha Centauri A hosts a planet, but it remains only a candidate. <\/p>\n A true detection or emphatic non-detection may be years or decades away. Who knows? But at least Feng\u2019s work shows that there could be a stable orbital home for a super Jupiter in the system. <\/p>\n![\"This](\"https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/exoplanet-stability-map.png\")
au, which contains all the stable orbits for ? ranging from 0 to 0.5 to ~0.35 au, which contains all the stable orbits for ? ranging from 0 to 0.5,\u201d Feng explains. Image Credit: Feng 2024. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
spanning from 0.1 to ~ 2.2 au, and ? ranges from 0 to 0.5,\u201d Feng writes. <\/p>\n![\"This](\"https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/ACAB-planet-stability.png\")
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