Princeton University Wunch Talk

The question of what mechanism is responsible for delivering giant planets into short-periods orbits (<10 days) is one of the fundamental unresolved questions in planet formation. In this talk, I show the results from the study of one possible mechanism, the Kozai-Lidov (KL) migration: a highly inclined massive companion produces large-amplitude eccentricity oscillations of the planetary orbit, which during small pericenter passages can shrink due to tidal friction from the host star. By comparing the results from a large set of Monte Carlo simulations with the observed orbital distributions of giant planets (semi-major axes, eccentricities, and spin-orbit misalignment angles), I will show that KL migration due to a stellar companion is not responsible for most of the Hot Jupiters. This mechanism is also unable to form Warm Jupiters (giant planets at ~0.1-1 AU). On the other hand, based on our preliminary results, KL migration due to a planetary companion seems to be a more promising mechanism to account for these two populations of giant planets.