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Plausible Compositions of the Seven TRAPPIST-1 Planets Using Long-Term Dynamical SimulationsTRAPPIST-1 is a nearby ultra-cool dwarf that is host to a remarkable planetary system consisting of seven transiting planets. The orbital properties and radii of the planets have been well constrained, and recently, the masses of the inner six planets have been measured with additional ground- and space-based photometric observations. Large uncertainties in these mass measurements have prevented a robust analysis of the planetary compositions. Here, we perform many thousands of N-body dynamical simulations with planet properties perturbed from the observed values and identify those that are stable for millions of years. This allows us to identify self-consistent orbital solutions that can be used in future studies. From our range of dynamical masses, we find that most of the planets are consistent with an Earth-like composition, where TRAPPIST-1f is likely to have a volatile-rich envelope.
Document ID
20180004000
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Quarles, B.
(Oklahoma Univ. Norman, OK, United States)
Quintana, E. V.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Lopez, E.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Schlieder, Joshua E.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Barclay, Thomas S.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Date Acquired
July 25, 2018
Publication Date
June 8, 2017
Publication Information
Publication: The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Publisher: AAS IOP
Volume: 842
Issue: 1
ISSN: 2041-8205
e-ISSN: 2041-8213
Subject Category
Astrophysics
Report/Patent Number
GSFC-E-DAA-TN56745
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: 80GSFC17M0002
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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