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  • A circumbinary planet in or...
    Qian, S.‐B.; Liu, L.; Zhu, L.‐Y.; Dai, Z.‐B.; Fernández Lajús, E.; Baume, G. L.

    Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Letters, 20/May , Letnik: 422, Številka: 1
    Journal Article

    ABSTRACT By using six newly determined mid‐eclipse times together with those collected from the literature, we have found that the observed minus calculated (O−C) curve of RR Cae shows a cyclic change with a period of 11.9 yr and an amplitude of 14.3 s while it undergoes an upward parabolic variation revealing a long‐term period increase at a rate of . The cyclic change was analysed for the light‐travel‐time effect that arises from the gravitational influence of a third companion. The mass of the third body was determined to be M3sin i′= 4.2(± 0.4) MJup, suggesting that it is a circumbinary giant planet when its orbital inclination is larger than 176. The orbital separation of the circumbinary planet from the central eclipsing binary is about 5.3(± 0.6) au. The period increase is opposite to the changes caused by angular momentum loss via magnetic braking or/and gravitational radiation; and it cannot be explained by the mass transfer between both components because of its detached configuration. These indicate that the observed upward parabolic change is only a part of a long‐period (longer than 26.3 yr) cyclic variation, which may reveal the presence of another giant circumbinary planet in a wide orbit.