Researchers from the University of Bristol claimed that they have discovered the secret behind planets which orbits around two stars, also called circumbinary planets.
A binary star system or a system containing a planet which orbits around two stars is birthed in the most extreme environment in the universe. The gravitational pull from the two stars may cause extreme destruction on the surface of the planet revolving around them.
One such example of a circumbinary planet is Kepler-34 (AB). This planet was discovered by the Kepler space telescope. It has been the subject of the researchers including Zoe Leinhardt from the School of Physics of the University of Bristol. Their study aimed to explain how binary star systems came to be.
After running a series of computer simulations showing the earliest stages in planet formation on binary star systems, the team found out that most of the planets in these systems were formed far from the central binary sun before they slowly gravitated to their current location. The results also showed that all circumbinary planets, not only Kepler-34 (AB), have reached their current position by slowly moving away from the place where they were formed.
"Our simulations show that the circumbinary disk is a hostile environment even for large, gravitationally strong objects," Leinhardt stated in a press release. "Taking into account data on collisions as well as the physical growth rate of planets, we found that Kepler 34(AB) would have struggled to grow where we find it now."
Stefan Lines, lead author of the study, believes that circumbinary planets have important implications in the further exploration of our universe.
"Understanding more about where they for will assist future exoplanet discovery missions in the hunt for earth-like planets in binary star systems," Lines said in a press release.
The study was published in Astrophysical Journal Letters.
