The Astronomical Journal • Vol 168 • No 3
Revising Properties of Planet–Host Binary Systems. IV. The Radius Distribution of Small Planets in Binary Star Systems Is Dependent on Stellar Separation*
August 2024 • Kendall Sullivan, Adam L. Kraus, Travis A. Berger, Trent J. Dupuy, Elise Evans, Eric Gaidos, Daniel Huber, Michael Ireland, Andrew W. Mann, Erik A. P…
Abstract Small planets ( R p ≤ 4 R ⊕ ) are divided into rocky super-Earths and gaseous sub-Neptunes separated by a radius gap, but the mechanisms that produce these distinct planet populations remain unclear. Binary stars are the only main-sequence systems with an observable record of the protoplanetary disk lifetime and mass reservoir, and the demographics of planets in binaries may provide insights into planet formation and evolution. To investigate the radius distribution of planets in binary star systems, we o…