[extropy-chat] Massive Object Calls Planet Discoveries into Question

[Technotranscendence]

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/heavy_objects_050119.html

But there's always been an assumed error in the estimates of exoplanets
via the "wiggle" technique used.  This is because the plane of the
exoplanet's orbit is unknown and estimates of the mass are based on
assumptions able the angle of that orbit.  This establishes, IIRC, lower
limits on the mass, but not upper limits.

So, I wouldn't be surprised if some purported exoplanets were much
larger than the reported value by an order of magnitude and might be
brown dwarf stars.

What is needed is better and perhaps independent means of determining
the orbital parameters and masses of alleged exoplanets as well as an
understanding of how this might affect an exo-solar system.  By the
latter is meant whether having a supermassive object  (much larger than
Jupiter) in such a system has an effect on what else is in that
system -- i.e., whether it means the super-Jupiter, brown dwarf, or
whatever gobbles up so much mass that such systems would have much else.

Of course, it could be that a lot depends on initial and boundary
conditions here.  E.g. on the former, maybe a system packed with lots of
mass can form both a super-Jupiter/brown dwarf and lots of other
planets, whereas another system might not.  E.g. on the latter, perhaps
a system where the super-Jupiter/brown dwarf forms relatively far from
the primary will be stable enough to have other planets as well.  Maybe
the same goes for a super-Jupiter/brown dwarf very near the primary:
planets might form in stable orbits around the barycenter of the
primary/secondary system.

One big problem now is that the data on exoplanets are so skewed because
of reliance on mostly one method (there are two general methods, but the
wiggle method is the most successful so far) of finding them, it's hard
to be sure about what's likely -- other than making neat mathematical
models that fit tiny amounts of data and hoping the conclusions drawn
from them map onto reality.  That's usually the path to error.

Later!

Dan
http://uweb.superlink.net/neptune/MyWorksBySubject.html