text:
# Macroscopic Anisotropy and Symmetry Breaking in the Pyrochlore Antiferromagnet Gd2Ti2O7

## Abstract

In the Heisenberg antiferromagnet $`\mathrm{Gd}_2\mathrm{Ti}_2\mathrm{O}_7`$, the exchange interactions are geometrically frustrated by the pyrochlore lattice structure. This ESR study reveals a strong temperature dependent anisotropy with respect to a  body diagonal below a temperature $`T_A=80`$ K, despite the spin only nature of the $`\mathrm{Gd}^{3+}`$ ion. Anisotropy and symmetry breaking can nevertheless appear through the superexchange interaction. The presence of short range planar correlation restricted to specific Kagomé planes is sufficient to explain the two ESR modes studied in this work.

In antiferromagnets with competing interactions, no single spin-configuration realizes a local energy minimum for all exchange bonds: exchange interactions are “frustrated”. Among all the possible sources of frustration, the most common one has a geometrical origin. On a number of lattices (Kagomé Kano53 , fcc, pyrochlore Ramirez94 ), magnetic ions are located at the vertices of equilateral triangles: the product of exchange interaction on any closed path being negative, these structures are naturally frustrated. In the two-dimensional (2D) Kagomé lattice, equilateral triangles are connected only through their vertices leaving a number of spin-degree of freedom unconstrained. Similarly, in the pyrochlore lattice, spins are at the vertices of tetrahedra with equilateral triangular faces. This lattice offers little additional constraints since all the tetrahedra are connected in the three-dimensional (3D) structure through their corners. This confers a very high degree of degeneracy to the ground state (GS) manifold: for classical spins, one or more families of continuous rotations leave the energy of any classical ground state unchanged. As a consequence, smaller anisotropic interactions select a particular GS through a mechanism which is specific to the material considered. For example, a variety of ground states have been identified Ramirez94 ; Champion2001  in the pyrochlore family $`\mathrm{R}_2\mathrm{Ti}_2\mathrm{O}_7`$ where the rare earth ions R are antiferromagnetically coupled. The crystal field anisotropy on the rare earth ion $`\mathrm{R}^{3+}`$ plays an important role in the GS selection except for $`\mathrm{Gd}_2\mathrm{Ti}_2\mathrm{O}_7`$, where the single-ion anisotropy of the spin-only $`S=7/2`$ ion $`\mathrm{Gd}^{3+}`$ ($`4f^7`$) is weak: $`\mathrm{Gd}_2\mathrm{Ti}_2\mathrm{O}_7`$ is the only nearly-isotropic Heisenberg pyrochlore antiferromagnet. Frustration depresses its 3D ordering transition which has been observed in specific heat measurements Raju99 ; Ramirez2001  at a temperature $`T_c=0.97`$ K considerably smaller than the Curie-Weiss temperature $`\theta _{\mathrm{CW}}=9.9`$ K.

In this Letter, an electron spin resonance (ESR) study of the pyrochlore antiferromagnet $`\mathrm{Gd}_2\mathrm{Ti}_2\mathrm{O}_7`$ is presented. Below a temperature $`T_A80`$ K much larger than $`\theta _{\mathrm{CW}}`$, two strongly temperature dependent and anisotropic resonance lines are observed. They identify a macroscopic anisotropy with respect to a specific $`[111]\widehat{n}`$ body diagonal. These ESR modes are consistent with non-collinear spin correlations in the Kagomé planes perpendicular to this  axis below $`T_A`$. This local order also agrees with the ordered state observed below $`T_c`$ by neutron scattering Champion2001 . We propose an exchange-driven symmetry breaking mechanism involving the Hund term on the oxygen ion. This ion is in the center of Gd3+ tetrahedra and is common to all the dominant superexchange paths between Gd3+ ions. The resulting superexchange bonds connecting the (111) Kagomé planes are weakened compared to the exchange between the spins within these planes. Other anisotropic forces (Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya Dzyaloshinskii57  exchange and dipolar) control the magnitude of the anisotropy and the final selection of the ground state.

The single crystals of $`\mathrm{Gd}_2\mathrm{Ti}_2`$O7 were grown by slow cooling from a molten flux Wanklyn79 . Crystals appeared as brown, well shaped octahedra with ca. 1 mm edge. Gd2Ti2O7 is an insulator which crystallizes in the cubic, face centered space group $`Fd\overline{3}m`$ with a lattice constant $`a_0=10.184`$ Å at room temperature. In the (111) planes, perpendicular to the cube diagonal, the Gd spins are arranged in a 2D Kagomé lattice (see inset of figure 1). Only the Gd3+ ions possess a magnetic moment $`\mu 7.9\mu _\mathrm{B}`$, close to the free-ion value ($`7.94\mu _\mathrm{B}`$). The measured dc-magnetic susceptibility in a field of $`B_{\mathrm{ext}}=0.1`$ T has a Curie-Weiss $`\chi =\frac{C}{T\theta _{\mathrm{CW}}}`$ behavior typical of antiferromagnetic interactions with the same $`\theta _{\mathrm{CW}}=9.9`$ K previously reported by Raju and coworkers Raju99 . The ESR measurements were performed at different frequencies and temperatures using a home built multi-frequency high-field ESR spectrometer. Different frequencies were investigated (54 GHz – 115 GHz) using back-wave oscillators and Gunn diode sources, guided to the sample with oversized waveguides in a transmission probe. The spectra were recorded as a function of magnetic field at a fixed frequency. In this study, we have measured (a) the temperature dependence of the ESR spectrum, (b) its orientation dependence with respect to the crystal axes and (c) its evolution with frequency and magnetic field.

Above 80 K, the ESR spectrum at the frequency of 54 GHz consists of a single line centered at $`B_r2`$ T, close to the expected resonance field (1.93 T) for a $`g`$-factor of 2 (as expected for the spin-only Gd3+). As the temperature is lowered, two resonance lines appear below $`T_A80`$ K. Their splitting is strongly anisotropic and temperature dependent, and becomes comparable to the spin-exchange frequencies ($`4\text{ T}5.4\text{ K}`$) at low temperature. This is represented in figure 1 which shows the ESR spectra at 54 GHz for different temperatures, with the magnetic field applied parallel to a specific body diagonal of the crystal ($`[111]\widehat{n}`$ axis, perpendicular to Kagomé planes), such that the angle $`\theta =\mathrm{}(\stackrel{}{B},\widehat{n})=0`$. Fitting the spectra below 80 K with two Lorentzian lines (1) and (2), the position of the resonance fields can be plotted as a function of temperature. Line (2) is strongly temperature dependent as clearly seen in figure 1b. Its resonance field shifts towards higher values as the temperature is decreased, the shift being very large ($`4`$ T) at low temperature (4.2 K). As the line shifts, a broadening is also observed. While the width of line (1) also increases when lowering the temperature, the line shift is much weaker: its resonance field moves towards lower values, the change being of the order of 0.3 T at 4.2 K. On the other hand, when the magnetic field is applied perpendicular to the body diagonal $`\widehat{n}`$ (i.e. $`\theta =90^{}`$), at the same frequency 54 GHz, the position of the observed signal also shifts to higher fields with decreasing temperature, but the shift is smaller, $`1`$ T at 4.2 K. An analysis of the temperature dependence of the resonance fields below 80 K is presented in figure 2 for (i) both orientations $`\theta =0`$ and $`\theta =90^{}`$ at 54 GHz, and (ii) for $`\theta =0`$ at 73 GHz. The solid lines are fits to the phenomenological expression $`B_r(T)=B_0+D\mathrm{exp}(\frac{T}{T_0})`$, (where $`B_0`$ is the resonance field at high temperature and D a parameter), consistent with an activated behavior with an activation energy $`k_BT_0`$. From the fits, the obtained values of $`T_0`$ are 10.1$`\pm `$0.5 K (10.8$`\pm `$2.1 K) at 54 GHz for $`\theta =0`$ ($`\theta =90^{}`$), and 8.5$`\pm `$0.5 K at 73 GHz for $`\theta =0`$. These values are comparable to the Curie-Weiss temperature, $`\theta _{\mathrm{CW}}10`$ K.

Although there is no long range order at the temperatures studied in this work, the large temperature dependence of the position of line (2) reveals the presence of an internal field at the frequencies probed in the experiment. Roughly speaking, this local field adds or substracts to the external field and produces the observed shifts. The presence of local fields signals the growth of short range correlations as the temperature is lowered. Since local fields fluctuations on timescales faster than the precession period average to zero, the observed frequency shifts decrease with increasing temperature on a scale characteristic of the short range spin dynamics. A parallel can be drawn with ESR experiments on low dimensional magnets where the change in resonance field as the temperature is lowered are interpreted in terms of short range order effects Nagata72 .

In order to investigate further the nature of this local order, we studied the orientation dependence of the ESR modes of our single crystal. A plot of the resonant fields versus the angle $`\theta `$ between the applied magnetic field and the body diagonal $`\widehat{n}`$ is shown in figure 3, at fixed frequency (54 GHz) and for two different temperatures, 150 K and 4.5 K. The single resonance observed at 150 K is independent of the magnetic field orientation and therefore isotropic. However at 4.5 K, the position of the resonance (2) has a strong dependence on the field direction. As the magnetic field is rotated away from the  direction of the crystal, the resonance position decreases until it reaches a minimum at $`\theta =90^{}`$ and recovers its $`\theta =0`$ value as the field is rotated towards $`180^{}`$ with respect to the  direction. Hence, the anisotropy has a uniaxial character, with an angular dependence for the resonance field $`B_r^{(2)}(\theta )=B_r^0+D\mathrm{cos}^2\theta `$ (with $`B_r^0=2.5`$ T and $`D=3.6`$ T). This minimum in the resonance field $`B_r^0`$ occurs when the magnetic field is in the (111) Kagomé plane $`\widehat{n}`$. This singles out a unique anisotropy axis and establishes the macroscopic nature of the anisotropy. This is further evidenced by the inset of figure 3, where a complete rotation $`\varphi `$ in that plane is presented. The dependence of the resonance fields on the orientation of the magnetic field is weaker, $`\mathrm{\Delta }B_{r,\mathrm{max}}`$ $``$ 0.7 T, and may be attributed to dipolar and/or demagnetization effects.

The frequency dependence of resonances (1) and (2) has been studied at $`T=4.5`$ K for two different orientations of the magnetic field, parallel ($`\theta =0^{}`$, perpendicular to the Kagomé plane) and perpendicular ($`\theta =90^{}`$, in the Kagomé plane) to the body diagonal ($`\widehat{n}`$). This frequency dependence is shown as a function of magnetic field in figure 4. The frequency dependence of line (1) goes through the origin and is linear with magnetic field ($`\omega _1=\gamma H`$) with a gyromagnetic ratio close to $`\gamma \mu /\mathrm{}`$: this is the uniform precession mode. On the other hand, line (2) has a radically different field dependence. Considering the nature of the observed anisotropy, the spins in the (111) Kagomé planes are not magnetically equivalent to the spins in between them. In these circumstances, the presence of two lines in the ESR spectrum is not really surprising Schultz80  especially if we consider the short range order present at the temperature of the measurement ($`T=4.5`$ K). Hence, the resonance (2) can be assigned to a collective mode involving the strongly correlated spins in the Kagomé plane. In the presence of non-collinear correlations, these spins define a triad whose hydrodynamics may be described using the angles specifying its orientation with respect to fixed lattice axes.

The main experimental findings may be summarized as follows: below $`T_A`$, a macroscopic anisotropy appears with respect to a broken symmetry axis $`\widehat{n}`$ lying along a specific body diagonal of the crystal. This macroscopic character has been checked through dc-torque measurements hassan2 . This anisotropy develops gradually as the local order (due to short range correlations) sets in when the temperature is lowered. This is illustrated in figure 5, where the difference between the resonance fields of line (2) for $`\theta =0^{}`$ and $`\theta =90^{}`$ is plotted versus the temperature. Anisotropies of local origin, such as g-factor and single-ion, are usually unaffected by spin-correlations and thus temperature independent. Below the ordering temperature at $`T_c=0.97`$ K, the structure of the ordered state has been identified in a neutron scattering experiment Champion2001  with an isotope enriched $`{}_{}{}^{160}\mathrm{Gd}_{2}^{}\mathrm{Ti}_2\mathrm{O}_7`$ sample: within the Kagomé plane, spins are ordered in a chiral $`120^{}`$ structure (the same as the “$`q=0`$” spin structure observed in ordered Kagomé antiferromagnets Reimers93 ), while the structure for the spins in between the planes has not been definitively established. This structure is fully consistent with the anisotropic local order observed here at higher temperatures. Mössbauer experiments also conclude in a planar structure for the spins in the Kagomé planes below $`T_c`$ Bonville2001 .

We now consider the microscopic forces which could give rise to this macroscopic anisotropy with respect to a specific body diagonal. Let us first consider the main super-exchange interaction between neighboring Gd3+ ions. Two oxygen ions bridge the vertices of the tetrahedral Gd3+ pyramid. The shortest bridge goes through the oxygen located in the center of the tetrahedron, which bridges all four Gd3+ ions at the tetrahedron vertices. We focus on this shortest bridge. If only the strong ligand electric fields are considered, the four oxygen orbitals are identical $`sp^3`$ mixtures pointing toward the tetrahedron vertices. In a $`T_d`$ symmetry, the Hund term on the oxygen splits the four $`sp^3`$ orbitals into a singlet and a triplet Levy . This energy splitting will reduce the superexchange coupling between the Gd3+ ion coupled to this singlet $`sp^3`$ oxygen orbital with respect to all other three Gd3+ ions. If all singlet $`sp^3`$ oxygen orbitals belonging to different tetrahedra “lock” along the same $`[111]`$ body diagonal, the system has chosen the appropriate broken symmetry axis. This form of “orbital ordering” would naturally occur at a much higher temperature ($`T_A80`$ K) than the typical exchange coupling measured by the Curie-Weiss temperature, $`\theta _{\mathrm{CW}}10`$ K. This mechanism by itself does not provide a spin-anisotropy. However, the Dzyaloshinskii-Moryia exchange interactions Dzyaloshinskii57  will provide in this circumstance a macroscopic coupling $`D_{\mathrm{DM}}^{ij}\widehat{n}\stackrel{}{S}_i\times \stackrel{}{S}_j`$ for the spins $`\stackrel{}{S}_i`$ and $`\stackrel{}{S}_j`$ in the Kagomé plane. For a pure Kagomé lattice, this term is known ElHajal2002  to give rise to the same chiral order as observed by neutron scattering Champion2001 . Dipolar interactions Palmer2000  could also favor such a state, once the spins are restricted to the Kagomé planes. In order to experimentally validate this scenario, the knowledge of the magnetic structure for the different magnetic phases in a magnetic field Ramirez2001  would be decisive.

Whether this exchange mechanism plays a significant role in other pyrochlore magnets with large single-ion anisotropies is also open. For example, in the $`\mathrm{Tb}_2\mathrm{Ti}_2\mathrm{O}_7`$ pyrochlore, the crystal field splitting of the Tb3+ ion is estimated to be in the $`1520`$ K range Gingras2000  which is far less than the temperature ($`50`$ K) where short range order sets in Gardner99 . In such circumstances, an exchange-driven anisotropy could be important.

In conclusion, this ESR study has revealed an unexpectedly large magnetic anisotropy for a pyrochlore magnet with spin-only Gd3+ ions. Its possible exchange driven nature stresses the importance of the subtleties of the microscopic coupling between the rare earth ions in these frustrated magnets where a large degree of degeneracy is present.

We gratefully acknowledge very helpful discussions with B. Canals, M. Elhajal, C. Lacroix and A. Wills.


format: text

text:
# Arm Structure in Anemic Spiral Galaxies

## 1 Introduction

Galaxies with smooth spiral arms in their main disks on the Palomar Sky Survey were classified as anemic by van den Bergh (1976). He described them as spirals that are gas-poor with characteristics intermediate between S0’s and normal spirals.

Anemics are most often in rich clusters, but they are also in the field. The field population of anemics may not be different than normal galaxies because nearly all Sa galaxies, even those in the field, were classified as anemic by van den Bergh (1976) as a result of their generally indistinct spiral arms (Rubin et al. 1978; Bothun & Sullivan 1980).

Anemics in clusters seem to result from gas stripping (van den Bergh 1976). Not all clusters have HI deficiencies (Bothun 1982; Giovanelli & Haynes 1985), and even when they do there is not a good correlation between HI deficiency, red color, and anemic type (Kennicutt, Bothun, & Schommer 1984). In Virgo, where gas stripping is clear (Chamaraux, Balkowski, & Gérard 1980; Cayatte et al. 1994), the star formation rates and colors of stripped galaxies are about normal for their relative HI contents, and all three properties are similar to those of field galaxies with earlier Hubble types (Kennicutt 1983). This implies that stripping is a gradual process for a galaxy as a whole, mimicking in some respects normal galaxy evolution (Kennicutt 1983). Stripped galaxies that are anemics may be somewhat special, having radial orbits in the cluster (Vollmer et al. 2001a).

Gas stripping in clusters has a much more obvious signature in the distribution of the HI gas. Stripped galaxies in the centers of clusters have relatively small radii for their HI disks compared to their optical disk (Giovanelli & Haynes 1983; van Gorkom & Kotanyi 1985; Warmels 1988; Cayatte et al. 1994; Bravo-Alfaro et al. 2000), and where the HI remains, the HI surface density can be relatively low too (Kenney & Young 1989). Anemics have the largest HI anomalies, with the smallest relative HI radii and the largest inner disk HI deficiencies (Cayatte et al. 1994; Bravo-Alfaro et al. 2001).

Gas stripping in HI hardly affects the molecular mass and surface density, however (Kenney & Young 1989; Casoli et al. 1991; Boselli et al. 1997; Vollmer et al. 2001b). The H2 mass may even be enhanced relative to HI in the inner regions, as if the increased pressure associated with stripping produces denser clouds (Kenney & Young 1989; Cayatte et al. 1994). This stripping pressure can also increase the star formation rates along the leading edges of galaxies if stripped gas falls back (Vollmer et al. 2001b), and it can make the inner CO disk asymmetric (Kenney et al. 1990; Hidaka & Sofue 2002).

Here we examine the surface densities at mid-radii for the total atomic and molecular gas in Virgo galaxies and other galaxies and compare them with the surface density threshold for star formation found by Kennicutt (1989). We find that the total surface densities are below the threshold in the main disks of anemics, as is often the case for early type galaxies (Caldwell et al. 1991), but they exceed the threshold in later type galaxies. This threshold difference at mid-disk radius explains the low star formation activity in anemic galaxies.

The spiral arm strength in anemics is examined next using blue and near-infrared images from the OSU Bright Spiral Galaxy Survey. We find that anemics have normal arm/interarm contrasts for their spiral arm classes (grand design versus flocculent). The presence of normal stellar density waves in galaxies with low gas densities is unusual because gas is a strong amplifier for stellar wave instabilities (Bertin & Romeo 1988). Either the stripping process and the associated gas asymmetries (Kenney et al. 1990) are driving the stellar spirals, or the stripping took place very recently.

## 2 Gas Surface Densities in Anemic and Normal Galaxies

Anemic galaxies have normal total CO masses for their Hubble types (Kenney & Young 1989). Previous studies did not compare the H2 surface densities in anemics and normal galaxies, nor did they compare the total atomic and molecular surface densities in anemic galaxies to the Kennicutt (1989) threshold for star formation.

The bottom panel in Figure 1 shows all of the detected H2 surface densities, $`\mathrm{\Sigma }`$, in the study by Rownds & Young (1999). Multiple detections in the same galaxy are plotted as multiple points, and non-detections are plotted at the bottom of the panel, where $`\mathrm{log}\mathrm{\Sigma }=1`$. The anemic nature of the galaxies was determined from the classifications in van den Bergh (1976) and van den Bergh, Pierce, & Tully (1990). Anemic galaxies are plotted with open circles in the figure (NGC 3718, NGC 4293, NGC 4450, NGC 4522, NGC 4548, NGC 4569, NGC 4579, NGC 4651, NGC 4689, NGC 4710, NGC 4826), and normal galaxies are plotted with dots. The abscissa is the morphological $`T`$ type in the Third Reference Catalogue of Galaxies (hereafter RC3; de Vaucouleurs, et al. 1991); $`T=1`$ is approximately equivalent to Hubble type Sa, $`T=8`$ is equivalent to Sd. The conversion factor from CO to H2 varies a little with Hubble type (Boselli, Lequeux, & Gavazzi 2002), as do fractional gas masses and other gas properties, so we plot all our results as a function of $`T`$ type to remove these effects from our discussion. The figures indicate that there is no significant difference in the point-by-point distribution of H2 surface density for anemics and normal galaxies. This is consistent with the lack of any such difference in the total H2 mass and the average H2 surface density (e.g., Kenney & Young 1989).

The top panel of Figure 1 shows the average central HI surface density versus the $`T`$ type for all of the galaxies in Warmels (1988) and Cayatte et al. (1994). This average is the integral of the radius times the HI surface density out to half of the optical radius ($`D_0/4`$ for corrected optical diameter $`D_0`$ in the RC3), divided by the integral of the radius out to this same distance (as tabulated by Cayatte et al. for their galaxies and calculated here from data in Warmels). The average surface density inside half the optical radius is usually representative of the inner disk surface density because the intensity of HI is relatively constant there. There is a well-known correlation between average HI surface density and morphological type, with later types having higher HI surface densities, and there is another well-known correlation with anemics having lower mid-disk surface densities than normal galaxies within a $`T`$ type (Kenney & Young 1989; Cayatte et al. 1994). The anemics in this figure are NGC 4450, NGC 4548, NGC 4569, NGC 4579, NGC 4651, and NGC 4689.

The sum of the HI and H2 surface densities determines the star formation properties in a galaxy. Kennicutt (1989) and Martin & Kennicutt (2001) found that stars tend to form where the summed surface density, $`\mathrm{\Sigma }_{tot}`$, exceeds about 0.7 times the Toomre (1964) critical surface density, $`\mathrm{\Sigma }_{crit}`$=$`\kappa `$c/(3.36G), for an assumed velocity dispersion of c=6 km s-1 and an epicyclic frequency $`\kappa `$ derived from the rotation curve. To determine $`\mathrm{\Sigma }_{tot}`$ for this study, we used the average HI surface density inside $`D_0/4`$, as plotted in Figure 1, and the H2 surface density at the radius $`D_0/4`$ from Rownds & Young (1999). We determined $`\kappa `$ at $`D_0/4`$ from the HI rotation curves in Guhathakurta et al. (1988). There are 5 anemics in this overlapping sample, NGC 4548, NGC 4550, NGC 4569, NGC 4579, and NGC 4689.

Figure 2 suggests that anemics are not significantly different from other early-type galaxies, which all have a low ratio $`\mathrm{\Sigma }`$/$`\mathrm{\Sigma }_{crit}`$, as found by Caldwell et al. (1991). The low value of this ratio for anemics and other early types is the result of a moderately low H2 surface density compared to that in later type spirals, a very low HI surface density, and a high $`\kappa `$ in the early types, which comes from the relatively massive bulge.

Anemics have unusually weak star formation in their main disks, like other very early type spiral galaxies, because gravitational instabilities and other processes that normally promote star formation are not possible in these galaxies. This is true even though their total molecular masses are normal for their Hubble types. Part of the reason for the normal molecular masses in anemics is their higher molecular fractions at mid-disk radii (Kenney & Young 1989; Casoli et al. 1991). The motion of the anemics through the intergalactic medium causes higher disk pressures even in parts of the disk where it does not strip the gas away. Higher pressures are generally associated with greater molecular fractions as a result of increased cloud densities and self-shielding (e.g., Hidaka & Sofue 2002). Most of the extra molecular material is probably in the form of diffuse molecular clouds, which do not form stars.

Some anemics have active star formation in their inner regions, typically within 0.2R25. For example, NGC 4548, a strongly barred anemic galaxy, has star formation knots in the spiral arms at the ends of the bar. NGC 4580 and NGC 4689 have circumnuclear rings of star formation and smooth arms elsewhere. We have not checked if the gas surface density exceeds the critical threshold in these inner regions. Our results apply only to the mid-disk positions, where HI and CO data are available.

Guiderdoni (1987) originally suggested that surface density might provide a threshold for star formation, based on the HI surface densities in anemics. He considered an absolute threshold rather than a dynamical one that varies with $`\kappa `$, and did not include H2, but he was essentially correct in his conclusions about star formation.

## 3 Spiral Arm Strengths in Anemic and Normal Galaxies

### 3.1 Observations

Anemic galaxies have spiral arms, so the lack of star formation could in principle be related also to a low spiral arm strength. To check this, we measured arm-interarm contrasts in B and J bands for all the galaxies in Virgo that were observed as part of the Ohio State University Bright Spiral Galaxy Survey (Frogel, Quillen, & Pogge 1996; Eskridge et al. 2002). For those galaxies in which J-band data had poor flat fields or were unavailable, K or H band data were substituted. The images were obtained with the 1.8-m telescope at Lowell Observatory and the 1.5-m telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, using the Ohio State Infrared Imager/ Spectrometer (OSIRIS) and the Cerro Tololo Infrared Imager (CIRIM). The plate scale is between 1.05 arcsec and 1.55 arcsec per pixel in J band for the different instrument/telescope combinations. NIR passbands are particularly useful for highlighting the underlying old stellar populations, with average ages in excess of 1010 yrs (see review in Frogel, Quillen, & Pogge 1996), whereas blue light is dominated by contributions from younger stellar populations.

Our sample consists of 30 galaxies: 12 anemics (classified by van den Bergh 1976) and 18 normal spirals, selected to have a wide variety of Hubble types, arm classes, and gas content. The OSU survey is magnitude-limited, and all anemic galaxies in that survey are included here. All galaxies with types S0 through Sb in our sample are barred or ovally distorted, while later types include nonbarred galaxies. The properties of the observed galaxies are listed in Tables 1 (anemics) and 2 (normal galaxies) with their NGC designation, morphological $`T`$ type, optical arm class (from Elmegreen & Elmegreen 1987, where F is flocculent, G is grand design, and M is multiple arm), radius R25 (where the surface brightness drops to 25 mag arcsec-2) in arcsec, arm-interarm magnitude contrast $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$m in B and J bands, described below, and HI index (from RC3). High values of the HI index correspond to an HI deficiency.

The images were flat-fielded and sky-subtracted following procedures described by Berlind et al. (1997). Combined images were deprojected by using the position angles and inclinations listed in the RC3. Because this study considers only relative magnitudes, absolute calibrations were not necessary. A polar plot of (r,$`\theta `$), for distance r from the galaxy center and azimuthal angle $`\theta `$ around the galaxy, was made of each galaxy using a script written in IRAF. Azimuthal intensity cuts (corresponding to horizontal cuts on the (r,$`\theta `$) plots) 3 pixels wide in radius were taken using the IRAF task PVECTOR. These cuts were repeated for several different radial distances from the center out to the optical edge of the galaxy at $``$ R25, in steps of 10 pixels in radius (approximately every 0.05 R25). From these profiles, the arm and interarm intensities and their magnitude differences (arm-interarm contrasts) were measured. The results for each anemic galaxy were then compared to the results of normal galaxies of the same or similar type, considering also their arm class and HI index.

### 3.2 Arm-Interarm Contrasts

As described in the previous section, the arm-interarm contrasts were measured for this sample of galaxies at regularly spaced radii throughout the disk. These contrasts were found to have the usual properties, namely, they are larger in grand design galaxies than in flocculent galaxies, they increase with radius for non-barred galaxies and decrease with radius outside the bar for barred galaxies, and the arms are bluer in flocculent galaxies than in grand design galaxies. In addition, the blue arm-interarm contrasts fluctuate with radius much more in normal galaxies than in anemics, which is an obvious result of the smoother arms in anemics. The radial fluctuations of blue arm-interarm contrast for grand design normal galaxies is $`\pm 0.7`$ mag, while in grand design anemic galaxies it is $`\pm 0.1`$ mag.

The average arm-interarm B-band and J-band magnitude contrasts are shown as a function of galaxy $`T`$ type in Figure 3, separated into different panels by color (top is blue and bottom is J) and arm class (left is grand design or multiple arm, right is flocculent). Normal galaxies have solid symbols and anemic galaxies have open symbols. The grand design and multiple arm galaxies of all Hubble types, whether anemic or normal, have higher average arm-interarm contrasts than the flocculent galaxies. For either arm class, there is no distinction in arm-interarm contrast between anemic and normal galaxies. Rubin et al. (1978) also noted that the arm-interarm contrast in an anemic galaxy looked normal.

This result implies that density waves in anemic galaxies are as strong as density waves in normal galaxies. Anemic structure is therefore the result of a low $`\mathrm{\Sigma }_{tot}/\mathrm{\Sigma }_{crit}`$.

## 4 Discussion and Conclusions

Anemic galaxies are spiral galaxies of normal size that have lost gas over time from a combination of internal star formation and tidal stripping. They have normal spiral density wave properties, but those in clusters have truncated outer HI disks and low total gas surface densities. Their main disk spiral arms are smoother than usual because of a lack of giant HII regions and star complexes, but they have approximately normal star formation rates and colors for their gas content, i.e., normal star formation efficiencies (as determined from data in Rownds & Young 1999).

The lack of star formation in anemics seems to be the result of their low $`\mathrm{\Sigma }/\mathrm{\Sigma }_{crit}`$. This is the first check on the utility of this star formation criterion that does not rely on a comparison between galaxies of intrinsically different types or between star formation regions with very different radii in a galaxy. For example, other studies of $`\mathrm{\Sigma }_{tot}/\mathrm{\Sigma }_{crit}`$ emphasized the outer parts of late type spirals (Kennicutt 1989; Martin & Kennicutt 2001) or nuclear starburst regions (Shlosman & Begelman 1989; Elmegreen 1994), or they were for elliptical galaxies (Vader & Vigroux 1991) or low surface brightness galaxies (van der Hulst et al. 1993). Here we see the effects of decreasing $`\mathrm{\Sigma }/\mathrm{\Sigma }_{crit}`$ over time throughout the whole disk in an otherwise normal galaxy. When $`\mathrm{\Sigma }/\mathrm{\Sigma }_{crit}`$ drops below 0.7 as a result of gas stripping or other gas removal processes, the star formation rate per unit area drops and the giant HII regions and OB associations disappear.

The future of anemic galaxies may be understood from numerical models of disk galaxies that have no source of cooling for the stellar population and no continuous supply of fresh stars with low velocity dispersions. In these models (Sellwood & Carlberg 1984; Fuchs & von Linden 1998), the stellar disk rapidly heats up and the spiral waves stop. Anemics are therefore evolving toward lenticulars or S0’s as a result of their low gas abundance. The observation of strong spiral waves in severely stripped galaxies also implies three other things: (1) stellar spirals need stars with low velocity dispersions and cool gas mostly in their inner regions, which are still not heavily depleted in anemics; (2) the stripping probably occurred within the last few orbit times at mid-disk radius because spiral wave amplification gets weak quickly when both the stellar and gaseous disks are Toomre-stable (Jog & Solomon 1984; Bertin & Romeo 1988), and (3) the stripping process may itself drive spiral structure, perhaps through the asymmetric mass distribution of the stripped gas. Such asymmetries are present in both the HI (Boselli et al. 1994; Bravo-Alfaro et al. 1997, 2000) and CO (Kenney et al. 1990).

Acknowledgements: We thank the many OSU graduate students who collected data for this project, and wish to especially note the many nights of work that Ray Bertram and Mark Wagner have devoted to the OSU survey. The OSU Survey project was generously supported by grants AST-9217716 and AST-9617006 from the National Science Foundation to OSU (JAF as PI). We thank OSU graduate students Glenn Tiede and Leslie Kuchinski and Vassar undergraduate Theresa Brandt for assistance with the data reduction. We acknowledge support from the Vassar URSI program and the Wm. F. Keck Foundation for financing the undergraduates at Vassar. This research has made use of the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED) which is operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and IRAF, distributed by the National Optical Astronomy Observatories, which are operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation.


text:
# Stability of Satellites Around Close-in Extrasolar Giant Planets

## 1 INTRODUCTION

Each of the giant planets in our solar system posesses a satellite system. Since the discovery of planets in other solar systems (Marcy et al., 2000b), the question of whether these extrasolar planets also have satellites has become relevant and addressible. Extrasolar planets cannot be observed directly with current technology, and observing moons around them poses an even greater technical challenge. However, high precision photometry of stars during transits of planets can detect extrasolar moons either by direct satellite transit or through perturbations in the timing of the planet transit (Sartoretti & Schneider, 1999). Using these techniques, Brown et al. (2001) placed upper limits of $`1.2`$ Earth radii ($`\mathrm{R}_{}`$) and $`3`$ Earth masses ($`\mathrm{M}_{}`$) on any satellites orbiting the transiting planet HD209458b based on the *Hubble Space Telescope* transit lightcurve.

The tidal bulge that a satellite induces on its parent planet perturbs the satellite’s orbit (e.g., Burns, 1986), causing migrations in semimajor axis that can lead to the loss of the satellite. For an isolated planet, satellite removal occurs either through increase in the satellite’s orbital semimajor axis until it escapes, or by inward spiral until it impacts the planet’s surface (Counselman, 1973). In the presence of the parent star, stellar-induced tidal friction slows the planet’s rotation, and the resulting planet-satellite tides cause the satellite to spiral inward towards the planet (Ward & Reid, 1973; Burns, 1973). This effect is especially important for a planet in close proximity to its star, and has been suggested as the reason for the lack of satellites around Mercury (Ward & Reid, 1973; Burns, 1973).

In this paper, we apply tidal theory and the results of numerical orbital integrations to the issue of satellites orbiting close-in extrasolar giant planets. We place limits on the masses of satellites that extrasolar planets may posess, discuss the implications these limits have for the detection of extrasolar satellites, and apply our results to the issue of Earth-like satellites orbiting extrasolar giant planets.

## 2 TIDAL THEORY AND METHODS

According to conventional tidal theory, the relative values of the planetary rotation rate, $`\mathrm{\Omega }_p`$, and the orbital mean motion of the moon, $`n_m`$ (both in units of $`\mathrm{radians}/\mathrm{sec}`$), determine the direction of orbital evolution (see e.g., Murray & Dermott, 2000). For a moon orbiting a planet slower than the planet rotates ($`n_m<\mathrm{\Omega }_p`$), the tidal bulge induced on the planet by the satellite will be dragged ahead of the satellite by an angle $`\delta `$, with $`\mathrm{tan}(2\delta )=1/Q_p`$. Here, $`Q_p`$ is the parameter describing tidal dissipation within the planet (after Goldreich & Soter, 1966), with $`1/Q_p`$ equal to the fraction of tidal energy dissipated during each tidal cycle. Gravitational interactions between the tidal bulge and the satellite induce torques that transfer angular momentum and dissipate energy, slowing the planet’s rotation and increasing the orbital semimajor axis of the satellite. Conversely, for satellites orbiting faster than their planet’s rotation ($`n_m>\mathrm{\Omega }_p`$), the planet is spun up and the satellite’s semimajor axis decreases. The same mechanism causes torques on the planet from its parent star which slow the planet’s rotation (Murray & Dermott, 2000).

The torque on the planet due to the tidal bulge raised by the moon ($`\tau _{pm}`$) is (Murray & Dermott, 2000)

$$\tau _{pm}=\frac{3}{2}\frac{k_{2p}GM_m^2R_p^5}{Q_pa_m^6}\mathrm{sign}(\mathrm{\Omega }_pn_m),$$
(1)
where $`k_{2p}`$ is the tidal Love number of the planet, $`R_p`$ is the radius of the planet, and $`G`$ is the gravitational constant. The term $`\mathrm{sign}(\mathrm{\Omega }n_m)`$ is equal to $`1`$ if $`(\mathrm{\Omega }n_m)`$ is positive, and is equal to $`1`$ if it is negative. We obtain the expression for the stellar torque on the planet by replacing $`M_m`$, the mass of the moon, with $`M_{}`$, the mass of the star; by replacing $`a_m`$, the semimajor axis of the satellite’s orbit with $`a_p`$, the semimajor axis of the planet’s orbit about the star (circular orbits are assumed); and by using the planet’s mean orbital motion $`n_p`$ instead of $`n_m`$:

$$\tau _p=\frac{3}{2}\frac{k_{2p}GM_{}^2R_p^5}{Q_pa_p^6}\mathrm{sign}(\mathrm{\Omega }_pn_p).$$
(2)
The moon’s semimajor axis, $`a_m`$, and the moon’s mean motion, $`n_m`$, are related by Kepler’s law, $`n_m^2a_P^3=GM_p`$. These torques affect both $`n_m`$ and $`\mathrm{\Omega }_p`$. The rate of change of $`\mathrm{\Omega }_p`$ is obtained by dividing the total torque on the planet by the planet’s moment of inertia:

$$\frac{d\mathrm{\Omega }_p}{dt}=\frac{\tau _{pm}+\tau _p}{I_p},$$
(3)
where $`I_p`$ is the planet’s moment of inertia.

Under the circumstances studied in this paper, where a planet is orbited by a much smaller satellite, $`\tau _p`$ is much greater than $`\tau _{pm}`$ for most of the system’s lifetime. Because the moon’s orbital moment of inertia depends on $`n_m`$, the equivalent expression for $`n_m`$ is less trivial to derive. We obtain it by setting the torque equal to the rate of change of the angular momentum and solving for $`dn/dt`$ using the planet’s mass, $`M_p`$ (e.g., Peale, 1988):

$$\frac{dn_m}{dt}=\frac{3\tau _{pm}n_m^{4/3}}{M_m(GM_p)^{2/3}}.$$
(4)
Given appropriate initial and boundary conditions, integration of Equations 3 and 4 determines the state of the system at any given time.

An important boundary condition for such an integration is the critical semimajor axis, or the location of the outermost satellite orbit that remains bound to the planet. This location must be within the planet’s gravitational influence, or Hill sphere, and has been generally thought to lie between $`1/3`$ and $`1/2`$ the radius of the Hill sphere ($`R_H`$) (Burns, 1986), where

$$R_H=a_p\left(\frac{M_p}{3M_{}}\right)^{1/3}.$$
(5)
Recently, Holman & Wiegert (1999) investigated the stability of planets in binary star systems and their results are applicable to the planet-satellite situation as well. Through numerical integrations of a test particle orbiting one component of a binary star system, Holman & Wiegert (1999) found that for high mass ratio binaries, the critical semimajor axis for objects orbiting the secondary in its orbital plane is equal to a constant fraction ($`f`$) of the secondary’s Hill radius, or

$$a_{crit}=fR_H.$$
(6)
We treat a star orbited by a much less massive planet as a high mass ratio binary system and deduce that the critical semimajor axis for a satellite orbiting the planet is $`.36R_H`$ ($`f=.36`$) for prograde satellites (from Holman & Wiegert, 1999, Figure 1). This agrees closely with Burns (1986). In fact, none of the prograde moons of our solar system orbit outside this radius (see Table 1). Holman & Wiegert (1999) did not treat objects in retrograde orbits (which are expected to be more stable than prograde ones), so to treat possible captured satellites we take $`f_{retrograde}=0.50`$ based on the solar system values for $`a_m/R_H`$ in Table 1.

## 3 CONSTRAINTS ON SATELLITE MASSES

Satellites orbiting close-in giant planets fall into one of three categories based on the history of their orbital evolution. Satellites that either start inside the planet’s synchronous radius (the distance from the planet where $`n_m=\mathrm{\Omega }_p`$) or become subsynchronous early in their lifetimes, as a result of the slowing planetary rotation, spend their lives spiraling inward toward the cloud tops. Eventually these moons collide with the planet or are broken up once they migrate inside the Roche limit. Moons that start and remain exterior to the synchronous radius evolve outward over the course of their lives and, given enough time, would be lost to interplanetary space as a result of orbtial instability. In between these two is a third class of orbital history. In this case, a satellite starts well outside the synchronous radius and initially spirals outward, but its migration direction is reversed when the planet’s rotation slows enough to move the synchronous radius outside the moon’s orbit. These moons eventually impact the planet.

In order to determine which satellites might still exist around any given planet, we determine the maximum lifetime for a moon with a given mass in each orbital evolution category. Inward-evolving satellites should maximize their lifetime by starting as far from the planet as possible, at the critical semimajor axis $`a_{crit}`$ (Equation 6), and spiraling inward all the way to the planet. Outward-evolving satellites can survive the longest if they start just outside the synchronous radius of the planet, then spiral outward to the critical semimajor axis. The maximum lifetime for the out-then-in case occurs when a satellite reverses migration direction at the outermost possible point, the critical semimajor axis. In this case, the moon starts at the semimajor axis that allows for it to have reached $`a_{crit}`$ by the time its planet’s synchronous radius also reaches $`a_{crit}`$, thus maximizing the time for its inward spiral (see Figure 1). For a given satellite mass, if the maximum possible lifetime is shorter than the age of the system, then such a satellite could not have survived to the present. Because the orbits of higher-mass satellites evolve more quickly than those of lower-mass satellites (Equation 4), an upper limit can be placed on the masses of satellites that could still exist around any given planet.

### 3.1 Analytical Treatment

For a given semimajor axis of a moon, $`a_m`$, the migration rate is the same whether the moon is moving inward or outward (with the assumption that $`Q_p`$ is independent of the tidal forcing frequency $`\mathrm{\Omega }_pn_m`$), and the migration rate is much faster for satellites close to their parent planets. For both the inward- and outward-migrating categories, the total lifetime of a satellite ($`T`$) is well-characterized by the time necessary for a satellite orbit to traverse the entire region between the critical semimajor axis ($`a_m=a_{crit}`$) and the planet’s surface ($`a_m=R_p`$), (Murray & Dermott, 2000):

$$T=\frac{2}{13}\left(a_{crit}^{13/2}R_p^{13/2}\right)\frac{Q_p}{3k_{2p}M_mR_p^5}\sqrt{\frac{M_p}{G}}.$$
(7)
Since $`R_pa_{crit}`$ and the exponents are large, the $`R_p`$ term inside the parenthesis can be neglected. Substituting $`a_{crit}=fR_H`$ (Equation 6), allowing $`T`$ to be equal to the age of the system, and solving for $`M_m`$ collectively result in an analytical expression for the maximum possible extant satellite mass in both the inward and outward cases,

$$M_m\frac{2}{13}\left(\frac{(fa_p)^3}{3M_{}}\right)^{13/6}\frac{M_p^{8/3}Q_p}{3k_{2p}TR_p^5\sqrt{G}},$$
(8)
which is the equation of the bottom, dot-dashed line in Figure 2. In the case of satellites that evolve outward then inward, the spindown of the planet is important. These moons can be saved temporarily by the reversal of their orbital migration. This reversal prolongs their lifetimes, but by less than a factor of two, because the satellite transverses the region where $`a_m<a_{crit}`$ twice. The upper mass limit for these satellites is

$$M_m\frac{4}{13}\left(\frac{(fa_p)^3}{3M_{}}\right)^{13/6}\frac{M_p^{8/3}Q_p}{3k_{2p}TR_p^5\sqrt{G}},$$
(9)
and this limit is plotted as the upper dotted line in Figure 2.

We obtain the boundaries between the in, out-then-in, and out cases by comparing the time necessary to despin the planet to the age of the system. The time necessary to spin down the planet to the point that the synchronous radius becomes exterior to the critical semimajor axis is equal to (Guillot et al., 1996)

$$T_{spindown}=Q_p(\mathrm{\Omega }_{p0}\mathrm{\Omega }_{p1})\left(\frac{R_p^3M_p}{GM_{}^2}\right),$$
(10)
where $`\mathrm{\Omega }_{p0}`$ is the initial planetary rotation rate and $`\mathrm{\Omega }_{p1}`$ is the rotation rate at which the planet’s synchronous radius is coincident with $`a_{crit}`$. At this point, from Kepler’s law we infer that

$$\mathrm{\Omega }_{p1}=n_{crit}=\left(\frac{GM_p}{a_{crit}^2}\right)^{(1/3)}.$$
(11)
For the case where $`T_{spindown}T`$ (where $`T`$ is the system liftime), the maximum-mass moon evolves inward and Equation 8 should be used. When the system age is greater than this spindown time ($`T_{spindown}T`$), moons evolve outward and again Equation 8 is valid. However, when $`T_{spindown}T`$, the reversal of satellite orbital migration is important and Equation 9 provides a more robust upper mass limit for surviving satellites.

These results for the maximum $`M_m`$ are limited by the requirement that the rate of angular momentum transfer between the planet and the satellite must be less than that between the planet and the star when $`a_m`$ is relatively large (i.e., $`\tau _p>\tau _{pm}`$ in Equation 3) such that synchronization between the planet and moon does not occur. In the case of rocky satellites orbiting gaseous planets, this condition is met. For large moon-planet mass ratios or large $`a_p`$, this assumption breaks down, yielding a situation more closely resembling the isolated planet-satellite systems treated in Counselman (1973). In this case the planet and moon can become locked into a 1:1 spin-orbit resonance with each another, halting the satellite’s orbital migration and extending its lifetime. For extrasolar Jovian planets ($`0.3\mathrm{M}_{}<M_p<13.0\mathrm{M}_{}`$) this occurs when satellite masses become very large, i.e. greater than $`8\mathrm{M}_{}`$ for a $`1\mathrm{M}_{\mathrm{Jup}}`$ planet. Such a moon is large enough to accrete hydrogen gas during its formation, however, and in such a case the system is better treated as a binary planet, taking into account the tidal torques of each body on the mutual orbit. We do not address that situation here.

We assume prograde, primordial satellites, but objects captured into orbit by a planet late in its life could also remain in orbit. We do not treat the physics of satellite capture, but the lifetimes of such moons would be affected by the same processes described above if prograde, and limited by inward migration like Neptune’s moon Triton (McCord, 1966) if retrograde. In the case of retrograde, captured moons, the following upper limit on their survival lifetime can be placed by rearranging Equation 8:

$$T_{max}=\frac{2}{13}\left(\frac{(f_Ra_p)^3}{3M_{}}\right)^{13/6}\frac{M_p^{8/3}Q_p}{3k_{2p}M_mR_p^5\sqrt{G}}.$$
(12)
Our analysis assumes a single satellite system. Inward-migrating moons could not be slowed significantly by entering into a resonance with another satellite further in because the interior satellite would be migrating faster (due to the $`a_m^6`$ dependance of the torque in Equation 1), unless its mass is less than $`.08M_m`$ (assuming a 2:1 resonance). Slowly-migrating moons exterior to the satellite in question cannot slow its orbital migration because objects in diverging orbits cannot be captured into resonances. However, outward-migrating satellites could have their lifetimes extended by entering into a resonance with an exterior neighbor through intersatellite angular momentum transfer (Goldreich, 1965), similar to the resonances currently slowing the outward migration of Io from Jupiter. Thus some outward-limited satellites above the mass limit derived in Equation 8 may still survive because of resonances entered into earlier in their lifetimes.

### 3.2 Numerical Treatment

To verify the limits stipulated in Equations 8 and 9, we integrate Equations 3 and 4 numerically, from the initial rotation rate and semimajor axis until the satellite’s demise either through impact with the planet or through orbital escape. We use an adaptive stepsize Runge-Kutta integrator from Press et al. (1992) and have verified that it reproduces our analytical results for small satellite masses. We also assume that only $`\mathrm{\Omega }_p`$ and $`a_m`$ change over time — other planetary parameters such as $`Q_p`$, $`a_p`$, $`R_p`$, and all others are taken to be constant for the length of the integration. The expected changes in the planet’s orbital semimajor axis $`a_p`$ over the course of the integration do not significantly affect the calculations, and larger planetary radii $`R_p`$ in the past would only serve to further reduce lifetime of a given satellite beyond what we have calculated here, pushing the upper surviving satellite mass lower.

For each planet, we determine the maximum satellite mass that could survive for the observed lifetime of the system by optimizing the initial semimajor axis of the satellite so as to maximize its lifetime and then tuning the satellite mass until this lifetime is equal to the system age. Sample evolutionary histories of this maximum mass satellite for a hypothetical $`1M_{}`$, $`1M_{Jup}`$ system from each orbital evolutionary history category are shown in Figure 1. The numerically determined maximum mass as a function of planetary orbital semimajor axis is shown in Figure 2 as the solid line. These numerical results are consistent with our analytical upper mass limits from Equations 8 and 9.

## 4 IMPLICATIONS

### 4.1 Known Extrasolar Planets

In applying these results to the specific test case of the transiting planet HD209458b, we adopt the values $`M_{}=1.1\mathrm{M}_{}`$, $`M_p=0.69\mathrm{M}_{\mathrm{Jup}}`$, $`a_p=0.0468\mathrm{AU}`$, $`T=5.0\mathrm{Gyr}`$ (Mazeh et al., 2000), and $`R_p=1.35\mathrm{R}_{\mathrm{Jup}}`$ (Brown et al., 2001) based on observational studies. We take $`k_{2p}`$ for the planet to be $`0.51`$, the value for an $`n=1`$ polytrope (Hubbard, 1984). The least constrained parameter is the tidal dissipation factor $`Q_p`$; for HD209458b we adopt $`Q_p=10^5`$, which is consistent with estimates for Jupiter’s $`Q_p`$ (Goldreich & Soter, 1966). However, $`Q_p`$ is not known precisely even for the planets in our own solar system, and the precise mechanism for the dissipation of tidal energy has not been established. $`Q_p`$ for extrasolar planets, and especially for ones whose interiors differ from Jupiter’s such as close-in giant planets (Burrows et al., 2000), may differ substantially from this value.

Because HD209458b was likely tidally spun down to synchronous rotation very quickly (Guillot et al., 1996), satellites around it are constrained by the infall time and we use Equation 8 to obtain an upper limit of $`7\times 10^7\mathrm{M}_{}`$ for their masses. Assuming a density of $`\rho =3\mathrm{g}/\mathrm{cm}^3`$, the largest possible satellite would be $`70\mathrm{km}`$ in radius — slightly smaller than Jupiter’s irregularly-shaped moon Amalthea. These limits are consistent with the those placed on actual satellites observationally by Brown et al. (2001). It is possible for captured satellites to exist around HD209458b. Their lifetimes, however, would be exceedingly short — a $`1\mathrm{M}_{}`$ satellite could survive for only $`30,000\mathrm{y}\mathrm{r}`$ (Equation 12), making the probability of detecting one low unless such captures are common.

We also calculate the maximum masses for surviving moons around other detected extrasolar planets; the results are in Table 2. We take the planet masses to be equal to the minimum mass determined by radial velocity monitoring, as the orbital inclination has not been reliably determined for any planet except HD209458b. We use the same $`k_{2p}`$ and $`Q_p`$ as we did for HD209458b, but take $`R_p=R_{Jup}`$ because the radii for these objects is unknown. For this table, we have only chosen planets whose orbital eccentricities are less than $`0.10`$ because Equation 6 applies only to planets in circular orbits. The critical semimajor axis for planets in noncircular orbits has not yet been determined, thus we leave the calculation of upper mass limits for satellites around these eccentric planets for future work.

### 4.2 Earth-like Moons

Our approach can also shed light on the issue of Earth-like satellites, which we define to be moons capable of supporting liquid water. Low-mass satellites do not fit this definition due to their inability to retain volatiles (Williams et al., 1997). Here we note that high-mass satellites may not survive for long periods around close-in planets because planets with low masses have smaller Hill spheres and therefore, for a given satellite mass, also have shorter maximum moon lifetimes. To calculate in general which giant planets might harbor Earth-like satellites, we use Equation 8 and constrain $`a_p`$ based on the insolation at the planet, $`F`$, relative to the Earth’s insolation $`F_{}=1370\mathrm{W}\mathrm{m}^2`$. We use the rough approximation (Hansen & Kawaler, 1994)

$$\frac{L_{}}{L_{}}=\left(\frac{M_{}}{M_{}}\right)^{3.5}$$
(13)
for the stellar luminosity, $`L_{}`$, together with the insolation at the planet,

$$\frac{F}{F_{}}\frac{a_p^2}{a_{}^2}=\frac{L_{}}{L_{}},$$
(14)
to fix the planet’s semimajor axis by solving for $`a_p`$. By plugging the resulting value for $`a_p`$ into Equation 8, we can exclude Earth-like moons around planets in systems that don’t satisfy the inequality

$$M_p\left[\frac{39}{4}\left(\frac{f^3}{3}\right)^{13/6}\frac{M_mk_{2p}TR_p^5\sqrt{G}}{Q_p}\right]^{3/8}\frac{M_{}^{273/64}}{M_{}^{221/64}}\left(a_{}^2\frac{F_{}}{F}\right)^{39/32}.$$
(15)
Equation 15 is plotted in Figure 3 for the same values of $`k_{2p}`$, $`Q_p`$, and $`f`$ as we use for HD209458b, with $`R_p=R_{Jup}`$ and $`T=5\mathrm{Gyr}`$.

Williams et al. (1997) found the lower limit $`M_m0.12\mathrm{M}_{}`$ for moons that can retain volatiles over Gyr timescales. Using this mass, we find that Earth-like moons orbiting Jovian planets could survive for solar system lifetimes around stars with masses greater than $`0.15M_{}`$, and that Earth-mass satellites which receive similar insolation to the Earth are stable around all Jovian planets orbiting stars with $`M_{}>0.5M_{}`$. Planets with masses less than $`0.3M_{Jup}`$ differ in radius, $`Q_p`$, and interior structure from those with masses greater than $`0.3M_{Jup}`$. In addition, for lower planet masses the planet/satellite mass ratio increases beyond the assumption of non-synchronization between the planet and moon. For these reasons, we do not treat the question of Earth-like satellites of ice-giant planets ($`M_p<0.3\mathrm{M}_{\mathrm{Jup}}`$) here.

The radial-velocity planet most likely to harbor Earth-like moons is HD28185b because of its circular, $`a_p=1\mathrm{A}\mathrm{U}`$ orbit around a star similar to the Sun withspectral type G5V and $`L_{}=1.09\mathrm{L}_{}`$ (Santos et al., 2001). Because the calculated upper satellite mass for this planet is above $`8\mathrm{M}_{}`$, we can not rule out any satellite masses for this object. Thus, Earth-like moons with any mass could plausibly be stable around HD28185b.

### 4.3 Future Discoveries

Several missions to search for extrasolar planet transits by high-precision space-based photometry are in the planning stages and will, if launched, have the capability of detecting satellites (Sartoretti & Schneider, 1999). The probability that a given planet will transit across its parent star decreases with planetary orbital semimajor axis as $`1/a_p`$. Hence these surveys will preferentially detect planets in orbits close to their parent stars. However, we have shown that it is unlikely that these close-in objects will harbor satellites. Therefore satellite transits are most likely to be detected around planets orbiting at moderate distances from their parent star ( $`0.3\mathrm{AU}a_p2\mathrm{A}\mathrm{U}`$), even though planet transits are most likely at small orbital distances. If a satellite were detected, Equation 9 could be used to place limits on the planetary tidal dissipation parameter $`Q_p`$. By using extreme values of the lifetimes, masses, and possible values $`Q_p`$ that may exist, we estimate this process will not significantly affect planets more than $`0.6\mathrm{AU}`$ from their parent star, leaving any satellite systems they might posess intact.

The authors acknowledge Bill Hubbard and Rick Greenberg for useful discussions, and Robert H. Brown, Jonathan Fortney, Gwen Bart, and Paul Withers for manuscript suggestions. Funds for publication of this paper were provided by the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory. D. O. is supported by NASA GSRP.