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At least 973 records · Page 54
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2015

HATS9-b and HATS10-b: Two compact hot jupiters in field 7 of the K2 mission

We report the discovery of two transiting extrasolar planets by the HATSouth survey. HATS-9b orbits an old (10.8 ± 1.5 Gyr) V = 13.3 G dwarf star with a period P≈1.9153 days. The host star has a mass of 1.03 M{sub ⊙}, radius of 1.503 R{sub ⊙} , and effective temperature 5366 ± 70 K. The planetary companion has a mass of 0.837 M{sub J} and radius of 1.065 R{sub J}, yielding a mean density of 0.85 g cm{sup −3}. HATS-10b orbits a V = 13.1 G dwarf star with a period P≈3.3128 days. The host star has a mass of 1.1 M{sub ⊙}, radius of 1.11 R{sub ⊙} , and effective temperature 5880 ± 120 K. The planetary companion has a mass of 0.53 M{sub J} and radius of 0.97 R{sub J}, yielding a mean density of 0.7 g cm{sup −3}. Both planets are compact in comparison with planets receiving similar irradiation from their host stars and lie in the nominal coordinates of Field 7 of K2, but only HATS-9b falls on working silicon. Future characterization of HATS-9b with the exquisite photometric precision of the Kepler telescope may provide measurements of its reflected light signature.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2011

STARSPOTS AND SPIN-ORBIT ALIGNMENT IN THE WASP-4 EXOPLANETARY SYSTEM

We present photometry of four transits of the exoplanet WASP-4b, each with a precision of approximately 500 ppm and a time sampling of 40-60 s. We have used the data to refine the estimates of the system parameters and ephemerides. During two of the transits we observed a short-lived, low-amplitude anomaly that we interpret as the occultation of a starspot by the planet. We also found evidence for a pair of similar anomalies in previously published photometry. The recurrence of these anomalies suggests that the stellar rotation axis is nearly aligned with the orbital axis, or else the starspot would not have remained on the transit chord. By analyzing the timings of the anomalies we find the sky-projected stellar obliquity to be {lambda} = -1{sup +14}{sub -12} degrees. This result is consistent with (and more constraining than) a recent observation of the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect. It suggests that the planet migration mechanism preserved the initially low obliquity, or else that tidal evolution has realigned the system. Future applications of this method using data from the CoRoT and Kepler missions will allow spin-orbit alignment to be probed for many other exoplanets.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2011

WARM SATURNS: ON THE NATURE OF RINGS AROUND EXTRASOLAR PLANETS THAT RESIDE INSIDE THE ICE LINE

We discuss the nature of rings that may exist around extrasolar planets. Taking the general properties of rings around the gas giants in the solar system, we infer the likely properties of rings around exoplanets that reside inside the ice line. Due to their proximity to their host star, rings around such exoplanets must primarily consist of rocky materials. However, we find that despite the higher densities of rock compared to ice, most of the observed extrasolar planets with reliable radius measurements have sufficiently large Roche radii to support rings. For the currently known transiting extrasolar planets, Poynting-Robertson drag is not effective in significantly altering the dynamics of individual ring particles over a time span of 10{sup 8} yr provided that they exceed about 1 m in size. In addition, we show that significantly smaller ring particles can exist in optically thick rings, for which we find typical ring lifetimes ranging from a few times 10{sup 6} to a few times 10{sup 9} yr. Most interestingly, we find that many of the rings could have nontrivial Laplacian planes due to the increased effects of the orbital quadrupole caused by the exoplanets' proximity to their host star, allowing a constraint on the J{sub 2} of extrasolar planets from ring observations. This is particularly exciting, since a planet's J{sub 2} reveals information about its interior structure. Furthermore, measurements of an exoplanet's J{sub 2} from warped rings and of its oblateness would together place limits on its spin period. Based on the constraints that we have derived for extrasolar rings, we anticipate that the best candidates for ring detections will come from transit observations by the Kepler spacecraft of extrasolar planets with semimajor axes {approx}0.1 AU and larger.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2011

PROTOPLANETARY DISK RESONANCES AND TYPE I MIGRATION

Waves reflected by the inner edge of a protoplanetary disk are shown to significantly modify Type I migration, even allowing the trapping of planets near the inner disk edge for small planets in a range of disk parameters. This may inform the distribution of planets close to their central stars, as observed recently by the Kepler mission.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2011

STARSPOTS, SPIN-ORBIT MISALIGNMENT, AND ACTIVE LATITUDES IN THE HAT-P-11 EXOPLANETARY SYSTEM

We present the analysis of four months of Kepler photometry of the K4V star HAT-P-11, including 26 transits of its 'super-Neptune' planet. The transit data exhibit numerous anomalies which we interpret as passages of the planet over dark starspots. These spot-crossing anomalies preferentially occur at two specific phases of the transit. These phases can be understood as the intersection points between the transit chord and the active latitudes of the host star, where starspots are most abundant. Based on the measured characteristics of spot-crossing anomalies and previous observations of the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect, we find two solutions for the stellar obliquity {psi} and active latitude l: either {psi} = 106{sup +15}{sub -11} and l = 19.7{sup +1.5}{sub -2.2}, or {psi} = 97{sup +8}{sub -4} and l = 67{sup +2}{sub -4} (all in degrees). If the active latitude changes with time analogous to the 'butterfly diagram' of the Sun's activity cycle, future observations should reveal changes in the preferred phases of spot-crossing anomalies.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

SPITZER INFRARED OBSERVATIONS AND INDEPENDENT VALIDATION OF THE TRANSITING SUPER-EARTH CoRoT-7 b

The detection and characterization of the first transiting super-Earth, CoRoT-7 b, has required an unprecedented effort in terms of telescope time and analysis. Although the star does display a radial-velocity signal at the period of the planet, this has been difficult to disentangle from the intrinsic stellar variability and pinning down the velocity amplitude has been very challenging. As a result, the precise value of the mass of the planet-and even the extent to which it can be considered to be confirmed-has been debated in the recent literature, with six mass measurements published so far based on the same spectroscopic observations, ranging from about 2 to 8 Earth masses. Here we report on an independent validation of the planet discovery using one of the fundamental properties of a transit signal: its achromaticity. We observed four transits of CoRoT-7 b at 4.5 {mu}m and 8.0 {mu}m with the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) on board the Spitzer Space Telescope in order to determine whether the depth of the transit signal in the near-infrared is consistent with that observed in the CoRoT bandpass, as expected for a planet. We detected the transit and found an average depth of 0.426 {+-} 0.115 mmag at 4.5 {mu}m, which is in good agreement with the depth of 0.350 {+-} 0.011 mmag (ignoring limb darkening) found by CoRoT. The observations at 8.0 {mu}m did not yield a significant detection. The 4.5 {mu}m observations place important constraints on the kinds of astrophysical false positives that could mimic the signal. Combining this with additional constraints reported earlier, we performed an exhaustive exploration of possible blend scenarios for CoRoT-7 b using the BLENDER technique. We are able to rule out the vast majority of false positives, and the remaining ones are found to be much less likely than a true transiting planet. We thus validate CoRoT-7 b as a bona fide planet with a very high degree of confidence, independently of any radial-velocity information. Our Spitzer observations have additionally allowed us to significantly improve the ephemeris of the planet, so that future transits should be recoverable well into the next decade. In its warm phase Spitzer is expected to be an essential tool for the validation, along the lines of the present analysis, of transiting planet candidates with shallow signals from CoRoT as well as from the Kepler mission, including potentially rocky planets in the habitable zones of their parent stars.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

CHALLENGES IN FORMING PLANETS BY GRAVITATIONAL INSTABILITY: DISK IRRADIATION AND CLUMP MIGRATION, ACCRETION, AND TIDAL DESTRUCTION

We present two-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations of self-gravitating protostellar disks subject to axisymmetric, continuing mass loading from an infalling envelope and irradiation from the central star to explore the growth of gravitational instability (GI) and disk fragmentation. We assume that the disk is built gradually and smoothly by the infall, resulting in good numerical convergence. We confirm that for disks around solar-mass stars, infall at high rates at radii beyond {approx}50 AU leads to disk fragmentation. At lower infall rates, however, irradiation suppresses fragmentation. We find that, once formed, the fragments or clumps migrate inward on typical type I timescales of {approx}2 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 3} yr initially, but with a stochastic component superimposed due to their interaction with the GI-induced spiral arms. Migration begins to deviate from the type I timescale when the clump becomes more massive than the local disk mass, and/or when the clump begins to form a gap in the disk. As they migrate, clumps accrete from the disk at a rate between 10{sup -3} and 10{sup -1} M{sub J} yr{sup -1}, consistent with analytic estimates that assume a 1-2 Hill radii cross section. The eventual fates of these clumps, however, diverge depending on the migration speed: 3 out of 13 clumps in our simulations become massive enough (brown dwarf mass range) to open gaps in the disk and essentially stop migrating; 4 out of 13 are tidally destroyed during inward migration; and 6 out of 13 migrate across the inner boundary of the simulated disks. A simple analytic model for clump evolution explains the different fates of the clumps and reveals some limitations of two-dimensional simulations. Overall, our results indicate that fast migration, accretion, and tidal destruction of the clumps pose challenges to the scenario of giant planet formation by GI in situ, although we cannot address whether or not remnant solid cores can survive after tidal stripping. The models where the massive clumps are not disrupted and open gaps may be relevant to the formation of close binary systems similar to Kepler 16. A clump formed by GI-induced fragmentation can be as large as 10 AU and as luminous as 2 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -3} L{sub Sun }, which will be easily detectable with ALMA, but its lifetime before dynamically collapsing is only {approx}1000 years.

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DOE OSTI2012

CHARACTERIZING THE ATMOSPHERES OF TRANSITING PLANETS WITH A DEDICATED SPACE TELESCOPE

Exoplanetary science is one of the fastest evolving fields of today's astronomical research, continuously yielding unexpected and surprising results. Ground-based planet-hunting surveys, together with dedicated space missions such as Kepler and CoRoT, are delivering an ever-increasing number of exoplanets, over 690, and ESA's Gaia mission will escalate the exoplanetary census into the several thousands. The next logical step is the characterization of these new worlds. What is their nature? Why are they as they are? Use of the Hubble Space Telescope and Spitzer Space Telescope to probe the atmospheres of transiting hot, gaseous exoplanets has opened perspectives unimaginable even just 10 years ago, demonstrating that it is indeed possible with current technology to address the ambitious goal of characterizing the atmospheres of these alien worlds. However, these successful measurements have also shown the difficulty of understanding the physics and chemistry of these exotic environments when having to rely on a limited number of observations performed on a handful of objects. To progress substantially in this field, a dedicated facility for exoplanet characterization, able to observe a statistically significant number of planets over time and a broad spectral range will be essential. Additionally, the instrument design (e.g., detector performances, photometric stability) will be tailored to optimize the extraction of the astrophysical signal. In this paper, we analyze the performance and tradeoffs of a 1.2/1.4 m space telescope for exoplanet transit spectroscopy from the visible to the mid-IR. We present the signal-to-noise ratio as a function of integration time and stellar magnitude/spectral type for the acquisition of spectra of planetary atmospheres for a variety of scenarios: hot, warm, and temperate planets orbiting stars ranging in spectral type from hot F- to cooler M-dwarfs. Our results include key examples of known planets (e.g., HD 189733b, GJ 436b, GJ 1214b, and Cancri 55 e) and simulations of plausible terrestrial and gaseous planets, with a variety of thermodynamical conditions. We conclude that even most challenging targets, such as super-Earths in the habitable zone of late-type stars, are within reach of an M-class, space-based spectroscopy mission.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

OF 'COCKTAIL PARTIES' AND EXOPLANETS

The characterization of ever smaller and fainter extrasolar planets requires an intricate understanding of one's data and the analysis techniques used. Correcting the raw data at the 10{sup -4} level of accuracy in flux is one of the central challenges. This can be difficult for instruments that do not feature a calibration plan for such high precision measurements. Here, it is not always obvious how to de-correlate the data using auxiliary information of the instrument and it becomes paramount to know how well one can disentangle instrument systematics from one's data, given nothing but the data themselves. We propose a non-parametric machine learning algorithm, based on the concept of independent component analysis, to de-convolve the systematic noise and all non-Gaussian signals from the desired astrophysical signal. Such a 'blind' signal de-mixing is commonly known as the 'Cocktail Party problem' in signal processing. Given multiple simultaneous observations of the same exoplanetary eclipse, as in the case of spectrophotometry, we show that we can often disentangle systematic noise from the original light-curve signal without the use of any complementary information of the instrument. In this paper, we explore these signal extraction techniques using simulated data and two data sets observed with the Hubble Space Telescope NICMOS instrument. Another important application is the de-correlation of the exoplanetary signal from time-correlated stellar variability. Using data obtained by the Kepler mission we show that the desired signal can be de-convolved from the stellar noise using a single time series spanning several eclipse events. Such non-parametric techniques can provide important confirmations of the existent parametric corrections reported in the literature, and their associated results. Additionally they can substantially improve the precision exoplanetary light-curve analysis in the future.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

TWO NEW TIDALLY DISTORTED WHITE DWARFS

We identify two new tidally distorted white dwarfs (WDs), SDSS J174140.49+652638.7 and J211921.96-001825.8 (hereafter J1741 and J2119). Both stars are extremely low mass (ELM, {<=} 0.2 M{sub Sun }) WDs in short-period, detached binary systems. High-speed photometric observations obtained at the McDonald Observatory reveal ellipsoidal variations and Doppler beaming in both systems; J1741, with a minimum companion mass of 1.1 M{sub Sun }, has one of the strongest Doppler beaming signals ever observed in a binary system (0.59% {+-} 0.06% amplitude). We use the observed ellipsoidal variations to constrain the radius of each WD. For J1741, the star's radius must exceed 0.074 R{sub Sun }. For J2119, the radius exceeds 0.10 R{sub Sun }. These indirect radius measurements are comparable to the radius measurements for the bloated WD companions to A-stars found by the Kepler spacecraft, and they constitute some of the largest radii inferred for any WD. Surprisingly, J1741 also appears to show a 0.23% {+-} 0.06% reflection effect, and we discuss possible sources for this excess heating. Both J1741 and J2119 are strong gravitational wave sources, and the time-of-minimum of the ellipsoidal variations can be used to detect the orbital period decay. This may be possible on a timescale of a decade or less.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

TOWARD A NEW KIND OF ASTEROSEISMIC GRID FITTING

Recent developments in instrumentation (e.g., in particular the Kepler and CoRoT satellites) provide a new opportunity to improve the models of stellar pulsations. Surface layers, rotation, and magnetic fields imprint erratic frequency shifts, trends, and other non-random behavior in the frequency spectra. As our observational uncertainties become smaller, these are increasingly important and difficult to deal with using standard fitting techniques. To improve the models, new ways to compare their predictions with observations need to be conceived. In this paper, we present a completely probabilistic (Bayesian) approach to asteroseismic model fitting. It allows for varying degrees of prior mode identification, corrections for the discrete nature of the grid, and most importantly implements a treatment of systematic errors, such as the 'surface effects'. It removes the need to apply semi-empirical corrections to the observations prior to fitting them to the models and results in a consistent set of probabilities with which the model physics can be probed and compared. As an example, we show a detailed asteroseismic analysis of the Sun. We find a most probable solar age, including a 35 {+-} 5 million year pre-main-sequence phase, of 4.591 billion years, and initial element mass fractions of X{sub 0} = 0.72, Y{sub 0} = 0.264, Z{sub 0} = 0.016, consistent with recent asteroseismic and non-asteroseismic studies.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

QATAR-2: A K DWARF ORBITED BY A TRANSITING HOT JUPITER AND A MORE MASSIVE COMPANION IN AN OUTER ORBIT

We report the discovery and initial characterization of Qatar-2b, a hot Jupiter transiting a V = 13.3 mag K dwarf in a circular orbit with a short period, P{sub b} = 1.34 days. The mass and radius of Qatar-2b are M{sub P} = 2.49 M{sub J} and R{sub P} = 1.14 R{sub J}, respectively. Radial-velocity monitoring of Qatar-2 over a span of 153 days revealed the presence of a second companion in an outer orbit. The Systemic Console yielded plausible orbits for the outer companion, with periods on the order of a year and a companion mass of at least several M{sub J}. Thus, Qatar-2 joins the short but growing list of systems with a transiting hot Jupiter and an outer companion with a much longer period. This system architecture is in sharp contrast to that found by Kepler for multi-transiting systems, which are dominated by objects smaller than Neptune, usually with tightly spaced orbits that must be nearly coplanar.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

SUPER-ECCENTRIC MIGRATING JUPITERS

An important class of formation theories for hot Jupiters involves the excitation of extreme orbital eccentricity (e = 0.99 or even larger) followed by tidal dissipation at periastron passage that eventually circularizes the planetary orbit at a period less than 10 days. In a steady state, this mechanism requires the existence of a significant population of super-eccentric (e > 0.9) migrating Jupiters with long orbital periods and periastron distances of only a few stellar radii. For these super-eccentric planets, the periastron is fixed due to conservation of orbital angular momentum and the energy dissipated per orbit is constant, implying that the rate of change in semi-major axis a is a-dot {proportional_to}a{sup 1/2} and consequently the number distribution satisfies dN/d log a{proportional_to}a{sup 1/2}. If this formation process produces most hot Jupiters, Kepler should detect several super-eccentric migrating progenitors of hot Jupiters, allowing for a test of high-eccentricity migration scenarios.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

POSSIBLE DISINTEGRATING SHORT-PERIOD SUPER-MERCURY ORBITING KIC 12557548

We report on the discovery of stellar occultations, observed with Kepler, which recur periodically at 15.685 hr intervals, but which vary in depth from a maximum of 1.3% to a minimum that can be less than 0.2%. The star that is apparently being occulted is KIC 12557548, a V = 16 mag K dwarf with T{sub eff,s} {approx_equal} 4400 K. The out-of-occultation behavior shows no evidence for ellipsoidal light variations, indicating that the mass of the orbiting object is less than {approx}3 M{sub J} (for an orbital period of 15.7 hr). Because the eclipse depths are highly variable, they cannot be due solely to transits of a single planet with a fixed size. We discuss but dismiss a scenario involving a binary giant planet whose mutual orbit plane precesses, bringing one of the planets into and out of a grazing transit. This scenario seems ruled out by the dynamical instability that would result from such a configuration. We also briefly consider an eclipsing binary, possibly containing an accretion disk, that either orbits KIC 12557548 in a hierarchical triple configuration or is nearby on the sky, but we find such a scenario inadequate to reproduce the observations. The much more likely explanation-but one which still requires more quantitative development-involves macroscopic particles escaping the atmosphere of a slowly disintegrating planet not much larger than Mercury in size. The particles could take the form of micron-sized pyroxene or aluminum oxide dust grains. The planetary surface is hot enough to sublimate and create a high-Z atmosphere; this atmosphere may be loaded with dust via cloud condensation or explosive volcanism. Atmospheric gas escapes the planet via a Parker-type thermal wind, dragging dust grains with it. We infer a mass-loss rate from the observations of order 1 M{sub Circled-Plus} Gyr{sup -1}, with a dust-to-gas ratio possibly of order unity. For our fiducial 0.1 M{sub Circled-Plus} planet (twice the mass of Mercury), the evaporation timescale may be {approx}0.2 Gyr. Smaller mass planets are disfavored because they evaporate still more quickly, as are larger mass planets because they have surface gravities too strong to sustain outflows with the requisite mass-loss rates. The occultation profile evinces an ingress-egress asymmetry that could reflect a comet-like dust tail trailing the planet; we present simulations of such a tail.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

STELLAR MEMBERSHIP AND DUSTY DEBRIS DISKS IN THE {alpha} PERSEI CLUSTER

Because of its proximity to the Galactic plane, reliable identification of members of the {alpha} Persei cluster is often problematic. Based primarily on membership evaluations contained in six published papers, we constructed a mostly complete list of high-fidelity members of spectral type G and earlier that lie within 3 arc degrees of the cluster center. {alpha} Persei was the one nearby, rich, young open cluster not surveyed with the Spitzer Space Telescope. We examined the first and final data releases of the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer and found 11, or perhaps 12, {alpha} Per cluster members that have excess mid-infrared emission above the stellar photosphere attributable to an orbiting dusty debris disk. The most unusual of these is V488 Per, a K-type star with an excess IR luminosity 16% (or more) of the stellar luminosity; this is a larger excess fraction than that of any other known dusty main-sequence star. Much of the dust that orbits V488 Per is at a temperature of {approx}800 K; if these grains radiate like blackbodies, then they lie only {approx}0.06 AU from the star. The dust is probably the aftermath of a collision of two planetary embryos or planets with small semimajor axes; such orbital radii are similar to those of many of the transiting planets discovered by the Kepler satellite.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

THE FREQUENCY OF HOT JUPITERS ORBITING NEARBY SOLAR-TYPE STARS

We determine the fraction of F, G, and K dwarfs in the solar neighborhood hosting hot Jupiters as measured by the California Planet Survey from the Lick and Keck planet searches. We find the rate to be 1.2% {+-} 0.38%, which is consistent with the rate reported by Mayor et al. from the HARPS and CORALIE radial velocity (RV) surveys. These numbers are more than double the rate reported by Howard et al. for Kepler stars and the rate of Gould et al. from the OGLE-III transit search; however, due to small number statistics these differences are of only marginal statistical significance. We explore some of the difficulties in estimating this rate from the existing RV data sets and comparing RV rates to rates from other techniques.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

ON THE STABILITY OF SUPER-EARTH ATMOSPHERES

We investigate the stability of super-Earth atmospheres around M stars using a seven-parameter, analytical framework. We construct stability diagrams in the parameter space of exoplanetary radius versus semimajor axis and elucidate the regions in which the atmospheres are stable against the condensation of their major constituents, out of the gas phase, on their permanent nightside hemispheres. We find that super-Earth atmospheres that are nitrogen-dominated (Earth-like) occupy a smaller region of allowed parameter space, compared to hydrogen-dominated atmospheres, because of the dual effects of diminished advection and enhanced radiative cooling. Furthermore, some super-Earths which reside within the habitable zones of M stars may not possess stable atmospheres, depending on the mean molecular weight and infrared photospheric pressure of their atmospheres. We apply our stability diagrams to GJ 436b and GJ 1214b, and demonstrate that atmospheric compositions with high mean molecular weights are disfavored if these exoplanets possess solid surfaces and shallow atmospheres. Finally, we construct stability diagrams tailored to the Kepler data set, for G and K stars, and predict that about half of the exoplanet candidates are expected to harbor stable atmospheres if Earth-like conditions are assumed. We include 55 Cancri e and CoRoT-7b in our stability diagram for G stars.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

CIRCUMBINARY CHAOS: USING PLUTO'S NEWEST MOON TO CONSTRAIN THE MASSES OF NIX AND HYDRA

The Pluto system provides a unique local laboratory for the study of binaries with multiple low-mass companions. In this paper, we study the orbital stability of P4, the most recently discovered moon in the Pluto system. This newfound companion orbits near the plane of the Pluto-Charon (PC) binary, roughly halfway between the two minor moons Nix and Hydra. We use a suite of few body integrations to constrain the masses of Nix and Hydra, and the orbital parameters of P4. For the system to remain stable over the age of the solar system, the masses of Nix and Hydra likely do not exceed 5 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 16} kg and 9 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 16} kg, respectively. These upper limits assume a fixed mass ratio between Nix and Hydra at the value implied by their median optical brightness. Our study finds that stability is more sensitive to their total mass and that a downward revision of Charon's eccentricity (from our adopted value of 0.0035) is unlikely to significantly affect our conclusions. Our upper limits are an order of magnitude below existing astrometric limits on the masses of Nix and Hydra. For a density at least that of ice, the albedos of Nix and Hydra would exceed 0.3. This constraint implies they are icy, as predicted by giant impact models. Even with these low masses, P4 only remains stable if its eccentricity e {approx}< 0.02. The 5:1 commensurability with Charon is particularly unstable, combining stability constraints with the observed mean motion places the preferred orbit for P4 just exterior to the 5:1 resonance. These predictions will be tested when the New Horizons satellite visits Pluto. Based on the results for the PC system, we expect that circumbinary, multi-planet systems will be more widely spaced than their singleton counterparts. Further, circumbinary exoplanets close to the three-body stability boundary, such as those found by Kepler, are less likely to have other companions nearby.

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