KELT-16b: A Highly Irradiated, Ultra-short Period Hot Jupiter Nearing Tidal Disruption

Abstract

We announce the discovery of KELT-16b, a highly irradiated, ultra-short period hot Jupiter transiting the relatively bright ( V  = 11.7) star TYC 2688-1839-1/KELT-16. A global analysis of the system shows KELT-16 to be an F7V star with K, , , , and . The planet is a relatively high-mass inflated gas giant with , , density g cm −3 , surface gravity , and K. The best-fitting linear ephemeris is and day. KELT-16b joins WASP-18b, −19b, −43b, −103b, and HATS-18b as the only giant transiting planets with P < 1 day. Its ultra-short period and high irradiation make it a benchmark target for atmospheric studies by the Hubble Space Telescope , Spitzer , and eventually the James Webb Space Telescope . For example, as a hotter, higher-mass analog of WASP-43b, KELT-16b may feature an atmospheric temperature–pressure inversion and day-to-night temperature swing extreme enough for TiO to rain out at the terminator. KELT-16b could also join WASP-43b in extending tests of the observed mass–metallicity relation of the solar system gas giants to higher masses. KELT-16b currently orbits at a mere ∼1.7 Roche radii from its host star, and could be tidally disrupted in as little as a few ×10 5 years (for a stellar tidal quality factor of ). Finally, the likely existence of a widely separated bound stellar companion in the KELT-16 system makes it possible that Kozai–Lidov (KL) oscillations played a role in driving KELT-16b inward to its current precarious orbit.