A search for orbital decay in southern transiting planets

PETRUCCI, R.; JOFRE E.; GOMEZ MAQUEO, Y.; GOMEZ M.

Puerto Vallarta

Congreso; NEW QUESTS IN STELLAR ASTROPHYSICS IV; 2019

So far, among the more than 3900 confirmed exoplanets there are ~ 150 exhibiting very short orbital periods (P < 1.5 days). Particularly, these extreme systems with giant planets have raised several questions about their formation and orbital stability. Due to the close proximity to their hosts, star-planet tidal interactions play a key role in the final fate of these systems and it is expected that many of these planets eventually spiral in toward their host-stars. This systematic decreasing in the semimajor axis is called "orbital decay" and can be detected through the long-term photometric follow-up of transiting exoplanets. In this contribution, we will briefly describe the project that we are carrying out to search for orbital decay in southern transiting planets and also present preliminary results for one of the monitored objects.