A&A 545, A88 (2012) Astronomy DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201219183 & c ESO 2012 Astrophysics Dynamical evolution of the Gliese 436 planetary system Kozai migration as a potential source for Gliese 436b’s eccentricity H. Beust1, X. Bonfils1, G. Montagnier2,X.Delfosse1, and T. Forveille1 1 UJF-Grenoble 1 / CNRS-INSU, Institut de Planétologie et d’Astrophysique de Grenoble (IPAG) UMR 5274, 38041 Grenoble, France e-mail:
[email protected] 2 European Organization for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere (ESO), Casilla 19001, Santiago 19, Chile Received 7 March 2012 / Accepted 1 August 2012 ABSTRACT Context. The close-in planet orbiting GJ 436 presents a puzzling orbital eccentricity (e 0.14) considering its very short orbital period. Given the age of the system, this planet should have been tidally circularized a long time ago. Many attempts to explain this were proposed in recent years, either involving abnormally weak tides, or the perturbing action of a distant companion. Aims. In this paper, we address the latter issue based on Kozai migration. We propose that GJ 436b was formerly located further away from the star and that it underwent a migration induced by a massive, inclined perturber via Kozai mechanism. In this context, the perturbations by the companion trigger high-amplitude variations to GJ 436b that cause tides to act at periastron. Then the orbit tidally shrinks to reach its present day location. Methods. We numerically integrate the 3-body system including tides and general relativity correction. We use a modified symplectic integrator as well as a fully averaged integrator.