Main-sequence tidal disruption of hot Jupiters

Determine whether a substantial fraction of hot Jupiters orbiting Sun-like stars are tidally disrupted during their host stars’ main-sequence lifetimes.

Background

Tidal interactions are expected to cause orbital decay when hot Jupiters reach very close orbits, but the relevant stellar tidal-dissipation strength is poorly constrained. The paper reassesses stellar-kinematic evidence for tidal disruption and finds no statistically strong evidence that a large fraction of hot Jupiters are destroyed during the main sequence. These results do not establish that tidal disruption never occurs, so the broader question remains unresolved.

References

While a more robust theory is required to determine whether planetary disruption occurs inside or outside the star, we here examine the impact of internal planetary disruption on the stellar evolution.

— Metal-Poor Stars as Metal-Rich Impostors via Planet Engulfment  (2609.29174 - Li et al., 24 Sep 2026) in Section 4.4, "Sensitivity of metallicity and angular momentum change to the accretion radius"; Section 5.1, "Limitations"

However, the strength of tidal dissipation is highly uncertain, and it remains an open question whether HJs are tidally disrupted during the stellar main sequence.

— Are Hot Jupiters Tidally Disrupted During Stellar Main Sequence?  (2608.12790 - Hu et al., 13 Aug 2026) in Abstract and Section 1, Introduction

A fully self-consistent estimate would require implementing a partial mass-loss prescription in our model, which we defer to future work.

— Flyby-induced high-eccentricity migration and the prevalence of hot Jupiters in M67  (2608.24874 - Kontiainen et al., 25 Aug 2026) in Section 3.1, Occurrence Rate Estimates

Ultimately, the precise impact of mass segregation depends on the timescale over which massive stars migrate to the core (related to the cluster relaxation time) relative to the timescale for HJ formation, a more detailed treatment of which we defer to future work.

— Flyby-induced high-eccentricity migration and the prevalence of hot Jupiters in M67  (2608.24874 - Kontiainen et al., 25 Aug 2026) in Appendix B, Section "Perturber Mass"