I recently led a search for very short-period transiting objects in the publicly available Kepler dataset, and this preliminary survey has revealed thirteen four planetary candidates, with periods ranging from 3.3 to 10 4 to 11 hours. I analyzed the data for these candidates using models that include transit light curves, ellipsoidal variations, and secondary eclipses, to constrain the candidates’ radii, masses, and effective temperatures. Even with masses of only a few Earth masses, the candidates’ short periods mean they may induce stellar radial velocity signals (~ 10 m/s), detectable by currently operating facilities. The origins of such short-period planets are unclear, but it’s possible that they are the remnants of disrupted hot Jupiters. If confirmed, these candidates would be some of the shortest-period planets ever discovered, and if common, such planets would be particularly amenable to discovery by the planned TESS mission, which is specifically designed to find short-period rocky planets.

Related press:

• Time Really Flies on These Kepler Planets.
• Razor’s edge — New class of exoplanets clock orbits as short as 3 hours
• Super-Fast Alien Planets May Be Skimming the Surface of Their Stars

Related scientific publications:

• Jackson+ (2013). “A Survey for Very Short-Period Planets in the Kepler Data.” arxiv 1308.1379.
• Jackson (2013). “Looking for Very Short-Period Planets with Re-Purposed Kepler.” arXiv 1309.1499.