Stellar obliquities in exoplanetary systems

This article reviews the measurement techniques, key findings, and theoretical interpretations related to the obliquities (spin-orbit angles) of planet-hosting stars. The best measurements are for stars with short-period giant planets, which have been found on prograde, polar, and retrograde orbits.

It seems likely that dynamical processes such as planet-planet scattering and secular perturbations are responsible for tilting the orbits of close-in giant planets, just as those processes are implicated in exciting orbital eccentricities. The observed dependence of the obliquity on orbital separation, planet mass, and stellar structure suggests that in some cases, tidal dissipation damps a star's obliquity within its main-sequence lifetime.