Orbital evolution of extra-solar giant planets

We present theoretical work which explains the presence of recently discovered Jupiter-mass companions in close orbits around their central stars. Jupiter-like planets likely form at the ice line (similar to several AUs) and migrate inward due to torques between the protoplanetary disk and the planet. When a planet reaches very smalt heliocentric distances, its planetary radius may exceed its Roche radius, at which time the planet loses mass onto the central star. By balancing inward (disk) and outward (mass loss) torques, planets may survive at small heliocentric distances. Thus, Jupiter-like planets may persist to mature ages at small heliocentric distances after having lost some mass.