We present 2D hydrodynamical simulations of hot Jupiters orbiting near the inner edge of protoplanetary discs .
We systemically explore how the accretion rate at the inner disc edge is regulated by a giant planet of different mass , orbital separation and eccentricity .
We find that a massive ( with planet-to-star mass ratio \gtrsim 0.003 ) eccentric ( e _ { p } \gtrsim 0.1 ) planet drives a pulsed accretion at the inner edge of the disc , modulated at one or two times the planet ’ s orbital frequency .
The amplitude of accretion variability generally increases with the planet mass and eccentricity , although some non-monotonic dependences are also possible .
Applying our simulation results to the T Tauri system CI Tau , where a young hot Jupiter candidate has been detected , we show that the observed luminosity variability in this system can be explained by pulsed accretion driven by an eccentric giant planet .