Related papers: Limits of ultra-high-precision optical astrometry:…
Transmission spectroscopy during planetary transits, which is based on the measurements of the variations of planet-to-star radius ratio as a function of wavelength, is a powerful technique to study the atmospheric properties of transiting…
The rotation of a star and the revolutions of its planets are not necessarily aligned. This article reviews the measurement techniques, key findings, and theoretical interpretations related to the obliquities (spin-orbit angles) of…
The probability that an exoplanet transits its host star is high for planets in close orbits, but drops off rapidly for increasing semimajor axes. This makes transit surveys for planets with large semimajor axes orbiting bright stars…
Asteroseismic measurements enable inferences of the underlying stellar structure, such as the density and the speed of sound at various points within the interior of the star. This provides an opportunity to test stellar evolution theory by…
Future direct observations of extrasolar Earth-sized planets in the habitable zone could be hampered by a worrisome source of noise, starlight-reflecting exozodiacal dust. Mid-infrared surveys are currently underway to constrain the amount…
We report the results of a spectroscopic search for debris disks surrounding 41 nearby solar type stars, including 8 planet-bearing stars, using the {\it Spitzer Space Telescope}. With accurate relative photometry using the Infrared…
Asteroseismology provides powerful means to probe stellar interiors. The oscillations frequencies are closely related to stellar interior properties via the density and sound speed profiles. Since these are tightly linked with the mass and…
Observing habitable exoplanets that may resemble Earth is a key priority in astronomy that is dependent on not only detecting such worlds, but also ascertaining that apparent signatures of habitability are not due to other sources. Space…
We report the results of a spectroscopic search for debris disks surrounding 41 nearby solar type stars, including 8 planet-bearing stars, using the {\it Spitzer Space Telescope}. With accurate relative photometry using the Infrared…
Cool spots on the surface of magnetically-active stars modulate their observed brightnesses and temperatures, thereby affecting the stellar locus on the H-R diagram. Recent high precision space-based photometric surveys reveal the…
Transmission spectra are differential measurements that utilize stellar illumination to probe transiting exoplanet atmospheres. Any spectral difference between the illuminating light source and the disk-integrated stellar spectrum due to…
Radial velocity (RV) detection of planets is hampered by astrophysical processes on the surfaces of stars that induce a stochastic signal, or "jitter", which can drown out or even mimic planetary signals. Here, we empirically and carefully…
The stable oscillations of pulsating stars can serve as accurate timepieces, which may be monitored for the influence of exoplanets. An external companion gravitationally tugs the host star, causing periodic changes in pulsation arrival…
Rapid planetary rotation can cause the equilibrium shape of a planet to be oblate. While planetary oblateness has mostly been probed by examining the subtle ingress and egress features in photometric transit light curves, we investigate the…
Current technology is not able to map the topography of rocky exoplanets, simply because the objects are too faint and far away to resolve them. Nevertheless, indirect effect of topography should be soon observable thanks to photometry…
Placing the architecture of the Solar System within the broader context of planetary architectures is one of the primary topics of interest within planetary science. Exoplanet discoveries have revealed a large range of system architectures,…
Stellar magnetic activity is a source of noise in the study of the transits of extrasolar planets. It induces flux variations which affect significantly the transit depth determination and the derivations of planetary and stellar…
We study how the precision of the exoplanet radius determination is affected by our present knowledge of limb darkening in two cases: when we fix the limb darkening coefficients and when we adjust them. We also investigate the effects of…
As a planet transits the face of a star, it accelerates along the line-of-sight. The changing delay in the propagation of photons produces an apparent deceleration of the planet across the sky throughout the transit. This persistent…
The impact of unocculted stellar surface heterogeneities in the form of cool spots and hot faculae on the spectrum of a transiting planet has been a daunting problem for the characterization of exoplanet atmospheres. The…