Related papers: Testing planet formation theories with Giant stars
We consider trends resulting from two formation mechanisms for short-period super-Earths: planet-planet scattering and migration. We model scenarios where these planets originate near the snow line in ``cold finger'' circumstellar disks.…
Direct imaging observations of planets revealed that wide-orbit ($>10$ au) giant planets exist even around subsolar-metallicity host stars and do not require metal-rich environments for their formation. A possible formation mechanism of…
The origin of close-in giant planets is a key open question in planet formation theory. The two leading models are (i) formation at the outer disk followed by migration and (ii) in situ formation. In this work we determine the atmospheric…
We present a statistical study of the planet-metallicity (P-M) correlation, by comparing the 744 stars with candidate planets (SWPs) in the Kepler field which have been observed with LAMOST, and a sample of distance-independent, fake "twin"…
The growing database of exoplanets have shown us the statistical characteristics of various exoplanet populations, providing insight towards their origins. Observational evidence suggests that the process by which gas giants are conceived…
Recent direct imaging discoveries suggest a new class of massive, distant planets around A stars. These widely separated giants have been interpreted as signs of planet formation driven by gravitational instability, but the viability of…
We propose a comprehensive survey of giant planets ranging from close-in highly irradiated hot Jupiters to young, wide-orbit directly imaged planets. The combination of two established techniques for probing planetary atmospheric…
We investigate a population of transiting planets that receive relatively modest stellar insolation, indicating equilibrium temperatures $< 1000$ K, and for which the heating mechanism that inflates hot Jupiters does not appear to be…
Evidence of mutually inclined planetary orbits has been reported for giant planets these last years. Here we aim to study the impact of eccentric and inclined massive giant planets on the terrestrial planet formation process, and…
The formation history of Jupiter has been of interest due to its ability to shape the solar system's history. Yet little attention has been paid to the formation and growth of Saturn and the other giant planets. Here, we explore the…
The dust-to-gas ratio in the protoplanetary disk, which is likely imprinted into the host star metallicity, is a property that plays a crucial role during planet formation. We aim at constraining planet formation and evolution processes by…
Celestial bodies with a mass of M ~ 10 M_Jup have been found orbiting nearby stars. It is unknown whether these objects formed like gas-giant planets through core accretion or like stars through gravitational instability. I show that…
The formation of gas giant planets is assumed to be preceded by the emergence of solid cores in the conventional sequential-accretion paradigm. This hypothesis implies that the presence of earth-like planets can be inferred from the…
(abridged) We have obtained precise radial velocities for a sample of 373 G and K type giants at Lick Observatory regularly over more than 12 years. Planets have been identified around 15 giant stars; an additional 20 giant stars host…
Understanding the relationship between close-in small planets (CS) and distant giants (DG) is central to understanding the formation of planetary systems like our own. Most studies of this connection have found evidence for a positive…
We compare the metallicities of stars with radial velocity planets to the metallicity of a sample of field dwarfs. We confirm recent work indicating that the stars-with-planet sample as a whole is iron rich. However, the lowest mass stars…
Of the few thousand discovered exoplanets, a significant number orbit in the habitable zone of their star. Many of them are gas giants lacking a rocky surface and solid water reservoirs necessary for life as we know it. The search for…
The presence of certain elements within a star, and by extension its planet, strongly impacts the formation and evolution of the planetary system. The positive correlation between a host star's iron-content and the presence of an orbiting…
Stellar metallicity -- as a probe of the metallicity of proto-planetary disks -- is an important ingredient for giant planet formation, likely through its effect on the timescales in which rocky/icy planet cores can form. Giant planets have…
The current paradigm to explain the presence of Jupiters with small orbital periods (P $<$ 10 days; hot Jupiters) that involves their formation beyond the snow line following inward migration, has been challenged by recent works that…