Related papers: Tides and the Evolution of Planetary Habitability
Low-gravity waterworlds ($M\lesssim 0.1 M_{\oplus}$) are of interest for their potential habitability. The weakly bound atmospheres of such worlds have proportionally larger radiative surfaces and are more susceptible to escape. We conduct…
According to core-accretion formation models, the conditions under which gas giants will form around M dwarfs are very restrictive. Also, the correlation of the occurrence of these planets with the metallicity of host stars is still unknown…
Context. In tight binary star systems, tidal interactions can significantly influence the rotational and orbital evolution of both stars, and therefore their activity evolution. This can have strong effects on the atmospheric evolution of…
We analyze the long-term tidal evolution of a single-planet system through the use of numerical simulations and averaged equations giving the variations of semi-major axis and eccentricity of the relative orbit. For different types of…
Moons orbiting rocky exoplanets in compact orbits about other stars experience an accelerated tidal evolution, and can either merge with their parent planet or reach the limit of dynamical instability within a Hubble time. We review the…
Tidal interaction between an exoplanet and its host star is a possible pathway to transfer angular momentum between the planetary orbit and the stellar spin. In cases where the planetary orbital period is shorter than the stellar rotation…
Gravitational tidal interactions drive long-term rotational and orbital evolution in planetary systems, in multiple (particularly close binary) star systems and in planetary moon systems. Dissipation of tidal flows in Earth's oceans is…
The stability of Earth's climate on geological timescales is enabled by the carbon-silicate cycle that acts as a negative feedback mechanism stabilizing surface temperatures via the intake and outgas of atmospheric carbon. On Earth, this…
Since 1995, more than 500 extrasolar planets have been discovered orbiting very close to their parent star, where they experience strong tidal interactions. Their orbital evolution depends on the physical mechanisms that cause tidal…
Among potentially habitable worlds, rocky planets orbiting M dwarfs offer the most favorable prospects for atmospheric characterization, yet their climates may differ substantially from those of Earth analogs. In the tidally locked limit,…
We present a new planetary structure/thermal evolution model, designed for use in problems that couple orbital dynamics with planetary structure. We first benchmark our structural/thermal evolution calculations against the \texttt{MESA}…
We consider the evolution of a binary system interacting due to tidal effects without restriction on the orientation of the orbital, and where significant, spin angular momenta, and orbital eccentricity. We work in the low tidal forcing…
With the discovery of hundreds of exoplanets and a potentially huge number of Earth-like planets waiting to be discovered, the conditions for their habitability have become a focal point in exoplanetary research. The classical picture of…
The currently feasible method of detection of Earth-mass planets is transit photometry, with detection probability decreasing with a planet's distance from the star. The existence or otherwise of short-period terrestrial planets will tell…
Recent surveys have revealed a lack of close-in planets around evolved stars more massive than 1.2 Msun. Such planets are common around solar-mass stars. We have calculated the orbital evolution of planets around stars with a range of…
Tidal interactions are one of the primary drivers of orbital evolution for massive planets with short orbital periods. Tidal dissipation within host stars can cause the orbits of such planets to decay. However, the mechanisms of tidal…
The detection of many extrasolar gas giants with high eccentricities indicates that dynamical instabilities in planetary systems are common. These instabilities can alter the orbits of gas giants as well as the orbits of terrestrial planets…
The habitable zone is the circumstellar region in which a terrestrial-mass planet with an atmosphere can sustain liquid water on its surface. However, despite the usefulness of this concept, it is being found to be increasingly limiting in…
Determining planetary habitability is a complex matter, as the interplay between a planet's physical and atmospheric properties with stellar insolation has to be studied in a self consistent manner. Standardized atmospheric models for…
Atmospheric tides can strongly affect the rotational dynamics of planets. In the family of Earth-like planets, such as Venus, this physical mechanism coupled with solid tides makes the angular velocity evolve over long timescales and…