Related papers: Exoplanetary Spin-Orbit Alignment: Results from th…
Several studies have shown that the occultation of stellar active regions by the transiting planet can generate anomalies in the high-precision transit light curves, and these anomalies may lead to an inaccurate estimate of the planetary…
We present new measurements of the projected spin--orbit angle $\lambda$ for six WASP hot Jupiters, four of which are new to the literature (WASP-61, -62, -76, and -78), and two of which are new analyses of previously measured systems using…
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…
We present observations of the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect for two exoplanetary systems, revealing the orientations of their orbits relative to the rotation axes of their parent stars. HAT-P-4b is prograde, with a sky-projected spin-orbit…
We report on spectroscopic and photometric observations through transits of the exoplanets WASP-22b and WASP-26b, intended to determine the systems' spin-orbit angles. We combine these data with existing data to refine the system…
The AU Microscopii planetary system is only 24 Myr old, and its geometry may provide clues about the early dynamical history of planetary systems. Here, we present the first measurement of the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect for the warm…
We present new spectroscopic and photometric observations of the transiting exoplanetary system WASP-3. Spectra obtained during two separate transits exhibit the Rossiter-McLaughlin (RM) effect and allow us to estimate the sky-projected…
The distribution of spin-orbit angles for systems with wide-separation, tidally detached exoplanets offers a unique constraint on the prevalence of dynamically violent planetary evolution histories. Tidally detached planets provide a…
The obliquities of planet-hosting stars are clues about the formation of planetary systems. Previous observations led to the hypothesis that for close-in giant planets, spin-orbit alignment is enforced by tidal interactions. Here, we…
One can infer the orbital alignment of exoplanets with respect to the spin of their host stars using the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect, thereby giving us the chance to test planet formation and migration theories and improve our understanding…
Exoplanetary systems hosting multiple low-mass planets are thought to have experienced dynamical instability, during which planet-planet collisions and mergers occur; these collisions can impart substantial amount of angular momentum to the…
When a planet transits its host star, it blocks regions of the stellar surface from view; this causes a distortion of the spectral lines and a change in the line-of-sight (LOS) velocities, known as the Rossiter-McLaughlin (RM) effect. Since…
Probing the trajectory of a transiting planet across the disk of its star through the analysis of its Rossiter-McLaughlin effect can be used to measure the differential rotation of the host star and the true obliquity of the system. Highly…
The planets with a radius $<$ 4 $R$$_\oplus$ observed by the Kepler mission exhibit a unique feature, and propose a challenge for current planetary formation models. The tidal effect between a planet and its host star plays an essential…
We determine the orbital eccentricities of individual small Kepler planets, through a combination of asteroseismology and transit light-curve analysis. We are able to constrain the eccentricities of 51 systems with a single transiting…
Planetary rotation rates and obliquities provide information regarding the history of planet formation, but have not yet been measured for evolved extrasolar planets. Here we investigate the theoretical and observational perspective of the…
A crucial diagnostic that can tell us about processes involved in the formation and dynamical evolutionof planetary systems is the angle between the rotation axis of a star and a planet's orbital angular momentum vector ("spin-orbit"…
Planet formation is often considered in the context of one circumstellar disk around one star. Yet stellar binary systems are ubiquitous, and thus a substantial fraction of all potential planets must form and evolve in more complex,…
The distribution of angular momentum of planets and their host stars provides important information on the formation and evolution of the planetary system. However, mysteries still remain, partly due to bias and uncertainty of the current…
When a planet passes in front of a starspot during a transit of its host star, it causes a small upward blip in the light curve. Modelling the transit with the starspot allows the size, brightness and position of the spot to be measured. If…