Related papers: The Potato Radius: a Lower Minimum Size for Dwarf …
Stellar activity and rotation frustrate the detection of exoplanets through the radial velocity technique. This effect is particularly of concern for M dwarfs, which can remain magnetically active for billions of years. We compile rotation…
Rotation is a directly-observable stellar property, and drives magnetic field generation and activity through a magnetic dynamo. Main sequence stars with masses below approximately 0.35Msun (mid-to-late M dwarfs) are fully-convective, and…
Current theory considers two options for the formation of the Pluto-Charon binary (Canup 2005, 2011; Desch 2015). In the `hit-and-run' model, a lower mass projectile barely hits the more massive Pluto, kicks up some debris, and remains…
Interstellar dust grains can be spun up by radiative torques, and the resulting centrifugal force may be strong enough to disrupt large dust grains. We examine the effect of this rotational disruption on the evolution of grain size…
The radius valley separating super-Earths from mini-Neptunes is a fundamental benchmark for theories of planet formation and evolution. Observations show that the location of the radius valley decreases with decreasing stellar mass and with…
Exoplanets smaller than Neptune are common around red dwarf stars (M dwarfs), with those that transit their host star constituting the bulk of known temperate worlds amenable for atmospheric characterization. We analyze the masses and radii…
We study the orbits in the MOND theory within a dwarf galaxy of mass Md at a distance of ~100kpc from a neighboring galaxy of mass Mg, such as ours. It is assumed that a second mass m<<Md is gravitationally bound to Md by a previously…
The motions of small moons through Saturn's rings provide excellent tests of radial migration models. In theory, torque exchange between these moons and ring particles leads to radial drift. We predict that moons with Hill radii r_H ~ 2-24…
We integrated the orbital evolution of 30,000 Jupiter-family comets, 1300 resonant asteroids, and 7000 asteroidal, trans-Neptunian, and cometary dust particles. For initial orbital elements of bodies close to those of Comets 2P, 10P, 44P,…
Asteroid surfaces are subjected to mechanical weathering processes that result in the development and evolution of regolith. Two proposed mechanisms--impact bombardment and thermal fatigue--have been proposed as viable and dominant…
Recent studies have revealed that all large (over 1000 km in diameter) trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) form satellite systems. Although the largest Plutonian satellite, Charon, is thought to be an intact fragment of an impactor directly…
We aim to compute the impact rates for objects with a diameter of 1 km onto the regular satellites of Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus using our latest dynamical simulations of the evolution of outer solar system coupled with the best estimates…
In response to the claim by Dziembowski et al. (2001) that the solar radius decreases with magnetic activity at the rate of 1.5 km/yr, we consider the theoretical question whether a radius variation is expected with the solar cycle. If the…
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.…
L-type and T-type dwarfs span the boundaries between main-sequence stars, brown dwarfs, and planetary-mass objects. For these reasons, L and T dwarfs are the perfect laboratories for exploring the relationship between planet formation and…
The conditions that a planet must fulfill to be habitable are not precisely known. However, it is comparatively easier to define conditions under which a planet is very likely not habitable. Finding such conditions is important as it can…
Radiative energy transfer between closely spaced bodies is known to be significantly larger than that predicted by classical radiative transfer because of tunneling due to evanescent waves. Theoretical analysis of near--field radiative…
The dynamics of the merger of a dwarf disc galaxy with a massive spiral galaxy of the Milky Way type have been studied in detail. The remnant of such interaction after numerous crossings of the satellite through the disc of the main galaxy…
Using a new approach, we have obtained a formula for calculating the rotation period and radius of planets. In the ordinary gravitomagnetism the gravitational spin ($S$) orbit ($L$) coupling, $\vec{L}\cdot\vec{S}\propto L^2$, while our…
At which masses does the regime of globular clusters end and the one of dwarf galaxies begin? And what separates these two classes of hot stellar systems? We examine to what extend very massive (>10^7 Mo) young star clusters are similar to…