Related papers: Resolving the Sin(I) degeneracy in Low-Mass Multi-…
I discuss two related nonlinear mechanisms of tidal dissipation that require finite tidal deformations for their operation: the elliptical instability and the precessional instability. Both are likely to be important for the tidal evolution…
The known extrasolar multiple-planet systems share a surprising dynamical attribute: they cluster just beyond the Hill stability boundary. Here we show that the planet-planet scattering model, which naturally explains the observed exoplanet…
Exoplanet searches have discovered a large number of 'hot Jupiters'--high-mass planets orbiting very close to their parent stars in nearly circular orbits. A number of these planets are sufficiently massive and close-in to be significantly…
The discovery of many giant planets in close-in orbits and the effect of planetary and stellar tides in their subsequent orbital decay have been extensively studied in the context of planetary formation and evolution theories. Planets…
This decade has seen the first measurements of extrasolar planetary obliquities, characterizing how an exoplanet's spin axis is oriented relative to its orbital axis. These measurements are enabled by combining projected rotational…
Planetary formation might occur at different stages of the stellar evolution of compact binaries. In recent years, the formation of second-generation planets has been tested in circumbinary discs formed by the ejection of stellar material…
Since 1995, numerous close-in planets have been discovered around low-mass stars (M to A-type stars). These systems are susceptible to be tidally evolving, in particular the dissipation of the kinetic energy of tidal flows in the host star…
Tidal locking of planets to their host stars results in an atmospheric circulation with a hotspot fixed to the frame of reference of the planet. On the other hand, asynchronously rotating planets feature moving hotspots either lagging or…
We study the long-term dynamics of a planetary system composed of a star and a planet. Both bodies are considered as extended, non-spherical, rotating objects. There are no assumptions made on the relative angles between the orbital angular…
A new era of directly imaged extrasolar planets has produced a three-planet system (Marois et al. 2008), where the masses of the planets have been estimated by untested cooling models. We point out that the nominal circular, face-on orbits…
High-multiplicity Kepler systems (referred to as Kepler multis) are often tightly packed and may be on the verge of instability. Many systems of this type could have experienced past instabilities, where the compact orbits and often low…
The Kepler Mission has detected dozens of compact planetary systems with more than four transiting planets. This sample provides a collection of close-packed planetary systems with relatively little spread in the inclination angles of the…
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…
We present a new analytic study of the equilibrium and stability properties of close binary systems containing polytropic components. Our method is based on the use of ellipsoidal trial functions in an energy variational principle. We…
The planetary obliquity plays a significant role in determining physical properties of planetary surfaces and climate. As direct detection is constrained due to the present observation accuracy, kinetic theories are helpful to predict the…
The study of our Solar System -- its formation, evolution, and long-term stability -- has been ongoing for centuries and is now a standard part of scientific education. While the formation of other Solar-like exoplanetary systems is…
Earth-like planets have viscoelastic mantles, whereas giant planets may have viscoelastic cores. The tidal dissipation of such solid regions, gravitationally perturbed by a companion body, highly depends on their rheology and on the tidal…
The angle $\psi$ between a planet's orbital axis and the spin axis of its parent star is an important diagnostic of planet formation, migration, and tidal evolution. We seek empirical constraints on $\psi$ by measuring the stellar…
(Abbreviated) We extend the results of our 2021 paper concerning the problem of tidal evolution of a binary system with a rotating primary component with rotation axis arbitrarily inclined with respect to the orbital plane. Only the…
The discovery of now about 20 extrasolar planets orbiting solar-type stars with properties quite different from those in our Solar System has raised many questions about the formation and evolution of planets. The tidal interaction between…