Related papers: Spectrum-driven Planetary Deglaciation Due to Incr…
A planet's surface conditions can significantly impact its climate and habitability. In this study, we use the 3D general circulation model ExoPlaSim to systematically vary dayside land cover on a synchronously rotating, temperate rocky…
Planets with non-zero obliquity and/or orbital eccentricity experience seasonal variations of stellar irradiation at local latitudes. The extent of the atmospheric response can be crudely estimated by the ratio between the orbital timescale…
The planet formation environment around M dwarf stars is different than around G dwarf stars. The longer hot protostellar phase, activity levels and lower protoplanetary disk mass of M dwarfs all may leave imprints on the composition…
Extrasolar terrestrial planets with the potential to host life might have large obliquities or be subject to strong obliquity variations. We revisit the habitability of oblique planets with an energy balance climate model (EBM) allowing for…
Robust atmospheric and radiative transfer modeling will be required to properly interpret reflected light and thermal emission spectra of terrestrial exoplanets. This will help break observational degeneracies between the numerous…
Tidally locked terrestrial planets around low-mass stars are the prime targets for future atmospheric characterizations of potentially habitable systems, especially the three nearby ones--Proxima b, TRAPPIST-1e, and LHS 1140b. Previous…
It has been suggested that planetary radii increase with the stellar mass, for planets below 6 R$_{\oplus}$ and host below 1 M$_\odot$. In this study, we explore whether this inferred relation between planetary size and the host star's mass…
We propose a planet formation scenario to explain the elevated occurrence rates of transiting planets around M dwarfs compared to sun-like stars discovered by Kepler. We use a pebble drift and accretion model to simulate the growth of…
Earth-like planets within the liquid water habitable zone of M type stars may evolve into synchronous rotators. On these planets, the sub-stellar hemisphere experiences perpetual daylight while the opposing anti-stellar hemisphere…
We have investigated planetary accretion from planetesimals in terrestrial planet regions inside the ice line around M dwarf stars through N-body simulations including tidal interactions with disk gas. Because of low luminosity of M dwarfs,…
The signatures of planets hosted by M dwarfs are more readily detected with transit photometry and radial velocity methods than those of planets around larger stars. Recently, transit photometry was used to discover seven planets orbiting…
We measure the dependence of planet frequency on host star mass, $M_{\rm L}$, and distance from the Galactic center, $R_{\rm L}$, using a sample of planets discovered by gravitational microlensing. We compare the two-dimensional…
Determining which rocky exoplanets have atmospheres, and why, is a key goal for the James Webb Space Telescope. So far, emission observations of individual rocky exoplanets orbiting M stars (M-Earths) have not provided definitive evidence…
Recent results showed that the magnetic field of M-dwarf (dM) stars, currently the main targets in searches for terrestrial planets, is very different from the solar one, both in topology as well as in intensity. In particular, the…
Simulations have shown that a diverse range of extrasolar terrestrial planet bulk compositions are likely to exist, based on the observed variations in host star elemental abundances. Based on recent studies, it is expected that a…
We investigate the effect of the magnetic fields of M dwarf (dM) stars on potentially habitable Earth-like planets. These fields can reduce the size of planetary magnetospheres to such an extent that a significant fraction of the planet's…
Tidally locked worlds provide a unique opportunity for constraining the probable climates of certain exoplanets. They are unique in that few exoplanet spin and obliquity states are known or will be determined in the near future: both of…
In order to understand the climate on terrestrial planets orbiting nearby Sun-like stars, one would like to know their thermal inertia. We use a global climate model to simulate the thermal phase variations of Earth-analogs and test whether…
More than two dozen short-period Jupiter-mass gas giant planets have been discovered around nearby solar-type stars in recent years, several of which undergo transits, making them ideal for the detection and characterization of their…
Planets accompany most sun-like stars. The orbits of many are sufficiently close that they will be engulfed when their host stars ascend the giant branch. This Letter compares the power generated by orbital decay of an engulfed planet to…