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The ejection of planets by the instability of planetary systems is a potential source of free-floating planets. We numerically simulate multi-planet systems to study the evolution process, the properties of surviving systems, and the…
Current planet formation theories rely on initially compact orbital configurations undergoing a (possibly extended) phase of giant impacts following the dispersal of the dissipative protoplanetary disk. The orbital architectures of observed…
It is well established that certain detached eclipsing binary stars exhibit apsidal motions whose value is in disagreement with with calculated deviations from Keplerian motion based on tidal effects and the general theory of relativity.…
To date, well over a thousand planets have been discovered orbiting other stars, hundreds of them in multi-planet systems. Most of these exoplanets have been detected by either the transit method or the radial velocity method, rather than…
At least 10-15% of nearby sun-like stars have known Jupiter-mass planets. In contrast, very few planets are found in mature open and globular clusters such as the Hyades and 47 Tuc. We explore here the possibility that this dichotomy is due…
In the last few years, a number of planets have been proposed to orbit several post main-sequence binary star systems on the basis of observed variations in the timing of eclipses between the binary components. A common feature of these…
Although resonant planets have orbital periods near commensurability, resonance is also dictated by other factors, such as the planets' eccentricities and masses, and therefore must be confirmed through a study of the system's dynamics.…
We apply a combination of N-body modeling techniques and automated data fitting with Monte Carlo Markov Chain uncertainty analysis of Keplerian orbital models to radial velocity data to determine long term stability of the planetary system…
A fraction of multiple planet candidate systems discovered from transits by the Kepler mission contain pairs of planet candidates that are in orbital resonance or are spaced slightly too far apart to be in resonance. We focus here on the…
Observations of exoplanets have revealed that systems with planets on closely-spaced orbits are common, which motivates the question "How closely can planets orbit to one another and still be dynamically-stable for very long times?". To…
We present an analytical formalism to study the secular dynamics of a system consisting of N-2 planets orbiting a binary star in outer orbits. We introduce a canonical coordinate system and expand the disturbing function in terms of…
A symplectic integrator algorithm suitable for hierarchical triple systems is formulated and tested. The positions of the stars are followed in hierarchical Jacobi coordinates, whilst the planets are referenced purely to their primary. The…
We combine statistical arguments and dynamical analysis to study the orbital configuration of the microlensing planetary system OGLE-2012-BLG-0026L. This system is known to host two massive planets, with both projected close to the Einstein…
Extrasolar multiple-planet systems provide valuable opportunities for testing theories of planet formation and evolution. The architectures of the known multiple-planet systems demonstrate a fascinating level of diversity, which motivates…
Several celestial bodies in co-orbital configurations exist in the solar system. However, co-orbital exoplanets have not yet been discovered. This lack may result from a degeneracy between the signal induced by co-orbital planets and other…
We propose several descriptive measures to characterize the arrangements of planetary masses, periods, and mutual inclinations within exoplanetary systems. These measures are based in complexity theory and capture the global, system-level…
The Kepler mission has recently discovered a number of exoplanetary systems, such as Kepler-11 and Kepler-32, in which ensembles of several planets are found in very closely packed orbits (often within a few percent of an AU of one…
The Doppler technique measures the reflex radial motion of a star induced by the presence of companions and is the most successful method to detect exoplanets. If several planets are present, their signals will appear combined in the radial…
We perform numerical simulations to explore the dynamical evolution of the HD 82943 planetary system. By simulating diverse planetary configurations, we find two mechanisms of stabilizing the system: the 2:1 mean motion resonance between…
Multi-planetary systems are prevalent in our Galaxy. The long-term stability of such systems may be disrupted if a distant inclined companion excites the eccentricity and inclination of the inner planets via the eccentric Kozai-Lidov…