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The internal thermal and magnetic evolution of rocky exoplanets is critical to their habitability. We focus on the thermal-orbital evolution of Earth-mass planets around low mass M stars whose radiative habitable zone overlaps with the…
We calculate the evolution of planets undergoing a strong tidal encounter using smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH), for a range of periastron separations. We find that outside the Roche limit, the evolution of the planet is…
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…
Since the discovery of the first exoplanets more than 20 years ago, there has been an increasing need for photometric and spectroscopic models to characterize these systems. While imaging has been used extensively for Solar System bodies…
We have investigated i) the formation of gravitationally bounded pairs of gas-giant planets (which we call "binary planets") from capturing each other through planet-planet dynamical tide during their close encounters and ii) the following…
M type stars are good targets in the search for habitable extrasolar planets. Because of their low effective temperatures, the habitable zone of M stars is very close to the star itself. For planets close to their stars, tidal heating plays…
We report on Keck and Hubble Space Telescope optical observations of the eclipsing binary pulsar system PSR B1718-19, in the direction of the globular cluster NGC 6342. These reveal a faint star ($m_{\rm F702W}=25.21\pm0.07$; Vega system)…
Two planets with orbital period ratio approximately 10:1 have been discovered around the star HD 83443. The inner and more massive planet, HD 83443b, has the smallest semi-major axis among all currently known exoplanets. Unlike other short…
Close-in extrasolar planets experience extreme tidal interactions with their host stars. This may lead to a reduction of the planetary orbit and a spin-up of stellar rotation. Tidal interactions have been computed for a number of extrasolar…
Binary systems anchor many of the fundamental relations relied upon in asteroseismology. Masses and radii are rarely constrained better than when measured via orbital dynamics and eclipse depths. Pulsating binaries have much to offer. They…
It is a long-standing question in exoplanet research if Hot Jupiters can influence the magnetic activity of their host stars. While cool stars usually spin down with age and become inactive, an input of angular momentum through tidal…
We update the fundamental physical and orbital properties of the transiting hot-Saturn type exoplanet HAT-P-19b and its host star HAT-P-19 as a result of the global modeling of our high-precision transit light curves, an archive spectrum,…
Stellar magnetic activity is governed by the interplay between rotation, convection, and the evolution of surface magnetic structures, yet the role of planetary systems in shaping these processes remains uncertain. Here, we analyze…
Gas giant planets are differentially rotating magnetic objects that have strong and complex interactions with their environment. In our Solar system, they interact with their numerous moons while exoplanets with very short orbital periods…
A number of planet-host stars have been observed to rotate with a period equal to an integer multiple of the orbital period of their close planet. We expand this list by analyzing Kepler data of HAT-P-11 and finding a period ratio of 6:1.…
Moderately close binaries are a special class of targets for planet searches. From a theoretical standpoint, their hospitality to giant planets is uncertain and debated. From an observational standpoint, many of these systems present…
We report the discovery of HAT-P-24b, a transiting extrasolar planet orbiting the moderately bright V=11.818 F8 dwarf star GSC 0774-01441, with a period P = 3.3552464 +/- 0.0000071 d, transit epoch Tc = 2455216.97669 +/- 0.00024 (BJD_UTC),…
Since 1995, more than 500 extrasolar planets have been discovered orbiting very close to their parent star, where they experience strong tidal interactions. Their orbital evolution depends on the physical mechanisms that cause tidal…
We use a linear shallow-water model to investigate the global circulation of the atmospheres of tidally locked planets. Simulations, observations, and simple models show that if these planets are sufficiently rapidly rotating, their…
The long-term habitability of Earth-like planets requires low orbital eccentricities. A secular perturbation from a distant stellar companion is a very important mechanism in exciting planetary eccentricities, as many of the extrasolar…