Related papers: Was Proxima captured by alpha Centauri A and B?
To study the full formation and evolution history of galaxy clusters and their population, high resolution simulations of the latter are flourishing. However comparing observed clusters to the simulated ones on a one-to-one basis to refine…
At a distance of 1.295 parsecs, the red-dwarf Proxima Centauri ($\alpha$ Centauri C, GL 551, HIP 70890, or simply Proxima) is the Sun's closest stellar neighbor and one of the best studied low-mass stars. It has an effective temperature of…
Young stars are mostly found in dense stellar environments, and even our own Solar system may have formed in a star cluster. Here, we numerically explore the evolution of planetary systems similar to our own Solar system in star clusters.…
We apply a mathematical model for photosynthesis to quantitatively assess the habitability of a hypothetical planet orbiting Proxima Centauri, inside the so called habitability zone. Results suggest significant viability for primary…
The search for exoplanets has encompassed a broad range of stellar environments, from single stars in the solar neighborhood to multiple stars and various open clusters. The stellar environment has a profound effect on planet formation and…
Continuous habitability of a planet is a critical condition for advanced forms of life to appear, but it can be endangered by astronomical events such as stellar encounters. The purpose of this study is to analyze close stellar encounters…
Exoplanets orbiting M-dwarfs within habitable zones are exposed to stellar environments more extreme than that terrestrial planets experience in our Solar System, which can significantly impact the atmospheres of the exoplanets and affect…
Stellar perturbations affect planet-formation in binary systems. Recent studies show that the planet-formation stage of mutual accretion of km-sized planetesimals is most sensitive to binary effects. In this paper, the condition for…
Recent studies of Galactic evolution revealed that the dynamics of the stellar component might be one of the key factors when considering galactic habitability. We run an N-body simulation model of the Milky Way, which we evolve for 10 Gyr,…
We address the important question of whether the newly discovered exoplanet, Proxima Centauri b (PCb), is capable of retaining an atmosphere over long periods of time. This is done by adapting a sophisticated multi-species MHD model…
Stars of stellar type later than about M3.5 are believed to be fully convective and therefore unable to support magnetic dynamos like the one that produces the 11-year solar cycle. Because of their intrinsic faintness, very few late M stars…
Proxima Centauri, the star closest to our Sun, is known to host at least one terrestrial planet candidate in a temperate orbit. Here we report the ALMA detection of the star at 1.3 mm wavelength and the discovery of a belt of dust orbiting…
Planetary systems formed in clusters may be subject to stellar encounter flybys. Here we create a diverse range of representative planetary systems with different orbital scales and planets' masses and examine encounters between them in a…
Interstellar material has been discovered in our Solar System, yet its origins and details of its transport are unknown. Here we present $\alpha$ Centauri as a case study of the delivery of interstellar material to our Solar System.…
We explore the possible Proxima Centauri b's interiors assuming the planet belongs to the class of dense solid planets (rocky with possible addition of water) and derive the corresponding radii. To do so, we use an internal structure model…
We estimate the capture rate of interstellar objects by means of three-body gravitational interactions. We apply this model to the Sun-Jupiter system and the Alpha Centauri A\&B binary system, and find that the radius of the largest…
The Centaur population is composed by minor bodies wandering between the giant planets and that frequently perform close gravitational encounters with these planets, which leads to a chaotic orbital evolution. Recently, the discovery of two…
The motion of planetesimals was studied in the Proxima Centauri and TRAPPIST 1 exoplanetary systems. The size of the feeding zone of planet Proxima Centauri c is discussed. It was noted that after hundreds of Myrs, some planetesimals could…
Planet formation occurs around a wide range of stellar masses and stellar system architectures. An improved understanding of the formation process can be achieved by studying it across the full parameter space, particularly toward the…
Passing stars can perturb the Oort Cloud, triggering comet showers and potentially extinction events on Earth. We combine velocity measurements for the recently discovered, nearby, low-mass binary system WISE J072003.20-084651.2 ("Scholz's…