Related papers: Was Proxima captured by alpha Centauri A and B?
Despite decades of effort, the mechanisms by which the spin axis of a star and the orbital axes of its planets become misaligned remain elusive. Particularly, it is of great interest whether the large spin-orbit misalignments observed are…
Recent ALMA observations on disk substructures suggest the presence of embedded protoplanets in a large number disks. The primordial configurations of these planetary systems can be deduced from the morphology of the disk substructure and…
The habitability of exoplanets hosted by M-dwarf stars dramatically depends on their space weather. We present 3D magneto-hydrodynamic simulations to characterise the magneto-plasma environment and thus the habitability of the Earth-like…
The precision of radial velocity (RV) measurements to detect indirectly planetary companions of nearby stars has improved to enable the discovery of extrasolar planets in the Neptune and Super-Earth mass range. Discoveries of Earth-like…
Massive stars are known to have a high multiplicity, with examples of higher order multiples among the nearest and best studied objects. In this paper we study hierarchical multiple systems (an inner binary as a component of a wider binary)…
Planetary systems with more than two bodies will experience orbital crossings at a time related to the initial orbital separations of the planets. After a crossing, the system enters a period of chaotic evolution ending in the reshaping of…
Cosmological simulations are crucial tools in studying the Universe, but they typically do not directly match real observed structures. Constrained cosmological simulations, on the other hand, are designed to match the observed distribution…
We report simultaneous observations of the nearby flare star Proxima Centauri with VLT/UVES and XMM-Newton over three nights in March 2009. Our optical and X-ray observations cover the star's quiescent state, as well as its flaring activity…
We model the dynamics of test binaries in isotropic, multi-mass models of galactic globular clusters. The evolution of binary orbits through the cluster potentials is modeled, including second order diffusion terms, and probabilities for…
The richness of dynamical behavior exhibited by the rotational states of various solar system objects has driven significant advances in the theoretical understanding of their evolutionary histories. An important factor that determines…
We present the most comprehensive near-ultraviolet (NUV: 2550-3255 Angstrom) activity record to date for the Alpha Centauri AB system, combining archival IUE and HST observations spanning nearly five decades with new high-cadence CUTE…
We summarize the results of recent theoretical work on the dynamical evolution of globular clusters containing primordial binaries. Even a very small initial binary fraction (e.g., 10%) can play a key role in supporting a cluster against…
We have attempted to establish an observational evidence for presence of distant companions which may have acquired and/or absorbed the angular momentum during evolution of multiple systems thus facilitating or enabling formation of contact…
We present the result of a survey of Monte Carlo simulations of globular clusters hosting two generations of stars including a large (f_b=50%) fraction of primordial binaries in both populations. The dynamical evolution of the two stellar…
Galactic globular clusters are old, dense star systems typically containing 10\super{4}--10\super{7} stars. As an old population of stars, globular clusters contain many collapsed and degenerate objects. As a dense population of stars,…
We combine a semi-analytic model of galaxy evolution with constraints on circumstellar habitable zones and the distribution of terrestrial planets to probe the suitability of galaxies of different mass and type to host habitable planets,…
Observations of exoplanets and protoplanetary disks show that binary stellar systems can host planets in stable orbits. Given the high binary fraction among stars, the contribution of binary systems to Galactic habitability should be…
The high stellar densities in the cores of globular clusters cause significant stellar interactions. These stellar interactions can produce close binary mass-transferring systems involving compact objects and their progeny, such as X-ray…
Previous full-lifetime simulations of single-star multi-planet systems across all phases of stellar evolution have predominately assumed coplanar or nearly-coplanar orbits. Here we assess the consequences of this assumption by removing it…
The motion of planetesimals initially located in the feeding zone of the planet Proxima Centauri c, at distances of 500 AU from the star to the star's Hill sphere radius of 1200 AU was considered. In the analyzed non-gaseous model, the…