Related papers: Long-Term Stability of Planets in the $\alpha$ Cen…
We present here the first observationally based determination of the rate of occurrence of circumbinary planets. This is derived from the publicly available Kepler data, using an automated search algorithm and debiasing process to produce…
The existence of planets orbiting a central binary star system immediately raises questions regarding their formation and dynamical evolution. Recent discoveries of circumbinary planets by the Kepler space telescope has shown that some of…
The boundaries of the Uranian epsilon, alpha, and beta rings can be fitted by Keplerian ellipses. The pair of ellipses that outline a given ring share a common line of apsides. Apse alignment is surprising because the quadrupole moment of…
We study the orbital architecture of multi-planet systems detected by the Kepler transit mission using N-body simulations, focusing on the orbital spacing between adjacent planets in systems showing four or more transiting planets. We find…
We analyze the evolution of the potentially habitable planet Proxima Centauri b to identify environmental factors that affect its long-term habitability. We consider physical processes acting on size scales ranging from the galactic to the…
Recent observations have revealed the eccentricity and inclination distributions of close-in super-Earths. These distributions have the potential to constrain their formation processes. In the in-situ formation scenario, the eccentricities…
We identify a new secular instability of eccentric stellar disks around supermassive black holes. We show that retrograde precession of the stellar orbits, due to the presence of a stellar cusp, induces coherent torques that amplify…
We perform numerical simulations to study the secular orbital evolution and dynamical structure in the quintuplet planetary system 55 Cancri with the self-consistent orbital solutions by Fischer and coworkers (2008). In the simulations, we…
The presence of an external tidal field often induces significant dynamical evolutionary effects on the internal kinematics of star clusters. Previous studies investigating the restricted three-body problem with applications to star cluster…
The rotation of a star and the revolutions of its planets are not necessarily aligned. This article reviews the measurement techniques, key findings, and theoretical interpretations related to the obliquities (spin-orbit angles) of…
Many of exoplanetary systems consist of more than one planet and the study of planetary orbits with respect to their long-term stability is very interesting. Furthermore, many exoplanets seem to be locked in a mean-motion resonance (MMR),…
The recently discovered circumbinary planets (Kepler-16 b, Kepler-34 b, Kepler-35 b) represent the first direct evidence of the viability of planet formation in circumbinary orbits. We report on the results of N-body simulations…
Finite eccentricities in mass-transferring eccentric binary systems can be explained by taking into account mass-loss and mass-transfer processes that often occur in these systems. These processes can be treated as perturbations to the…
Most observed extrasolar planets have masses similar to, but orbits very different from, the gas giants of our solar system. Many are much closer to their parent stars than would have been expected and their orbits are often rather…
Compact multi-planet systems containing super-Earths or sub-Neptunes, commonly found around solar-type stars, may be surrounded by external giant planet or stellar companions, which can shape the architechture and observability of the inner…
Multi-planet systems detected until now are in most cases characterized by hot-Jupiters close to their central star as well as high eccentricities. As a consequence, from a dynamical point of view, compact multi-planetary systems form a…
In this paper we study the evolution of viscous and radiative circumstellar disks under the influence of a companion star. We focus on the eccentric {\gamma} Cephei and {\alpha} Centauri system as examples and compare the disk quantities…
A widely considered characteristic of extra-solar planetary systems has been a seeming tendency for major axes of adjacent orbits to librate in stable configurations. Based on a new catalog of extra-solar planets (Butler et al. 2006) and…
The eccentricity of a planet's orbit and the inclination of its orbital plane encode important information about its formation and history. However, exoplanets detected via direct-imaging are often only observed over a very small fraction…
The discovery of multi-planet extrasolar systems has kindled interest in using their orbital evolution as a probe of planet formation. Accurate descriptions of planetary orbits identify systems which could hide additional planets or be in a…