Related papers: A HARDCORE model for constraining an exoplanet's c…
Several small dense exoplanets are now known, inviting comparisons to Earth and Venus. Such comparisons require translating their masses and sizes to composition models of evolved multi-layer-interior planets. Such theoretical models rely…
Using evolutionary crystal structure prediction algorithm USPEX, we identify the compositions and crystal structures of stable compounds in the Fe-S system at pressures in the range 100-400 GPa. We find that at pressures of the Earth's…
Transit and radial velocity observations continuously discover an increasing number of exoplanets. However, when it comes to the composition of the observed planets the data are compatible with several interior structure models. Thus, a…
The favored theoretical explanation for giant planet formation -- in both our solar system and others -- is the core accretion model (although it still has some serious difficulties). In this scenario, planetesimals accumulate to build up…
We calculate the evolution of cloud cores embedded in different envelopes to investigate environmental effects on the mass accretion rate onto protostars. As the initial state, we neglect the magnetic field and cloud rotation, and adopt…
Precise measurements of the temperature and polarization anisotropies of the cosmic microwave background can be used to constrain the annihilation and decay of dark matter. In this work, we demonstrate via principal component analysis that…
The accuracy of the measurements of some astrophysical dynamical systems allows to constrain the existence of incredibly small gravitational perturbations. In particular, the internal Solar System dynamics (planets, Earth-Moon) opens up the…
Observations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and large-scale structure (LSS) provide a unique opportunity to explore the fundamental properties of the constituents that compose the cosmic dark radiation background (CDRB), of which…
The existence of two kinematically and chemically distinct stellar subpopulations in the Sculptor and Fornax dwarf galaxies offers the opportunity to constrain the density profile of their matter haloes by measuring the mass contained…
The radius distribution of small, close-in exoplanets has recently been shown to be bimodal. The photoevaporation model predicted this bimodality. In the photoevaporation scenario, some planets are completely stripped of their primordial…
The circumstellar disk of PDS 70 hosts two forming planets, which are actively accreting gas from their environment. In this work, we report the first detection of PDS 70 b in the Br$\alpha$ and $M'$ filters with VLT/NACO, a tentative…
The detection of low-mass transiting exoplanets in multiple systems brings new constraints to planetary formation and evolution processes and challenges the current planet formation theories. Nevertheless, only a mere fraction of the small…
We study the effects of astrophysical foregrounds on the ability of CMB B-mode polarization experiments to constrain the primordial tensor-to-scalar ratio, r. To clean the foreground contributions we use parametric, maximum likelihood…
A major goal in the discovery and characterisation of exoplanets is to identify terrestrial-type worlds that are similar to (or otherwise distinct from) our Earth. Recent results have highlighted the importance of applying devolatilisation…
We use models of coupled thermal evolution and photo-evaporative mass loss to understand the formation and evolution of the Kepler-36 system. We show that the large contrast in mean planetary density observed by Carter et al. (2012) can be…
The internal structure of dark matter halos on sub-galactic scales remains a key open question, particularly in the context of the core-cusp problem. Ultra-faint dwarf galaxies (UFDs), owing to their extreme dark matter dominance, provide a…
Possible bulk compositions of the super-Earth exoplanets, CoRoT-7b, Kepler-9d, and Kepler-10b are investigated by applying a commonly used silicate and a non-standard carbon model. Their internal structures are deduced using the suitable…
Identifying planets around O-type and B-type stars is inherently difficult; the most massive known planet host has a mass of only about $3M_{\odot}$. However, planetary systems which survive the transformation of their host stars into white…
High-precision planetary densities are key to derive robust atmospheric properties for extrasolar planets. Measuring precise masses is the most challenging part, especially in multi-planetary systems. We measure the masses and densities of…
The theory of remote sensing shows that observing a planet at multiple phase angles ($\alpha$) is a powerful strategy to characterize its atmosphere. Here, we analyse how the information contained in reflected-starlight spectra of…