Related papers: Effective induction heating around strongly magnet…
We consider the impact of electromagnetic induction and Ohmic heating on a conducting planetary object that orbits a magnetic star. Power dissipated as heat saps orbital energy. If this heat is trapped by an insulating crust or mantle,…
Planets with several Earth masses and a few day orbital periods have been discovered through radial velocity and transit surveys. Regardless of their formation mechanism, a key evolution issue is the efficiency of their retention near their…
Low-mass M stars are plentiful in the Universe and often host small, rocky planets detectable with the current instrumentation. Recently, seven small planets have been discovered orbiting the ultracool dwarf…
A new mechanism for the internal heating of ultra-short-period planets is proposed based on the gravitational perturbation by a non-axisymmetric quadrupole moment of their host stars. Such a quadrupole is due to the magnetic flux tubes in…
Aims. We investigate possible driving mechanisms of volcanic activity on rocky super-Earths with masses exceeding 3-4 Mearth. Due to high gravity and pressures in the mantles of these planets, melting in deep mantle layers can be…
Some extrasolar giant planets in close orbits---"hot Jupiters"---exhibit larger radii than that of a passively cooling planet. The extreme irradiation $L_{\rm eq}$ these hot Jupiters receive from their close in stars creates a thick…
The intense irradiation received by hot Jupiters suppresses convection in the outer layers of their atmospheres and lowers their cooling rates. "Inflated" hot Jupiters, i.e., those with anomalously large transit radii, require additional…
Models of planet formation and evolution predict that giant planets form efficiently in protoplanetary disks, that most of these migrate rapidly to the disk's inner edge, and that, if the arriving planet's mass is $\lesssim$ Jupiter's mass,…
The observed low densities of gas giant planets with a high equilibrium temperature can be simulated in models when a fraction of the surface radiation is deposited deeper in the interior. Meanwhile migration theories suggest that hot…
There have been many proposed explanations for the larger-than-expected radii of some transiting hot Jupiters, including either stellar or orbital energy deposition deep in the atmosphere or deep in the interior. In this paper, we explore…
Many giant exoplanets in close orbits have observed radii which exceed theoretical predictions. One suggested explanation for this discrepancy is heat deposited deep inside the atmospheres of these "hot Jupiters". Here, we study extended…
The unexpectedly large radii of transiting hot Jupiters have led to many proposals for the physical mechanisms responsible for heating their interiors. While it has been shown that hot Jupiters reinflate as their host stars brighten due to…
We present a new, magnetohydrodynamic mechanism for inflation of close-in giant extrasolar planets. The idea behind the mechanism is that current, which is induced through interaction of atmospheric winds and the planetary magnetic field,…
Planetary systems are born in the disks of gas, dust and rocky fragments that surround newly formed stars. Solid content assembles into ever-larger rocky fragments that eventually become planetary embryos. These then continue their growth…
It has been observed that hot Jupiters located within 0.08 AU of their host stars commonly display radii in excess of those expected based on models. A number of theoretical explanations for this phenomenon have been suggested, but the…
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…
The unanticipated discovery of the first close-in planet around 51 Peg has rekindled the notion that shortly after their formation outside the snow line, some planets may have migrated to the proximity of their host stars because of their…
Time-dependent insolation in a planetary atmosphere induces a mass quadrupole upon which the stellar tidal acceleration can exert a force. This "thermal tide" force can give rise to secular torques on the planet and orbit as well as radial…
The anomalously large radii of strongly irradiated exoplanets have remained a major puzzle in astronomy. Based on a 2D steady state atmospheric circulation model, the validity of which is assessed by comparison to 3D calculations, we reveal…
The small semi-major axes of Hot Jupiters lead to high atmospheric temperatures of up to several thousand Kelvin. Under these conditions, thermally ionised metals provide a rich source of charged particles and thus build up a sizeable…