Related papers: Mass, radius, and composition of the transiting pl…
In principle, the combined measurements of the mass and radius a giant exoplanet allow one to determine the relative fraction of hydrogen and helium and of heavy elements in the planet. However, uncertainties on the underlying physics imply…
The masses and radii of extrasolar planets are key observables for understanding their interior, formation and evolution. While transit photometry and Doppler spectroscopy are used to measure the radii and masses respectively of planets…
The relationship between mass and radius (M-R relation) is the key for inferring the planetary compositions and thus valuable for the studies of formation and migration models. However, the M-R relation alone is not enough for planetary…
We have investigated the problem of the distribution of both masses and orbital radii of planets resulting from the gas-accretion, gas-capture model. First we followed the evolution of gas and solids from the moment where all solids are in…
Planets and the stars they orbit are born from the same cloud of gas and dust, and the primordial compositions of rocky exoplanets have been assumed to have iron and refractory abundance ratios consistent with their host star. To test this…
High contrast direct imaging of exoplanets can provide many important observables, including measurements of the orbit, spectra that probe the lower layers of the atmosphere, and phase variations of the planet, but cannot directly measure…
Studies of transiting extra-solar planets are of key importance for understanding the nature of planets outside our Solar System, because their densities can be determined, constraining of what the planets are made of. Using the data…
For much of human history we have wondered how our solar system formed, and whether there are any other planets like ours around other stars. Only in the last 20 years have we had direct evidence for the existence of exoplanets, with the…
55 Cnc e is an ultra-short period super-Earth transiting a Sun-like star. Previous observations in the optical range detected a time-variable flux modulation that is phased with the planetary orbital period, whose amplitude is too large to…
While thousands of exoplanets have been confirmed, the known properties about individual discoveries remain sparse and depend on detection technique. To utilize more than a small section of the exoplanet dataset, tools need to be developed…
We present a study of the vertical structure of the gaseous and stellar disks in a sample of edge-on galaxies (NGC 4157, 4565, and 5907) using BIMA/CARMA 12CO (J = 1 --> 0), VLA H I, and Spitzer 3.6 micron data. In order to take into…
Although current sensitivity limits are such that true Solar System analogs remain challenging to detect, numerous planetary systems have been discovered that are very different from our own Solar System. The majority of systems harbor a…
A general model is proposed to explain the relation between the extrasolar planets (or exoplanets) detected until June 2008 and the main characteristics of their host stars through statistical techniques. The main goal is to establish a…
Context: More than 50 exoplanets have been found around giant stars, revealing different properties when compared to planets orbiting solar-type stars. In particular, they are Super-Jupiters and are not found orbiting interior to $\sim$ 0.5…
Given the complex nature of galaxies' interstellar medium (ISM), multi-wavelength data are required to probe the interplay among gas, dust, and stellar populations. Spiral galaxies are ideal laboratories for such a goal as they are rich in…
The detection and subsequent characterisation of exoplanets are intimately linked to the characteristics of their host star. Therefore, it is necessary to study the star in detail in order to understand the formation history and…
The determination of accurate stellar parameters of giant stars is essential for our understanding of such stars in general and as exoplanet host stars in particular. Precise stellar masses are vital for determining the lower mass limit of…
The Wide Angle Search for Planets (WASP) survey used transit photometry to discover nearly 200 gas-giant exoplanets and derive their planetary and stellar parameters. Reliable determination of the planetary density depends on accurate…
The recent discovery that the close-in extrasolar giant planet, HD209458b, transits its star has provided a first-of-its-kind measurement of the planet's radius and mass. In addition, there is a provocative detection of the light reflected…
Today's most detailed characterization of exoplanet atmospheres is accessible via transit spectroscopy (TS). Detecting transiting exoplanets only yields their size, and it is thus standard to measure a planet's mass before moving towards…