Related papers: Physics of Eclipsing Binaries. III. Spin-Orbit Mis…
Stellar binaries may form through several formation pathways, including disk or core fragmentation. Their spin-orbit angles are a signature of formation, although individual measurements for visual binaries are limited and broad. A seminal…
In an effort to measure the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect for the TRAPPIST-1 system, we performed high-resolution spectroscopy during transits of planets e, f, and b. The spectra were obtained with the InfraRed Doppler spectrograph on the…
We investigate the resonant rotation of circumbinary bodies in planar quasi-circular orbits. Denoting $n_b$ and $n$ the orbital mean motion of the inner binary and of the circumbinary body, respectively, we show that spin-orbit resonances…
Spectroscopic observations constrain the fundamental properties of stellar atmospheres, in particular, the effective temperature, the gravitational acceleration, or the metallicity. In this work, we describe the spectroscopic module for…
This thesis focuses on the study of binary radio pulsars, their evolution and some specific use of their properties to investigate fundamental physics such as general relativity and other gravitational theories. The work that we present…
Planet formation is often considered in the context of one circumstellar disk around one star. Yet stellar binary systems are ubiquitous, and thus a substantial fraction of all potential planets must form and evolve in more complex,…
We demonstrate that microlensing can be used for detecting planets in binary stellar systems. This is possible because in the geometry of planetary binary systems where the planet orbits one of the binary component and the other binary star…
We study the dynamical signatures of black hole (BH) and neutron star (NS) binary mergers via Lidov-Kozai oscillations induced by tertiary companions in hierarchical triple systems. For each type of binaries (BH-BH and BH-NS), we explore a…
We study the dynamics of two homogeneous rigid ellipsoids subject to their mutual gravitational influence. We assume that the spin axis of each ellipsoid coincides with its shortest physical axis and is perpendicular to the orbital plane.…
Stars are commonly formed in binary systems, which provide a natural laboratory for studying planet formation in extreme conditions. In our first paper (Paper I) of a series Xie et al. (2011), we have shown that the intermediate stage -…
Measuring the distribution of spin tilts-the angles between the spin vectors and the binary orbital angular momentum-in stellar-mass binary black holes detected by LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA would provide valuable insight into their astrophysical…
The spin-orbit obliquity of a planetary system constraints its formation history. A large obliquity may either indicate a primordial misalignment between the star and its gaseous disk or reflect the effect of different mechanisms tilting…
We study the spin dynamics of individual black holes in a binary system. In particular we focus on the polar precession of spins and the possibility of a complete flip of spins with respect to the orbital plane. We perform a full numerical…
Theoretical models of stars constitute a fundamental bedrock upon which much of astrophysics is built, but large swaths of model parameter space remain uncalibrated by observations. The best calibrators are eclipsing binaries in clusters,…
Secular resonances in exoplanet systems occur when two or more planets have commensurabilities in the precession rates of their orbital elements, causing an exchange of angular momentum between them. The stellar gravitational quadrupole…
The radial velocity method for detecting extra-solar planets relies on measuring the star's wobble around the system's center of mass. Since this is an indirect method, we may ask if there are other dynamical effects that can mimic such…
Circumbinary Planets (CBPs) can be misaligned with their host binary stars. Orbital dynamics, simulations, and recent observations of proto-planetary disks all suggest that the planet can stably orbit in a plane perpendicular to that of an…
We measure the rotation periods of 19 stars in the {\it Kepler} transiting planetary systems, $P_{\rm rot, astero}$ from asteroseismology and $P_{\rm rot, phot}$ from photometric variation of their lightcurve. Two stars exhibit two clear…
In relativistic gravity, a spinning pulsar will precess as it orbits a compact companion star. We have measured the effect of such precession on the average shape and polarization of the radiation from PSR B1534+12. We have also detected,…
Having a massive moon has been considered as a primary mechanism for stabilized planetary obliquity, an example of which being our Earth. This is, however, not always consistent with the exoplanetary cases. This article details the…