Related papers: Secular spin-axis dynamics of exoplanets
The long-term variations in the orbit of the Earth govern the insolation on its surface and hence its climate. The use of the astronomical signal, whose imprint has been recovered in the geological records, has revolutionized the…
A key component of characterizing multi-planet exosystems is testing the orbital stability based on the observed properties. Such characterization not only tests the validity of how observations are interpreted but can also place additional…
Thousands of extrasolar planets have been discovered, and it is clear that the galactic planetary census draws on a diversity greatly exceeding that exhibited by the solar system's planets. We review significant landmarks in the chronology…
In the coming years, high contrast imaging surveys are expected to reveal the characteristics of the population of wide-orbit, massive, exoplanets. To date, a handful of wide planetary mass companions are known, but only one such…
We revisit the global modes and instabilities of homogeneous rotating ellipsoidal fluid masses, which are the simplest global models of rotationally and tidally deformed gaseous planets or stars. The tidal flow in a short-period planet may…
Advancements in our understanding of exoplanetary atmospheres, from massive gas giants down to rocky worlds, depend on the constructive challenges between observations and models. We are now on a clear trajectory for improvements in…
In this study, we formulate a set of differential equations for a binary system to describe the secular-tidal evolution of orbital elements, rotational dynamics, and deformation (flattening), under the assumption that one body remains…
Planets reflect and linearly polarize the radiation that they receive from their host stars. The emergent polarization is sensitive to aspects of the planet atmosphere such as the gas composition and the occurrence of condensates and their…
Exoplanetary systems hosting multiple low-mass planets are thought to have experienced dynamical instability, during which planet-planet collisions and mergers occur; these collisions can impart substantial amount of angular momentum to the…
We study the chaotic orbital evolution of planetary systems, focusing on secular (i.e., orbit-averaged) interactions, because these often dominate on long timescales. We first focus on the evolution of a test particle that is forced by…
We consider particles with low free or proper eccentricity that are orbiting near planets on eccentric orbits. Via collisionless particle integration we numerically find the location of the boundary of the chaotic zone in the planet's…
Phase curves are the best technique to probe the three dimensional structure of exoplanets' atmospheres. In this chapter we first review current exoplanets phase curve observations and the particular challenges they face. We then describe…
(Abridged) In planetary systems with two or more giant planets, dynamical instabilities can lead to collisions or ejections through strong planet--planet scattering. Previous studies for simple initial configurations with two equal-mass…
In the search for life beyond our Solar system, attention should be focused on those planets that have the potential to maintain habitable conditions over the prolonged periods of time needed for the emergence and expansion of life as we…
We propose a novel method applied to extrasolar planetary dynamics to describe the system stability. The observations in this field serve the measurements mainly of radial velocity, transit time, and/or celestial position. These scalar time…
A first characterization of many exoplanets has recently been achieved by the observational determination of their radius. For some planets, a measurement of the luminosity has also been possible, with many more directly imaged planets…
We investigated the dynamical stability of high-multiplicity Kepler and K2 planetary systems. Our numerical simulations find instabilities in $\sim20\%$ of the cases on a wide range of timescales (up to $5\times10^9$ orbits) and over an…
By observing the transits of exoplanets, one may determine many fundamental system parameters. I review current techniques and results for the parameters that can be measured with the greatest precision, specifically, the transit times, the…
Binary and multiple star systems are extreme environments for the formation and long-term presence of extrasolar planets. Circumstellar planets are subject to gravitational perturbations from the distant companion star, and this interaction…
We study the dynamical stability of planetary systems consisting of one hypothetical terrestrial mass planet ($1 $ or $10 \mearth$) and one massive planet ($10 \mearth - 10 \mjup$). We consider masses and orbits that cover the range of…