Related papers: Testing exoplanet evaporation with multi-transitin…
Multi-planet systems orbiting M dwarfs provide valuable tests of theories of small planet formation and evolution. K2-3 is an early M dwarf hosting three small exoplanets (1.5-2.0 Earth radii) at distances of 0.07-0.20 AU. We measure the…
We construct models of the structural evolution of super-Earth- and mini-Neptune-type exoplanets with hydrogen-helium envelopes, incorporating radiative cooling and XUV-driven mass loss. We conduct a parameter study of these models,…
The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is a NASA-sponsored Explorer mission that will perform a wide-field survey for planets that transit bright host stars. Here, we predict the properties of the transiting planets that TESS will…
Small planets are extremely common in the Galaxy, including planets with masses and radii between those of Earth and Neptune. Characterizing these planets' masses requires ultra-precise radial velocities. The ESPRESSO spectrograph was…
A critically important process affecting the climate evolution and potential habitability of an exoplanet is atmospheric escape, in which high-energy radiation from a star drives the escape of hydrogen atoms and other light elements from a…
The radius valley (or gap) in the observed distribution of exoplanet radii, which separates smaller super-Earths from larger sub-Neptunes, is a key feature that theoretical models must explain. Conventionally, it is interpreted as the…
Space-based photometric surveys have discovered large numbers of planets transiting other stars, but these observe in a single band-pass and yield only the planet radius, orbital period, and transit duration. Information on the masses,…
The planetary effective surface temperature alone is insufficient to characterize exoplanet atmospheres and their stability or evolution. Considering the star-planet system as a whole is necessary, and a critical component of the system is…
Throughout their lives, short period exoplanets (<100 days) experience X-ray and extreme-UV (XUV) stellar irradiation that can heat and photoionize planets' upper atmospheres, driving transonic outflows. This photoevaporative mass loss…
The ''radius valley" is a relative dearth of planets between two potential populations of exoplanets, super-Earths and mini-Neptunes. This feature appears in examining the distribution of planetary radii, but has only ever been…
The observational detection of a localized reduction in the small planet occurrence rate, sometimes termed a 'gap', is an exciting discovery because of the implications for planet evolutionary history. This gap appears to define a…
Over the past decade, observations of evaporating exoplanets have become increasingly common, driven by the discovery of the near-infrared helium-triplet line as a powerful probe of atmospheric escape. This process significantly influences…
In recent years the focus of exoplanet research has shifted from the mere detection to detailed characterization. Precise measurements of the masses and radii of transiting planets have shown that some low-mass planets have extended…
The Kepler transit survey with follow-up spectroscopic observations has discovered numerous super-Earth sized planets and revealed intriguing features of their sizes, orbital periods, and their relations between adjacent planets. For the…
Simulations predict that hot super-Earth sized exoplanets can have their envelopes stripped by photo-evaporation, which would present itself as a lack of these exoplanets. However, this absence in the exoplanet population has escaped a firm…
The radius valley carries implications for how the atmospheres of small planets form and evolve, but this feature is visible only with highly precise characterizations of many small planets. We present the characterization of nine planets…
This article presents a review on the observations and theoretical modeling of the evaporation of extrasolar planets. The observations and the resulting constraints on the upper atmosphere (thermosphere and exosphere) of the "hot-Jupiters".…
The demographics of young exoplanets can shed light onto their formation and evolution processes. Exoplanet properties are derived from the properties of their host stars. As such, it is important to accurately characterize the host stars…
Several circumbinary planets have recently been discovered. The orbit of a planet around a binary stellar system poses several dynamic constraints. The effects that radiation from the host stars may have on the planet atmospheres must be…
We present empirical evidence, supported by a planet formation model, to show that the curve $R/R_\oplus = 1.05\,(F/F_\oplus)^{0.11}$ approximates the location of the so-called photo-evaporation valley. Planets below that curve are likely…