Related papers: Sub-Neptune Formation: The View from Resonant Plan…
Following the general numerical analysis of Melita and Woolfson (1996), I showed in a recent paper that a restricted, planar, circular planetary system consisting of Sun, Jupiter and Saturn would be captured in a near (2:1) resonance when…
We infer the period ($P$) and size ($R_p$) distribution of Kepler transiting planet candidates with $R_p\ge 1 R_{\rm Earth}$ and $P < 250$ days hosted by solar-type stars. The planet detection efficiency is computed by using measured noise…
The substructures observed in protoplanetary disks may be the signposts of embedded planets carving gaps or creating vortices. The inferred masses of these planets often fall in the Jovian regime despite their low abundance compared to…
Planet-planetesimal interactions cause a planet to migrate, manifesting as a random walk in semi-major axis. In models for Neptune's migration involving a gravitational upheaval, this planetesimal-driven migration is a side-effect of the…
Migration of planetary systems caused by the action of dissipative forces may lead the planets to be trapped in a resonance. In this work we study the conditions and the dynamics of such resonant trapping. Particularly, we are interested in…
We investigate resonant capture of small bodies by planets that migrate inwards, using analytic arguments and three-body integrations. If the orbits of the planet and the small body are initially circular and coplanar, the small body is…
Mini-Neptunes seem to be common planets. In this work we investigate the possible formation histories and predicted occurrence rates of mini-Neptunes assuming the planets form beyond the iceline. We consider pebble and planetesimal…
Models of core accretion assume that in the radiative zones of accreting gas envelopes, radiation diffuses. But super-Earths/sub-Neptunes (1-4$R_\oplus$, 2-20$M_\oplus$) point to formation conditions that are optically thin: their modest…
The Kepler-36 system consists of two planets that are spaced unusually close together, near the 7:6 mean motion resonance. While it is known that mean motion resonances can easily form by convergent migration, Kepler-36 is an extreme case…
The observed exoplanet population features a gap in the radius distribution that separates the smaller super-Earths ($\lesssim$1.7 Earth radii) from the larger sub-Neptunes ($\sim$1.7--4 Earth radii). While mass loss theories can explain…
A number of Kepler planet pairs lie just wide of first-order mean motion resonances (MMRs). Tides have been frequently proposed to explain these pileups, but it is still an ongoing discussion. We contribute to this discussion by calculating…
[Abridged] We consider the dynamics of a system of hot super-Earths or Neptunes such as HD 40307. We show that, as tidal interaction with the central star leads to small eccentricities, the planets in this system could be undergoing…
There is an intriguing and growing population of Neptune-sized planets with stellar obliquities near $\sim90^{\circ}$. One previously proposed formation pathway is a disk-driven resonance, which can take place at the end stages of planet…
In some planetary systems, the orbital periods of two of its members present a commensurability, usually known by mean-motion resonance. These resonances greatly enhance the mutual gravitational influence of the planets. As a consequence,…
Planets migrating in their natal discs can be captured into mean-motion resonance (MMR), in which the planets' periods are related by integer ratios. Recent observations indicate that planets in MMR can be either apsidally aligned or…
We present a mechanism related to the migration of giant protoplanets embedded in a protoplanetary disc whereby a giant protoplanet is caught up, before having migrated all the way to the central star, by a lighter outer giant protoplanet.…
Super-Earths and mini-Neptunes exhibit great diversity in their compositional and orbital properties. Their bulk densities span a large range, from those dense enough to be purely rocky to those needing a substantial contribution from…
We study the migration of three-planet systems in an irradiated 1+1D $\alpha$-disc with photoevaporation. We performed $2700$ simulations with various planets' masses and initial orbits. We found that most of the systems which ended up as…
Because a chaotic zone can reduce the long timescale capture probabilities and cause catastrophic events such as close encounters with a planet or star during temporary capture, the dynamics of migrating planets is likely to be strongly…
We study the establishment of three-planet resonances -similar to the Laplace resonance in the Galilean satellites- and their effects on the mutual inclinations of the orbital planes of the planets, assuming that the latter undergo…