Related papers: Tidal Inflation Reconciles Low-Density Sub-Saturns…
Several short-period Jupiter-mass planets have been discovered around nearby solar-type stars. During the circularization of their orbits, the dissipation of tidal disturbance by their host stars heats the interior and inflates the sizes of…
The high density of the close-in extrasolar planet HD149026b suggests the presence of a huge core in the planet, which challenges planet formation theory. We first derive constraints on the amount of heavy elements and hydrogen/helium…
We employ planetary evolution modeling to reproduce the MR distribution of the 198 so far detected planets with mass and radius measured to the <45% and <15% level, respectively, and less massive than 108Me. We simultaneously account for…
Understanding the internal structures of planets with a large H$_2$O component is important for the characterisation of sub-Neptune planets. The finding that the mini-Neptune K2-18b could host a liquid water ocean beneath a mostly hydrogen…
We calculate the minimum mass of heavy elements required in the envelopes of Jupiter and Saturn to match the observed oversolar abundances of volatiles. Because the clathration efficiency remains unknown in the solar nebula, we have…
While small, Neptune-like planets are among the most abundant exoplanets, our understanding of their atmospheric structure and dynamics remains sparse. In particular, many unknowns remain on the way moist convection works in these…
We investigate the enrichment patterns of several delivery scenarios of the volatiles to the atmospheres of ice giants, having in mind that the only well constrained determination made remotely, i.e. the carbon abundance measurement,…
Tidal Downsizing is the modern version of the Kuiper (1951) scenario of planet formation. Detailed simulations of self-gravitating discs, gas fragments, dust grain dynamics, and planet evolutionary calculations are summarised here and used…
Improvements in the number of confirmed planets and the precision of observations imply a need to better understand subtle effects that may bias interpretations of exoplanet observations. One such effect is the distortion of a short period…
The recent discovery and initial characterization of sub-Neptune-sized exoplanets that receive stellar irradiance of approximately Earth's raised the prospect of finding habitable planets in the coming decade, because some of these…
The heavy element content of giant exoplanets, inferred from structure models based on their radius and mass, often exceeds predictions based on classical core accretion. Pebble drift, coupled with volatile evaporation, has been proposed as…
The sub-Saturn ($\sim$4--8$R_{\oplus}$) occurrence rate rises with orbital period out to at least $\sim$300 days. In this work we adopt and test the hypothesis that the decrease in their occurrence towards the star is a result of…
The Kepler observations indicate that many exoplanets are super-Earths, which brings about a puzzle for the core-accretion scenario. Since observed super-Earths are in the range of critical mass, they would accrete gas efficiently and…
In this paper we investigate the formation of Uranus and Neptune, according to the core-nucleated accretion model, considering formation locations ranging from 12 to 30 AU from the Sun, and with various disk solid-surface densities and core…
The interiors of giant planets remain poorly understood. Even for the planets in the Solar System, difficulties in observation lead to large uncertainties in the properties of planetary cores. Exoplanets that have undergone rare…
K2-19 is a star, slightly smaller than the Sun, that hosts three transiting planets. Two of these, K2-19 b and c, are between the size of Neptune and Saturn and have orbital periods near a 3:2 commensurability, and exhibit strong…
We present a new empirical calibration of equilibrium tidal theory for extrasolar planet systems, extending a prior study by incorporating detailed physical models for the internal structure of planets and host stars. The resulting strength…
Sub-Neptune planets are often modeled with a dense rocky or metal-rich interior beneath a thick hydrogen/helium (H/He) atmosphere; though their bulk densities could also be explained by a water-rich interior with a thin H/He atmosphere.…
We investigate the possibility of substantial inflation of short-period Jupiter-mass planets, as a result of their internal tidal dissipation associated with the synchronization and circularization of their orbits. We employ the simplest…
The majority of Milky Way extrasolar planets likely reside within a few kpc of the Galactic centre. The Galactic tidal forces acting on planets scale inversely with radius in the Galaxy and so are much greater in the inner Galaxy than in…