Related papers: Anisotropy of Long-period Comets Explained by Thei…
We develop a simple model of planetary formation, focusing our attention on those planets with masses less than 10 Earth masses and studying particularly the primordial spin parameters of planets resulting from the accretion of…
Several lines of observational evidence suggest that white dwarfs receive small birth kicks due to anisotropic mass loss. If other stars possess extrasolar analogues to the Solar Oort cloud, the orbits of comets in such clouds will be…
The late-stage formation of giant planetary systems is rich in interesting dynamical mechanisms. Previous simulations of three giant planets initially on quasi-circular and quasi-coplanar orbits in the gas disc have shown that highly…
We re-examine the formation of the inner Oort comet cloud while the Sun was in its birth cluster with the aid of numerical simulations. This work is a continuation of an earlier study (Brasser et al., 2006) with several substantial…
We present a plausible and coherent view of the evolution of the protosolar disk that is consistent with the cosmochemical constraints and compatible with observations of other protoplanetary disks and sophisticated numerical simulations.…
For a number of starless cores, self-absorbed molecular line and column density observations have implied the presence of large-amplitude oscillations. We examine the consequences of these oscillations on the evolution of the cores and the…
Atmospheric thermal tides arise from the diurnal contrast in stellar irradiation. They exert a significant influence on the long-term rotational evolution of rocky planets because they can accelerate the planetary spin, thereby…
Molecular clouds at very high latitudes ($b > 60^o$) away from the Galactic plane are considered rare and not conventional sites of star formation. Contrary to this, the recent discovery of high latitude embedded Clusters can possibly…
The timing of formation for the first planetesimals determines the mode of planetary accretion and their geophysical and compositional evolution. Astronomical observations of circumstellar discs and Solar System geochronology provide…
We numerically investigate the features of typical orbits occurring in the Oort cloud (r\approx 50-150 kAU) in the low-acceleration regime of the MOdified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND). We take into account the so-called External Field Effect…
(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…
Proto-planetary nebulae (pPN) and planetary nebulae (PN) seem to be formed by interacting winds from asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars. The observational issue that most pPN are bipolar but most older PN are elliptical is addressed. We…
The origin of Jupiter-mass planets with orbital periods of only a few days is still uncertain. It is widely believed that these planets formed near the water-ice line of the protoplanetary disk, and subsequently migrated into much smaller…
The evolution of contact binary star systems in mass asymmetry (transfer) coordinate is considered. The orbital period changes is explained by an evolution in mass asymmetry towards the symmetry (symmetrization of binary system). It is…
The asymmetry in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) towards several nearby galaxies detected by Planck data is probably due to the rotation of "cold gas" clouds present in the galactic halos. In 1995 it had been proposed that galactic…
Planetesimals are believed to form by the gravitational collapse of aerodynamically concentrated clumps of pebbles. Many properties of the objects in the cold classical Kuiper belt -- such as binarity, rotation, and size distribution -- are…
In the late stages of accretion leading up to the formation of planetesimals, particles grew to pebbles the size of 1-mm to tens of cm. That is the same size range that dominates the present-day comet mass loss. Meteoroids that size cause…
Planets with masses between 0.1 - 10 M_earth are believed to host dense atmospheres. These atmospheres can play an important role on the planet's spin evolution, since thermal atmospheric tides, driven by the host star, may counterbalance…
The last decade of research on elliptical galaxies has produced a wealth of new information concerning both their detailed structure and their global scaling relations. We review the old and new results about isophote shapes and…
(Abridged) We present new photometric and spectroscopic observations of the famous Hoag's Object, a peculiar ring galaxy with a central roundish core. The nature of Hoag's Object is still under controversial discussion. Previous studies…