Related papers: Where are the Extrasolar Mercuries?
There has been a long-standing discussion in the literature as to whether core accretion or disk instability is the dominant mode of planet formation. Over the last decade, several lines of evidence have been presented showing that core…
Abundances of lithium, carbon, and oxygen have been derived using spectral synthesis for a sample of 249 bright F, G, and K Northern Hemisphere dwarf stars from the high-resolution spectra acquired with the VUES spectrograph at the Moletai…
We present a brief overview of a splinter session on determining the metallicity of low-mass dwarfs that was organized as part of the Cool Stars 16 conference. We review contemporary spectroscopic and photometric techniques for estimating…
The formation channel of the tens of compact debris discs which orbit white dwarfs (WDs) at a distance of one Solar radius remains unknown. Asteroids that survive the giant branch stellar phases beyond a few au are assumed to be dynamically…
(abbreviated) We report detection with the Spitzer Space Telescope of cool dust surrounding solar type stars. The observations were performed as part of the Legacy Science Program, ``Formation and Evolution of Planetary Systems'' (FEPS).…
The newfound ability to detect SO2 in exoplanet atmospheres presents an opportunity to measure sulfur abundances and so directly test between competing modes of planet formation. In contrast to carbon and oxygen, whose dominant molecules…
Planets with non-zero obliquity and/or orbital eccentricity experience seasonal variations of stellar irradiation at local latitudes. The extent of the atmospheric response can be crudely estimated by the ratio between the orbital timescale…
The atmospheres of between one quarter and one half of observed single white dwarfs in the Milky Way contain heavy element pollution from planetary debris. The pollution observed in white dwarfs in binary star systems is, however, less…
We investigate the structure of strange dwarfs, modeled as hybrid compact stars composed of a self bound strange quark matter core surrounded by a white dwarf like crust, within a fully relativistic framework. Static configurations are…
We review our present understanding of the physical properties of substellar objects, brown dwarfs and irradiated or non-irradiated gaseous exoplanets. This includes a description of their internal properties, mechanical structure and heat…
The cool white dwarf SDSS J124231.07+522626.6 exhibits photospheric absorption lines of 8 distinct heavy elements in medium resolution optical spectra, notably including oxygen. The Teff = 13000 K atmosphere is helium-dominated, but the…
The magnetic white dwarfs (MWDs) are found either isolated or in interacting binaries. They divide into two groups: a high field group (0.1-1,000MegaGauss) comprising some 13% of all white dwarfs (WDs), and a low field group (B<0.1MG) whose…
Little is known about the incidence of magnetic fields among the coolest white dwarfs. Their spectra usually do not exhibit any absorption lines as the bound-bound opacities of hydrogen and helium are vanishingly small. Probing these stars…
Planet frequency shows a strong positive correlation with host mass from the hydrogen-burning limit to M ~ 2Msun. No search has yet been conducted for planets of higher-mass hosts because all existing techniques are insensitive to these…
Planet-forming disc evolution is not independent of the star formation and feedback process in giant molecular clouds. In particular, OB stars emit UV radiation that heats and disperses discs in a process called 'external photoevaporation'.…
We present Keck/HIRES data with model atmosphere analysis of the helium-dominated polluted white dwarf GD 40, in which we measure atmospheric abundances relative to helium of 9 elements: H, O, Mg, Si, Ca, Ti, Cr, Mn, and Fe. Apart from…
Exoplanets host stars present a clear metallicity excess compared to stars without detected planets, with an average overabundance of 0.2 dex. This excess may be primordial, in which case the stars should be overmetallic down to their…
The evolution of exoplanetary atmospheres is strongly influenced by atmospheric escape, particularly for close-in planets. Fractionation during atmospheric loss can preferentially remove lighter elements such as hydrogen, while retaining…
Cold debris disks trace the limits of planet formation or migration in the outer regions of planetary systems, and thus have the potential to answer many of the outstanding questions in wide-orbit planet formation and evolution. We…
The accretion of tidally disrupted planetary bodies is the current consensus model for the presence of photospheric metals commonly detected in white dwarfs. While most dynamical studies have considered a single star and associated…