Related papers: Host-star and exoplanet compositions: a pilot stud…
Trends in the planet population with host star mass provide an avenue to constrain planet formation theories. We derive the planet radius distribution function for Kepler stars of different spectral types, sampling a range in host star…
Aims. The aim of this work is to study the dynamical effects of the Galaxy on binary star systems with physical and orbital charac- teristics similar to those of the population of known wide binary stars with exoplanets. As secondary goal…
An important open question in exoplanet studies is whether planets leave detectable chemical fingerprints on their host stars. While several studies have suggested possible planetary chemical signatures in planet-hosting stars, their origin…
Elemental abundance studies of solar twin stars suggest that the solar chemical composition contains signatures of the formation of terrestrial planets in the solar system, namely small but significant depletions of the refractory elements.…
Understanding the formation and dynamical evolution of habitable planets in extrasolar planetary systems is a challenging task. In this respect, systems with multiple giant planets and/or multiple stars present special complications. The…
White dwarfs are the burnt out cores of Sun-like stars and are the final fate of 97% of all stars in our Galaxy. The internal structure and composition of white dwarfs are hidden by their high gravities, which causes all elements, apart…
White dwarfs with a F, G or K type companion represent the last common ancestor for a plethora of exotic systems throughout the galaxy, though to this point very few of them have been fully characterised in terms of orbital period and…
Over a quarter of white dwarfs have photospheric metal pollution, which is evidence for recent accretion of exoplanetary material. While a wide range of mechanisms have been proposed to account for this pollution, there are currently few…
White dwarfs accreting planetary debris provide detailed insight into the bulk composition of rocky exo-planetesimals. However, only one Kuiper-Belt analogue has been identified in that way so far. Here, we report the accretion of an icy…
In the Solar System, minor bodies and dust deliver various materials to planetary surfaces. Several exoplanetary systems are known to host inner and outer belts, analogues of the main asteroid belt and the Kuiper belt. We study the…
The presence of certain elements within a star, and by extension its planet, strongly impacts the formation and evolution of the planetary system. The positive correlation between a host star's iron-content and the presence of an orbiting…
Spurred by the discovery of numerous exoplanets in multiple systems, binaries have become in recent years one of the main topics in planet formation research. Numerous studies have investigated to what extent the presence of a stellar…
A major goal in the discovery and characterisation of exoplanets is to identify terrestrial-type worlds that are similar to (or otherwise distinct from) our Earth. Recent results have highlighted the importance of applying devolatilisation…
Planets and the stars they orbit are born from the same cloud of gas and dust, and the primordial compositions of rocky exoplanets have been assumed to have iron and refractory abundance ratios consistent with their host star. To test this…
Planet formation occurs within the same molecular cloud as the host star, suggesting a link between the elemental abundances of star and the planet. Exoplanet atmosphere studies often assume solar abundances for host stars, however,…
Most studies suggest the pollution of white dwarf (WD) atmospheres arises from accretion of minor planets, but the exact properties of polluting material, and in particular the evidence for water in some cases are not yet understood. Here…
The occurrence of planets in binary star systems has been investigated via a variety of techniques that sample a wide range of semi-major axes, but with a preponderance of such results applicable to planets with semi-major axes less than a…
In this article, I examine several observational trends regarding protoplanetary disks, debris disks and exoplanets in binary systems in an attempt to constrain the physical mechanisms of planet formation in such a context. Binaries wider…
The destiny of planetary systems through the late evolution of their host stars is very uncertain. We report a metal-rich gas disk around a moderately hot and young white dwarf. A dynamical model of the double-peaked emission lines…
Differences in the elemental abundances of planet hosting stars in binary systems can give important clues and constraints about planet formation and evolution. In this study we performed a high-precision, differential elemental abundance…