Related papers: Linking Uranus' temperature profile to wind-induce…
Near-infrared adaptive optics imaging of Uranus by the Keck 2 telescope during 2003 and 2004 has revealed numerous discrete cloud features, 70 of which were used to extend the zonal wind profile of Uranus up to 60\deg N. We confirmed the…
Recent work suggests that many short-period super-Earth and sub-Neptune planets may have significant spin axis tilts ("obliquities"). When planets are locked in high-obliquity states, the tidal dissipation rate may increase by several…
We imaged Uranus in the near infrared from 2012 into 2014, using the Keck/NIRC2 camera and Gemini/NIRI camera, both with adaptive optics. We obtained exceptional signal to noise ratios by averaging 8-16 individual exposures in a…
Recent calculations of the hydromagnetic deformation of a stratified, non-barotropic neutron star are generalized to describe objects with superconducting interiors, whose magnetic permeability \mu is much smaller than the vacuum value…
The study of the composition of brown dwarf atmospheres helped to understand their formation and evolution. Similarly, the study of exoplanet atmospheres is expected to constrain their formation and evolutionary states. We use results from…
Hydrodynamic atmospheric escape plays a central role in shaping the demographics of small, close-in exoplanets. Two mechanisms have been proposed to drive mass loss: photoevaporation, powered by UV irradiation, and core-powered mass loss,…
We perform a high-resolution two-dimensional fully-kinetic numerical simulation of a turbulent plasma system with observation-driven conditions, in order to investigate the interplay between turbulence, magnetic reconnection, and particle…
Observations have shown that continuous radio emission and also sporadic H-alpha and X-ray emission are prominent in singular, low-mass objects later than spectral class M. These activity signatures are interpreted as being caused by…
A thermodynamic model for the generation of magnetic fields in the planets is proposed, considering crossed effects between gravitational and electric forces. The magnetic field of the Earth is estimated and found to be in agreement with…
The inflated radii observed in hundreds of Hot Jupiters represent a long-standing open issue. The observed correlation between radii and irradiation strength, and the occasional extreme cases, nearly double the size of Jupiter, remain…
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…
Recent observations have demonstrated that very-low mass stars and brown dwarfs are capable of sustaining strong magnetic fields despite their cool and neutral atmospheres. These kG field strengths are inferred based on strong highly…
Protons (ionized hydrogen) in the solar wind frequently exhibit distinct temperatures ($T_{\perp p}$ and $T_{\parallel p}$) perpendicular and parallel to the plasma's background magnetic-field. Numerous prior studies of the interplanetary…
The electrostatic instabilities driven by the gradients of the density, temperature and magnetic field, are discussed in their application to solar magnetic structures. Strongly growing modes are found for some typical plasma parameters.…
Stellar wind and photon radiation interactions with a planet can cause atmospheric depletion, which may have a potentially catastrophic impact on a planet's habitability. While the implications of photoevaporation on atmospheric erosion…
Context. In binary star systems, the winds from the two components impact each other, leading to strong shocks and regions of enhanced density and temperature. Potentially habitable circumbinary planets must continually be exposed to these…
Giant planets like Jupiter and Saturn feature strong zonal wind patterns on their surfaces. Although several different mechanisms that may drive these jets have been proposed over the last decades, the origin of the zonal winds is still…
How the solar wind is accelerated to its supersonic speed is intimately related to how it is heated. Mechanisms based on ion-cyclotron resonance have been successful in explaining a large number of observations, those concerning the…
Space weather in exoplanetary systems, driven by transient stellar emissions such as flares, coronal mass ejections, and stellar proton events, can significantly influence planetary habitability and the long-term evolution of atmospheres.…
Photoevaporation driven by hydrogen-ionizing radiation, also known as extreme-ultraviolet (EUV), profoundly shapes the lives of diverse astrophysical objects. Focusing here mainly on the dispersal of protoplanetary disks, we construct an…