Related papers: Stellar obliquities in exoplanetary systems
Many exoplanets in close-in orbits are observed to have relatively high eccentricities and large stellar obliquities. We explore the possibility that these result from planet-planet scattering by studying the dynamical outcomes from a large…
Contrary to the orthodox picture of planet formation resulting in a neatly ordered Solar System, exoplanet systems exhibit highly diverse orbits: short and long periods, circular and eccentric, well- and misaligned, and even retrograde…
The angle between stellar spin axes and planetary orbits -- stellar obliquity -- probes the dynamics of planetary migration and evolution. The obliquities of giant planets have been extensively studied because they are the most easily…
Observing the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect during a planetary transit allows the determination of the angle $\lambda$ between the sky projections of the star's spin axis and the planet's orbital axis. Such observations have revealed a large…
A crucial diagnostic that can tell us about processes involved in the formation and dynamical evolutionof planetary systems is the angle between the rotation axis of a star and a planet's orbital angular momentum vector ("spin-orbit"…
The orbital eccentricity distribution of exoplanets is shaped by a combination of dynamical processes, reflecting both formation conditions and long-term evolution. Probing the orbital dynamics of planets in the kinematic thin and thick…
We measure the sky-projected stellar obliquities (\lambda) in the multiple-transiting planetary systems KOI-94 and Kepler-25, using the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect. In both cases the host stars are well-aligned with the orbital planes of the…
The planetary obliquity plays a significant role in determining physical properties of planetary surfaces and climate. As direct detection is constrained due to the present observation accuracy, kinetic theories are helpful to predict the…
An overabundance of single-transiting Kepler planets suggests the existence of a sub-population of intrinsically multi-planet systems possessing large mutual inclinations. However, the origin of these mutual inclinations remains unknown.…
The discovery of giant planets orbiting close to their host stars was one of the most unexpected results of early exoplanetary science. Astronomers have since found that a significant fraction of these 'Hot Jupiters' move on orbits…
Star-planet interactions play, among other things, a crucial role in planetary orbital configurations by circularizing orbits, aligning the star and planet spin and synchronizing stellar rotation with orbital motions. This is especially…
Previous studies have shown that planets that rotate retrograde (backwards with respect to their orbital motion) generally experience less severe obliquity variations than those that rotate prograde (the same direction as their orbital…
The dominant mechanism for generating free-floating planets has so far remained elusive. One suggested mechanism is that planets are ejected from planetary systems due to planet-planet interactions. However, instability around a single star…
This work shows the dynamical instability that can happen to close-in satellites when planet oblateness is not accounted for in non-coplanar multiplanet systems. Simulations include two secularly interacting Jupiter-mass planets mutually…
The rotation periods of the host stars of extrasolar planets have been assessed against those of the Mt. Wilson stars, open cluster stars, and evolutionary stellar models that include rotation. They appear to be normal, modulo certain…
Results on the obliquity of exoplanet host stars -- the angle between the stellar spin axis and the planetary orbital axis -- provide important diagnostic information for theories describing planetary formation. Here we present the first…
Planet-planet scattering best explains the eccentricity distribution of extrasolar giant planets. Past literature showed that the orbits of planets evolve due to planet-planet scattering. This work studies the spin evolution of planets in…
It has been known for a decade that hot stars with hot Jupiters tend to have high obliquities. Less is known about the degree of spin-orbit alignment for hot stars with other kinds of planets. Here, we re-assess the obliquities of hot…
During its 5 year mission, the Kepler spacecraft has uncovered a diverse population of planetary systems with orbital configurations ranging from single-transiting planets to systems of multiple planets co-transiting the parent star. By…
The large spin-orbit misalignments in the DI Herculis stellar binary system have resolved the decades-long puzzle of the anomalously slow apsidal precession rate, but raise new questions regarding the origin of the obliquities. This paper…