Related papers: Revising Properties of Planet-host Binary Systems …
The Kepler Spacecraft has discovered a large number of planets up to one-year periods and down to terrestrial sizes. While the majority of the target stars are main-sequence dwarfs of spectral type F, G, and K, Kepler covers stars with…
We report parallaxes and proper motions from the Hawaii Infrared Parallax Program for eight nearby M dwarf stars with transiting exoplanets discovered by Kepler. We combine our directly measured distances with mass-luminosity and…
Binary stars constitute a large percentage of the stellar population, yet relatively little is known about the planetary systems orbiting them. Most constraints on circumbinary planets (CBPs) so far come from transit observations with the…
Brown dwarfs and giant planets orbiting close to a host star are subjected to significant irradiation that can modify the properties of their atmospheres. In order to test the atmospheric models that are used to describe these systems, it…
We selected mass-transferring binary candidates from the catalog of Kepler eclipsing binary stars and investigated the dependence of the mass-transfer rate on several astrophysical quantities, including orbital period, semi-major axis, mass…
Binaries are excellent astrophysical laboratories that provide us with direct measurements of fundamental stellar parameters. Compared to single isolated star, multiplicity induces new processes, offering the opportunity to confront our…
We report a mechanism capable of reducing (or increasing) stellar activity in binary stars, thereby potentially enhancing (or destroying) circumbinary habitability. In single stars, stellar aggression towards planetary atmospheres causes…
The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is conducting a two-year wide-field survey searching for transiting exoplanets around nearby bright stars that will be ideal for follow-up characterization. To facilitate studies of planet…
Many problems in contemporary astrophysics---from understanding the formation of black holes to untangling the chemical evolution of galaxies---rely on knowledge about binary stars. This, in turn, depends on discovery and characterization…
[ABRIDGED] Since the discovery of the first transiting extrasolar planet, transit timing has been recognized as a powerful method to discover and characterize additional planets in these systems. However, the gravitational influence of…
We present a framework to conservatively estimate the probability that any particular planet-like transit signal observed by the Kepler mission is in fact a planet, prior to any ground-based follow-up efforts. We use Monte Carlo methods…
Eclipsing binaries are perfect laboratories to measure precise, accurate and model-independent stellar radii and stellar masses, so long as both components are spectroscopically resolved. Resolving both components is difficult in…
Many exoplanets are discovered in binary star systems in internal or in circumbinary orbits. Whether the planet can be habitable or not depends on the possibility to maintain liquid water on its surface, and therefore on the luminosity of…
Eclipsing binaries serve as a valuable source of stellar masses and radii that inform stellar evolutionary models and provide insight into additional astrophysical processes. The exquisite light curves generated by space-based missions such…
We present here the first observationally based determination of the rate of occurrence of circumbinary planets. This is derived from the publicly available Kepler data, using an automated search algorithm and debiasing process to produce…
Population studies of Kepler's multi-planet systems have revealed a surprising degree of structure in their underlying architectures. Information from a detected transiting planet can be combined with a population model to make predictions…
We use Monte Carlo simulations to estimate the number of extrasolar planets that are directly detectable in the solar-neighborhood using current and forthcoming high-contrast imaging instruments. Our calculations take into account the…
Binary populations in young star clusters show multiplicity fractions both lower and up to twice as high as those observed in the Galactic field. We follow the evolution of a population of binary stars in dense and loose star clusters…
This doctoral thesis studies stellar multiplicity in the solar neighborhood (d < 10 pc) and in systems hosting planets (d < 100 pc). Using data from the Washington Double Star Catalogue, Gaia DR3, and a comprehensive literature review, it…
Studies of the atmospheres of hot Jupiters reveal a diversity of atmospheric composition and haze properties. Similar studies on individual smaller, temperate planets are rare due to the inherent difficulty of the observations and also to…