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Planets that are embedded in the changing magnetic fields of their host stars can experience significant induction heating in their interiors caused by the planet's orbital motion. For induction heating to be substantial, the planetary…
Motivated by recent measurements of the free-floating planet mass function at terrestrial masses, we consider the possibility that the solar system may have captured a terrestrial planet early in its history. We show that $\sim 1.2$…
We show that dissipative dark matter can potentially explain the large observed mass to light ratio of the dwarf satellite galaxies that have been observed in the recently identified planar structure around Andromeda, which are thought to…
The origin of the Uranian satellite system remains uncertain. The four major satellites have nearly circular, co-planar orbits and the ratio of the satellite system and planetary mass resembles Jupiter's satellite system, suggesting the…
The trans-Neptunian scattered disk exhibits unexpected dynamical structure, ranging from an extended dispersion of perihelion distance to a clustered distribution in orbital angles. Self-gravitational modulation of the scattered disk has…
Even among the most irradiated gas giants, so-called ultra-hot Jupiters, KELT-9b stands out as the hottest planet thus far discovered with a dayside temperature of over 4500K. At these extreme irradiation levels, we expect an increase in…
The idea of ultralight scalar (axion) dark matter is theoretically appealing and may resolve some small-scale problems of cold dark matter; so it deserves careful attention. In this work we carefully analyze tunneling of the scalar field in…
It has been discussed whether viscous processes in neutron star matter during a binary inspiral can damp out the tidal energy induced by the companion and heat up the star. Earlier investigations concluded that this tidal heating is…
We have carried out a search for the 2.14 micron spectroscopic signature of the close orbiting extrasolar giant planet, HD 179949b. High cadence time series spectra were obtained with the CRIRES spectrograph at VLT1 on two closely separated…
Kuiper belt objects (KBOs) are thought to be the remnant of the early solar system, and their size distribution provides an opportunity to explore the formation and evolution of the outer solar system. In particular, the size distribution…
Spitzer Space Telescope infrared observations indicate that several transiting extrasolar giant planets have thermal inversions in their upper atmospheres. Above a relative minimum, the temperature appears to increase with altitude. Such an…
Exo-Kuiper belts have been observed for decades, but the recent detection of gas in some of them may change our view of the Solar System's youth. Late gas produced by the sublimation of CO (or CO$_2$) ices after the dissipation of the…
Binaries have played a crucial role many times in the history of modern astronomy and are doing so again in the rapidly evolving exploration of the Kuiper Belt. The large fraction of transneptunian objects that are binary or multiple, 48…
We examine the possibility of detecting signatures of surviving Uranus-Neptune-like planets inside planetary nebulae. Planets that are not too close to the stars, orbital separation larger than about 5 AU, are likely to survive the entire…
The dynamically cold component of the Kuiper Belt is host to a population of very widely separated, near-equal mass binary systems. Such binaries, representing the tail of the separation distribution of the more common, more tightly-bound…
NASA's Kepler mission revealed that $\sim 30\%$ of Solar-type stars harbor planets with sizes between that of Earth and Neptune on nearly circular and co-planar orbits with periods less than 100 days. Such short-period compact systems are…
The widespread prevalence of close-in, nearly coplanar super-Earth- and sub-Neptune-sized planets in multiple-planet systems was one of the most surprising results from the Kepler mission. By studying a uniform sample of Kepler "multis"…
All four giant planets in the Solar system possess irregular satellites, characterized by large, highly eccentric and/or inclined orbits that are distinct from the nearly circular, uninclined orbits of the regular satellites. This…
Despite many similarities, there are significant observed differences between Uranus and Neptune: while Uranus is tilted and has a regular set of satellites, suggesting their accretion from a disk, Neptune's moons are irregular and are…
The origin of the high inclination of Uranus' spin-axis (Uranus' obliquity) is one of the great unanswered questions about the Solar system. Giant planets are believed to form with nearly zero obliquity, and it has been shown that the…