Related papers: Alpha Centauri: Disc Dynamics, Planet Stability, D…
We present the first ALMA observations of the closest known extrasolar debris disc. This disc orbits the star $\epsilon$ Eridani, a K-type star just 3.2pc away. Due to the proximity of the star, the entire disc cannot fit within the ALMA…
We analyze the effect of companion stars on the bulk density of 29 planets orbiting 15 stars in the Kepler field. These stars have at least one stellar companion within 2", and the planets have measured masses and radii, allowing an…
The dynamical interactions between young binaries can perturb the material distribution of their circumstellar disks, and modify the planet formation process. In order to constrain the impact and nature of the binary interaction in the RW…
We analyze the dynamical evolution of binary stars that interact with a static background of single stars in the environment of a massive black hole (MBH). All stars are considered to be single mass, Newtonian point particles. We follow the…
Over the past two years, the search for low-mass extrasolar planets has led to the detection of seven so-called 'hot Neptunes' or 'super-Earths' around Sun-like stars. These planets have masses 5-20 times larger than the Earth and are…
S-type planets, which orbit one component of multiple-star systems, place strong constraints on the planet formation and evolution models. A notable case study is Kepler-444, a triple-star system whose primary is orbited by five planets…
We present a study of four different formation scenarios that may be able to explain the origin of the recently announced planet (`Proxima b') orbiting Proxima Centauri. The aim is to examine how the formation scenarios differ in their…
This article presents the latest results of our ALMA program to study circumstellar disk characteristics as a function of orbital and stellar properties in a sample of young binary star systems known to host at least one disk. Optical and…
Globular clusters (GCs) and many nuclear clusters (NCs) show evidence for hosting multiple generations of stellar populations. Younger stellar populations in NCs appear to reside in disk like structures, including the nuclear cluster in our…
The mass of solids in a young circumstellar disc may be the key factor in its efficiency in building planetesimals and planetary cores, and dust observed around young T Tauri and Herbig Ae stars can be used as a proxy for this initial solid…
The existence of planets orbiting a central binary star system immediately raises questions regarding their formation and dynamical evolution. Recent discoveries of circumbinary planets by the Kepler space telescope has shown that some of…
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…
Observations of circumstellar disks around stars as a function of stellar properties such as mass, metallicity, multiplicity, and age, provide constraints on theories concerning the formation and evolution of planetary systems. Utilizing…
A new class of models of stellar discs is introduced and used to build a self-consistent model of our Galaxy. The model is defined by the parameters that specify the action-based distribution functions (DFs) f(J) of four stellar discs…
Existence of planets is binaries with relatively small separations (around 20 AU), such as \alpha Centauri or \gamma Cephei poses severe challenges to standard planet formation theories. The problem lies in the vigorous secular excitation…
Recent observations of young stellar systems with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) are helping to cement the idea that close companion stars form via fragmentation of a…
About 5-15% of stellar systems are at least triple. About 1% of systems with a primary of $\tgs 1 \Mscun$ are triple with a {\it longer} peri od that is less than 30y, and so may in principle be capable of Roche-lobe overflow in both the…
We explore test particle orbits in the orbital plane of eccentric stellar binary systems, searching for ``invariant loops'': closed curves that change shape periodically as a function of binary orbital phase as the test particles in them…
The globular cluster $\omega$ Centauri (NGC 5139) is a puzzling stellar system harboring several distinct stellar populations whose origin still represents a unique astrophysical challenge. Current scenarios range from primordial chemical…
We calculate the upper bounds of the population of theoretically stable Centaur orbits between Uranus and Neptune. These small bodies are on low-eccentricity, low-inclination orbits in two specific bands of semi-major axis, centred at…