Related papers: Dynamical and Secular Stability of Mutually Inclin…
Using hydrodynamic approach, it is shown that the properties of a marginally stable collisionless stellar disc resemble those of a thermodynamic system undergoing a gas--liquid phase transition. The maximum in Toomre's stability diagram,…
Most multi-planetary systems are characterized by hot-Jupiters close to their central star, moving on eccentric orbits. From a dynamical point of view, compact multi-planetary systems form a specific class of the general N-body problem…
The dynamics of systems of two and three planets, initially placed on circular and nearly coplanar orbits, is explored in the proximity of their stability limit. The evolution of a large number of systems is numerically computed and their…
We explore the orbital dynamics of systems consisting of three planets, each as massive as the Earth, on coplanar, initially circular, orbits about a star of one solar mass. The initial semimajor axes of the planets are equally spaced in…
Aims. To date, more than 600 multi-planetary systems have been discovered. Due to the limitations of the detection methods, our knowledge of the systems is usually far from complete. In particular, for planetary systems discovered with the…
We present a self-consistent model for the tidal evolution of circumbinary planets. Based on the weak-friction model, we derive expressions of the resulting forces and torques considering complete tidal interactions between all the bodies…
Classical secular theory can be a powerful tool to describe the qualitative character of multi-planet systems and offer insight into their histories. The eigenmodes of the secular behavior, rather than current orbital elements, can help…
The gravitational three-body problem is a fundamental problem in physics and has significant applications to astronomy. Three-body configurations are often considered stable as long the system is hierarchical; that is, the two orbital…
Recent ALMA observations on disk substructures suggest the presence of embedded protoplanets in a large number disks. The primordial configurations of these planetary systems can be deduced from the morphology of the disk substructure and…
Recent analyses of Kepler space telescope data reveal that transiting planets with orbital periods shorter than about 2-3 days are generally observed around late-type stars with rotation periods longer than about 5-10 days. We investigate…
Observations of exoplanets over the last two decades have revealed a new class of Jupiter-size planets with orbital periods of a few days, the so-called "hot Jupiters". Recent measurements using the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect have shown…
Stars are commonly formed in binary systems, which provide a natural laboratory for studying planet formation in extreme conditions. In our first paper (Paper I) of a series Xie et al. (2011), we have shown that the intermediate stage -…
We measure the mid-plane of the main asteroid belt by using the observational data of a nearly complete and unbiased sample of asteroids, and find that it has inclination $\bar{I}=0.93\pm0.04$ degrees and longitude of ascending node…
We present a method for studying the secular gravitational dynamics of hierarchical multiple systems consisting of nested binaries, which is valid for an arbitrary number of bodies and arbitrary hierarchical structure. We derive the…
Closely-packed multi-planet systems are known to experience dynamical instability if the spacings between the planets are too small. Such instability can be tempered by the frictional forces acting on the planets from gaseous discs. A…
Compact planetary systems with more than two planets can undergo orbital crossings from planet-planet perturbations. The time which the system remains stable without orbital crossings has an exponential dependence on the initial orbital…
The minimum orbital separation of planets in long-stable planetary systems is often modeled as a step function, parameterized with a single value $\Delta_{min}$ (measured in mutual Hill radius of the two neighboring planets). Systems with…
The secular behavior of an orbit under the gravitational perturbation due to a two-dimensional uniform disk is studied in this paper, through analytical and numerical approaches. We develop the secular approximation of this problem and…
Long-term instability in multi-planet exosystems is a crucial consideration when confirming putative candidates, analyzing exoplanet populations, constraining the age of exosystems, and identifying the sources of white dwarf pollution. Two…
Interstellar objects (ISOs) motivate a coupled mission-design and inference question relevant to spacecraft dynamics and control in extreme environments: if volatile-rich, rotating comet-like bodies were used for sustained deep-space…