Related papers: Host Stars and How Their Compositions Influence Ex…
Over the last two decades, the discovery of exoplanets has fundamentally changed our perception of the universe and humanity's place within it. Recent work indicates that a solar system's X-ray and high energy particle environment is of…
Star formation is spatially clustered across a range of environments, from dense stellar clusters to unbound associations. As a result, radiative or dynamical interactions with neighbouring stars disrupt (proto)planetary systems and limit…
The lithium abundances of planet-harbouring stars have been compared with those of open clusters and field stars. Young (chromospherically active) and subgiant stars have been eliminated from the comparison because they are at different…
Analyzing global starburst properties in various kinds of starburst and post-starburst galaxies and relating them to the properties of the star cluster populations they form, I explore the conditions for the formation of massive, compact,…
The GAIA space mission is impacting astronomy in many significant ways by providing a uniform, homogeneous and precise data set for over 1 billion stars and other celestial objects in the Milky Way and beyond. Exoplanet science has greatly…
All measurements of cosmic star formation must assume an initial distribution of stellar masses -- the stellar initial mass function -- in order to extrapolate from the star-formation rate measured for typically rare, massive stars (> 8…
The characterization of exoplanetary atmospheres has come of age in the last decade, as astronomical techniques now allow for albedos, chemical abundances, temperature profiles and maps, rotation periods and even wind speeds to be measured.…
Recent ground and space-based observations show that stars with multiple planets are common in the galaxy. Most of these observational methods are biased toward detecting large planets near to their host stars. Because of these…
Most stars, perhaps even all stars, form in crowded stellar environments. Such star forming regions typically dissolve within ten million years, while others remain bound as stellar groupings for hundreds of millions to billions of years,…
We investigate how the properties of escaping stars are related to the initial conditions of their birth clusters. We find that the number of escaping stars, their spatial distribution, and their kinematics show a dependence on the initial…
The study of fundamental properties (such as temperatures, radii, masses, and ages) and interior processes (such as convection and angular momentum transport) of stars has implications on various topics in astrophysics, ranging from the…
The astrobiology is an interdisciplinary science, combining the methods and the means of physics, biology, chemistry and astronomy. Its main purpose is to find out if the exoplanets are habitable and if so, to confirm life on them. The…
Rotation has a number of important effects on the evolution of stars. Apart from structural changes because of the centrifugal force, turbulent mixing and meridional circulation caused by rotation can dramatically affect a star's chemical…
Stability is one of the most fundamental aspects regarding planetary systems. It plays an important role in our understanding on the formation channel of the planetary systems, as well as their habitability. Many approaches have been…
Accretion of planetary material onto host stars may occur throughout a star's life. Especially prone to accretion, extrasolar planets in short-period orbits, while relatively rare, constitute a significant fraction of the known population,…
The analysis of transiting extra-solar planets provides an enormous amount of information about the formation and evolution of planetary systems. A precise knowledge of the host stars is necessary to derive the planetary properties…
Accurate stellar parameters are needed in numerous domains of astrophysics. The position of stars on the H-R diagram is an important indication of their structure and evolution, and it helps improve stellar models. Furthermore, the age and…
The compositions of stars and planets are connected, yet, the definition of "habitability" and the "habitable zone" only take into account the physical relationship between the star and planet. Planets, however, are made truly habitable by…
The architectures of extrasolar planetary systems often deviate considerably from the ``standard" model for planet formation, which is largely based on our own Solar System. In particular, gas giants on close orbits are not predicted by…
With 40 or more transiting exoplanets now known, the time is ripe to seek patterns and correlations among their observed properties, which may give important insights into planet formation, structure, and evolution. This task is made…