Related papers: Modeling the Solar System I: Characterization Limi…
From simulations of transit observations, it is found that the detectability of extrasolar planets depends only on two parameters: The signal-to-noise ratio during a transit, and the number of data points observed during transits. All other…
Following on from Paper I in our series (Xie 2013), we report the confirmation by Transit Timing Variations (TTVs) of a further 30 planets in 15 multiple planet systems, using the publicly available Kepler light curves (Q0-Q16). All of…
Placing the architecture of the Solar System within the broader context of planetary architectures is one of the primary topics of interest within planetary science. Exoplanet discoveries have revealed a large range of system architectures,…
Prospects for expanding the available mass measurements of the Kepler sample are limited. Planet masses have typically been inferred via radial velocity (RV) measurements of the host star or time-series modeling of transit timing variations…
The Transit Timing Variations (TTVs) technique provides a powerful tool to detect additional planets in transiting exoplanetary systems. In this paper we show how transiting planets with significant TTVs can be systematically missed, or…
The detection of thousands of extrasolar planets by the transit method naturally raises the question of whether potential extrasolar observers could detect the transits of the Solar System planets. We present a comprehensive analysis of the…
Observational surveys for extrasolar planets probe the diverse outcomes of planet formation and evolution. These surveys measure the frequency of planets with different masses, sizes, orbital characteristics, and host star properties. Small…
We present new ways to identify single and multiple moons around extrasolar planets using planetary transit timing variations (TTVs) and transit duration variations (TDVs). For planets with one moon, measurements from successive transits…
Transit Timing Variations (TTVs) are a powerful tool for detecting unseen companions in systems with known transiting exoplanets and for characterizing their masses and orbital properties. Large-scale and homogeneous TTV analyses are a…
Kepler will monitor enough stars that it is likely to detect single transits of planets with periods longer than the mission lifetime. We show that by combining the Kepler photometry of such transits with precise radial velocity (RV)…
Extrasolar multiple-planet systems provide valuable opportunities for testing theories of planet formation and evolution. The architectures of the known multiple-planet systems demonstrate a fascinating level of diversity, which motivates…
Transiting planet systems offer an unique opportunity to observationally constrain proposed models of the interiors (radius, composition) and atmospheres (chemistry, dynamics) of extrasolar planets. The spectacular successes of ground-based…
A large sample of planet-planet scattering events for three planet systems with different orbital separations and masses is analyzed with a multiple regression model. The dependence of the time for the onset of instability on the masses of…
Previous generation of instruments have the opportunity to discover thousands of extra-solar planets and more will come with the current and future planet-search missions. In order to go one step further in the characterization of…
With over 1800 planets discovered outside of the Solar System in the past two decades, the field of exoplanetology has broadened our perspective on planetary systems. Research priorities are now moving from planet detection to planet…
Among the hundred or so extrasolar planets discovered to date, 19 are orbiting a component of a double or multiple star system. In this paper, we discuss the properties of these planets and compare them to the characteristics of planets…
From the numerous detected planets outside the Solar system, no terrestrial planet comparable to our Earth has been discovered so far. The search for an Exo-Earth is certainly a big challenge which may require the detections of planetary…
We investigate the distributions of the orbital period ratios of adjacent planets in high multiplicity \kepler\ systems (four or more planets) and low multiplicity systems (two planets). Modeling the low multiplicity sample as essentially…
The information gathered from observing planetary systems is not limited to the discovery of planets, but also includes the observational upper limits constraining the presence of any additional planets. Incorporating these upper limits…
Time-series transit photometry from the Kepler space telescope has allowed for the discovery of thousands of exoplanets. We explore the potential of yet improved future missions such as PLATO 2.0 in detecting solar system analogues. We use…