Related papers: Can planet-planet binaries survive in star-forming…
Young stars are mostly found in dense stellar environments, and even our own Solar system may have formed in a star cluster. Here, we numerically explore the evolution of planetary systems similar to our own Solar system in star clusters.…
With more than 260 extrasolar planetary systems discovered to-date, the search for habitable planets has found new grounds. Unlike our solar system, the stars of many of these planets are hosts to eccentric or close-in giant bodies. Several…
In contrast to the field, the binaries in dense stellar systems are frequently not primordial, and could be either dynamically formed or significantly altered from their primordial states. Destruction and formation of binaries occur in…
Most stars form in star clusters and stellar associated. To understand the roles of star cluster environments in shaping the dynamical evolution of planetary systems, we carry out direct $N$-body simulations of four planetary systems models…
Our general understanding of multiple star and planet formation is primarily based on observations of young multiple systems in low density regions like Tau-Aur and Oph. Since many, if not most, of the stars are born in clusters,…
At least 10-15% of nearby sun-like stars have known Jupiter-mass planets. In contrast, very few planets are found in mature open and globular clusters such as the Hyades and 47 Tuc. We explore here the possibility that this dichotomy is due…
Observations of the Kuiper Belt indicate that a larger than expected percentage of KBO's (approximately 8 out of 500) are in binary pairs. The formation and survival of such objects presents a conundrum [1]. Two competing theories have been…
Understanding the formation and dynamical evolution of habitable planets in extrasolar planetary systems is a challenging task. In this respect, systems with multiple giant planets and/or multiple stars present special complications. The…
One of the most surprising discoveries of extrasolar planets is the detection of planets in moderately close binary star systems. The Jovian-type planets in the two binaries of Gamma Cephei and GJ 86 have brought to the forefront questions…
We study the evolution of populations of binary stars within massive cluster-forming regions. We simulate the formation of young massive star clusters within giant molecular clouds with masses ranging from 2 x 10$^{4}$ to 3.2 x 10$^{5}$…
Astronomers have discovered that both planets and binaries are abundant throughout the Galaxy. In combination, we know of over 100 planets in binary and higher-order multi-star systems, in both circumbinary and circumstellar configurations.…
Characterization of the binary fractions in star clusters is of fundamental importance for many fields in astrophysics. Observations indicate that the majority of stars are found in binary systems, while most stars with masses greater than…
We calculate herein the late stages of terrestrial planet accumulation around a solar type star that has a binary companion with semimajor axis larger than the terrestrial planet region. We perform more than one hundred simulations to…
We examine recent studies on the formation rate of planetary nebulae and find this rate to be about one-third of the formation rate of white dwarfs. This implies than only about one-third of all planetary nebulae that evolve to form white…
The formation of massive stars is one of the major unsolved problems in stellar astrophysics. However, only few if any of these are found as single stars, on average massive stars have more than one companion. Many of them are born in dense…
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…
In star clusters, close stellar encounters can strongly impact the architecture of a planetary system or even destroy it. We present a systematic study on the effects of stellar flybys on two-planet systems. When such a system experiences…
Massive stars can be found in wide (hundreds to thousands AU) binaries with other massive stars. We use $N$-body simulations to show that any bound cluster should always have approximately one massive wide binary: one will probably form if…
Dusty primordial disks surrounding young low-mass stars are revealing tracers of stellar and planetary formation. The evolution and lifetime of these disks define the boundary conditions of the mechanisms of planet formation. Stellar…
Binary systems are very common among field stars. While this relatively small number of planets in binaries is probably partly due to strong observational biases, there is, however, statistical evidence that planets are indeed less frequent…