Related papers: Why Wide Jupiter-Mass Binary-Objects Cannot Form
In this paper we discuss the nature and the possible formation scenarios of the companion of the brown dwarf 2MASS 1207334-393254. We initially discuss the basic physical properties of this object and conclude that, although from its…
We report the results of deep infrared observations of brown dwarf candidates in the Trapezium cluster in Orion. Analysis of the JHK color-color diagram indicates that a large fraction (approx 65% +/- 15%) of the observed sources exhibit…
A population of free-floating planets is known from gravitational microlensing surveys. None have a directly measured mass, owing to a degeneracy with the distance, but the population statistics indicate that many are less massive than…
We present radiation hydrodynamic simulations in which binary planets form by close encounters in a system of several super-Earth embryos. The embryos are embedded in a protoplanetary disk consisting of gas and pebbles and evolve in a…
Royal Society Discussion Meeting (2013) `Characterizing exoplanets'. Of the 900+ confirmed exoplanets discovered since 1995 for which we have constraints on their mass (i.e., not including Kepler candidates), 75% have masses larger than…
Planet formation occurs around a wide range of stellar masses and stellar system architectures. An improved understanding of the formation process can be achieved by studying it across the full parameter space, particularly toward the…
The Core Accretion model is widely accepted as the primary mechanism for forming planets up to a few Jupiter masses. However, the formation of super-massive planets remains a subject of debate, as their formation via the Core Accretion…
Most stars and their planets form in open clusters. Over 95 per cent of such clusters have stellar densities too low (less than a hundred stars per cubic parsec) to withstand internal and external dynamical stresses and fall apart within a…
Celestial bodies with a mass of M ~ 10 M_Jup have been found orbiting nearby stars. It is unknown whether these objects formed like gas-giant planets through core accretion or like stars through gravitational instability. I show that…
We describe the model-independent mechanism by which dark matter and dark matter structures heavier than $\sim 8\times 10^{11}$ GeV form binary pairs in the early Universe that spin down and merge both in the present and throughout the…
Within the SONYC - Substellar Objects in Nearby Young Clusters - survey, we investigate the frequency of free-floating planetary-mass objects (planemos) in the young cluster NGC1333. Building upon our extensive previous work, we present…
As to April 2010, 48 TNO (trans-Neptunian Object) binaries have been found. This is about 6% of known TNOs. However, in previous theoretical studies of planetary formation in the TNO region, the effect of binary formation has been…
The majority of stars form in star clusters and many are thought to have planetary companions. We demonstrate that multi-planet systems are prone to instabilities as a result of frequent stellar encounters in these star clusters much more…
We have searched a sample of 151 young, energetic pulsars for periodic variation in pulse time-of-arrival arising from the influence of planetary companions. We are sensitive to objects with masses two orders of magnitude lower than those…
Direct images of protoplanets embedded in disks around infant stars provide the key to understanding the formation of gas giant planets like Jupiter. Using the Subaru Telescope and Hubble Space Telescope, we find evidence for a jovian…
Brown dwarfs are intermediate objects between planets and stars. The lower end of the brown-dwarf mass range overlaps with the one of massive planets and therefore the distinction between planets and brown-dwarf companions may require to…
Using Non-Redundant Mask interferometry (NRM), we searched for binary companions to objects previously classified as Transitional Disks (TD). These objects are thought to be an evolutionary stage between an optically thick disk and…
Radial velocity surveys suggest that the Solar System may be unusual and that Jupiter-like planets have a frequency <20% around solar-type stars. However, they may be much more common in one of the closest associations in the solar…
Warm giant planets with orbital periods of tens of days exhibit a positive correlation between mass and eccentricity. We interpret this trend as the outcome of planet-planet scattering, representing a transition from collision-dominated…
Cold Classical Kuiper belt objects (CCKBOs) are considered first-generation planetesimals that formed 42-47 au from the Sun and remained untouched since. Formation is thought to proceed by clumping of dust particles in protoplanetary disk…