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We study the steady-state orbital distributions of giant planets migrating through the combination of the Kozai-Lidov (KL) mechanism due to a stellar companion and friction due to tides raised on the planet by the host star. We run a large…
Hot Jupiters, orbiting their host stars at extremely close distances, undergo tidal evolution, with some being engulfed by their stars due to angular momentum exchanges induced by tidal forces. However, achieving double synchronization can…
Based on a suite of Monte Carlo simulations, I show that a stellar-mass dependent lifetime of the gas disks from which planets form can explain the lack of hot Jupiters/close-in giant planets around high-mass stars and other key features of…
Within the general framework of core-nucleated accretion theory of giant planet formation, the conglomeration of massive gaseous envelopes is facilitated by a transient period of rapid accumulation of nebular material. While the concurrent…
In the study of planetary habitability and terrestrial atmospheric evolution, the divergence of surface conditions for Venus and Earth remains an area of active research. Among the intrinsic and external influences on the Venusian climate…
We investigate the constraints on the formation of, and tidal dissipation processes in, hot Jupiters (HJs) that can be inferred based on reliable knowledge of the age of a system or population. Particular attention is paid to the role of…
The number of exoplanets found with periods as short as one day and less was surprising given how fast these planets had been expected to migrate into the star due to the tides raised on the star by planets at such close distances. It has…
The composition of giant planets' atmospheres is an important tracer of their formation history. While many theoretical studies investigate the heavy-element accretion within a gaseous protoplanetary disk, the possibility of solid accretion…
Recent discoveries of strongly misaligned transiting exoplanets pose a challenge to the established planet formation theory which assumes planetary systems to form and evolve in isolation. However, the fact that the majority of stars…
Hot Jupiters (HJs), gas giant planets orbiting their host stars with periods on the order of days, commonly occur in the Galaxy, including relatively massive ($1.6-2.4$ $M_\odot$, i.e., A-type main sequence stars) and evolved stars. The…
Planets with several Earth masses and a few day orbital periods have been discovered through radial velocity and transit surveys. Regardless of their formation mechanism, a key evolution issue is the efficiency of their retention near their…
We provide an 'effective theory' of tidal dissipation in extrasolar planet systems by empirically calibrating a model for the equilibrium tide. The model is valid to high order in eccentricity and parameterised by two constants of bulk…
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…
The retrograde orbit of the hot Jupiter HAT-P-7b is suggestive of high-eccentricity migration caused by dynamical interactions with a massive companion. However, the only other known body in the system is an M dwarf located $\sim$10$^3$~AU…
Close-in giant planets (e.g. ``Hot Jupiters'') are thought to form far from their host stars and migrate inward, through the terrestrial planet zone, via torques with a massive gaseous disk. Here we simulate terrestrial planet growth during…
We investigate the formation of multiple-planet systems in the presence of a hot Jupiter using extended N-body simulations that are performed simultaneously with semi-analytic calculations. Our primary aims are to describe the planet…
Recent observations have shown that at least some close-in exoplanets maintain eccentric orbits despite tidal circularization timescales that are typically shorter than stellar ages. We explore gravitational interactions with a distant…
Recent Kepler observations revealed an unexpected abundance of "hot" Earth-size to Neptune-size planets in the inner ~0.02-0.2 AU from their parent stars. Another "oddity" of recent observations is the discovery of a hot jupiter planet…
Exoplanet surveys have confirmed one of humanity's (and all teenagers') worst fears: we are weird. If our Solar System were observed with present-day Earth technology -- to put our system and exoplanets on the same footing -- Jupiter is the…
Upcoming direct-imaging experiments may detect a new class of long-period, highly luminous, tidally powered extrasolar gas giants. Even though they are hosted by ~ Gyr-"old" main-sequence stars, they can be as "hot" as young Jupiters at…