Related papers: The KPF-SLOPE Survey - Small, Compact Multi-Planet…
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…
The planetary obliquity plays a significant role in determining physical properties of planetary surfaces and climate. As direct detection is constrained due to the present observation accuracy, kinetic theories are helpful to predict the…
The migration and encounter histories of the giant planets in our Solar System can be constrained by the obliquities of Jupiter and Saturn. We have performed secular simulations with imposed migration and N-body simulations with…
Recent work suggests that many short-period extrasolar planets may have spin obliquities that are significantly tilted with respect to their orbital planes. These large obliquities are a natural outcome of ``secular spin-orbit resonance'',…
TOI-3884 b is a sub-Saturn transiting a fully convective M-dwarf. Observations indicate that the transit shape is chromatic and asymmetric as a result of persistent starspot crossings. This, along with the lack of photometric variability of…
Giant planets orbiting low-mass stars on short orbits present a conundrum, as in the most extreme cases their existence cannot be reconciled with current models of core accretion. Therefore, surveys dedicated to finding these rare planets…
We present the first results from the POSEIDON survey, aimed at constraining the dynamical origins of transiting Neptunes through stellar obliquity measurements. We report Rossiter-McLaughlin observations of two Neptunes, TOI-181 b and…
We are studying the influence of stellar multiplicity on exoplanet systems, in particular systems that have been detected via radial-velocity searches. We are in particular interested in the closest companions as they would have a strong…
Many of the multi-planet systems discovered to date have been notable for their compactness, with neighbouring planets closer together than any in the Solar System. Interestingly, planet-hosting stars have a wide range of ages, suggesting…
We report measurements of the sky-projected spin-orbit angle for AU\,Mic\,b, a Neptune-size planet orbiting a very young ($\sim20$\,Myr) nearby pre-main sequence M dwarf star which also hosts a bright, edge-on, debris disk. The planet was…
Stellar obliquity, the angle between a planet's orbital axis and its host star's spin axis, traces the formation and evolution of a planetary system. In transiting exoplanet observations, only the sky-projected stellar obliquity can be…
We present new astrometric measurements from our ongoing monitoring campaign of the HR 8799 directly imaged planetary system. These new data points were obtained with NIRC2 on the W.M. Keck II 10 meter telescope between 2009 and 2014. In…
About a dozen exoplanetary systems have been discovered with three or more planets participating in a sequence of mean-motion resonances. The unique and complex architectures of these so-called "resonant chains" motivate efforts to…
Recent works suggest that, in multiplanetary systems, a close-in exoplanet can sometimes avoid becoming tidally locked to its host star if it is captured into a secular spin-orbit resonance with a companion planet. In such a resonance, the…
We report the sky-projected orbital obliquity (spin-orbit angle) of WASP-84b, a 0.70-$M_{\rm Jup}$ planet in a 8.52-day orbit around a G9V/K0V star, to be $\lambda = 0.3 \pm 1.7^\circ$. We obtain a true obliquity of $\psi = 14.8 \pm…
Important clues on the formation and evolution of planetary systems can be inferred from the stellar obliquity $\psi$. We study the distribution of obliquities using the California-Kepler Survey and the TEPCat Catalog of…
Planetary systems hold the imprint of the formation and of the evolution of planets especially at young ages, and in particular at the stage when the gas has dissipated leaving mostly secondary dust grains. The dynamical perturbation of…
We announce the discovery of a planetary system with 7 transiting planets around a Kepler target, a current record for transiting systems. Planets b, c, e and f are reported for the first time in this work. Planets d, g and h were…
A crucial diagnostic that can tell us about processes involved in the formation and dynamical evolutionof planetary systems is the angle between the rotation axis of a star and a planet's orbital angular momentum vector ("spin-orbit"…
When a planet passes in front of a starspot during a transit of its host star, it causes a small upward blip in the light curve. Modelling the transit with the starspot allows the size, brightness and position of the spot to be measured. If…