Related papers: An Aligned Very-Low-Mass Star Orbiting an M dwarf …
A star's spin-orbit angle can give us insight into a system's formation and dynamical history. In this paper, we use MAROON-X observations of the Rossiter-McLaughlin (RM) effect to measure the projected obliquity of the LP 261-75 (also…
We report the first instance of an M dwarf/brown dwarf obliquity measurement for the TOI-2119 system using the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect. TOI-2119 b is a transiting brown dwarf orbiting a young, active early M dwarf ($T_{\rm{eff}}$ = 3553…
We present a pattern emerging from stellar obliquity measurements in single-star systems: planets with high planet-to-star mass ratios ($M_{\rm p}/M{_*}$$>$ $2\times10^{-3}$) -- such as super-Jupiters, brown dwarf companions, and M-dwarfs…
Measuring the obliquities of stars hosting giant planets may shed light on the dynamical history of planetary systems. Significant efforts have been made to measure the obliquities of FGK stars with hot Jupiters, mainly based on…
Despite decades of effort, the mechanisms by which the spin axis of a star and the orbital axes of its planets become misaligned remain elusive. Particularly, it is of great interest whether the large spin-orbit misalignments observed are…
A question that continues to perplex astronomers is the formation of tight stellar binaries. There is too much angular momentum in a collapsing and fragmenting protostellar cloud to form a stellar binary in situ with a separation less than…
The orbital eccentricities of brown dwarfs encode valuable information of their formation and evolution history, providing insights into whether they resemble giant planets or stellar binaries. Here, we report the discovery of TOI-5575b, a…
The evolution of one member of a stellar binary into a white dwarf has been proposed as a mechanism that triggers the formation of close-in gas giant planets. The star's asymmetric mass loss during the AGB stage gives it a "kick" that can…
Brown dwarfs occupy a middle ground in mass space between gaseous giant planets and ultra-cool dwarf stars, and the characterisation of their orbital orientations may shed light on how these neighbouring objects form. We present an analysis…
A significant fraction of hot Jupiters have orbital axes misaligned with their host stars' spin axes. The large stellar obliquities of these giants have long been considered potential signatures of high-eccentricity migration, which is…
Thousands of tight ($<1$ AU) main sequence binaries have been discovered, but it is uncertain how they formed. There is likely too much angular momentum in a collapsing, fragmenting protostellar cloud to form such binaries in situ,…
We present a high-contrast imaging survey of intermediate-mass (1.75--4.5 $M_\odot$) stars to search for the most extreme stellar binaries, i.e., for the lowest mass stellar companions. Using adaptive optics at the Lick and Gemini…
The orientation between a star's spin axis and a planet's orbital plane provides valuable information about the system's formation and dynamical history. For non-transiting planets at wide separations, true stellar obliquities are…
The rotation of a star and the revolutions of its planets are not necessarily aligned. This article reviews the measurement techniques, key findings, and theoretical interpretations related to the obliquities (spin-orbit angles) of…
Multi-planet systems exhibit remarkable architectural diversity. However, short-period giant planets are typically isolated. Compact systems like TOI-5398, with an outer close-orbit giant and an inner small-size planet, are rare among…
Spin-orbit obliquity measurements of hot-Jupiter systems constrain giant planet migration and tidal evolution. In binary systems, combining stellar obliquities with the orbit-orbit angle ($\gamma$) between the planetary and stellar…
We place the first constraints on the obliquity of a planetary-mass companion (PMC) outside of the Solar System. Our target is the directly imaged system 2MASS J01225093-2439505 (2M0122), which consists of a 120 Myr 0.4 M_sun star hosting a…
We measure the sky-projected stellar obliquities (\lambda) in the multiple-transiting planetary systems KOI-94 and Kepler-25, using the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect. In both cases the host stars are well-aligned with the orbital planes of the…
Hot Jupiters (HJs) are $2-3\times$ less common around early M dwarfs than around AFGK stars, suggesting that HJs may form and/or migrate via distinct pathways around different types of stars. One source of insight into HJ formation…
The Rossiter-McLaughlin effect allows us to measure the projected stellar obliquity of exoplanets. From the spin-orbit alignment, planet formation and migration theories can be tested to improve our understanding of the currently observed…