Related papers: Dynamical Stability and Habitability in the HD 207…
Observations of exoplanets have revealed that systems with planets on closely-spaced orbits are common, which motivates the question "How closely can planets orbit to one another and still be dynamically-stable for very long times?". To…
This paper reports on the detection of a planetary system with three Super-Earths orbiting HD40307. HD40307 is a K2V metal-deficient star at a distance of only 13 parsec, part of the HARPS GTO high-precision planet-search programme. The…
We present radial velocity measurements of the star HD 28471, observed by HARPS at the ESO 3.6 m telescope over a baseline of $\sim19$ years. We have searched for planetary companions to HD 28471 using kima, a trans-dimensional diffusive…
Habitability is usually defined as the requirement for a terrestrial planet's atmosphere to sustain liquid water. This definition can be complemented by the dynamical requirement that other planets in the system do not gravitationally…
Precise radial-velocity measurements for data acquired with the HARPS spectrograph infer that three planets orbit the M4 dwarf star GJ876. In particular, we confirm the existence of planet "d", which orbits every 1.93785 days. We find that…
At present, because of observational selection effects, we know of no exoplanetary systems with any planetary masses close to that of the Earth. We have therefore used computer models to see whether such planets could be dynamically stable…
(Shortened) We have used the measured properties of the stars in the 79 exoplanetary systems with one or more planets that have been observed in transit, to estimate each system's present habitability. The measured stellar properties have…
Precision Doppler velocity measurements from the 3.9--m Anglo-Australian Telescope reveal a planet with a 6 year period orbiting the G5 dwarf HD 70642. The a = 3.3 AU orbit has a low eccentricity (e = 0.1), and the minimum (\msini) mass of…
Because of their large numbers, low mass stars may be the most abundant planet hosts in our Galaxy. Furthermore, terrestrial planets in the habitable zones (HZs) around M-dwarfs can potentially be characterized in the near future and hence…
The orbits in the HD 160691 planetary system at first appeared highly unstable, but using the MEGNO and FLI techniques of global dynamics analysis in the orbital parameter space we have found a stabilizing mechanism that could be the key to…
Among the numerous discoveries resulting from the {\it Kepler} mission are a plethora of compact planetary systems that provide deep insights into planet formation theories. The architecture of such compact systems also produces unique…
We present occurrence rates for rocky planets in the habitable zones (HZ) of main-sequence dwarf stars based on the Kepler DR25 planet candidate catalog and Gaia-based stellar properties. We provide the first analysis in terms of…
Context. Low-mass extrasolar planets are presently being discovered at an increased pace by radial velocity and transit surveys, opening a new window on planetary systems. Aims. We are conducting a high-precision radial velocity survey with…
The continuing exploration of neighboring planetary systems is providing deeper insights into the relative prevalence of various system architectures, particularly with respect to the solar system. However, a full assessment of the…
Recent analyses of Kepler space telescope data reveal that transiting planets with orbital periods shorter than about 2-3 days are generally observed around late-type stars with rotation periods longer than about 5-10 days. We investigate…
We present a new precision radial velocity dataset that reveals a multi-planet system orbiting the G0V star HD 34445. Our 18-year span consists of 333 precision radial velocity observations, 56 of which were previously published, and 277…
A general formulation to compute habitable zones (HZ) around binary stars is presented. A HZ in this context must satisfy two separate conditions: a radiative one and one of dynamical stability. For the case of single stars, the usual…
A key component of characterizing multi-planet exosystems is testing the orbital stability based on the observed properties. Such characterization not only tests the validity of how observations are interpreted but can also place additional…
We perform long-term simulations, up to ten billion years, of closely-spaced configurations of 2 -- 6 planets, each as massive as the Earth, traveling on nested orbits about either stellar component in $\alpha$ Centauri AB. The innermost…
Planetary systems with multiple giant planets provide important opportunities to study planetary formation and evolution. The HD 45364 system hosts two giant planets that reside within the Habitable Zone (HZ) of their host star and was the…