Related papers: Planets and Axisymmetric Mass Loss
Using 3D radiation-hydrodynamic simulations and analytic theory, we study the orbital evolution of asymptotic-giant-branch (AGB) binary systems for various initial orbital separations and mass ratios, and thus different initial accretion…
Recent surveys have revealed a lack of close-in planets around evolved stars more massive than 1.2 Msun. Such planets are common around solar-mass stars. We have calculated the orbital evolution of planets around stars with a range of…
We present two-dimensional numerical simulations of the evolution of a low-mass star moving supersonically through its surrounding interstellar medium (ISM). We show that the ejecta of a moving star with a systemic velocity of 20 km/s will…
Changes in planetary obliquity, or axial tilt, influence the climates on Earth-like planets. In the solar system, the Earth's obliquity is stabilized due to interactions with our moon and the resulting {small amplitude variations…
Both the red giants and the Mira variables in symbiotic systems have systematically higher mass-loss rates than do typical galactic giants and Miras, which suggests that only very evolved giants, and so those with highest mass-loss rates,…
The morphology of bipolar planetary nebulae (PNe) can be attributed to interactions between a fast wind from the central engine and dense toroidal shaped ejecta left over from common envelope (CE) evolution. Here we use the 3-D hydrodynamic…
Sub-Jupiter classed circumbinary planets discovered in close-in binary systems have orbits just beyond the dynamically unstable region, which is determined by the eccentricity and mass ratio of the host binary stars. These planets are…
Many binary minor planets (BMPs; both binary asteroids and binary Trans-Neptunians objects; TNOs) are known to exist in the Solar system. The currently observed orbital and physical properties of BMPs hold essential information and clues…
The birth and death of planets may be affected by mass outflows from their parent stars during the T-Tauri or post-main-sequence phases of stellar evolution. These outflows are often modelled to be isotropic, but this assumption is not…
Circumbinary planets whose orbits become unstable may be ejected, accreted, or even captured by one of the stars. We quantify the relative rates of these channels, for a binary of secondary star's mass fraction 0.1 with an orbit of 1AU. The…
Circumbinary gas disks are often observed to be misaligned to the binary orbit suggesting that planet formation may proceed in a misaligned disk. With N-body simulations we consider the formation of circumbinary terrestrial planets from a…
Mounting discoveries of extrasolar planets orbiting post-main sequence stars motivate studies aimed at understanding the fate of these planets. In the traditional "adiabatic" approximation, a secondary's eccentricity remains constant during…
I discuss some observational properties of aspherical nebulae around massive stars, and conclusions inferred for how they may have formed. Whether or not these ideas are applicable to the shaping of planetary nebulae is uncertain, but the…
The transition from Asymptotic Giant Branch star to Planetary Nebula is short-lived and mysterious. Though it lasts only a few thousand years, it is thought to be the time when the asymmetries observed in subsequent phases arise. During…
Non-axisymmetric features are found in the core collapse of a rapidly rotating massive star, which might have important implications for magnetic field amplification and production of a bipolar outflow that can explode the star, as well as…
The physical mechanism(s) responsible for transitioning from a spherical Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) star to an asymmetric post-AGB (pAGB) object is poorly understood. In particular, excess momenta in the outflows of pAGB objects suggest…
We show that substantially enhanced mass loss at periastron passages, as is expected in the grazing envelope evolution (GEE), can compensate for the circularization effect of the tidal interaction in binary systems composed of an asymptotic…
We conduct three-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations of jets launched into a dense shell, reproducing two rings in a bipolar structure that resemble the two dusty rings of the planetary nebula (PN) NGC 1514. The scenario we simulate…
We present a simple, robust mechanism by which an isolated star can produce an equatorial disk. The mechanism requires that the star have a simple dipole magnetic field on the surface and an isotropic wind acceleration mechanism. The wind…
The dominant mechanism for generating free-floating planets has so far remained elusive. One suggested mechanism is that planets are ejected from planetary systems due to planet-planet interactions. However, instability around a single star…