Related papers: Testing the mirror world hypothesis for the close-…
Over the last few years, many close orbiting ($\sim 0.05$ A.U.) large mass planets ($\sim M_{J}$) of nearby stars have been discovered. Their existence has been inferred from tiny Doppler shifts in the light from the star and in one case a…
Over the last few years, several close orbiting ($\sim 0.05$ AU) large mass planets ($M \sim M_{Jupiter}$) of nearby stars have been discovered. Their existence has been inferred from tiny doppler shifts in the light from the star. We…
Close-in extrasolar giant planets may be directly detectable by their reflected light, due to the proximity of the planet to the illuminating star. The spectrum of the system will contain a reflected light component that varies in amplitude…
We investigate the migration of massive extrasolar planets due to gravitational interaction with a viscous protoplanetary disc. We show that a model in which planets form at 5 AU at a constant rate, before migrating, leads to a predicted…
Measurements of the frequency with which short-period planets occur around main sequence stars allows a direct prediction of the number and types of such planets that will be amenable to characterization by high-contrast instruments on…
We have computed evolutionary models for extrasolar planets which range in mass from 0.1 to 3.0 Jovian Masses, and which range in equilibrium temperature from 113 K to 2000 K. We present four sequences of models, designed to show the…
The radius of an exoplanet may be affected by various factors, including irradiation, planet mass and heavy element content. A significant number of transiting exoplanets have now been discovered for which the mass, radius, semi-major axis,…
We have measured radial velocities of a star, OGLE-TR-56, which shows a 1.2-day transit-like light curve found photometrically by Udalski et al.(2002ab). Here we show that the velocity changes we detect are probably induced by an object of…
A small percentage of normal stars harbor giant planets that orbit within a few tenths of an astronomical unit. At such distances the potential exists for significant tidal and magnetic field interaction resulting in energy dissipation that…
The recent discovery that the close-in extrasolar giant planet, HD209458b, transits its star has provided a first-of-its-kind measurement of the planet's radius and mass. In addition, there is a provocative detection of the light reflected…
From wispy gas giants on the verge of disruption to tiny rocky bodies already falling apart, short-period exoplanets pose a severe puzzle to theories of planet formation and orbital evolution. By far most of the planets known beyond the…
The bulk composition of an exoplanet is commonly inferred from its average density. For small planets, however, the average density is not unique within the range of compositions. Variations of a number of important planetary…
A series of dynamical anomalies in the orbits of distant trans-Neptunian objects points to a new celestial body (usually named Planet Nine) in the solar system. In this draft, we point out that a mirror planet captured from the outer solar…
We detect a cold, terrestrial planet in a binary-star system using gravitational microlensing. The planet has low mass (2 Earth masses) and lies projected at $a_{\perp,ph}$ ~ 0.8 astronomical units (AU) from its host star, similar to the…
(Abridged) The solar system gas giant planets are oblate due to their rapid rotation. A measurement of the planet's projected oblateness would constrain the planet's rotational period. Planets that are synchronously rotating with their…
Interest among astronomers in the detection of extra-solar planets is accelerating with the growing realization that it may soon be technically feasible. The ongoing renaissance in telescope construction and the anticipated launches of new…
To date, two planetary systems have been discovered with close-in, terrestrial-mass planets (< 5-10 Earth masses). Many more such discoveries are anticipated in the coming years with radial velocity and transit searches. Here we investigate…
The close-in extrasolar giant planets [CEGPs], $\ltorder$ 0.05 AU from their parent stars, may have a large component of optically reflected light. We present theoretical optical photometric light curves and polarization curves for the CEGP…
"Hot Jupiter" extrasolar planets are expected to be tidally locked because they are close (<0.05 astronomical units, where 1 AU is the average Sun-Earth distance) to their parent stars, resulting in permanent daysides and nightsides. By…
Planets and stars are expected to be compositionally linked because they accrete from the same material reservoir. However, astronomical observations revealed the existence of exoplanets whose bulk density is far higher than what is…