Related papers: Extrasolar Giant Planets under Strong Stellar Irra…
Several processes can cause the shape of an extrasolar giant planet's shadow, as viewed in transit, to depart from circular. In addition to rotational effects, cloud formation, non-homogenous haze production and movement, and dynamical…
The close-in extrasolar giant planets (CEGPs) reside in irradiated environments much more intense than that of the giant planets in our solar system. The high UV irradiance strongly influences their photochemistry and the general current…
We investigate the intensity and polarization of reflected light from planetary atmospheres. We present a large grid of Monte Carlo simulations for planets with Rayleigh scattering atmospheres. We discuss the disk-integrated polarization…
Our understanding of the intensity distribution of the interstellar radiation background is based on the observational data from IRAS, COBE-FIRAS and Planck. The intensity of this radiation field increases rapidly towards the Galactic plane…
Atmospheric escape is an important process that controls the long-term evolution of close-in planets. We perform radiation hydrodynamics simulations of photo-evaporation of exoplanets' atmospheres to study the effect of photoelectric…
The discovery of many exoplanets has revealed an incredible diversity of orbital architectures. These orbital configurations are intrinsically linked to the potential for habitable environments within the system, since the gravitational…
Giant gas planets in close proximity to their host stars experience strong irradiation. In extreme cases photoevaporation causes a transonic, planetary wind and the persistent mass loss can possibly affect the planetary evolution. We have…
The properties and the evolution of asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars are strongly influenced by their mass loss through a stellar wind. This is believed to be caused by radiation pressure due to the absorption and scattering of the…
We calculate the degree of linear polarization of radiation from stars having planets that may not be resolved spatially. We assume single scattering by water and silicate particulates in the planetary atmosphere. The dilution of the…
Interactions between the extragalactic background light (EBL) and very high energy {\gamma} rays (VHE; E > 10 GeV) from cosmological sources alter their {\gamma}-ray spectrum. The stronger absorption of harder {\gamma} rays causes a…
Current limits on the intensity of the extragalactic infrared background are consistent with the expected contribution from evolving galaxies. Depending on the behaviour of the star formation rate and of the initial mass function, we can…
The formation of gas giant planets must occur during the first few Myr of a star's lifetime, when the protoplanetary disc still contains sufficient gas to be accreted onto the planetary core. The majority of protoplanetary discs are exposed…
Context: To date, more than 30 planets have been discovered around giant stars, but only one of them has been found to be orbiting within 0.6 AU from the host star, in direct contrast to what is observed for FGK dwarfs. This result suggests…
We obtain the dipolar anisotropies in the arrival directions of ultra-high energy cosmic rays diffusing from nearby extragalactic sources. We discuss both the energy regime of spatial diffusion and the quasi-rectilinear one leading to just…
Hot giant exoplanets are very exotic objects with no equivalent in the Solar System that allow us to study the behavior of atmospheres under extreme conditions. Their thermal and chemical day--night dichotomies associated with extreme wind…
Context: Radius and mass measurements of short-period giant planets reveal that many of these planets contain a large amount of heavy elements, in sharp contrast with the expectations of the conventional core-accretion model for the origin…
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…
Future telescopes will characterize rocky exoplanets in reflected light, revealing their albedo, which depends on surface, cloud, and atmospheric properties. Identifying these features is crucial for assessing habitability. We present…
Infrared radiation emitted from a planet contains information about the chemical composition and vertical temperature profile of its atmosphere. If upper layers are cooler than lower layers, molecular gases will produce absorption features…
Motivated by the possibility that a coronagraph will be put on WFIRST/AFTA, we explore the direct detectability of extrasolar giant planets (EGPs) in the optical. We quantify a planet's detectability by the fraction of its orbit for which…