Related papers: The Lick Planet Search: Detectability and Mass Thr…
At wide separations, planetary-mass and brown dwarf companions to solar type stars occupy a curious region of parameters space not obviously linked to binary star formation or solar-system scale planet formation. These companions provide…
Radial-velocity planet search campaigns are now beginning to detect low-mass "Super-Earth" planets, with minimum masses M sin i < 10 M_earth. Using two independently-developed methods, we have derived detection limits from nearly four years…
Microlensing is the only technique likely, within the next 5 years, to constrain the frequency of Jupiter-analogs. The PLANET collaboration has monitored nearly 100 microlensing events of which more than 20 have sensitivity to the…
We present the first statistical analysis of exoplanet direct imaging surveys combining adaptive optics imaging at small separations with deep seeing-limited observations at large separations allowing us to study the entire orbital…
We are studying the influence of stellar multiplicity on exoplanet systems, in particular systems that have been detected via radial-velocity searches. We are in particular interested in the closest companions as they would have a strong…
This paper explores the stability of an Earth-like planet orbiting a solar mass star in the presence of an outer-lying intermediate mass companion. The overall goal is to estimate the fraction of binary systems that allow Earth-like planets…
Models are developed to simulate lightcurves of stars dimmed by transiting exoplanets with and without rings. These models are then applied to \textit{Kepler} photometry to search for planetary rings in a sample of 21 exoplanets, mostly hot…
Keck/HIRES precision radial velocities of HD 207832 indicate the presence of two Jovian-type planetary companions in Keplerian orbits around this G star. The planets have minimum masses of 0.56 and 0.73 Jupiter-masses with orbital periods…
We report initial results of a large radial velocity survey of K dwarfs up to a distance of 50 pc from the Solar System, to look for stellar, brown dwarf, and jovian planets using radial velocities from the CHIRON spectrograph on the…
We report observations from the Spitzer Space Telescope (SST) regarding the frequency of 24 micron excess emission toward sun-like stars. Our unbiased sample is comprised of 309 stars with masses 0.7-2.2 Msun and ages from <3 Myr to >3 Gyr…
The determination of unseen companion masses ($M_1$) is essential for identifying compact objects in binary systems, yet obtaining reliable orbital inclinations remains one of the most difficult challenges. In this study, we focus on ten…
Searches for extrasolar planets have uncovered an astonishing diversity of planetary systems, yet the frequency of solar system analogs remains unknown. The gravitational microlensing planet search method is potentially sensitive to…
Planet searches using the radial velocity technique show a paucity of companions to solar-type stars within ~5 AU in the mass range of ~10 - 80 M$_{\text{Jup}}$. This deficit, known as the brown dwarf desert, currently has no conclusive…
We report the discovery of a resolved (0".9) substellar companion to a member of the 1-5 Myr Taurus star-forming region. The host star (2M0437) is a single mid-M type ($T_{eff}\approx$3100K) dwarf with a position, space motion, and…
We present precision radial velocity (RV) data sets from Keck-HIRES and from Lick Observatory's new Automated Planet Finder Telescope and Levy Spectrometer on Mt. Hamilton that reveal a multiple-planet system orbiting the nearby, slightly…
Studies have shown that remnants of destroyed planets and debris-disk planetesimals can survive the volatile evolution of their host stars into white dwarfs, but detection of intact planetary bodies around white dwarfs are few. Simulations…
We present the latest results of our search for planets with HARPS-N at the 3.6 m Telescopio Nazionale Galileo under the Tracking Advanced Planetary Systems project: an in-depth study of the 15 most Li abundant giants from the PennState -…
We present the methods and first results of a survey of nearby high proper motion main sequence stars to probe for cool companions with the Gemini camera at Lick Observatory. This survey uses a sample of old (age > 2 Gyr) stars as targets…
We assume that if the sun has a companion, it has a period of 27 Myr corresponding to the periodicity seen in cometary impacts on earth. Based on this assumption, it is seen that the inner Lagrengian point of the interaction between the Sun…
Doppler measurements of the M4 dwarf star, Gliese 876, taken at both Lick and Keck Observatory reveal periodic, Keplerian velocity variations with a period of 61 days. The orbital fit implies that the companion has a mass of, M = 2.1 MJUP…