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5,900
HAT-P-11b: A Super-Neptune Planet Transiting a Bright K Star in the Kepler Field
astro-ph.EP
We report on the discovery of HAT-P-11b, the smallest radius transiting extrasolar planet (TEP) discovered from the ground, and the first hot Neptune discovered to date by transit searches. HAT-P-11b orbits the bright (V=9.587) and metal rich ([Fe=H] = +0.31 +/- 0.05) K4 dwarf star GSC 03561-02092 with P = 4.8878162 +/...
physics
5,901
Physical collisions of moonlets and clumps with the Saturn's F-ring core
astro-ph.EP
Since 2004, observations of Saturn's F ring have revealed that the ring's core is surrounded by structures with radial scales of hundreds of kilometers, called "spirals" and "jets". Gravitational scattering by nearby moons was suggested as a potential production mechanism; however, it remained doubtful because a popula...
physics
5,902
Discovering the Growth Histories of Exoplanets: The Saturn Analog HD 149026b
astro-ph.EP
The transiting "hot Saturn" HD 149026b, which has the highest mean density of any confirmed planet in the Neptune-Jupiter mass range, has challenged theories of planet formation since its discovery in 2005. Previous investigations could not explain the origin of the planet's 45-110 Earth-mass solid core without invokin...
physics
5,903
Transit observations at the observatory in Grossschwabhausen: XO-1b and TrES-1
astro-ph.EP
We report on observations of transit events of the transiting planets XO-1b and TrES-1 with the AIU Jena telescope in Grossschwabhausen. Based on our IR photometry (in March 2007) and available transit timings (SuperWASP, XO and TLC-project-data) we improved the orbital period of XO-1b (P = 3.941497$\pm$0.000006) and T...
physics
5,904
Thermal Tides in Short Period Exoplanets
astro-ph.EP
Time-dependent insolation in a planetary atmosphere induces a mass quadrupole upon which the stellar tidal acceleration can exert a force. This "thermal tide" force can give rise to secular torques on the planet and orbit as well as radial forces causing eccentricity evolution. We apply this idea to the close-in gas gi...
physics
5,905
A Metric and Optimisation Scheme for Microlens Planet Searches
astro-ph.EP
OGLE III and MOA II are discovering 600-1000 Galactic Bulge microlens events each year. This stretches the resources available for intensive follow-up monitoring of the lightcurves in search of anomalies caused by planets near the lens stars. We advocate optimizing microlens planet searches by using an automatic priori...
physics
5,906
Abundances of the elements in the solar system
astro-ph.EP
A review of the abundances and condensation temperatures of the elements and their nuclides in the solar nebula and in chondritic meteorites. Abundances of the elements in some neighboring stars are also discussed.
physics
5,907
The Earth as an extrasolar planet: The vegetation spectral signature today and during the last Quaternary climatic extrema
astro-ph.EP
The so-called Vegetation Red-Edge (VRE), a sharp increase in the reflectance around $700 nm$, is a characteristic of vegetation spectra, and can therefore be used as a biomarker if it can be detected in an unresolved extrasolar Earth-like planet integrated reflectance spectrum. Here we investigate the potential for det...
physics
5,908
On the various origins of close-in extrasolar planets
astro-ph.EP
The extrasolar planets (EPs) so far detected are very different to the planets in our own Solar System. Many of them have Jupiter-like masses and close-in orbits (the so-called hot planets, HPs), with orbital periods of only a few days. In this paper, we present a new statistical analysis of the observed EPs, focusing ...
physics
5,909
Intermittent turbulence, noisy fluctuations and wavy structures in the Venusian magnetosheath and wake
astro-ph.EP
Recent research has shown that distinct physical regions in the Venusian induced magnetosphere are recognizable from the variations of strength of the magnetic field and its wave/fluctuation activity. In this paper the statistical properties of magnetic fluctuations are investigated in the Venusian magnetosheath and wa...
physics
5,910
Vortices in self-gravitating gaseous discs
astro-ph.EP
(abridged) Vortices are believed to play a role in the formation of km-sized planetesimals. However, vortex dynamics is commonly studied in non-self-gravitating discs. The main goal here is to examine the effects of disc self-gravity on vortex dynamics. For this purpose, we employ the 2D self-gravitating shearing sheet...
physics
5,911
Planet formation bursts at the borders of the dead zone in 2D numerical simulations of circumstellar disks
astro-ph.EP
As accretion in protoplanetary disks is enabled by turbulent viscosity, the border between active and inactive (dead) zones constitutes a location where there is an abrupt change in the accretion flow. The gas accumulation that ensues triggers the Rossby wave instability, that in turn saturates into anticyclonic vortic...
physics
5,912
2006 SQ372: A Likely Long-Period Comet from the Inner Oort Cloud
astro-ph.EP
We report the discovery of a minor planet (2006 SQ372) on an orbit with a perihelion of 24 AU and a semimajor axis of 796 AU. Dynamical simulations show that this is a transient orbit and is unstable on a timescale of 200 Myrs. Falling near the upper semimajor axis range of the scattered disk and the lower semimajor ax...
physics
5,913
The HD 40307 Planetary System: Super-Earths or Mini-Neptunes?
astro-ph.EP
Three planets with minimum masses less than 10 Earth masses orbit the star HD 40307, suggesting these planets may be rocky. However, with only radial velocity data, it is impossible to determine if these planets are rocky or gaseous. Here we exploit various dynamical features of the system in order to assess the physic...
physics
5,914
Mercury's capture into the 3/2 spin-orbit resonance including the effect of core-mantle friction
astro-ph.EP
The rotation of Mercury is presently captured in a 3/2 spin-orbit resonance with the orbital mean motion. The capture mechanism is well understood as the result of tidal interactions with the Sun combined with planetary perturbations. However, it is now almost certain that Mercury has a liquid core, which should induce...
physics
5,915
Ground-based secondary eclipse detection of the very-hot Jupiter OGLE-TR-56b
astro-ph.EP
We report on the detection of the secondary eclipse of the very-hot Jupiter OGLE-TR-56b from combined z-band time series photometry obtained with the VLT and Magellan telescopes. We measure a flux decrement of 0.0363+/-0.0091 percent from the combined Magellan and VLT datasets, which indicates a blackbody brightness te...
physics
5,916
Ground-based K-band detection of thermal emission from the exoplanet TrES-3b
astro-ph.EP
Context: Secondary eclipse measurements of transiting extrasolar planets with the Spitzer Space Telescope have yielded several direct detections of thermal exoplanet light. Since Spitzer operates at wavelengths longward of 3.6 um, arguably one of the most interesting parts of the planet spectrum (from 1 to 3 um) is ina...
physics
5,917
Exoplanets - search methods, discoveries, and prospects for astrobiology
astro-ph.EP
Whereas the Solar System has Mars and Europa as the best candidates for finding fossil/extant life as we know it - based on complex carbon compounds and liquid water - the 263 (non-pulsar) planetary systems around other stars as known at 15 September 2008 could between them possess many more planets where life might ex...
physics
5,918
Falling Transiting Extrasolar Giant Planets
astro-ph.EP
We revisit the tidal stability of extrasolar systems harboring a transiting planet and demonstrate that, independently of any tidal model, none but one (HAT-P-2b) of these planets has a tidal equilibrium state, which implies ultimately a collision of these objects with their host star. Consequently, conventional circul...
physics
5,919
The chemical diversity of comets
astro-ph.EP
A fundamental question in cometary science is whether the different dynamical classes of comets have different chemical compositions, which would reflect different initial conditions. From the ground or Earth orbit, radio and infrared spectroscopic observations of a now significant sample of comets indeed reveal deep d...
physics
5,920
On the width and shape of the corotation region for low-mass planets
astro-ph.EP
We study the coorbital flow for embedded, low mass planets. We provide a simple semi-analytic model for the corotation region, which is subsequently compared to high resolution numerical simulations. The model is used to derive an expression for the half-width of the horseshoe region, x_s, which in the limit of zero so...
physics
5,921
On corotation torques, horseshoe drag and the possibility of sustained stalled or outward protoplanetary migration
astro-ph.EP
We study the torque on low mass protoplanets on fixed circular orbits, embedded in a protoplanetary disc in the isothermal limit. For low mass protoplanets and large viscosity the corotation torque behaves as expected from linear theory. However, when the viscosity becomes small enough to enable horseshoe turns to occu...
physics
5,922
Secondary radio eclipse of the transiting planet HD 189733 b: an upper limit at 307-347 MHz
astro-ph.EP
We report the first attempt to observe the secondary eclipse of a transiting extra-solar planet at radio wavelengths. We observed HD 189733 b with the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope of the NRAO over about 5.5 hours before, during and after secondary eclipse, at frequencies of 307 - 347 MHz. In this frequency range...
physics
5,923
Why did Comet 17P/Holmes burst out?
astro-ph.EP
Based on millimeter-wavelength continuum observations we suggest that the recent 'spectacle' of comet 17P/Holmes can be explained by a thick, air-tight dust cover and the effects of H2O sublimation, which started when the comet arrived at the heliocentric distance <= 2.5 AU. The porous structure inside the nucleus prov...
physics
5,924
Optical polarimetry of Comet NEAT C/2001 Q4
astro-ph.EP
Comet NEAT C/2001 Q4 was observed for linear polarization using the optical polarimeter mounted at the 1.2m telescope at Mt. Abu Observatory, during the months of May and June 2004. Observations were conducted through the International Halley Watch narrow band (continuum) and B,V,R broad band filters. During the observ...
physics
5,925
Interpreting the yield of transit surveys: Are there groups in the known transiting planets population?
astro-ph.EP
Each transiting planet discovered is characterized by 7 measurable quantities, that may or may not be linked together (planet mass, radius, orbital period, and star mass, radius, effective temperature, and metallicity). Correlations between planet mass and period, surface gravity and period, planet radius and star temp...
physics
5,926
The architecture of the GJ876 planetary system. Masses and orbital coplanarity for planets b and c
astro-ph.EP
We present a combined analysis of previously published high-precision radial velocities and astrometry for the GJ876 planetary system using a self-consistent model that accounts for the planet-planet interactions. Assuming the three planets so far identified in the system are coplanar, we find that including the astrom...
physics
5,927
Concerning thermal tides on hot Jupiters
astro-ph.EP
By analogy with a mechanism proposed by Gold and Soter to explain the retrograde rotation of Venus, Arras and Socrates suggest that thermal tides may excite hot jovian exoplanets into nonsynchronous rotation, and perhaps also noncircular orbits. It is shown here that because of the absence of a solid surface above the ...
physics
5,928
Diurnal Thermal Tides in a Non-synchronized Hot Jupiter
astro-ph.EP
We perform a linear analysis to investigate the dynamical response of a non-synchronized hot Jupiter to stellar irradiation. In this work, we consider the diurnal Fourier harmonic of the stellar irradiation acting at the top of a radiative layer of a hot Jupiter with no clouds and winds. In the absence of the Coriolis ...
physics
5,929
Accurate estimation of third-order moments from turbulence measurements
astro-ph.EP
Politano and Pouquet's law, a generalization of Kolmogorov's four-fifths law to incompressible MHD, makes it possible to measure the energy cascade rate in incompressible MHD turbulence by means of third-order moments. In hydrodynamics, accurate measurement of third-order moments requires large amounts of data because ...
physics
5,930
Long-term impact risk for (101955) 1999 RQ36
astro-ph.EP
The potentially hazardous asteroid (101955) 1999 RQ36 has the possibility of collision with the Earth in the latter half of the 22nd century, well beyond the traditional 100-year time horizon for routine impact monitoring. The probabilities accumulate to a total impact probability of approximately 10E-3, with a pair of...
physics
5,931
A Comparison of Water Vapor Line Parameters for Modeling the Venus Deep Atmosphere
astro-ph.EP
The discovery of the near infrared windows into the Venus deep atmosphere has enabled the use of remote sensing techniques to study the composition of the Venus atmosphere below the clouds. In particular, water vapor absorption lines can be observed in a number of the near-infrared windows allowing measurement of the H...
physics
5,932
A Shocking Solar Nebula?
astro-ph.EP
It has been suggested that shock waves in the solar nebula formed the high temperature materials observed in meteorites and comets. It is shown that the temperatures at the inner rim of the solar nebula could have been high enough over a sufficient length of time to produce chondrules, CAIs, refractory dust grains and ...
physics
5,933
A Search for Distant Solar System Bodies in the Region of Sedna
astro-ph.EP
We present the results of a wide-field survey for distant Sedna-like bodies in the outer solar system using the 1.2-m Samuel Oschin Telescope at Palomar Observatory. We searched ~12,000 square degrees down to a mean limiting magnitude of 21.3 in R. A total number of 53 Kuiper belt objects and Centaurs have been detecte...
physics
5,934
High Velocity Dust Collisions: Forming Planetesimals in a Fragmentation Cascade with Final Accretion
astro-ph.EP
In laboratory experiments we determine the mass gain and loss in central collisions between cm to dm-size SiO2 dust targets and sub-mm to cm-size SiO2 dust projectiles of varying mass, size, shape, and at different collision velocities up to ~56.5 m/s. Dust projectiles much larger than 1 mm lead to a small amount of er...
physics
5,935
The Transit Light Curve Project. XI. Submillimagnitude Photometry of Two Transits of the Bloated Planet WASP-4b
astro-ph.EP
We present photometry of two transits of the giant planet WASP-4b with a photometric precision of 400-800 parts per million and a time sampling of 25-40 seconds. The two midtransit times are determined to within 6 seconds. Together with previously published times, the data are consistent with a constant orbital period,...
physics
5,936
The NASA-UC Eta-Earth Program: I. A Super-Earth Orbiting HD 7924
astro-ph.EP
We report the discovery of the first low-mass planet to emerge from the NASA-UC Eta-Earth Program, a super-Earth orbiting the K0 dwarf HD 7924. Keplerian modeling of precise Doppler radial velocities reveals a planet with minimum mass M_P sin i = 9.26 M_Earth in a P = 5.398 d orbit. Based on Keck-HIRES measurements fro...
physics
5,937
Global MHD simulations of stratified and turbulent protoplanetary discs. II. Dust settling
astro-ph.EP
The aim of this paper is to study the vertical profile of small dust particles in protoplanetary discs in which angular momentum transport is due to MHD turbulence driven by the magnetorotational instability. We consider particle sizes that range from approximately 1 micron up to a few millimeters.We use a grid--based ...
physics
5,938
Searching for Main-Belt Comets Using the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Legacy Survey
astro-ph.EP
The Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Legacy Survey, specifically the Very Wide segment of data, is used to search for possible main-belt comets. In the first data set, 952 separate objects with asteroidal orbits within the main-belt are examined using a three-level technique. First, the full-width-half-maximum of each ob...
physics
5,939
Catalogue of ISO LWS observations of asteroids
astro-ph.EP
(Abridged) The Long Wavelength Spectrometer (LWS) onboard the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) observed the four large main-belt asteroids (1) Ceres, (2) Pallas, (4) Vesta, and (10) Hygiea multiple times. The photometric and spectroscopic data cover the wavelength range between 43 and 197 um, and are a unique dataset f...
physics
5,940
Discovery and characterization of WASP-6b, an inflated sub-Jupiter mass planet transiting a solar-type star
astro-ph.EP
We report the discovery of WASP-6b, an inflated sub-Jupiter mass planet transiting every 3.3610060 +0.0000022-0.0000035 days a mildly metal-poor solar-type star of magnitude V=11.9. A combined analysis of the WASP photometry, high-precision followup transit photometry and radial velocities yield a planetary mass M_p = ...
physics
5,941
Quadrantids 2008 and 2009: Detection of Dust in the Atmosphere by Polarization Twilight Sky Measurements
astro-ph.EP
The paper contains the results of the polarization measurements of twilight sky background during the wintertime including the epoch of Quadrantids activity in January 2008 and 2009 in Crimea (Ukraine). Analysis of the twilight sky polarization behavior had shown the barely detectable depolarization effect at the scatt...
physics
5,942
Pluto's lower atmosphere structure and methane abundance from high-resolution spectroscopy and stellar occultations
astro-ph.EP
Context: Pluto possesses a thin atmosphere, primarily composed of nitrogen, in which the detection of methane has been reported. Aims: The goal is to constrain essential but so far unknown parameters of Pluto's atmosphere such as the surface pressure, lower atmosphere thermal stucture, and methane mixing ratio. Met...
physics
5,943
On the Completeness of Reflex Astrometry on Extrasolar Planets near the Sensitivity Limit
astro-ph.EP
We provide a preliminary estimate of the performance of reflex astrometry on Earth-like planets in the habitable zones of nearby stars. In Monte Carlo experiments, we analyze large samples of astrometric data sets with low to moderate signal-to-noise ratios. We treat the idealized case of a single planet orbiting a sin...
physics
5,944
Dependence of solar wind power spectra on the direction of the local mean magnetic field
astro-ph.EP
(Abridged) Wavelet analysis can be used to measure the power spectrum of solar wind fluctuations along a line in any direction with respect to the local mean magnetic field. This technique is applied to study solar wind turbulence in high-speed streams in the ecliptic plane near solar minimum using magnetic field measu...
physics
5,945
Terrestrial planet formation in low eccentricity warm-Jupiter systems
astro-ph.EP
We examine the effect of giant planet migration on the formation of inner terrestrial planet systems. We consider situations in which the giant planet halts migration at semi-major axes in the range 0.13 - 1.7 AU due to gas disk dispersal. An N-body code is employed that is linked to a viscous gas disk algorithm capabl...
physics
5,946
True polar wander driven by late-stage volcanism and the distribution of paleopolar deposits on Mars
astro-ph.EP
The areal centroids of the youngest polar deposits on Mars are offset from those of adjacent paleopolar deposits by 5-10 degrees. We test the hypothesis that the offset is the result of true polar wander (TPW), the motion of the solid surface with respect to the spin axis, caused by a mass redistribution within or on t...
physics
5,947
The opposition effect in Saturn rings seen by Cassini/ISS: 1. Morphology of phase curves
astro-ph.EP
The Cassini cameras have captured the opposition effect in Saturn rings with a high radial resolution at phase angles down to 0.01o in the entire main ring system. We derive phase functions from 0.01 to 25 degrees of phase angle in the Wide-Angle Camera clear filters with a central wavelength of 0.611microns and phase ...
physics
5,948
The opposition effect in the outer Solar System: a comparative study of the phase function morphology
astro-ph.EP
In this paper, we characterize the morphology of the disk-integrated phase functions of satellites and rings around the giant planets of our Solar System. We find that the shape of the phase function is accurately represented by a logarithmic model (Bobrov, 1970, in Surfaces and Interiors of Planets and Satellites, Aca...
physics
5,949
Dynamics of planets in retrograde mean motion resonance
astro-ph.EP
In a previous paper (Gayon & Bois 2008a), we have shown the general efficiency of retrograde resonances for stabilizing compact planetary systems. Such retrograde resonances can be found when two-planets of a three-body planetary system are both in mean motion resonance and revolve in opposite directions. For a particu...
physics
5,950
Non-Detection of Polarized, Scattered Light from the HD 189733b Hot Jupiter
astro-ph.EP
Using the POLISH instrument, I am unable to reproduce the large-amplitude polarimetric observations of Berdyugina et al. (2008) to the >99.99% confidence level. I observe no significant polarimetric variability in the HD 189733 system, and the upper limit to variability from the exoplanet is Delta_P < 7.9 x 10^(-5) wit...
physics
5,951
HD60532, a planetary system in a 3:1 mean motion resonance
astro-ph.EP
In a recent paper it was reported a planetary system around the star HD60532, composed by two giant planets in a possible 3:1 mean motion resonance, that should be confirmed within the next decade. Here we show that the analysis of the global dynamics of the system allows to confirm this resonance. The present best fit...
physics
5,952
Water in Comets 71P/Clark and C/2004 B1 (LINEAR) with Spitzer
astro-ph.EP
We present 5.5 to 7.6 micron spectra of comets 71P/Clark (2006 May 27.56 UT, r_h = 1.57 AU pre-perihelion) and C/2004 B1 (LINEAR) (2005 October 15.22 UT, r_h = 2.21 AU pre-perihelion and 2006 May 16.22 UT, r_h = 2.06 AU post-perihelion) obtained with the Spitzer Space Telescope. The nu_2 vibrational band of water is de...
physics
5,953
On the protection of extrasolar Earth-like planets around K/M stars against galactic cosmic rays
astro-ph.EP
Previous studies have shown that extrasolar Earth-like planets in close-in habitable zones around M-stars are weakly protected against galactic cosmic rays (GCRs), leading to a strongly increased particle flux to the top of the planetary atmosphere. Two main effects were held responsible for the weak shielding of such ...
physics
5,954
Solid-solid interaction in the two body problem
astro-ph.EP
We consider the solid-solid interactions in the two body problem. The relative equilibria have been previously studied analytically and general motions were numerically analyzed using some expansion of the gravitational potential up to the second order, but only when there are no direct interactions between the orienta...
physics
5,955
Near-infrared transit photometry of the exoplanet HD 149026b
astro-ph.EP
The transiting exoplanet HD 149026b is an important case for theories of planet formation and planetary structure, because the planet's relatively small size has been interpreted as evidence for a highly metal-enriched composition. We present observations of 4 transits with the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spe...
physics
5,956
A Study of the Accuracy of Mass-Radius Relationships for Silicate-Rich and Ice-Rich Planets up to 100 Earth Masses
astro-ph.EP
A mass-radius relationship is proposed for solid planets and solid cores ranging from 1 to 100 Earth-mass planets. It relies on the assumption that solid spheres are composed of iron and silicates, around which a variable amount of water is added. The M-R law has been set up assuming that the planetary composition is s...
physics
5,957
Potential of Radiotelescopes for Atmospheric Line Observations: I. Observation Principles and Transmission Curves for Selected Sites
astro-ph.EP
Existing and planned radiotelescopes working in the millimetre (mm) and sub-millimetre wavelengths range provide the possibility to be used for atmospheric line observations. To scrutinize this potential, we outline the differences and similarities in technical equipment and observing techniques between ground-based ae...
physics
5,958
Local Linear Analysis of Interaction between a Planet and Viscous Disk and an Implication on Type I Planetary Migration
astro-ph.EP
We investigate the effects of viscosity on disk-planet interaction and discuss how type I migration of planets is modified. We have performed a linear calculation using shearing-sheet approximation and obtained the detailed, high resolution density structure around the planet embedded in a viscous disk with a wide rang...
physics
5,959
Detecting Extra-solar Planets with a Bayesian hybrid MCMC Kepler periodogram
astro-ph.EP
A Bayesian re-analysis of published radial velocity data sets is providing evidence for additional planetary candidates. The nonlinear model fitting is accomplished with a new hybrid Markov chain Monte Carlo (HMCMC) algorithm which incorporates parallel tempering, simulated annealing and genetic crossover operations. E...
physics
5,960
Detection and Characterization of Planetary Systems with $μ$as Astrometry
astro-ph.EP
Astrometry as a technique has so far proved of limited utility when employed as either a follow-up tool or to independently search for planetary mass companions orbiting nearby stars. However, this is bound to change during the next decade. In this review, I start by summarizing past and present efforts to detect plane...
physics
5,961
On the Stability of the Satellites of Asteroid 87 Sylvia
astro-ph.EP
he triple asteroidal system (87) Sylvia is composed of a 280-km primary and two small moonlets named Romulus and Remus (Marchis et al 2005). Sylvia is located in the main asteroid belt. The satellites are in nearly equatorial circular orbits around the primary. In the present work we study the stability of the satellit...
physics
5,962
On the coexistence of phases in a Lennard Jones liquid:first results
astro-ph.EP
The aim of this paper is to investigate the conditions for the coexistence of phases in a Lennard Jones fluid. The calculation has been performed within the virial developement mathod and, as a result, a simple approximate relation has been obtained between the number densities of two coexisting densities and the inter...
physics
5,963
The low density transiting exoplanet WASP-15b
astro-ph.EP
We report the discovery of a low-density exoplanet transiting an 11th magnitude star in the Southern hemisphere. WASP-15b, which orbits its host star with a period P=3.7520656+-0.0000028d has a mass M_p=0.542+-0.050M_J and radius R_p=1.428+-0.077R_J, and is therefore the one of least dense transiting exoplanets so far ...
physics
5,964
New Worlds: Evaluating terrestrial planets as astrophysical objects
astro-ph.EP
Terrestrial exoplanets are on the verge of joining the ranks of astronomically accessible objects. Interpreting their observable characteristics, and informing decisions on instrument design and use, will hinge on the ability to model these planets successfully across a vast range of configurations and climate forcings...
physics
5,965
Formation, Survival, and Detectability of Planets Beyond 100 AU
astro-ph.EP
Direct imaging searches have begun to detect planetary and brown dwarf companions and to place constraints on the presence of giant planets at large separations from their host star. This work helps to motivate such planet searches by predicting a population of young giant planets that could be detectable by direct ima...
physics
5,966
Bayesian analysis of the radial velocities of HD 11506 reveals another planetary companion
astro-ph.EP
We aim to demonstrate the efficiency of a Bayesian approach in analysing radial velocity data by reanalysing a set of radial velocity measurements. We present Bayesian analysis of a recently published set of radial velocity measurements known to contain the signal of one extrasolar planetary candidate, namely, HD 11506...
physics
5,967
The Formation and Architecture of Young Planetary Systems
astro-ph.EP
Newly-formed planetary systems with ages of <10 Myr offer many unique insights into the formation, evolution, and fundamental properties of extrasolar planets. These planets have fallen beyond the limits of past surveys, but as we enter the next decade, we stand on the threshold of several crucial advances in instrumen...
physics
5,968
The Physics of Protoplanetesimal Dust Agglomerates. III. Compaction in Multiple Collisions
astro-ph.EP
To study the evolution of protoplanetary dust aggregates, we performed experiments with up to 2600 collisions between single, highly-porous dust aggregates and a solid plate. The dust aggregates consisted of spherical SiO$_2$ grains with 1.5$\mu$m diameter and had an initial volume filling factor (the volume fraction o...
physics
5,969
The gravitational wave background from star-massive black hole fly-bys
astro-ph.EP
Stars on eccentric orbits around a massive black hole (MBH) emit bursts of gravitational waves (GWs) at periapse. Such events may be directly resolvable in the Galactic centre. However, if the star does not spiral in, the emitted GWs are not resolvable for extra-galactic MBHs, but constitute a source of background nois...
physics
5,970
Kuiper Belt Object Occultations: Expected Rates, False Positives, and Survey Design
astro-ph.EP
A novel method of generating artificial scintillation noise is developed and used to evaluate occultation rates and false positive rates for surveys probing the Kuiper Belt with the method of serendipitous stellar occultations. A thorough examination of survey design shows that: (1) diffraction-dominated occultations a...
physics
5,971
Radial velocity follow-up for confirmation and characterization of transiting exoplanets
astro-ph.EP
Radial Velocity follow-up is essential to establish or exclude the planetary nature of a transiting companion as well as to accurately determine its mass. Here we present some elements of an efficient Doppler follow-up strategy, based on high-resolution spectroscopy, devoted to the characterization of transiting candid...
physics
5,972
Probing the origin of the dark material on Iapetus
astro-ph.EP
Among the icy satellites of Saturn, Iapetus shows a striking dichotomy between its leading and trailing hemispheres, the former being significantly darker than the latter. Thanks to the VIMS imaging spectrometer on-board Cassini, it is now possible to investigate the spectral features of the satellites in Saturn system...
physics
5,973
Albedos of Main-Belt Comets 133P/Elst-Pizarro and 176P/LINEAR
astro-ph.EP
We present the determination of the geometric R-band albedos of two main-belt comet nuclei based on data from the Spitzer Space Telescope and a number of ground-based optical facilities. For 133P/Elst-Pizarro, we find an albedo of p_R=0.05+/-0.02 and an effective radius of r_e=1.9+/-0.3 km (estimated semi-axes of a~2.3...
physics
5,974
Release of meteoroids from asteroids by Earth's tides
astro-ph.EP
The orbital evolution of particles released from the surface of a rubble-pile body by Earth's tides during flyby within the Roche limit is studied. Test particles initially placed on the surface leave the surface and escape the parent body. Released particles remain in a relative small cloud for about 500 years and spr...
physics
5,975
Seeing another Earth: Detecting and Characterizing Rocky Planets with Extremely Large Telescopes
astro-ph.EP
The detection of lower mass planets now being reported via radial velocity and microlensing surveys suggests that they may be ubiquitous. If missions such as Kepler are able to confirm this, the detection and study of rocky planets via direct imaging with ground-based telescopes of apertures > 20 m is feasible in the t...
physics
5,976
T.I.P.O. (Tesla Interferometric Planetary Observer)
astro-ph.EP
In the last years the Space Science community was confronted to a continuous increasing interest in Martian missions, extra-solar planet search and multi-satellite missions. The presented T.I.P.O. mission is a proposal for a research program dedicated to study, by space borne interferometric methods, the radio emission...
physics
5,977
Thermosphere and exosphere of Hot-Jupiters
astro-ph.EP
Here we describe the observations and the resulting constraints on the upper atmosphere (thermosphere and exosphere) of the "Hot-Jupiters". In particular, observations and theoretical modeling of Hot-Jupiter evaporation are described. The observations allowed the discovery that the planet orbiting HD209458 has an exten...
physics
5,978
The origin of hydrogen around HD 209458b
astro-ph.EP
Using numerical simulation, Holmstrom et al. (2008) proposed a plausible alternative explanation of the observed Lyman-alpha absorption that was seen during the transit of HD 209458b (Vidal-Madjar et al. 2003). They conclude that radiation pressure alone cannot explain the observations and that a peculiar stellar wind ...
physics
5,979
Can TiO Explain Thermal Inversions in the Upper Atmospheres of Irradiated Giant Planets?
astro-ph.EP
Spitzer Space Telescope infrared observations indicate that several transiting extrasolar giant planets have thermal inversions in their upper atmospheres. Above a relative minimum, the temperature appears to increase with altitude. Such an inversion probably requires a species at high altitude that absorbs a significa...
physics
5,980
Coupled Evolution with Tides of the Radius and Orbit of Transiting Giant Planets: General Results
astro-ph.EP
Some transiting extrasolar giant planets have measured radii larger than predicted by the standard theory. In this paper, we explore the possibility that an earlier episode of tidal heating can explain such radius anomalies and apply the formalism we develop to HD 209458b as an example. We find that for strong enough t...
physics
5,981
The Two Modes of Gas Giant Planet Formation
astro-ph.EP
I argue for two modes of gas giant planet formation and discuss the conditions under which each mode operates. Gas giant planets at disk radii $r>100$ AU are likely to form in situ by disk instability, while core accretion plus gas capture remains the dominant formation mechanism for $r<100$ AU. During the mass accreti...
physics
5,982
Search for very close approaching NEAs
astro-ph.EP
A simulation of de-biased population of NEAs is presented. The numerical integration of modeled orbits reveals geometrical conditions of close approaching NEAs to the Earth. The population with the absolute magnitude up to H=28 is simulated during one year. The probability of possible discoveries of the objects in the ...
physics
5,983
Formation and tidal evolution of hot super-Earths in multiple planetary systems
astro-ph.EP
Hot super-Earths are exoplanets with masses < 10 Earth masses and orbital periods < 20 days. Around 8 hot super-Earths have been discovered in the neighborhood of solar system. In this lecture, we review the mechanisms for the formation of hot super-Earths, dynamical effects that play important roles in sculpting the a...
physics
5,984
Main-Belt Comet P/2008 R1 (Garradd)
astro-ph.EP
We present a study of the newly-discovered main-belt comet P/2008 R1 (Garradd), an object with the dynamical characteristics of an asteroid and the physical characteristics of a comet. Photometry sets a limit to the effective radius of the nucleus at r_e < 0.7 km (red geometric albedo 0.05 assumed). The coma shows a se...
physics
5,985
The Dynamical Architecture and Habitable Zones of the Quintuplet Planetary System 55 Cancri
astro-ph.EP
We perform numerical simulations to study the secular orbital evolution and dynamical structure in the quintuplet planetary system 55 Cancri with the self-consistent orbital solutions by Fischer and coworkers (2008). In the simulations, we show that this system can be stable at least for $10^{8}$ yr. In addition, we ex...
physics
5,986
Photometric Detection of a Transit of HD 80606b
astro-ph.EP
We report a times series of B-band photometric observations initiated on the eve of Valentine's day, February 14, 2009, at the anticipated time of a transit of the extrasolar planet HD 80606b. The same transit has been observed independently (Fossey et al. 2009; Moutou et al. 2009). For one transit model favored by the...
physics
5,987
Bisector Measurements of HD 102272
astro-ph.EP
Searches for planets around massive stars are essential for developing general understanding of planet formation and evolution of the planetary systems. The main objective of the Pennsylvania - Torun Planet Search is detection of planets around G-K subgiants and giants through precision radial velocity (RV) measurement...
physics
5,988
Effects of Magnetic Braking and Tidal Friction on Hot Jupiters
astro-ph.EP
Tidal friction is thought to be important in determining the long-term spin-orbit evolution of short-period extrasolar planetary systems. Using a simple model of the orbit-averaged effects of tidal friction Eggleton, Kiseleva & Hut (1998), we analyse the effects of the inclusion of stellar magnetic braking on the evolu...
physics
5,989
On the tidal evolution of Hot Jupiters on inclined orbits
astro-ph.EP
Tidal friction is thought to be important in determining the long-term spin-orbit evolution of short-period extrasolar planetary systems. Using a simple model of the orbit-averaged effects of tidal friction, we study the evolution of close-in planets on inclined orbits, due to tides. We analyse the effects of the inclu...
physics
5,990
Observational detection of eight mutual eclipses and occultations between the satellites of Uranus
astro-ph.EP
We carried out observations, with five different instruments ranging in aperture from 0.4m to 10m, of the satellites of Uranus during that planet's 2007 Equinox. Our observations covered specific intervals of time when mutual eclipses and occultations were predicted. The observations were carried out in the near-infr...
physics
5,991
Detection of a transit by the planetary companion of HD 80606
astro-ph.EP
We report the detection of a transit egress by the ~ 3.9-Jupiter-mass planet HD 80606b, an object in a highly-eccentric orbit (e ~ 0.93) about its parent star of approximately solar type. The astrophysical reality of the signal of variability in HD 80606 is confirmed by observation with two independent telescope system...
physics
5,992
The Active Centaurs
astro-ph.EP
The Centaurs are recent escapees from the Kuiper belt that are destined either to meet fiery oblivion in the hot inner regions of the Solar system or to be ejected to the interstellar medium by gravitational scattering from the giant planets. Dynamically evolved Centaurs, when captured by Jupiter and close enough to th...
physics
5,993
A Keck HIRES Doppler Search for Planets Orbiting Metal-Poor Dwarfs. II. On the Frequency of Giant Planets in the Metal-Poor Regime
astro-ph.EP
We present an analysis of three years of precision radial velocity measurements of 160 metal-poor stars observed with HIRES on the Keck 1 telescope. We report on variability and long-term velocity trends for each star in our sample. We identify several long-term, low-amplitude radial-velocity variables worthy of follow...
physics
5,994
MARVELS: Revealing the Formation and Dynamical Evolution of Giant Planet Systems
astro-ph.EP
MARVELS, the Multi-Object APO Radial Velocity Exoplanet Large-area Survey, is a 6-year program to characterize the distribution of gas giant planets with orbital periods ranging from several hours to two years. MARVELS will use multi-fiber interferometric spectrographs on the wide-field, 2.5-meter Sloan Foundation tele...
physics
5,995
Tidal decay and circularization of the orbits of short-period planets
astro-ph.EP
We analyze the long-term tidal evolution of a single-planet system through the use of numerical simulations and averaged equations giving the variations of semi-major axis and eccentricity of the relative orbit. For different types of planets, we compute the variations due to the planetary and stellar tides. Then, we c...
physics
5,996
NICMOS Photometry of the Unusual Dwarf Planet Haumea and its Satellites
astro-ph.EP
We present here HST NICMOS F110W and F160W observations of Haumea, and its two satellites Hi'iaka and Namaka. From the measured (F110W-F160W) colours of -1.209 +/-0.004, -1.48 +/- 0.06, and -1.4 +/- 0.2 mag for each object, respectively, we infer that the 1.6 imcron water-ice absorption feature depths on Hi'iaka and Na...
physics
5,997
Magnetospheric Emission from Extrasolar Planets
astro-ph.EP
The magnetospheric emissions from extrasolar planets represent a science frontier for the next decade. All of the solar system giant planets and the Earth produce radio emissions as a result of interactions between their magnetic fields and the solar wind. In the case of the Earth, its magnetic field may contribute to ...
physics
5,998
The Demographics of Extrasolar Planets Beyond the Snow Line with Ground-based Microlensing Surveys
astro-ph.EP
In the currently-favored paradigm of planet formation, the location of the snow line in the protoplanetary disk plays a crucial role. Determining the demographics of planets beyond the snow line of stars of various masses is thus essential for testing this model. Microlensing is sensitive to planets that are generally ...
physics
5,999
Considerations on the magnitude distributions of the Kuiper belt and of the Jupiter Trojans
astro-ph.EP
By examining the absolute magnitude (H) distributions (hereafter HD) of the cold and hot populations in the Kuiper belt and of the Trojans of Jupiter, we find evidence that the Trojans have been captured from the outer part of the primordial trans-Neptunian planetesimal disk. We develop a sketch model of the HDs in the...
physics