Graduate seminar on topical areas in modern astrophysics and
cosmology. Each semester a different topic of current special
interest is selected. Participants in this seminar discuss papers
given by seminar members (in rotation). Several faculty members also
participate.
Note: Participation for three semesters is required to obtain
credit for this course.
Extrasolar Planet
Detection at CfA
University of California Planet Search
Project
J. J. Lissauer "Planet
formation" (1993, ARA&A, 31, 129)
D. Charbonneau et al. "Detection
of Planetary Transits Across a Sun-like Star" (2000, ApJ, 529,
L45)
G. W. Marcy & R. P. Butler "Detection
of Extrasolar Giant Planets" (1998, ARA&A, 36, 57)
R. P. Butler at al. "Evidence
for Multiple Companions to upsilon Andromedae" (1999, ApJ, 526,
916)
The Extrasolar Planets
Encyclopaedia (also US
Mirror)
P. D. Sackett "Results from
Microlensing Searches for Extrasolar Planets" (2001, IAU Symposium
202: "Planetary Systems in the Universe: Observation, Formation and
Evolution")
S. Seager et al. "Photometric
Light Curves and Polarization of Close-in Extrasolar Giant
Planets" (2000, ApJ, 540, 504)
The orbital dynamics of extrasolar planets can offer another window
into the true nature of these systems. In particular, the presence or
absence of strong chaos (meaning disruption of a planetary system in a
time less than the age of the parent star) in simulations of the
dynamics of a system with given parameters can serve as a "reality
check" for their value, and could even break the "sin i degeneracy."
As a bridge to discussing such studies, I will review the circular,
restricted three body problem as a toy model to describe the onset of
chaos as a result of overlapping resonances.
G. Laughlin & J. E. Chambers "Short-Term
Dynamical Interactions among Extrasolar Planets" (2001, ApJ, 551,
L109)
G. Laughlin & F. C. Adams "Stability
and Chaos in the upsilon Andromedae Planetary System" (1999, ApJ,
526, 881)
M. J. Holman & P. A. Wiegert "Long-Term
Stability of Planets in Binary Systems" (1999, AJ, 117, 621)
S. V. W. Beckwith et al. "A
survey for circumstellar disks around young stellar objects"
(1990, AJ, 99, 924)
This page was last updated on Mon Apr 29 14:52:34 EDT 2002
Preliminary Schedule for Spring'2002:
"Organizational meeting" -
Matt Holman,
Dimitar Sasselov and
Kris Stanek
0. January 30th, 2002 (in Classroom A)Abstract:
How the course is organized. Motivation for the topic. Scheduling the
talks.General reading material for the Semester:
Related links:
The Extrasolar Planets
Encyclopaedia (also US
Mirror)
"The Formation of Planets - Standard Theory" - Gregory Ball1. January 30th, 2002 (in Classroom A)Abstract:
While the first published discovery of extra-solar planets was in
1992, the detailed analytical and numerical study of planet formation
dates back at least 20 years before that. Our own planetary system
poses the basic problems of planet formation and provides intriguing
clues. Can we piece together the processes that can build rocky
planetary cores from interstellar dust grains, a factor of 10^40 in
mass, and what predictions can be made for other systems?Reading material:
S. P. Ruden "The
Formation of Planets - Standard Theory" (astro-ph/9910331)
"Extrasolar Planets - Observing Techniques" - Jenny E. Greene2. February 6th, 2002Abstract:
Using shifts in radial velocity, over 70 planetary systems have been
found around other stars. Studying their properties will constrain
models of the formation of stellar systems, but selection effects in
the Doppler shift technique must be taken into account. I will review
the biases of the Doppler shift search technique, and then discuss how
other methods of planet detection may be used to paint a complete
picture of planetary systems. Reading material:
R. L. Gilliland et al. "A
Lack of Planets in 47 Tucanae from a Hubble Space Telescope
Search" (2000, ApJ, 545, L47)
"Extrasolar Planets - Properties" - Scott
Schnee3. February 13th, 2002Abstract:
Over the last five years much progress has been made in understanding
the properties of extra-solar planets. I will discuss a variety of
their characteristics and the techniques used to determine them. I
will also present some theories and observations of the atmospheres of
these extra-solar planets, and discuss the special opportunities that
transiting planets afford us and their application to HD209458.Reading material:
S. Tabachnik & S. Tremaine "Maximum likelihood
method for estimating the mass and period distributions of extra-solar
planets (astro-ph/0107482)
"Future Planet Searches" - Joshua N. Winn4. February 20th, 2002 (1-2pm:
note time change!)Abstract:
We are at the end of the beginning of extrasolar planet research. A
variety of new techniques, and the continued application of old
techniques, promise to reveal many more planets and their properties,
including perhaps Earth-sized planets. I will survey the present and
future of four techniques that seem promising (radial-velocity,
transit, astrometry, and direct detection) and three that are not as
obviously promising (pulsar timing, microlensing and radio
emission). My emphasis will be on the unique capabilities and
fundamental physical limitations of each method.Reading material:
Terrestrial Planet Finder (TPF)
"Our Solar System" - Warren Brown5. February 27th, 2002Abstract:
The Kuiper Belt is the remnant of the protoplanetary disk. The
dynamics of the Kuiper Belt objects, the Centaurs, and the giant
planets paint a picture of how our solar system formed and evolved to
what we see today. I will review the physical properties of the KBOs,
the Centaurs, and the gas giants. The physical properties of our own
solar system can guide our observations of other solar systems.
Reading material:
D. C. Jewitt & J. X. Luu "Trans-Neptunian
Objects: Relics from the Accretion of the Sun" (2002, ARA&A)
"Comparative Planetology" - Claudia Cyganowski6. March 6th, 2002Abstract:
Nearly a quarter of known extra-solar giant planets have orbital
distances of less than 0.1 AU; new work indicates that the interior
structures and evolutionary histories of these hot Jupiters, or 51
Peg-type planets, are qualitatively different from those of the giant
planets in our own solar system. I will review the interior
structures of the solar system giant planets, and then discuss the
effects of stellar irradiation on extrasolar planets orbiting close to
their parent stars. Knowledge of the interior structures of giant
planets can constrain planetary and solar system formation models.
Reading material:
D. Sudarsky et al. "Albedo
and Reflection Spectra of Extrasolar Giant Planets" (2000, ApJ,
538, 885)
"Planetary Atmospheres" - Brant
Robertson7. March 13th, 2002 (in Classroom A)Abstract:
I review the basic concepts of planetary atmospheres,
specifically their importance to planetary astronomy, methods for
detecting planetary atmospheres, and the cooling of giant planets. I
will briefly discuss the detection of an atmosphere around HD 209548b,
and conclude with an overview of an ongoing effort to detect
extrasolar planets through their atmospheres.
Reading material:
A. S. Ackerman & M. S. Marley "Precipitating
Condensation Clouds in Substellar Atmospheres" (2001, ApJ, 556,
872)
"Metallicity of Host Stars" - Maryam Modjaz8. March 20th, 2002Abstract:
I will review evidence suggesting that the stars harboring extrasolar
planets are more metal-rich than field stars. Disentangling the exact
reason for this correlation can be vital for understanding planet
formation processes. I will present arguments why the observational
evidence is most likely not due to selection effects, and will discuss
two scenarios: high primordial metallicity and metallicity enhancement
through accretion of planets or planetesimals. I will conclude by
describing possible tests for each scenario and how future
investigations can elucidate this correlation.Reading material:
G. Gonzalez et al. "Parent
Stars of Extrasolar Planets. VI. Abundance Analyses of 20 New
Systems" (2001, AJ, 121, 432)
"Dynamical properties of planetary systems" - Mark A. Hartman9. April 3rd, 2002Abstract:
So far, this seminar has focused on the methods of detecting
extrasolar planets and the intrinsic properties of the planets and
their parent stars. Does this mean that after extracting the orbital
parameters and their uncertainty from the data, we are done? The
answer is, of course, no.Reading material:
M. Lecar et al. "Chaos in the Solar
System" (astro-ph/0111600)
"Disk-protoplanet interactions" - Hannah Jang-Condell10. April 10th, 2002Abstract:
One of the surprises arising from the search for extrasolar planets is
the abundance of massive planets orbiting at small radial separations
(<= 1 AU). If these planets were formed at larger distances, in
accordance with the current paradigm of planet formation, then these
planets must have migrated in to their present day locations. In this
talk, I will discuss how interactions between a protoplanet and the
disk from which it is formed can result in migration. In particular,
I will explain Type I and Type II migration and the importance of gap
formation. I will also discuss what we can learn from numerical
simulations of gap formation and migration, and how little we actually
do know.
Reading material:
"Observations of Disks" - Craig Heinke11. April 17th, 2002Abstract:
Circumstellar disks have been discovered around many pre-main sequence
stars, and less massive dust disks have been discovered around some
main sequence stars. These disks allow us to test theories of planet
formation and growth. I will discuss the observations, the structure
of these disks (including some evidence for planet formation), their
masses and evolution.
Reading material:
K. E. Haisch et al. "Disk
Frequencies and Lifetimes in Young Clusters" (2001, ApJ, 553,
L153)
"Transit of HD 209458b" - Paul T. Kondratko12. April 24th, 2002Abstract:
The detection of the planetary transit across a sun-like star HD209458
constitutes a milestone in the study of extrasolar planets.
Observations of the transit have been used to derive the radius and
mass of the orbiting planet, place limits on the mass and radius of
the satellites or rings, and infer the structure of the planetary
atmosphere. In my talk, I will review and interpret the observations
of the transit concentrating on the detection of the extrasolar planet
atmosphere.
Reading material:
"Pulsar Planets" - Ming Sun
13. May 1st, 2002Abstract:
Reading material:
Questions or Comments? Send an
e-mail to kstanek@cfa.harvard.edu.