Planetary Systems

by Ollivier, Marc; Roques, Francoise; Casoli, Fabienne; Encrenaz, Therese; Selsis, Franck

• ISBN13: 9783540757474
• ISBN10: 3540757473
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-12-04
• Publisher: Springer Verlag

Summary

Over the past ten years, the discovery of extrasolar planets has opened a new field of astronomy, and this area of research is rapidly growing, from both the observational and theoretical point of view. The presence of many giant exoplanets in the close vicinity of their star shows that these newly discovered planetary systems are very different from the solar system. New theoretical models are being developed in order to understand their formation scenarios, and new observational methods are being implemented to increase the sensitivity of exoplanet detections.In the present book, the authors address the question of planetary systems from all aspects. Starting from the facts (the detection of more than 300 extraterrestrial planets), they first describe the various methods used for these discoveries and propose a synthetic analysis of their global properties. They then consider the observations of young stars and circumstellar disks and address the case of the solar system as a specific example, different from the newly discovered systems. Then the study of planetary systems and of exoplanets is presented from a more theoretical point of view. The book ends with an outlook to future astronomical projects, and a description of the search for life on exoplanets. This book addresses students and researchers who wish to better understand this newly expanding field of research.

Table of Contents

Planetary Systems	p. 1
Introduction	p. 1
The Plurality of Worlds: A Question as Old as the Hills	p. 1
From Antiquity to the Copernican Revolution	p. 1
The First Theories on the Formation of the World	p. 3
First Searches for Other Worlds	p. 5
The First Astrometric Searches	p. 6
The Velocimetry Method	p. 6
The First Results and the Problems Raised	p. 9
Planets Around Pulsars	p. 10
The Search for Protoplanetary Disks	p. 12
The Solar System: A Typical Planetary System?	p. 13
The Sun as an Average Star	p. 14
Brown Dwarfs: Between Stars and Planets	p. 15
A Specific Planetary System: The Solar System	p. 15
The Formation of the Planets by Nucleation	p. 15
Terrestrial and Giant Planets	p. 18
Bibliography	p. 20
Detection Methods	p. 21
The Extent of the Problem	p. 21
Contrast Between Star and Planet	p. 21
Angular Separation Between the Objects	p. 22
Environment of the Earth and Exoplanets	p. 23
The Indirect Detection of Exoplanets	p. 24
The Effect of a Planet on the Motion of Its Star	p. 24
The Effect a Planet has on Photometry of Its Star	p. 36
Comparison of the Different Indirect Methods	p. 46
Direct Detection of Exoplanets	p. 46
Choice of Spectral Region	p. 47
Coronagraphic Methods and Adaptive Optics	p. 48
Interferometry	p. 55
Interferometry and Imagery: Hypertelescopes	p. 62
Detection by Radio	p. 65
Bibliography	p. 67
Extrasolar Planets, 12 Years After the First Discovery	p. 69
Exoplanets and Exoplanetary Systems	p. 70
The Mass-Distribution of Exoplanets	p. 70
The Distance-Distribution of Exoplanets	p. 74
The Relationship Between the Mass of Exoplanets and Their Distance from Their Star	p. 76
Orbital Eccentricity Among Exoplanets	p. 78
Exoplanets and Their Parent Stars	p. 80
Mass/Diameter Ratio	p. 82
Characteristics of Extrasolar Planetary Atmospheres	p. 83
Bibliography	p. 84
What we Learn from the Solar System	p. 85
Observational Methods	p. 85
The Observational Data	p. 87
Orbits that are Essentially Co-Planar and Concentric	p. 87
Terrestrial Planets and Giant Planets	p. 88
The Small Bodies	p. 89
Dating the Solar System Through Radioactive Decay	p. 91
The Emergence of a 'Standard Model'	p. 91
The Nebular Theory	p. 91
The Standard Model: The Chronology of Events	p. 92
The Physical and Chemical Properties of Solar-System Objects	p. 100
The Electromagnetic Spectrum of the Objects in the Solar System	p. 100
Planetary Atmospheres	p. 101
The Terrestrial Planets	p. 106
The Giant Planets	p. 110
Rings and Satellites in the Outer Solar System	p. 120
Small Bodies in the Solar System	p. 125
Conclusions: The Solar System Compared with Other Planetary Systems	p. 130
The Scenario for the Formation of the Solar System	p. 130
Objects in the Planetary Systems Observable from Earth	p. 131
Bibliography	p. 132
Stellar Formation and Protoplanetary Disks	p. 135
The First Stages in Stellar Formation	p. 135
Properties of the Interstellar Medium	p. 135
The Formation of Molecular Clouds	p. 137
Collapse of a Molecular Cloud	p. 138
Observation of Young Stars	p. 138
Structure and Evolution of Protoplanetary Disks	p. 141
Observation of Protoplanetary Disks	p. 141
Stellar Accretion Flux	p. 144
The Rotation of T-Tauri Stars	p. 145
The Formation of Binary Systems	p. 146
The Principal Stages of Stellar Formation	p. 147
Later Stages of Stellar Evolution: Evolution Towards the Main Sequence	p. 151
The Structure of Protoplanetary Disks	p. 153
Composition of the Gas and Dust	p. 157
Planetary Disks and Debris Disks	p. 158
Observation of the Disk of HR 4796A	p. 159
Observation of the Disk of ß Pic	p. 160
The Formation of Planetesimals and Planetary Embryos	p. 163
From Microscopic Particles to Centimetre-Sized Grains	p. 163
From Centimetre-Sized Grains to Kilometre-Sized Bodies	p. 164
From Protoplanets to Planets	p. 165
Bibliography	p. 167
The Dynamics of Planetary Systems	p. 171
Characteristics of the Orbits	p. 171
Calculation of Radial Velocities	p. 171
Orbital Characteristics from Radial-Velocity Curves	p. 172
Multiple Systems Case	p. 174
Exoplanets and Known Multiple Systems	p. 175
Rotation of the Planets	p. 178
Migration	p. 179
Migration in the Solar System	p. 179
Migration in Exosystems	p. 181
The Different Migration Mechanisms	p. 182
Observational Indications	p. 184
The End of the Migration and Tidal Effects	p. 186
Stability of Planetary Systems	p. 187
Dynamical Categories	p. 187
The GJ 876 System	p. 189
The HD 82943 System	p. 190
The v Andromedae System	p. 190
The HD 202206 System: A Circumbinary Planet?	p. 191
The HD 69830 System: Three Neptunes and a Ring of Dust	p. 193
Planetary Systems Around Pulsars	p. 193
The Dynamics of Debris Disks	p. 195
Bibliography	p. 198
Structure and Evolution of an Exoplanet	p. 199
The Internal Structure of Giant Exoplanets	p. 200
The Observable Features	p. 200
The Equations of Internal Structure	p. 201
Rotation Effects	p. 203
Equations of State	p. 203
Construction of Models of Internal Structure	p. 205
Evolutionary Models	p. 208
The Internal Structure of Terrestrial-Type Exoplanets and Ocean Planets	p. 210
Terrestrial-Type Exoplanets	p. 211
Ocean Planets	p. 213
The Atmospheres of Exoplanets: Their Structure, Evolution and Spectral Characteristics	p. 216
Giant Exoplanets	p. 216
Terrestrial Planets and Habitable Planets	p. 227
Hot Neptunes, Super-Earths, and Ocean Planets	p. 241
Bibliography	p. 244
Present and Future Instrumental Projects	p. 247
Indirect Methods of Detection	p. 248
Velocimetry	p. 248
Astrometry	p. 252
The Study of Planetary Transits	p. 257
Searching for Microlensing Events	p. 268
Direct Methods of Detection	p. 272
Imaging	p. 272
Interferometry	p. 281
Direct Detection of Radio Waves	p. 291
Bibliography	p. 293
The Search for Life in Planetary Systems	p. 295
What is Life?	p. 295
How Should Life be Defined?	p. 295
The Role of Carbon and of Liquid Water	p. 296
The Building-Block of Life: Macromolecules	p. 298
Nucleic Acids	p. 300
The Role of the Cell	p. 300
Prebiotic Material in the Universe	p. 301
Organic Material in the Universe	p. 301
The Synthesis of Organic Molecules: Miller and Urey's Experiment	p. 302
Transport of Complex Organic Molecules to the Primordial Earth	p. 305
Stages on the Road to Complexity	p. 308
Polymers and Macromolecules	p. 308
The Formation of Membranes	p. 309
RNA and DNA	p. 311
The Appearance of Life on the Primitive Earth	p. 311
Favourable Conditions	p. 311
The Environment of the Primitive Earth: The Hydrosphere and Atmosphere	p. 312
The Search for Habitable Locations in the Solar System	p. 314
The Planet Mars	p. 314
The Satellites of the Outer Planets	p. 318
The Search for Life on Exoplanets	p. 322
Exoplanets' Habitable Zones	p. 322
How May Life on an Exoplanet be Detected?	p. 324
The Search for Extraterrestrial Civilisations	p. 327
The Drake and Sagan Equation	p. 327
Communication by Radio Waves	p. 327
The State of SETI and CETI Searches	p. 327
Bibliography	p. 329
	p. 331
Star or Planet?	p. 331
Gravitation and Kepler's Laws	p. 332
A.3	p. 332
The Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram and the Spectral Classification of Stars	p. 334
Resonances	p. 336
Index	p. 339
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