Jason Rowe

Stellar modelling of Spica, a high-mass spectroscopic binary with a β Cep variable primary component

Published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

Binary stars provide a valuable test of stellar structure and evolution, because the masses of the individual stellar components can be derived with high accuracy and in a model-independent way. In this work, we study Spica, an eccentric double-lined spectroscopic binary system with a β Cep type variable primary component. We use state-of- the-art ...

False positive probabilities for all Kepler objects of interest: 1284 newly validated planets and 428 likely false posit...

Published in The Astrophysical Journal

We present astrophysical false positive probability calculations for every Kepler Object of Interest (KOI)—the first large-scale demonstration of a fully automated transiting planet validation procedure. Out of 7056 KOIs, we determine that 1935 have probabilities

The Frequency of Giant Impacts on Earth-like Worlds

Published in The Astrophysical Journal

The late stages of terrestrial planet formation are dominated by giant impacts that collectively influence the growth, composition, and habitability of any planets that form. Hitherto, numerical models designed to explore these late stage collisions have been limited by assuming that all collisions lead to perfect accretion, and many of these studi...

MOST observations of [sigma] Ori E: challenging the centrifugal breakout narrative

We present results from three weeks photometric monitoring of the magnetic helium-strong star [sigma] Ori E using the Microvariability and Oscillations of Stars microsatellite. The star s light curve is dominated by twice-per-rotation eclipse-like dimmings arising when magnetospheric clouds transit across and occult the stellar disk. However, no e...

Non-detection of previously reported transits of HD 97658b with MOST photometry

The radial velocity-discovered exoplanet HD 97658b was recently announced to transit, with a derived planetary radius of 2.93±0.28 R⊕. As a transiting super-Earth orbiting a bright star, this planet would make an attractive candidate for additional observations, including studies of its atmospheric properties. We present and analyze follow-up photo...

Non-detection of transits of the super-Earth HD 97658b with MOST photometry

The radial velocity-discovered exoplanet HD 97658b was recently announced to transit, with a derived planetary radius of 2.93$\ pm $0.28 R $ _ \ oplus $. As a transiting super-Earth orbiting a bright star, this planet would make an attractive candidate for additional observations, including studies of its atmospheric properties. We present and anal...