We investigated whether sulfur-bearing species are present on the icy Galilean moon Callisto by analyzing eight near-infrared reflectance spectra collected over a wide range of sub-observer longitudes. We measured the band areas and depths of a 4-micron feature in these spectra, which has been attributed to sulfur dioxide (SO2), as well as carbonat...
Published in The Astrophysical Journal
We have systematically investigated a series of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) with armchair edges that maximize the aromaticity, denoted as Clar PAHs, using density functional theory. Their structures fall into three major categories: branched, intermediate, and armchair. Branched PAHs contain up to 60 carbons, they are eroded and the lea...
Published in The Astrophysical Journal
Using density functional theory, we have investigated the mid-infrared spectral characteristics of a series of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) that have straight edges and that contain an even or odd number of carbons. For several even and odd-carbon PAHs, the 8.6/6.2 and 7.6/6.2 intensity ratios computed in emission after the absorption of...
Published in The Astrophysical Journal
Published in The Astrophysical Journal
With each new version of the Kepler pipeline and resulting planet candidate catalogue, an updated measurement of the underlying planet population can only be recovered with an corresponding measurement of the Kepler pipeline detection efficiency. Here, we present measurements of the sensitivity of the pipeline (version 9.2) used to generate the Q1-...
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
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...
Published in The Astrophysical Journal
The Institute of Physics (IOP) is a leading scientific society promoting physics and bringing physicists together for the benefit of all. It has a worldwide membership of around 50 000 comprising physicists from all sectors, as well as those with an interest in physics. It works to advance physics research, application and education; and engages wi...
Published in The Astrophysical Journal
We infer dynamical masses in eight multiplanet systems using transit times measured from Kepler s complete data? set, including short-cadence data where available. Of the 18? dynamical masses that we infer, 10? pass multiple tests for robustness. These are in systems? Kepler-26 (KOI-250), Kepler-29 (KOI-738), Kepler-60 (KOI-2086), Kepler-105 (KOI-1...
Published in The Astrophysical Journal
Determining which small exoplanets have stony-iron compositions is necessary for quantifying the occurrence of such planets and for understanding the physics of planet formation. Kepler-10 hosts the stony-iron world Kepler-10b, and also contains what has been reported to be the largest solid silicate-ice planet, Kepler-10c. Using 220 radial velocit...
