Subject of this work is the study of applications of the Galactic Microlensing effect, where the light of a distant star (source) is bend according to Einstein's theory of gravity by the gravitational field of intervening compact mass objects (lenses), creating multiple (however not resolvable) images of the source. Relative motion of source, observer and lens leads to a variation of deflection/magnification and thus to a time dependant observable brightness change (lightcurve), a so-called microlensing event, lasting weeks to months. <br><br> The focus lies on the modeling of binary-lens events, which provide a unique tool to fully characterize the lens-source system and to detect extra-solar planets around the lens star. Making use of the ability of genetic algorithms to efficiently explore large and intricate parameter spaces in the quest for the global best solution, a modeling software (Tango) for binary lenses is developed, presented and applied to data sets from the PLANET microlensing campaign. For the event OGLE-2002-BLG-069 the 2nd ever lens mass measurement has been achieved, leading to a scenario, where a G5III Bulge giant at 9.4 kpc is lensed by an M-dwarf binary with total mass of M=0.51 solar masses at distance 2.9 kpc. Furthermore a method is presented to use the absence of planetary lightcurve signatures to constrain the abundance of extra-solar planets. / Thema der Arbeit ist das Studium von Anwendungen des Galaktischen Mikrolinseneffektes bei dem das Licht eines entfernten Sternes (Quelle) nach Einstein's Theorie der Gravitation im Schwerefeld eines sich hinreichend nahe der Sichlinie zur Quelle befindlichen massereichen kompakten Objektes (Linse) abgelenkt wird und Mehrfachbilder der Quelle erzeugt werden (welche jedoch nicht aufgelöst werden können). Die Relativbewegung von Quelle, Beobachter und Linse führt zur einer Änderung der Ablenk-und Verstärkungswirkung und somit zu einer beobachtbaren Helligkeitsänderung der Quelle (Lichtkurve), einem sogenannten Mikrolinsenereignis, welches Wochen bis Monate andauert. <br><br> Der Schwerpunkt liegt in der Modelierung von Doppellinsen-Ereignissen, welche die einzigartige Möglichkeit bieten das Linsen-Quelle System vollständig zu charakterisieren und extra-solare Planeten um den Linsenstern zu detektieren. Unter Verwendung der Eigenschaft genetischer Algorithmen hoch-dimensionale und komplizierte Parameterräume effizient nach dem besten globalen Model zu durchsuchen, wird eine Modelier-Software (Tango) entwickelt, präsentiert und auf Daten der PLANET Mikrolinsen Beobachtungskampagne angewandt. Dabei konnte für das Ereignis OGLE-2002-BLG-069 zum zweitenmal überhaupt die Linsenmasse bestimmt werden, in einem Szenario bei dem ein G5III Bulge Riese, 9.4 kpc entfernt, von einem M-Zwerg Binärsystem mit einer Gesamtmasse von M=0.51 Sonnenmassen in einer Entfernung von 2.9 kpc gelinst wird. Darüberhinaus wird ein Verfahren vorgestellt mit dem man die Abwesenheit planetarer Lichtkurvensignaturen nutzen kann, um Aussagen über die Häufigkeit extrasolarer Planeten zu treffen.

In the widely accepted core accretion model of planet formation, small rocky and/or icy bodies (planetesimals) accrete to form protoplanetary cores. Gas giant planets are believed to have solid cores that must reach a critical mass, ∼10 Earth masses (ME), after which there is rapid inflow of gas from the gas disk. In order to accrete the gas giants’ massive atmospheres, this step must occur within the gas disk’s lifetime (1 − 10 million years). Numerical simulations of solid body accretion in the outer Solar System are performed using two integrators. The goal of these simulations is to investigate the effects of important dynamical processes instead of specifically recreating the formation of the Solar System’s giant planets. The first integrator uses the Symplectic Massive Body Algorithm (SyMBA) with a modification to allow for planetesimal fragmentation. Due to computational constraints, this code has some physical limitations, specifically that the planetesimals themselves cannot grow, so protoplanets must be seeded in the simulations. The second integrator, the Lagrangian Integrator for Planetary Accretion and Dynamics (LIPAD), is more computationally expensive. However, its treatment of planetesimals allows for growth of potential giant planetary cores from a disk consisting only of planetesimals. Thus, this thesis’ preliminary simulations use the first integrator to explore a wider range of parameters while the main simulations use LIPAD to further investigate some specific processes. These simulations are the first use of LIPAD to study giant planet formation and they identify a few important dynamical processes affecting core formation. Without any fragmentation, cores tend to grow to ∼2ME. When planetesimal fragmentation is included, the resulting fragments are easier to accrete and larger cores are formed (∼4ME). But, in half of the runs, the fragments force the entire system to migrate towards the Sun. In other half, outward migration via scattering off a large number of planetesimal helps the protoplanets grow and survive. However, in a preliminary set of simulations including protoplanetary fragmentation, very few collisions are found to result in accretion so it is difficult for any cores to form. / Thesis (Master, Physics, Engineering Physics and Astronomy) -- Queen's University, 2012-08-20 14:48:39.443

Despite its ubiquity in planetary science, analogue-based reasoning largely has remained unbounded by guidelines of use. Establishing analogical guidelines and putting them to the test is the main aim of the thesis. Towards this end, I discuss the philosophical foundations of analogical reasoning in planetary geomorphology and posit rules of use that facilitate the evaluation of analogical hypotheses. Subsequently, I present four hypotheses concerning aeolian, fluvial and periglacial processes on Mars. Each of these hypotheses is evaluated in terms of the analogical rules presented. The fourth hypothesis is original to this thesis and suggests that a periglacial landscape comprising pingos and small-scale polygonal ground exists in an impact crater located in northwest Utopia Planitia.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF file (viewed September 22, 2008). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 202-225).

Zugl.: Berlin, Techn. Univ., Diss., 2008

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Department of the Geophysical Sciences, June 2002. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Zugl.: Münster (Westfalen), Universiẗat, Diss. : 1994.

No description available.

This thesis is concerned with various aspects of the detection and characterisation of transiting extra-solar planets. The noise properties of photometric data from SuperWASP, a wide-field survey instrument designed to detect exoplanets, are investigated. There has been a large shortfall in the number of planets such transit surveys have detected, compared to previous predictions of the planet catch. It has been suggested that correlated, or red, noise in the photometry is responsible for this; here it is confirmed that red noise is present in the SuperWASP photometry, and its effects on planet discovery are quantified. Examples are given of follow-up photometry of candidate transiting planets, confirming that modestly-sized telescopes can rule out some candidates photometrically. A Markov-chain Monte Carlo code is developed to fit transit lightcurves and determine the depth of such lightcurves in different passbands. Tests of this code with transit data of WASP-3 b are reported. The results of a search for additional transiting planets in known transiting planetary systems are presented. SuperWASP photometry of 24 such systems is searched for additional transits. No further planets are discovered, but a strong periodic signal is detected in the photometry of WASP-10. This is ascribed to stellar rotational variation, the period of which is determined to be 11.91 ± 0.05 days. Monte Carlo modelling is performed to quantify the ability of SuperWASP to detect additional transiting planets; it is determined that there is a good (> 50 per cent) chance of detecting additional, Saturn-sized planets in P ~ 10 day orbits. Finally, the first-ever attempt to detect the secondary eclipse of a transiting extra-solar planet at radio wavelengths is made. Although no eclipse is conclusively detected, upper limits to the flux density from HD 189733 b are established, and compared to theoretical predictions of the flux due to electron-cyclotron maser emission.

The combined observations of a planet’s transits and the radial velocity variations of its host star allow the determination of the planet’s orbital parameters, and most inter- estingly of its radius and mass, and hence its mean density. Observed densities provide important constraints to planet structure and evolution models. The uncertainties on the parameters of large exoplanets mainly arise from those on stellar masses and radii. For small exoplanets, the treatment of stellar variability limits the accuracy on the de- rived parameters. The goal of this PhD thesis was to reduce these sources of uncertainty by developing new techniques for stellar variability filtering and for the determination of stellar temperatures, and by robustly fitting the transits taking into account external constraints on the planet’s host star. To this end, I developed the Iterative Reconstruction Filter (IRF), a new post-detection stellar variability filter. By exploiting the prior knowledge of the planet’s orbital period, it simultaneously estimates the transit signal and the stellar variability signal, using a com- bination of moving average and median filters. The IRF was tested on simulated CoRoT light curves, where it significantly improved the estimate of the transit signal, particu- lary in the case of light curves with strong stellar variability. It was then applied to the light curves of the first seven planets discovered by CoRoT, a space mission designed to search for planetary transits, to obtain refined estimates of their parameters. As the IRF preserves all signal at the planet’s orbital period, t can also be used to search for secondary eclipses and orbital phase variations for the most promising cases. This en- abled the detection of the secondary eclipses of CoRoT-1b and CoRoT-2b in the white (300–1000 nm) CoRoT bandpass, as well as a marginal detection of CoRoT-1b’s orbital phase variations. The wide optical bandpass of CoRoT limits the distinction between thermal emission and reflected light contributions to the secondary eclipse. I developed a method to derive precise stellar relative temperatures using equiv- alent width ratios and applied it to the host stars of the first eight CoRoT planets. For stars with temperature within the calibrated range, the derived temperatures are con- sistent with the literature, but have smaller formal uncertainties. I then used a Markov Chain Monte Carlo technique to explore the correlations between planet parameters derived from transits, and the impact of external constraints (e.g. the spectroscopically derived stellar temperature, which is linked to the stellar density). Globally, this PhD thesis highlights, and in part addresses, the complexity of perform- ing detailed characterisation of transit light curves. Many low amplitude effects must be taken into account: residual stellar activity and systematics, stellar limb darkening, and the interplay of all available constraints on transit fitting. Several promising areas for further improvements and applications were identified. Current and future high precision photometry missions will discover increasing numbers of small planets around relatively active stars, and the IRF is expected to be useful in characterising them.