Dr. Ryan Cloutier or link

Book (optional): Fundamental Planetary Science: Physics, Chemistry, and Habitability by Lissauer, J.J. & de Pater, I. (ISBN 9781108411981)

  • warm-up quizzes b4 classes, post-lecture quizzes
    • Participation marks for pre, post will be graded
  • 3 in-class tests
    • Jan 25th
    • Feb 15th
    • March 21st
  • 3 take-home assignments, due date as hard copies, at the beginning of the class:
    • Feb 1st
    • March 7th
    • April 4th
  • 1 finals

Overview

  1. Our solar system in the context of exoplanetary systems
  2. Exoplanet discovery techniques
    • Transits + Transit Timing Variations
    • Radial velocity
    • Astrometry
    • Direct Imaging
    • Gravitational microlensing
  3. Orbital mechanics
    • Kepler’s laws,
    • Gravity, angular momentum, and energy
    • Orbital resonances
    • 3-body dynamics
    • Tides
  4. Heating & Cooling
    • Blackbody radiation
    • Star-planet interactions
    • Greenhouse effect
  5. Planetary Atmospheres
    • Thermal structure
    • Energy transport
    • Cloud formation
    • Composition
    • Exoplanet transmission spectra
  6. Planetary Interiors
    • Bulk density and composition
    • Mass-radius relation
  7. Exoplanet formation/demographics
    • Core accretion
    • Measuring occurrence rates
    • Observed occurrence rates and formation inferences