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