Exoplanet detection surveys revealed the existence of numerous multi-planetary systems packed close to their stability limit. In this proceeding, we review the mechanism driving the instability of compact systems, originally published in (Petit et al. 2020). Compact systems dynamics are dominated by the interactions between resonances involving triplets of planets. The complex network of three-planet mean motion resonances drives a slow chaotic semi-major axes diffusion, leading to a fast and destructive scattering phase. This model reproduces quantitatively the instability timescale found numerically. We can observe signpost of this process on exoplanet systems architecture. The critical spacing ensuring stability scales as the planet-to star mass ratio to the power 1/4. It explains why the Hill radius is not an adapted measure of dynamical compactness of exoplanet systems, particularly for terrestrial planets. We also provide some insight on the theoretical tools developped in the original work and how they can be of interest in other problems.

Using 2D hydrodynamical simulations, we show that in a low viscosity protoplanetary disc, Jupiter and Saturn get locked in the 2:1 mean motion resonance and migrate slowly inwards, unlike cases at higher viscosities. We conclude that in such discs the scenario of the Grand-Tack is not possible. Additionally, we investigate how the migration of the four (potentially five) giant planets in low viscous discs may affect the initial conditions of another important model for the formation history of our Solar System: the Nice Model. Adding ice giants in our hydrodynamical simulations, we find different possible resonant chains induced by migration. We then let the disc evolve until the gas phase dissipates and study the dynamical stability of the system. We find it possible to recreate the Solar System from such resonant chains, however the likelihood of this outcome remains low.

We re-evaluate the outer edge of orbital stability for possible exomoons orbiting the radial velocity planet discovered in the HD 23079 system. In this system, a solar-type star hosts a Jupiter-mass planet in a nearly circular orbit in the outer stellar habitable zone. The outer stability limit of exomoons is deduced using N-body and tidal migration simulations considering a large range of initial conditions, encompassing both prograde and retrograde orbits. In particular, we extend previous works by evaluating many values in the satellite mean anomaly to identify and exclude regions of quasi-stability. Future observations of this system can make use of our results through a scale factor relative to the currently measured minimum mass. Using a constant time lag tidal model (Hut 1981), we find that plausible tidal interactions within the system are insufficient to induce significant outward migration toward the theoretical stability limit. While current technologies are incapable of detecting exomoons in this system, we comment on the detectability of putative moons through Doppler monitoring within direct imaging observations in view of future research capacities.

We model evolution of exoplanets of S-type in close binary systems at the stage when the companion starts to lose mass via a slow stellar wind. At this stage an accretion disc is formed around the planets’ host. Detailed structure of such discs is calculated in quasi-stationary and non-stationary approaches. We model migration of planets embedded in these discs.

We present 63 new multi-site radial velocity (RV) measurements of the K1III giant HD 76920, which was recently reported to host the most eccentric planet known to orbit an evolved star. We focused our observational efforts on the time around the predicted periastron passage and achieved near-continuous phase coverage of the corresponding RV peak. By combining our RV measurements from four different instruments with previously published ones, we confirm the highly eccentric nature of the system and find an even higher eccentricity of $e=0.8782 \pm 0.0025$ , an orbital period of $415.891^{+0.043}_{-0.039}\,\textrm{d}$ , and a minimum mass of $3.13^{+0.41}_{-0.43}\,\textrm{M}_{\textrm{J}}$ for the planet. The uncertainties in the orbital elements are greatly reduced, especially for the period and eccentricity. We also performed a detailed spectroscopic analysis to derive atmospheric stellar parameters, and thus the fundamental stellar parameters ( $M_*, R_*, L_*$ ), taking into account the parallax from Gaia DR2, and independently determined the stellar mass and radius using asteroseismology. Intriguingly, at periastron, the planet comes to within 2.4 stellar radii of its host star’s surface. However, we find that the planet is not currently experiencing any significant orbital decay and will not be engulfed by the stellar envelope for at least another 50–80 Myr. Finally, while we calculate a relatively high transit probability of 16%, we did not detect a transit in the TESS photometry.

Planetary materials orbiting white dwarf stars reveal the ultimate fate of the planets of the Solar System and all known transiting exoplanets. Observed metal pollution and infrared excesses from debris disks support that planetary systems or their remnants are common around white dwarf stars; however, these planets are difficult to detect since a very high orbital inclination angle is required for a small white dwarf to be transited, and these transits have very short (minute) durations. The low odds of catching individual transits could be overcome by a sufficiently wide and fast photometric survey. I demonstrate that, by obtaining over 100 million images of white dwarf stars with 30-second exposures in its first three years, the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) is likely to record the first exoplanetary transits of white dwarfs, as well as new systems of transiting, disintegrating planetesimals. In these proceedings, I describe my project strategy to discover these systems using the ZTF data.

We revisit the problem of the secular dynamics in two-planet systems in which the planetary orbits exhibit a high value of the mutual inclination. We propose a ‘basic hamiltonian model’ for secular dynamics, parameterized in terms of the system’s Angular Momentum Deficit (AMD). The secular Hamiltonian can be obtained in closed form, using multipole expansions in powers of the distance ratio between the planets, or in the usual Laplace-Lagrange form. The main features of the phase space (number and stability of periodic orbits, bifurcations from the main apsidal corotation resonances, Kozai resonance etc.) can all be recovered by choosing the corresponding terms in the ‘basic Hamiltonian’. Applications include the semi-analytical determination of the actual orbital state of the system using Hamiltonian normalization techniques. An example is discussed referring to the system of two outermost planets of the ν-Andromedae system.

The intrinsic oxygen fugacity of a planet profoundly influences a variety of its geochemical and geophysical aspects. Most rocky bodies in our solar system formed with oxygen fugacities approximately five orders of magnitude higher than that corresponding to a hydrogen-rich gas of solar composition. Here we derive oxygen fugacities of extrasolar rocky bodies from the elemental abundances in 15 white dwarf (WD) stars polluted by accretion of rocks. We find that the intrinsic oxygen fugacities of rocks accreted by the WDs are similar to those of terrestrial planets and asteroids in our solar system. This result suggests that at least some rocky exoplanets are geophysically and geochemically similar to Earth.

We revisit the problem of the existence of KAM tori in extrasolar planetary systems. Specifically, we consider the υ Andromedæ system, by modelling it with a three-body problem. This preliminary study allows us to introduce a natural way to evaluate the robustness of the planetary orbits, which can be very easily implemented in numerical explorations. We apply our criterion to the problem of the choice of a suitable orbital configuration which exhibits strong stability properties and is compatible with the observational data that are available for the υ Andromedæ system itself.

The Lidov-Kozai (LK) resonance is one of the most widely discussed topics since the discovery of exoplanets in eccentric orbits. It constitutes a secular protection mechanism for systems with high mutual inclinations, although large variations in eccentricity and inclination are observed. This review aims to illustrate how the LK resonance influences the dynamics of the three-body problem at different scales, namely i) for two-planet extrasolar systems where the orbital variations occur in a coherent way such that the system remains stable, ii) for inclined planets in protoplanetary discs where the LK cycles are produced by the gravitational force exerted by the disc on the planet, iii) for migrating planets in binary star systems, whose dynamical evolution is strongly affected by the LK resonance even without experiencing a resonance capture, and iv) for triple-star systems for which the migration through LK cycles combined with tidal friction is a possible explanation for the short-period pile-up observed in the distribution of multiple stars.

Planetary material in the atmospheres of white dwarfs is thought to be scattered inwards from outer planetary systems. Dusty emission in the infrared traces the accretion. As the scattering of many small asteroids is a stochastic process, variability in the infrared emission is predicted. We report a 3 year near-infrared (J, H and K) monitoring campaign of 34 dusty, polluted white dwarfs which aims to search for dust emission variability. We find all white dwarfs have consistent near-infrared fluxes, implying the excess emission is stable. This suggests tidal disruption events which lead to large variabilities are rare and quick (<1 year) and become stable within a few years. For WD 0408–041, the system that shows both increases and decreases in dust emission over 11 years, our K band data suggest a potential colour change associated with the dust emission that needs further confirmation.

Hot Jupiters are an extraordinary class of exoplanets, orbiting their host stars with periods of hours to a few days. Some of these objects have day-side temperatures approaching photospheric temperatures of late K-type stars. I will give an overview of how we characterize the atmospheres of these fascinating objects and some the more recent exciting results to come from ground and space-based telescopes, as well as what the future holds for detailed characterization of short-period exoplanet atmospheres.

For the shortest period exoplanets, star-planet tidal interactions are likely to have played a major role in the ultimate orbital evolution of the planets and on the spin evolution of the host stars. Although low-mass stars are magnetically active objects, the question of how the star’s magnetic field impacts the excitation, propagation and dissipation of tidal waves remains open. We have derived the magnetic contribution to the tidal interaction and estimated its amplitude throughout the structural and rotational evolution of low-mass stars (from K to F-type). We find that the star’s magnetic field has little influence on the excitation of tidal waves in nearly circular and coplanar Hot-Jupiter systems, but that it has a major impact on the way waves are dissipated.

Obliquity (axial tilt) and its variability could play an important role in the climate and habitability of a planet. We explore the spin-axis dynamics of two specific habitable zone exoplanets, Kepler-62f and Kepler-186f, using numerical and analytical techniques. Based on our current understanding of their orbital architecture, we find that, in contrast with the typical conditions in the Solar System, Kepler-62f and 186f should have low obliquity variations except in fine-tuned conditions. Extra undetected planetary companions and/or the existence of a satellite could either stabilize or destabilize obliquities at a variety of values.

The search for life in the Universe is intertwined with studies of extrasolar planets aimed at identifying and understanding habitable rocky planets, including those similar in size, bulk composition, planetary environment, and evolution to Earth. The past five years have seen dramatic progress in our understanding of the small (1–4 REarth) planet population. Here we briefly review key results on the occurrence rates of small planets, the first evidence for compositional diversity of these worlds, early results on the characterization of their atmospheres, and the progress toward finding and interpreting potentially habitable planets orbiting the closest stars. We also briefly highlight next steps in furthering our understanding of the origins and properties of habitable worlds.

Younger and fully convective stars are much more active than our Sun, producing many superflares. Here we estimate the impact of the superflares UV radiation on living organisms on the surface of orbiting planets in the habitable zone of the star. For this we study two active stars, Kepler-96 (solar type) and TRAPPIST-1 (M dwarf). Kepler-96, with an age of 2.4 Gyr, is at the same stage of the Sun when the first multicellular organisms appeared on Earth. The biological impact of super flares are studied on a hypothetical Earth at 1AU of Kepler-96 and on planets TRAPPIST-1e, f, and g for three atmospheres scenarios: an Archean and Present-day atmospheres with and without ozone. We estimated the survival rates of two bacteria and concluded that life would only survive on the surface of these planets if their atmosphere had an ozone layer, or in shallow waters of an ocean.

In order to determine the true impact of stellar multiplicity on the formation and evolution of planets, we initiated direct imaging surveys to search for (sub)stellar companions of exoplanet host stars on close orbits, as their gravitational impact on the planet bearing disk at first and on formed planets afterwards is expected to be maximal. According to theory these are the most challenging environments for planet formation and evolution but might occur quite frequently in the milky way, due to the large number of multiple stars within our galaxy. On this poster we showed results, obtained so far in the course of our AO and Lucky-imaging campaigns of exoplanet host stars, conducted with NACO/ESO-VLT for southern and with AstraLux/CAHA2.2m for northern targets, respectively. In addition, we introduced our new high contrast imaging survey with SPHERE/ESO-VLT to search for close companions of southern exoplanet host stars, and presented some first results.

We continue to investigate the binary system Kepler-16, consisting of a K-type main-sequence star, a red dwarf and a circumbinary Saturnian planet. As part of our study, we describe the system's habitable zone based on different climate models. We also report on stability investigations for possible Earth-mass Trojans while expanding a previous study by B. L. Quarles and collaborators given in 2012. For the climate models, we carefully consider the relevance of the system's parameters. Furthermore, we pursue new stability simulations for the Earth-mass objects starting along the orbit of Kepler-16b. The eccentricity distribution as obtained prefers values close to circular, whereas the inclination distribution remains flat. The stable solutions are distributed near the co-orbital Lagrangian points, thus enhancing the plausibility that Earth-mass Trojans might be able to exist in the Kepler-16(AB) system.

Over the years the European Southern Observatory (ESO) has offered a number of time-domain instruments that enable the user to achieve time resolution as small as milliseconds. They have been used for a wide range of applications, from binary studies with Lunar occultations, characterisation of X-ray binaries and exoplanet transits, to quasar variability. Furthermore, ESO provides a target-of-opportunity (ToO) rapid-response-mode (RRM) channel to trigger quick follow-up observations within as little delay as minutes after a transient has been detected. This talk reviewed the available time-domain observing modes and instruments at ESO, giving priority to FORS2, HAWKI and UltraCam. It described the ToO and RRM, and gave examples of the most common science cases that take advantage of those channels and capabilities.