Can we detect the moons of extrasolar planets? For two decades, astronomers have made enormous progress in the detection and characterisation of exoplanetary systems but the identification of an "exomoon" is notably absent. In this thesis, David Kipping shows how transiting planets may be used to infer the presence of exomoons through deviations in the time and duration of the planetary eclipses. A detailed account of the transit model, potential distortions, and timing techniques is covered before the analytic forms for the timing variations are derived. It is shown that habitable-zone exomoons above 0.2 Earth-masses are detectable with the Kepler space telescope using these new timing techniques.

An unprecedented number of planets outside of the solar system have been found, with an explosion in the number of discoveries in recent years. Find out what has been happening in this rapidly advancing arena of human exploration, what these extrasolar planets are like, and why some traditional ideas face being thrown out.

The detectability of moons of extra-solar planets is investigated, focussing on the time-of-arrival perturbation technique, a method for detecting moons of pulsar planets, and the photometric transit timing technique, a method for detecting moons of transiting planets. Realistic thresholds are derived and analysed in the in the context of the types of moons that are likely to form and be orbitally stable for the lifetime of the system.For the case of the time-of-arrival perturbation technique, the analysis is conducted in two stages. First, a preliminary investigation is conducted assuming that planet and moon's orbit are circular and coplanar. This analysis is then applied to the case of the pulsar planet PSR B1620-26 b, and used to conclude that a stable moon orbiting this pulsar planet could be detected, if its mass was >5% of its planet's mass (2.5 Jupiter masses), and if the planet-moon distance was ~2% of the planet-pulsar separation (23 AU). Time-of-arrival expressions are then derived for mutually inclined as well as non-circular orbits.For the case of the photometric transit timing technique, a different approach is adopted. First, analytic expressions for the timing perturbation due to the moon are derived for the case where the orbit of the moon is circular and coplanar with that of the planet and where the planet's orbit is circular and aligned to the line-of-sight, circular and inclined with respect to the line-of-sight or eccentric and aligned to the line-of-sight. It is found that when the velocity of the moon is small with respect to the velocity at which the planet-moon barycenter transits the star, that the timing perturbation could be well approximated by a sinusoid. Second, the timing noise is investigated analytically, for the case of white photometric noise, and numerically, using SOHO lightcurves, for the case of realistic and filtered realistic photometric noise. It is found the timing noise is normally distributed and uncorrelated for planets likely to host large moons. In addition it is found that realistic stellar photometric noise results in a dramatic increase in the standard deviation of the timing noise, which is not entirely reversed by filtering. Finally, using the method of generalised likelihood ratio testing, the work on the form of the timing perturbation due to a moon, and the behaviour of the timing noise are combined to derive both approximate analytic, and exact numerical thresholds. In particular, a Monte Carlo simulation is run which investigates thresholds for the cases of aligned, inclined and eccentric planet orbits for white, filtered and realistic photometric noise for a range of planet masses (10 Jupiter masses, 1 Jupiter mass, 1 Uranus mass and 1 Earth mass) and semi-major axes (0.2AU, 0.4AU and 0.6AU). Assuming Kepler quality data, it is found that for the case where the photometric noise is white, physically realistic moons could be detected for gas giant host planets, while for the case where the photometric noise is dominated by intrinsic stellar noise, filtering allows the detection of physically realistic moons for planets with a mass of 10 Jupiter masses.

A complete and in-depth review of exoplanet research, covering the discovery methods, physics and theoretical background.

The discovery of planets around stars other than the Sun within the past 15 years has opened up one of the largest and most exciting new fields in modern astronomy. The transit method of detecting exoplanets has revealed more information about individual planets than any other method of detection. This volume, the proceedings of IAU Symposium 253, contains a description of the latest development in the field of transiting extrasolar planets. Topical reviews and short contributions from more than one hundred authors present the latest results in the field, from the photometric transit searches for transiting planets, through observational studies of these planets, to the consequences for theories of planet formation, evolution and planetary atmospheres. Presenting the latest research, it is an important resource for graduate students and researchers working in astronomy and planetary sciences.

Provides an overview of the developments in the search for planetary-sized bodies orbiting Sun-like stars. Discusses the formation and evolution of stars and the processes leading to the formation of protoplanetary discs, planetesimals, embryonic planets and complete planetary systems. Also examined are the techniques currently being employed for the detection of extrasolar planets and the results of those searches, as well as the theoretical problems posed by giant planets with small orbital radii and those in eccentric orbits, brown dwarfs, and the possible planets around pulsars. The final chapter speculates on finding habitable and inhabited worlds. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Research on extrasolar planets is one of the most exciting fields of activity in astrophysics. In a decade only, a huge step forward has been made from the early speculations on the existence of planets orbiting "other stars" to the first discoveries and to the characterization of extrasolar planets. This breakthrough is the result of a growing interest of a large community of researchers as well as the development of a wide range of new observational techniques and facilities. Based on their lectures given at the 31st Saas-Fee Advanced Course, Andreas Quirrenbach, Tristan Guillot and Pat Cassen have written up up-to-date comprehensive lecture notes on the "Detection and Characterization of Extrasolar Planets", "Physics of Substellar Objects Interiors, Atmospheres, Evolution" and "Protostellar Disks and Planet Formation". This book will serve graduate students, lecturers and scientists entering the field of extrasolar planets as detailed and comprehensive introduction.