Exoplanets and Stellar Physics

Abstract:

The Monitor project** is a large scale photometric monitoring survey of ten star forming regions and open clusters aged between 1 and 200 Myr using wide-field optical cameras on 2-4 m telescopes worldwide. The primary goal of the project is to search for close-in planets and brown dwarfs at young ages through the detection of transit events. Such detections would provide unprecedented constraints on planet formation and migration time-scales, as well as on evolutionary models of planets and brown dwarfs in an age range where such constraints are very scarce. Additional science goals include rotation period measurements and the analysis of flares and accretion-related variability. © 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.

Abstract:

Magnetoencephalography (MEG) is a non-invasive technique of functional imaging which measures weak magnetic fields in the brain due to the currents generated from neural synapses. MEG systems contain a couple of hundred channels, making it difficult to visualize the raw measurements directly. As an alternative to rendering epileptic data, we demonstrate how MEG measurements can be mapped to a cortical surface by using a software package called FreeSurfer. We fuse MEG data with Magnetic Resonance Image (MRI) by plotting the MEG amplitude on top of the MRI images of gray matter surface. In addition to the surface, we render the MEG intensity in the convoluted regions, e.g. sulci, by computationally "inflating" the brain. These techniques are utilized for experimental study currently, and can be extended for diagnostic purposes in the future. © 2006 IEEE.

Abstract:

We review the observations of extrasolar planets, ongoing developments in theories of planet formation, orbital migration and the evolution of multiplanet systems. © 2006 IOP Publishing Ltd.