Theses

The solar system is filled with collisional families, each consisting of several objects all generated though a single historical collision. There are hundreds of known familes in the asteroid belt, but only one known family in the Kuiper Belt (an icy, rocky region beyond Neptune). The age of young asteroid collisional families is often determined by using reversed simulations (i.e. backwards integration) of the solar system. This method is not used for discovering young asteroid families and is limited by unpredictable factors unique to the Asteroid Belt (e.g. the Yarkovsky Effect). The Kuiper Belt is absent of these unpredictabilities, and thus it was theorized that backwards integrations could be an advantageous method for both Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) family finding and characterization. Such integrations are ambitious and would require high accuracy over long timescales (∼ billions of years). This thesis outlines work done examining the feasibility of backwards integration as a method of family-finding, and specifically delves into the associated challenges.

Thousands of asteroid-like objects reside in the Kuiper Belt Region. For accurate dynamical classification, the precision of their orbits needs rigorously tested. Using an analysis pipeline we created, we generated 30 statistically-weighted orbital clones for over 2000 Kuiper Belt Objects(KBOs). These orbits are integrated backwards in time 50 Myr. We created a database from the propagated orbits, from which we calculated the proper orbital elements for each KBO. We used the method established by Ragozzine and Brown (2007) to determine each KBOs relation to the dwarf planet Haumea. Currently, we have more than tripled the number of Haumea Family Members established by Ragozzine and Brown (2007). We conclude that other collisional families can befound using similar methods applied to Haumea and the orbital database we created.

As the study of exoplanets, planets not in our solar system, has developed, new observational constraints have illuminated the formation and evolution of planetary systems. Among these observations, the true distributions of planetary mass, radius, and density are at the forefront. NASA's Kepler Space Telescope has provided an enormous wealth of data on the exoplanet radius distribution as well as a significant fraction of mass measurements through the detection of planet-planet dynamical interactions. The best method for studying these exoplanetary systems is with a photodynamical model which combines an n-body integrator with lightcurve model to generate synthetic lightcurves. To support photodynamical modeling, we have utilized the PhotoDynamical Multiplanet Model (PhoDyMM) which combines a photodynamical model with a Differential Evolution Markov Chain Monte Carlo (DEMCMC) algorithm for Bayesian parameter inference. PhoDyMM can easily work with arbitrary Kepler systems, enabling the self-consistent analysis of all Kepler systems of multiple exoplanets (multis). Using PhoDyMM, we construct converged posterior distributions for all of the physical and orbital parameters for 661 out of the 719 Kepler multis. This catalog of planetary parameters is known as the Kepler Multis Dynamical Catalog (KMDC) and is the largest, most complete database of planetary parameters to date. Due to its homogeneous construction, the KMDC can readily allow for the extension from studying a single system to accessing trends across the population of Kepler multis. One such analysis that we perform is applying an interior modeling software to a subset of 830 planets across 465 systems. This software is able to construct posterior distributions for a four component interior consisting of an H/He atmosphere, water/ice layer, silicate mantle, and iron core. The results of which were then able to show the probable compositional distribution for a considerable subpopulation of the Kepler multis and support current theories such as the cause of the Kepler Radius Gap. Finally, we also demonstrate that by requiring stable configurations of exoplanetary systems, it is possible to further constrain the physical and orbital parameters of the Kepler multis which can therefore enhance the values given in the KMDC.