Development and Application of Tools to Characterize Transiting Astrophysical Systems

Abstract

Since the discovery of the first exoplanets (planets outside our Solar System) more than 20 years ago, there has been an increasing need for photometric and spectroscopic models to characterize these systems. While imaging has been used extensively for Solar System bodies and extended objects like galaxies, the small angular extent of typical planetary systems makes it difficult or impossible to resolve them. Spatially integrated observations like measuring the total brightness or spectrum, however, can be conducted at a resonable cost. This thesis focuses on photometric models in the context of transiting systems, which exhibit a number of phenomena that can be exploited for characterization.