The discovery of extrasolar planets in recent years has opened a new field of astronomy and spurred a rapid rise in observational and theoretical research. This text introduces planetary systems and explores them from all aspects.

Over the past ten years, the discovery of extrasolar planets has opened a new field of astronomy, and this area of research is rapidly growing, from both the observational and theoretical point of view. The presence of many giant exoplanets in the close vicinity of their star shows that these newly discovered planetary systems are very different from the solar system. New theoretical models are being developed in order to understand their formation scenarios, and new observational methods are being implemented to increase the sensitivity of exoplanet detections.

In the present book, the authors address the question of planetary systems from all aspects. Starting from the facts (the detection of more than 300 extraterrestrial planets), they first describe the various methods used for these discoveries and propose a synthetic analysis of their global properties. They then consider the observations of young stars and circumstellar disks and address the case of the solar system as a specific example, different from the newly discovered systems. Then the study of planetary systems and of exoplanets is presented from a more theoretical point of view. The book ends with an outlook to future astronomical projects, and a description of the search for life on exoplanets. This book addresses students and researchers who wish to better understand this newly expanding field of research.

Addresses students and researchers entering the field of planetary systems astronomy Discusses both observational and theoretical aspects of formation, detection and habitability of extrasolar planets, as well as the search for extra-terrestrial life With an appendix reviewing basic astronomical knowledge relevant for the book Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Inhalt
Planetary Systems.- Detection Methods.- Extrasolar Planets, 12 Years After the First Discovery.- What we Learn from the Solar System.- Stellar Formation and Protoplanetary Disks.- The Dynamics of Planetary Systems.- Structure and Evolution of an Exoplanet.- Present and Future Instrumental Projects.- The Search for Life in Planetary Systems.