American Astronomical Society – Division on Dynamical Astronomy

Currently, there are more than 100 confirmed multiple-planet systems. Moreover, a recent study by Kepler has identified 361 multiple-planet candidate systems. Investigating these systems would give us an important clue in understanding formation and evolution of planetary systems. In such multiple-planet systems, secular interactions among planets could play a significant role in determining the orbital evolution and/or the fate of planetary systems. In this talk, I'll focus on two such examples --orbital evolution of multiple-planet systems with a close-in planet, and orbital stability of terrestrial planets in the presence of multiple Jupiter-like planets. In the former case, tidal interactions between the inner planet and the central star could influence the orbital evolution of the other planets. While in the latter, the orbital stability region of terrestrial planets could be significantly different from what we expect from the current observations, if we take account of the dynamical instability of Jupiter-like planets.