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G. Laughlin (UCSC)
The detection of short-period extrasolar planets that transit their host stars has allowed accurate measurements of the planetary masses and radii. This information has led to a number of surprises. While the sizes of planets such as TrES-1 appear to conform to theoretical predictions, the planets orbiting HD 209458 and HD 189733 are larger than expected, whereas the radius of HD 149026b is anomalously small. In this talk, I will review the current theoretical efforts to explain the diversity of observed planetary structures, and I will give an overview of what the current census of transiting planets implies with regards to the overall process of giant planet formation and evolution.
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 37 #4
© 2005. The American Astronomical Soceity.