Characterization of exoplanet hosts

Spectroscopic analysis of exoplanet hosts and the stellar sample from which they are drawn provides abundances and other properties that quantitively constrain models of planet formation. The program Spectroscopy Made Easy (SME) determines stellar parameters by fitting observed spectra, though line lists must be selected wisely. For giant planets, it is now well established that stars with higher metallicity are more likely to have detected companions. Stellar metallicity does not seem to affect the formation and/or migration of detectable planets less massive than Neptune, especially when considering only the most massive planet in the system. In systems with at least one planet less than 10 times the mass of Earth, the mass of the most massive planet increases dramatically with host star metallicity. This may reflect metallicity dependent timescales for core formation, envelope accretion, and/or migration into the detection zone