Date/Time
Date(s) - 07/09/2016
3:30 pm - 4:30 pm

Title: Connecting the orbital and structural properties of exoplanets with their formation

Speaker: Dr. Ralph Pudritz

Institute: McMaster University

Location: ABB 102

Description:

With over three thousand confirmed exoplanets now known, distinct planetary populations that bear little resemblance to the Solar System can be discerned. Among these are Hot Jupiters orbiting at the relative orbit of Mercury, warm and more massive Jupiters at orbital radii of the Earth, and the dominant population of SuperEarths and mini-Neptunes with their close-in orbits. Exoplanets also have a wide range in densities and atmospheric properties. How does this rich exoplanetary zoo arise from the physics of a population of dusty, gaseous disks observed around all young stars? In this talk, I will outline some of the startling observational advances â?? from the structure of protoplanetary disks as revealed by the ALMA telescope, to probes of composition of planetary atmospheres. I will then discuss some of the basic physical processes that play a central role in planet formation in evolving protoplanetary disks. My group has developed a theoretical semi-analytic framework for planet formation that emphasizes the role of inhomogeneities in chemically and dynamically evolving disks that can dynamically trap forming planets. These imprint characteristic dynamical and chemical signatures on exoplanetary populations that could be observed by upcoming James Webb Space Telescope observations.