Dynamics of Discs and Planets

By Cambridge University

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Category: Science

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Episodes: 27

Description

Ever since the discovery in 1995 of an object with half the mass of Jupiter in a four-day orbit around the star 51 Pegasi, it has been clear that the dynamics of extrasolar planetary systems can be quite different from that of our solar system. More than 200 extrasolar planets have now been found, including at least 20 systems with multiple planets, some in resonant configurations. Their diversity must originate in the properties of the protoplanetary disc of dusty gas out of which they form, the dynamics of the formation of the planetary core, and the subsequent interaction of the planet with the surrounding disc, with other planets, and with the central star. Over the past decade, there has been significant progress on the theoretical aspects of the planet formation process. Two viable models of planet formation have been explored, core accretion (growth of dust into planets through mutual collisions) and gravitational instability in the disc, and several modes of angular momentum exchange between planet and disc have been identified which may explain the proximity of the 51 Peg planet to its star. However, many of the stages of planet formation remain poorly understood. In part this is because of a lack of knowledge of the physical nature of protoplanetary discs, although this has increased dramatically in recent years owing both to observations of the gaseous and dusty components of the discs of pre-main-sequence stars and to computational modelling of their (magneto-) hydrodynamics. The outcome of planet formation is also becoming more tightly constrained, through the growing number of systems known to have either extrasolar planets or planetesimal belts analogous to the asteroid and Kuiper belts. The discovery of planetesimals and dwarf planets in the Kuiper belt beyond Neptune is also leading to a revision in our understanding of the formation and evolution of the outer solar system. The wide array of phenomena seen in all systems is opening up new areas of celestial mechanics. Read more at: http://www.newton.ac.uk/programmes/DDP/

Episode Date
Open problems in terrestrial planet formation
Dec 14, 2009
Determining the internal structure of extrasolar planets, and the phenomenon of retrograde planetary orbits
Dec 01, 2009
Stability and perturbation theory of Hamiltonian systems
Nov 26, 2009
Do we need a rapid dispersal mechanism for protoplanetary discs?
Nov 26, 2009
Chaotic star formation and the alignment of stellar rotation with disc and planetary orbital axes
Nov 11, 2009
Planets in binaries
Nov 11, 2009
Formation of close-in terrestrial planets: inner disk boundary, disk-planet interactions and giant impacts
Nov 11, 2009
Garvoturbulent planetesimal formation - state and prospects of the field
Oct 09, 2009
Triggering gravitational collapse into planetesimals: The streaming instability and other mechanisms
Oct 09, 2009
Magnetic activity and the separation of dust from gas
Oct 09, 2009
Prandtl number dependence of MRI-driven transport : new results and future prospects
Oct 09, 2009
How reliable are MRI simulations? The role of the magnetic Prandtl number
Oct 09, 2009
Magnetic activity in protoplanetary discs
Oct 09, 2009
Planetesimal formation in self-gravitating protostellar discs
Oct 09, 2009
Primary accretion of large planetesimals from chondrule size particles
Oct 09, 2009
On the validity of the super-particle approximation of planetesimals in simulations of gravitational collapse
Oct 09, 2009
Asteroids formed big
Oct 09, 2009
The growth of macroscopic bodies in protoplanetary disks: experimental evidences
Oct 09, 2009
Planetesimal formation: numerical modeling of particle growth, settling, and collective gas-grain interactions
Oct 09, 2009
Models of partially ionized discs
Oct 09, 2009
What meteorites have to say
Oct 09, 2009
Observation and modeling of proto-planetary disks
Oct 09, 2009
Dust, vortices and density waves in protoplanetary disks
Oct 09, 2009
The formation and long-term evolution of circumstellar disks
Oct 09, 2009
Tidal evolution in exoplanets: The case of the two super-Earths around CoRoT 7
Oct 09, 2009
Formation, survival, and destruction of vortices in accretion disks
Oct 09, 2009
Forming planetesimals in solar and extrasolar nebulae
Oct 09, 2009