Astronomy Colloquium

Towards a Unified picture of Planet Formation

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Date: Thursday, March 20th

Time: 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm

Place: 4421 Sterling Hall

Speaker: Songhu Wang, Indiana University

Abstract: While the exoplanetary field is replete with remarkable discoveries, perhaps the two most intriguing findings have been the detection of hot Jupiters – giant planets orbiting perilously close to their parent stars, and the startling abundance of super-Earths – planets with masses between that of Earth and Neptune. The mere existence of these worlds was wholly unpredicted based on the expectations gleaned from centuries of observations of our own solar system. This talk will examine the demographics and orbital architectures of these exoplanets, discussing how the sheer variety of observed exoplanetary systems can be explained within a unified theoretical framework.

Host: Melinda Soares-Furtado

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