Bridging the Gap: Linking Disk Observations to Exoplanet Demographics

Event Date:
2025-01-27T16:00:00
2025-01-27T17:00:00
Event Location:
HENN 318
Speaker:
Ilaria Pascucci, University of Arizona
Related Upcoming Events:
Astronomy Colloquia
Intended Audience:
Everyone
Local Contact:

Allison Man (aman@phas.ubc.ca) and Brett Gladman (gladman@astro.ubc.ca)

All are welcome to this event!

Event Information:

Abstract:

How did our Solar System and other planetary systems form? Which systems are most likely to host habitable worlds?  These are 
critical questions as we plan for missions capable of detecting Earth analogues and search for atmospheric signatures of life. I will 
discuss how linking multi-wavelength observations of disks around young stars and exoplanet demographics shed light on these questions. First, I will present evidence for a dominant mechanism to form giant planets. Next, I will summarize an ongoing effort to constrain how the most common planets, sub-Neptunes and super-Earths, form and evolve. I will conclude by discussing how upcoming facilities will further these studies and their role in reconstructing the paths to habitable worlds.

Bio:

My research is directed towards understanding how planets form and evolve and how common are planetary systems like our own Solar system. To this end, my group carries out observations aimed at characterizing the physical and chemical evolution of gaseous dust disks around young stars, the birth sites of planets. In addition, we use exoplanet surveys to re-construct the intrinsic frequency of planets around mature stars. By linking the birth sites of planets to the exoplanet populations, we contribute to building a comprehensive and predictive planet formation theory, a necessary step in identifying which nearby stars most likely host a habitable planet like Earth.

Learn More:

Add to Calendar 2025-01-27T16:00:00 2025-01-27T17:00:00 Bridging the Gap: Linking Disk Observations to Exoplanet Demographics Event Information: Abstract: How did our Solar System and other planetary systems form? Which systems are most likely to host habitable worlds?  These are critical questions as we plan for missions capable of detecting Earth analogues and search for atmospheric signatures of life. I will discuss how linking multi-wavelength observations of disks around young stars and exoplanet demographics shed light on these questions. First, I will present evidence for a dominant mechanism to form giant planets. Next, I will summarize an ongoing effort to constrain how the most common planets, sub-Neptunes and super-Earths, form and evolve. I will conclude by discussing how upcoming facilities will further these studies and their role in reconstructing the paths to habitable worlds. Bio: My research is directed towards understanding how planets form and evolve and how common are planetary systems like our own Solar system. To this end, my group carries out observations aimed at characterizing the physical and chemical evolution of gaseous dust disks around young stars, the birth sites of planets. In addition, we use exoplanet surveys to re-construct the intrinsic frequency of planets around mature stars. By linking the birth sites of planets to the exoplanet populations, we contribute to building a comprehensive and predictive planet formation theory, a necessary step in identifying which nearby stars most likely host a habitable planet like Earth. Learn More: See her personal website here: http://ilariapascucci.com/ View her faculty webpage here: https://www.lpl.arizona.edu/faculty/ilaria-pascucci Learn more about planetary systems projects from NASA: https://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/solarsystem/planetarysystems/projects Check out the NASA exoplanet archive: https://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/docs/counts_detail.html  Event Location: HENN 318