PHYS/ASTR Colloquium: "An Exploration of Exoplanet Architectures Through The Lens of Stellar Obliquities" - Dr. Alex Polanski (Postdoc, Lowell Observatory)
Overview
Speaker: Alex Polanski
Host: John Brewer
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Title:
An Exploration of Exoplanet Architectures Through The Lens of Stellar Obliquities
Abstract:
The discovery of thousands of exoplanets has revealed a diversity of system architectures which has shed light on the various formation mechanisms that shape the planet landscape we observe today. In this talk, I will discuss exoplanet architectures in the context of stellar obliquities, i.e. the angle between a planet’s orbit and its star’s spin axis. I will highlight work being done to understand the effect of binary companions on close-in giant planets and discuss what the emerging picture of small-planet obliquities is telling us about the formation of multiplanet systems. Additionally, I will present a new survey that will investigate the effects Jovian-analog planets have on potential inner systems of small planets.
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