Dynamics of Extrasolar Planetary Systems

AST-0206182 PI Rasio我们太阳系以外的第一个行星系统大约在六年前被发现。到目前为止，在附近的类太阳恒星周围已经发现了近100颗太阳系外行星。这些太阳系外行星的发现无疑将大大提高我们对行星形成、结构和演化过程的认识，以及对宇宙中是否存在外星生命等更深层次问题的认识。对太阳系外行星的搜寻和定性已经成为欧洲和美国科学界的首要任务。 该项目将解决一些关于其他恒星周围行星系统形成和演化的理论问题，包括那些与太阳环境截然不同的行星系统，例如密集星星群中的行星或围绕中子星等坍缩物体的轨道。特别是，将利用联合收割机轨道动力学和数值流体力学技术的超级计算机模拟研究太阳系外行星系统的动力学稳定性和最终命运。行星系统和它们的中心恒星之间的动力学相互作用的后果（如潮汐与“热彗星”的相互作用，或通过“行星消耗”的金属丰度增强）也将使用恒星演化和流体动力学计算相结合的研究。所有这些问题对于我们对太阳系外行星新观测数据的理论解释至关重要。

AST-0206182PI RasioThe first planetary systems outside our own Solar System were detected about six yearsago. By now close to 100 extrasolar planets have been detected around nearby, solar-likestars. These discoveries of extrasolar planets will no doubt lead to significantimprovements in our understanding of many processes related to planet formation, structure and evolution, as well as deeper questions such as the existence of extraterrestrial life in the Universe. The search for, and characterization of, extrasolar planets has nowbecome a top scientific priority both in Europe and in the United States. This project will address a number of theoretical questions concerning the formation and evolution of planetary systems around other stars, including those in drastically different environments than the Sun, such as planets in dense star clusters or in orbits around collapsed objects like neutron stars. In particular, the dynamical stability and final fate of extrasolar planetary systems will be studied using supercomputing simulations that combine the techniques of orbital dynamics and numerical hydrodynamics. The consequences of dynamical interactions between planetary systems and their central stars (such as tidal interactions with 'hot Jupiters', or metallicity enhancements through 'planet consumption') will also be studied using a combination of stellar evolution and hydrodynamics calculations. All these questions are crucial to our theoretical interpretation of the new observational data on extrasolar planets.***