Dynamics of Extrasolar Planetary Systems

我们太阳系外的第一个行星系统是大约六年前探测到的。到目前为止，已经在附近的类似太阳的恒星周围探测到了近100颗太阳系外行星。太阳系外行星的这些发现无疑将大大改善我们对许多与行星形成、结构和演化有关的过程的理解，以及更深层次的问题，如宇宙中是否存在地外生命。无论是在欧洲还是在美国，太阳系外行星的搜寻和表征现在都已成为一项首要的科学任务。这个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恒星，例如密集星团中的行星或中子星等坍塌物体周围的轨道上的行星。特别是，太阳系外行星系统的动力稳定性和最终命运将使用结合轨道动力学和数值流体力学技术的超级计算模拟来研究。我们还将结合恒星演化和流体力学计算，研究行星系统与其中心恒星之间的动力学相互作用的后果(如与热木星的潮汐相互作用，或通过‘行星消耗’而增强的金属丰度)。所有这些问题对于我们从理论上解释新的太阳系外行星观测数据至关重要。*

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.***