Dynamics of Extrasolar Planetary Systems

第一个太阳系外的行星系统大约在六年前被探测到。到目前为止，在类太阳恒星附近已经发现了近100颗系外行星。这些系外行星的发现无疑将大大提高我们对行星形成、结构和演化过程的理解，以及对诸如宇宙中是否存在外星生命等更深层次问题的理解。对太阳系外行星的探索和特征描述，现在已经成为欧洲和美国科学研究的头等大事。该项目将解决许多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，例如密集星团中的行星或围绕中子星等坍缩物体运行的行星。特别地，将使用结合轨道动力学和数值流体动力学技术的超级计算模拟来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态相互作用的结果（如潮汐与“热木星”的相互作用，或通过“行星消耗”增强金属丰度）也将使用恒星演化和流体动力学计算的结合来研究。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都是至关重要的

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.***