CAREER: Planet Formation in the Age of Kepler

该奖项将支持西北大学的Lithwick教授进一步开发新技术，将分析公式与统计技术相结合，根据开普勒行星的凌日计时变化(TTV)独立测量开普勒行星的重要物理和轨道属性。这些结果将被用来回答诸如行星密度和轨道参数如何取决于间距、多重性、轨道周期、金属丰度等问题。这些结果将使更详细的理论研究能够理解具有多颗地球和海王星大小的行星的系统是如何形成的，这些行星的轨道比水星的更近。主要的工具将是通过吸积建立行星的N体模拟，其中间接考虑了气盘的衰减。在可能的情况下，这一过程将由分析理论指导，由此产生的行星和轨道性质的分布将受到开普勒TTV的限制。根据该奖项开展的工作将提供大量行星系统的质量和轨道性质的测量。然后，PI将能够对这些系统的形成进行建模，以更好地理解为什么我们自己的行星系统与开普勒发现的绝大多数行星系统如此不同。在他的综合研究和教育计划中，利思威克教授将利用系外行星的广泛吸引力，开发计算机建模，并将其引入芝加哥地区高中的科学课程。他将主要通过为高中教师举办的研讨会来开发和分享工具和课程材料，然后这些教师将与学生一起做涉及系外行星计算机建模的独立项目。国际学生联合会将与师生小组进行磋商，并参观每一所学校。他还将为学生组织为期一天的研讨会，介绍他们的成果。

This award will support Professor Lithwick of Northwestern University to further develop novel techniques that combine analytical formulae with statistical techniques to independently measure important physical and orbital properties of Kepler planets from their Transit Timing Variations (TTV). These results will be used to answer questions such as how planet density and orbital parameters depend on spacing, multiplicity, orbital period, metallicity, etc. These results will enable more detailed theoretical studies to understand how systems with multiple Earth to Neptune sized planets in orbits closer than Mercury's are formed. The principal tool will be N-body simulations of the build up of planets by accretion in which damping by a gas disk is indirectly accounted for. The procedure will be guided where possible by analytical theory, and the resulting distributions of planet and orbital properties will be constrained by Kepler TTV's. The work to be carried out under this award will provide measurements the mass and orbital properties of a large number of planetary systems. The PI will then be able to model the formation of these systems to better understand why our own planetary system is so different from the vast majority discovered with Kepler. In his approach to an integrated research and education plan, Professor Lithwick will take advantage of the broad appeal of exoplanets to develop and introduce computer modeling into the science curriculum at Chicago-area high schools. He will primarily develop and share tools and curriculum materials through workshops for high school teachers, who will then work with student doing independent projects involving computer modeling of exoplanets. The PI will consult with the teacher-student teams and visit each school. He will also organize a one-day symposium for students to present their results.