Collaborative Research: Tracing the Evolution of Planetary Systems

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Debris disks, the disks of dust around many stars, are the places where planets form. We have, so far, observed the dust and grains of different brightness in twenty-four debris disks around other stars. We still, however, do not know the detailed properties of these grains. Debris disks are examples for studies of how planetary systems form and change with time. The investigators will use the Gemini South Observatory telescope's Gemini Planet Imager (GPI) Integral Field Spectrograph and Polarimeter to observe the properties of the dust in many debris disks in detail, including grain colors, sizes, compositions, and how thick the grains are in the disks. They will combine these observations with data from other telescopes to provide an overall picture of the properties of the dust grains in different debris disks. The results of this research help to find our Solar System's place with other planetary systems. This program serves the national interest by increasing our understanding of how the early Solar System and other planetary systems formed. The investigators will make a program and video that explain the new GPI instrument, and the science we can learn using it, for the general public. Circumstellar accretion disks (debris disks), the dusty disks around main sequence stars, are the likely sites of planet formation. To date, twenty-four debris disks have been spatially resolved in scattered light, revealing the location of the dust and the reflectivities of the grains. The detailed properties of these grains are, however, not well understood. Debris disks serve as laboratories for studies of planetary system formation and evolution that help to place our Solar System into context with other planetary systems. Gemini Planet Imager Integral Field Spectrograph (IFS) and Polarimeter observations planned by these investigators will provide an unprecedented opportunity to discern grain properties. IFS observations will be sensitive to spectral features and will better constrain the color of the scattered light, therefore constraining the particle composition and size. Polarimetry will allow us to determine the difference between particle size and porosity. This team will combine the GPI observations with complementary high contrast imaging and thermal mapping data from the Hubble Space Telescope, Magellan Adaptive Optics, and Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array to develop holistic models that will significantly improve our understanding of the materials available during the late stages of planetary system formation. The investigators will create a program that showcases the new GPI instrument, including a video to explain the instrument and the science it enables, for the general public.