Postdoctoral Fellowship: AAPF: Investigating the Origins of Hot Jupiters Orbiting A-type Stars

Steven Giacalone被授予美国国家科学基金会天文学和天体物理学奖学金，在加州理工学院开展一项研究和教育计划。贾卡龙号将对围绕a型恒星运行的热木星（HJs）进行观测，以更好地了解它们的性质和人口特征。这个项目的结果将为这些巨大的行星是如何到达它们的近距离轨道提供新的见解。对于该项目的教育部分，Giacalone将为附近社区大学学习物理和天文学的学生开发并领导一个年度编程研讨会。利用凌日系外行星巡天卫星（Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite）探测到的行星，本研究将确定(1)HJs在a型恒星周围是否比在温度较低的恒星周围更常见，(2)a型恒星的自转轴与HJs轨道轴之间的角度是否符合理论迁移机制，以及(3)围绕a型恒星运行的HJs的大气成分是否表明在原行星盘的外部区域形成。通过这些研究，研究者将提高我们对HJs形成和动力学历史的认识，其确切起源仍然知之甚少。这项工作还将通过直接成像和天文测量调查来补充当前和未来对长周期巨行星的研究。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Steven Giacalone is awarded an NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Fellowship to carry out a program of research and education at the California Institute of Technology. Giacalone will conduct observations of transiting hot Jupiters (HJs) orbiting A-type stars to better understand their properties and demographics. Results from this project will provide novel insight into how these giant planets arrive at their close-in orbits. For the education component of this project, Giacalone will develop and lead an annual coding workshop for students studying physics and astronomy at nearby community colleges.Using planets detected by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, this research will determine if (1) HJs are more common around A-type stars than they are around cooler stars, (2) the angles between the spin axes of A-type stars and the orbital axes of their HJs are consistent with theorized migration mechanisms, and (3) the atmospheric compositions of HJs orbiting A-type stars are indicative of formation in the outer regions of protoplanetary disks. With these studies, the investigator will improve our knowledge of the formation and dynamical histories of HJs, the precise origins of which are still poorly understood. This work will also complement concurrent and future studies of long-period giant planets possible through direct imaging and astrometric surveys.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.