GEPOD: Global Evolution of Planet-fOrming Disks

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Observations of exoplanets have revealed an astonishing diversity of planetary system configurations, which raises a fundamental question: How do initial conditions and the dynamical evolution of the birth-sites of planets (protoplanetary disks) influence the properties of exoplanets? It is unclear what drives the evolution of the disks while planets are forming, and how these conditions are determined by the stellar properties. Observing and modeling disks at various stages of evolution across large stellar properties is therefore crucial to constrain current theories of planet formation. GEPOD aims to provide an observational and theoretical view of the global evolution of protoplanetary disks at the time when planets form. I will lead and mentor an outstanding international research group to answer the following major open questions: (1) What are the physical processes that dominate the evolution of protoplanetary disks, (2) how do these processes affect the chemical composition of close-in planets where planets like Earth form, (3) does planet formation happen early- and possibly during the star formation process, and finally (4) how the simultaneous evolution of the host stars affect the disk evolution? High-resolution imaging instrumentation, in particular ALMA and JWST to which I have privileged access, provide us with a unique opportunity to answer these questions and test models of planet formation. Over the last decade I have led the development of theoretical models to understand the first steps of planet formation and I have compared these models with observational data from state-of-the-art telescopes. My theoretical research and observational discoveries have changed the way we understand the genesis of planets. With the unique combination of exquisite data and the theoretical machinery that I have developed, GEPOD will transform our understanding of the origins of exoplanets and their properties.