Giant Planet Formation

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Giant planets are observed to appear close to their host star, as Hot Jupiters; far away from their host star, as directly imaged giant planets; and in as more typical giant planets similar to Jupiter in our Solar System. We know that about 10% of all stars host a Jupiter-like planet, and these are connected in an as-yet-unknown way to the more ubiquitous sub-Neptunes. Currently, there are many unsolved problems with regard to giant planet formation. In particular, it is unknown how they reach their final mass. For example, it could be they just accrete for a specific time; however, there could be some fundamental process that stops accretion. In addition, there is an observed pile up of giant planets at a few AU, and it is unknown whether this is due to planet formation occurring more easily at this location or if migration will cause this pile-up. In this project we will use hydrodynamic simulations and analytic theory to investigate giant planet formation; aiming to answer the questions above.