Formation of Multi-Planetary Systems in the Kepler Era

开普勒时代多行星系统的形成

• 批准号: RGPIN-2014-04553
• 负责人: Rein, Hanno
• 金额: $ 1.75万
• 依托单位: University of Toronto
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2015-01-01 至 2016-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=587876
• 关键词: Formation; Multi; Planetary; Systems; Kepler

973 exoplanets have been confirmed as of October 2013. This number increases almost every week. There are an additional 3000 objects currently listed as potential planet candidates. Counting this as anything other than a tremendous success of many dedicated surveys, the most successful one being conducted by the Kepler spacecraft, would be an understatement. With the current rate of discoveries, these numbers will have more than doubled in five years from now. Considering this huge amount of new data, it is not surprising that modelling the evolution and physical properties of planetary systems are two of the most rapidly growing areas in astrophysics. There is no lack of ideas, however, there is still no framework which can explain the majority and diversity of observed exoplanetary systems. This moment offers for the first time an opportunity to expand our knowledge by testing hypothetical formation scenarios against a rich dataset. My proposal describes how I plan to achieve this goal and address some of the most pressing questions: Why are most hot Jupiters singletons? Why do some systems produce hot Jupiters, while others form a chain of closely spaced terrestrial planets. Why are densely packed systems not locked in resonances? How does the Solar System fit into all of this? Is it special or just one of many? This grant will allow me and my students to study the evolution of planetary systems in unprecedented detail. The Discovery Grant is the key element. It forms a platform, enabling me to leverage matching funds from other sources, attracting and supporting highly qualified students. We will build a framework to efficiently test planet formation scenarios against observational data. We will implement modules to simulate the most important physical processes that are responsible for shaping planetary systems and compare the results to observational data. To achieve this, we will make use of high performance computing and write new software that can leverage modern acceleration technologies. This entire framework will be made publicly available as open source, so that it can be used by as many researchers as possible. The approach that we plan to use is new and superior to previous methods. We model every single observed planetary system’s history individually. This allows us to look at one system at a time. Simultaneously, we are able to look at the entire population of planetary systems. Using this method, we will be able to rule out certain formation scenarios. More importantly, we will be able to identify those scenarios which are the most promising ones. Because we will make detailed predictions which are testable, it will allow observers to select targets, precisely schedule observations and directly verify/falsify planet formation theories. Our results will, not to a small part, be highly interesting in the context of our own Solar System. They will help us answer some of the most fundamental questions we can ask: How special is the Solar System? How many systems with a similar architecture are there in the solar neighbourhood? And under what conditions can potentially habitable planets form?

截至2013年10月，已经确认了973个系外行星。这个数字几乎每周都会增加。当前还有另外3000个对象，被列为潜在的行星候选物。将其视为许多专门的调查的巨大成功，这是开普勒航天器所进行的最成功的调查，这是一种轻描淡写。随着目前的发现率，这些数字在五年后将增加一倍以上。考虑到这大量的新数据，对行星系统的演变和物理特性进行建模是天体物理学中增长最快的两个领域，这并不奇怪。但是，不缺乏想法，仍然没有框架可以解释观察到的超球门系统的多数和多样性。这一刻首次通过测试假设的形成方案来针对丰富的数据集来扩展我们的知识。我的建议描述了我计划如何实现这一目标并解决一些最紧迫的问题：为什么大多数热木星是单身人士？为什么有些系统会产生热木星，而另一些系统则形成了一系列紧密间隔的陆地行星。为什么无填充的系统未锁定共振？太阳系如何适合所有这些？它是特别的还是众多？ 这笔赠款将使我和我的学生能够以前所未有的细节研究行星系统的演变。发现赠款是关键要素。它形成了一个平台，使我能够利用其他来源的匹配资金，吸引和支持高素质的学生。我们将建立一个框架，以有效地测试行星形成方案，以针对观察数据进行测试。我们将实施模块，以模拟负责塑造行星系统的最重要的物理过程，并将结果与​​观察数据进行比较。为了实现这一目标，我们将利用高性能计算和编写可以利用现代加速技术的新软件。整个框架将作为开源公开提供，以便可以由尽可能多的研究人员使用。 我们计划使用的方法是新的，并且优于以前的方法。我们将每个观察到的行星系统的历史单独建模。这使我们可以一次查看一个系统。同时，我们能够查看行星系统的整个人群。使用此方法，我们将能够排除某些形成方案。更重要的是，我们将能够识别那些最有希望的情况。因为我们将做出可测试的详细预测，所以它将允许观察者选择目标，精确安排观察结果并直接验证/伪造行星形成理论。 在我们自己的太阳系中，我们的结果将不会在一小部分中变得非常有趣。他们将帮助我们回答我们可以问的一些最根本的问题：太阳系有多特别？太阳能街区有多少个具有类似体系结构的系统？在哪些条件下可能形成潜在的危险行星？