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: 2019
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2019-01-01 至 2020-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=679738
• 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颗系外行星。这个数字几乎每周都在增加。目前还有3000个天体被列为潜在的行星候选者。把这看作是许多专门调查的巨大成功之外的任何东西，开普勒航天器进行的最成功的一次，都是轻描淡写的。以目前的发现速度，这些数字将在五年内增加一倍以上。考虑到这些大量的新数据，对行星系统的演化和物理特性进行建模是天体物理学中发展最快的两个领域也就不足为奇了。我们并不缺乏想法，但是，仍然没有一个框架可以解释观测到的大多数和多样性的系外行星系统。这一刻第一次提供了一个机会，通过对丰富的数据集测试假设的地层场景来扩展我们的知识。我的提案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：为什么大多数热门创业者都是单身？为什么有些系统会产生热的类地行星，而另一些系统则会形成一系列紧密排列的类地行星。为什么密集的系统不会被锁定在共振中？太阳系是如何融入这一切的？这是一个特殊的问题，还是只是众多问题中的一个？”这笔拨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化。探索补助金是关键因素。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，根据观测数据有效地测试行星形成情景。我们将实施模块来模拟负责塑造行星系统的最重要的物理过程，并将结果与观测数据进行比较。为了实现这一目标，我们将利用高性能计算，并编写能够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，以便尽可能多的研究人员可以使用它。我们计划使用的方法是新的和上级比以前的方法。我们对每一个观测到的行星系统的历史进行单独建模。这使得我们可以一次只看一个系统。同时，我们能够看到整个行星系统的人口。使用这种方法，我们将能够排除某些地层情况。更重要的是，我们将能够确定那些最有希望的方案。因为我们将做出可测试的详细预测，它将允许观测者选择目标，精确安排观测，并直接验证/证伪行星形成理论。** 我们的结果将在我们自己的太阳系中非常有趣。它们将帮助我们回答一些最基本的问题：太阳系有多特别？在太阳系附近，有多少系统具有类似的结构？在什么条件下可能形成潜在的宜居行星？