Humans have long thought that planetary systems similar to our own should exist around stars other than the Sun, yet the search for planets outside our Solar System has had a dismal history of discoveries that could not be confirmed. However, this all changed in 1995, after which astonishing progress can be seen in this field; we now know of more than 200 extrasolar planets. These findings mark crucial milestones in the search for extraterrestrial life - arguably one of the most intriguing endeavors of modern science. These proceedings from the 2005 Space Telescope Science Institute Symposium on Extrasolar Planets explore one of the hottest topics in astronomy. Discussions include the Kepler mission, observational constraints on dust disk lifetimes and the implications for planet formation, and gravitational instabilities in protoplanetary disks. With review papers written by world experts in their fields, this is an important resource on extrasolar planets.
Author(s): Mario Livio, Kailash Sahu, Jeff Valenti
Edition: 1
Year: 2008
Language: English
Pages: 196
Cover......Page 1
Half-title......Page 3
Series-title......Page 4
Title......Page 5
Copyright......Page 6
Contents......Page 7
Participants......Page 9
Preface......Page 13
2. Past......Page 15
2.1. Barnard’s Star......Page 16
2.2. 51 Pegasi......Page 18
3. Present......Page 19
3.1. Doppler Spectroscopy......Page 20
3.2. Transits......Page 21
3.3. Microlensing......Page 22
3.5. Direct Detections......Page 23
4.1. Ground......Page 24
4.2. Space......Page 25
REFERENCES......Page 28
1. The success story of the Doppler technique......Page 29
2. Is there any limit to the radial-velocity precision?......Page 30
3. Constraining formation and evolution scenarios......Page 34
4. Detecting Earth-mass planets......Page 37
REFERENCES......Page 39
2. Wide planetary-mass companions of low-mass dwarfs......Page 40
3.1. Stars and planetary properties......Page 42
3.2. Metallicities and the thick disk......Page 43
3.3. Kinematics......Page 45
4.1. Abundance gradients and the Galactic Habitable Zone......Page 46
4.2. Planetary statistics in the Solar Circle......Page 47
5. Summary and conclusions......Page 48
REFERENCES......Page 49
1. Introduction......Page 50
3. Photometer and spacecraft description......Page 51
4. Scientific approach......Page 53
5. Selection of target stars and field of view......Page 54
6. Interplay of noise from stellar variability, Poisson variations, and the instrument......Page 57
7. Expected results......Page 58
8. Validation of planet detections......Page 60
10. Education and public outreach programs......Page 61
11. Opportunities to participate......Page 62
REFERENCES......Page 63
1. Introduction......Page 64
2. Basic considerations......Page 65
3. Transit of Venus......Page 67
4.1. Bulk properties......Page 70
4.2. Na and CO......Page 72
5. Secondary transits and thermal IR......Page 74
6. Conclusions......Page 77
REFERENCES......Page 78
1. Introduction......Page 80
2.1. Analytic calculations......Page 83
2.2. Numerical simulations......Page 85
2.3. Consequences for planet formation......Page 86
3. Stochastic migration in turbulent disks......Page 88
4.1. Conditions for the onset of Type II migration......Page 90
4.2. The rate of Type II migration......Page 91
2. Damping of eccentricity.......Page 92
4.4. Comparison with statistics of extrasolar planetary systems......Page 93
REFERENCES......Page 95
1. Introduction......Page 98
2. The potential for planet formation in young circumstellar disks......Page 100
3. Questions concerning “primordial” dust disk evolution......Page 101
4. Enough questions—what do we know and how do we know it?......Page 102
4.1. Disk diagnostics......Page 103
4.2. Stellar samples......Page 104
4.3. Stellar ages......Page 105
5.1. Inner disk dissipation......Page 107
5.2. Mid-disk dissipation......Page 110
6. How long does the dissipation process take, once initiated?......Page 112
7. Present assessment of dust clearing trends with radius......Page 114
8. Implications for planet formation......Page 115
REFERENCES......Page 116
2. Gas as a probe of giant and terrestrial planet formation......Page 120
3. Evolution of gaseous disks......Page 121
4.1. Kuiper Belt and beyond: Millimeter molecular transitions......Page 122
4.2. Giant planet region: Mid-infrared transitions......Page 123
4.3. Terrestrial planet region: CO fundamental emission......Page 124
5. An indirect probe of gaseous disks: Stellar accretion rates......Page 128
6. Evolutionary status of transitional T Tauri stars......Page 130
7. Evolutionary status of weak T Tauri stars......Page 131
8. Summary......Page 132
REFERENCES......Page 133
1. Introduction......Page 135
2. Planets in our Solar System and beyond......Page 136
3. Models of terrestrial planet growth around single stars......Page 138
4. Terrestrial planet growth in binary star systems......Page 140
5. Giant planet formation models......Page 143
REFERENCES......Page 148
1. Introduction......Page 152
2. Observational requirements for planet formation models......Page 153
3. Development of the CAGC model......Page 154
4. The CAGC computer model......Page 156
5. Recent results......Page 159
6. Summary......Page 162
REFERENCES......Page 164
1.2. The big questions and an outline......Page 167
2.1. Linear regime......Page 168
2.3. Fragmentation criteria......Page 169
3.1. tcool = constant......Page 172
3.2. tcool…= constant......Page 174
3.3. Conclusions......Page 175
4.1. Approaches......Page 176
4.2. Boss versus Mejıa/Cai methodologies and results......Page 177
4.3. Irradiation, metallicity, and grain size......Page 178
4.3.2. Metallicity......Page 179
4.4. Conclusions......Page 180
5.1. Hydraulic jumps......Page 181
5.2. Interaction of GIs with solids and contaminants......Page 183
5.4. Hybrid planet formation scenario......Page 185
6.1.2. How fast can GIs transport mass in a disk?......Page 187
6.1.3. When do GIs occur in disks?......Page 188
6.2. Parting thoughts......Page 189
REFERENCES......Page 190
1. Introduction......Page 192
3. A field with a future......Page 193
4.2. Keeping a-hold of nurse......Page 195
4.3. Discriminatory comments......Page 196
REFERENCES......Page 197
