Series: Astronomy Colloquium
Date: Wednesday 08-Apr-2020
Time: 16:00-17:00 (4:00-5:00 pm)
Location: Online Zoom Only: Contact Drake Deming for URL
Speaker: Dr. Marta Bryan (UC Berkeley)
Title: Exploring the Formation and Evolution of Planetary Systems
Over the past two decades thousands of planets with an extraordinary diversity of properties have been discovered orbiting nearby stars. Many of these exoplanetary systems challenge our narrative for how planets form and evolve, motivating the search for observational clues to the underlying mechanisms that led to this diversity. In this talk
I will describe my work using a wide range of observational techniques to uncover these underlying mechanisms. I will constrain the physics of gas giant formation and evolution by discerning population statistics, system architectures, rotation rates, and atmospheric compositions of gas giant planets. I will then discuss the effect that outer gas giants have on the inner architectures of planetary systems by exploring differences in inner planet masses, separations, multiplicities, and orbital properties. Finally, I will highlight the key role that next generation instruments and telescopes will play by extending these novel observations to entirely new classes of planets.
Colloquia are usually preceded by espresso and ice cream at 1:45 pm outside room PSC 1150 and are followed by an informal reception at 5:15 pm in that room. Anyone interested in talking with the speaker, or being added to the colloquium announcement email list, should contact the colloquium organizer. Lunch will normally be reserved for the speaker to talk to graduate students. Anyone asking a question during a talk is asked to raise their hand and be acknowledged before speaking.
Colloquium Organizer:
Prof. Richard Mushotzy
Special accommodations for individuals with disabilities can be made by calling (301) 405-3001. It would be appreciated if we are notified at least one week in advance.
