Dynamical mysteries of extrasolar planetary systems
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Date and time:Ìý
Friday, February 22, 2013 - 1:00pm
Abstract:Ìý
Observations from the ground and from NASA's Kepler satellite have identified thousands of confirmed or candidate extrasolar planetary systems. The dynamical properties of many of these systems are quite alien; they include counter-rotating giant planets and compact systems of super-Earths that lie entirely within the orbital radius of Mercury. A central question is to determine whether different formation processes, or different dynamics, is responsible for the qualitative distinction between extrasolar planetary systems and our own. I will summarize current thinking on this issue, and describe our own work which suggests that violent dynamical instabilities may play a role in shaping many planetary systems.