Department of Astronomy Center for Radiophysics & Space Research

Are Planetary Systems Flat?

18Thursday, Sep. 18
Professor Scott Tremaine (IAS Princeton)
4:00 PM

Laplace argued, correctly, that the small inclinations of planetary orbits implied that the solar system formed from a flat disk.  The observational and theoretical evidence on whether extrasolar planetary systems are flat, however, is still ambiguous. I will discuss constraints on flatness from the Kepler spacecraft and other sources; measurements of the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect in transiting planets; Lidov-Kozai oscillations; and competing migration mechanisms for the formation of giant planets at small orbital radii.

Image Gallery
Tremaine Brown Dwarf Ots 44 With Disc