The diversity of exoplanet systems

系外行星系统的多样性

• 批准号: 2389338
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University College London
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2020 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2389338
• 关键词: diversity; exoplanet; systems

The possibility of planets orbiting other stars has been a topic of fascination for centuries. We are the first generation that has brought these planets - now known as exoplanets - from the realm of science-fiction into that of science. An important milestone was the discovery of several planets orbiting a pulsar (Wolszczan & Frail, 1992), followed by the first planet orbiting a star more similar to our Sun (Mayor & Queloz, 1995), an achievement recently awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics. The 25 years since have been filled with an abundance of exciting discoveries and today we know over 4000 exoplanets. These planets exhibit an incredible diversity of properties. Why do so many planets have tiny orbits - often much smaller than that of Mercury? What causes planets to become rocky, gaseous, or something in between? Why do some planets have orbits that are strongly eccentric, or misaligned with the rotation of their host stars? What happens to planets when stars evolve away from the main sequence? Which planets are the most favourable and interesting targets for studies of their atmospheres? How unique is our solar system - are we alone?Despite the discovery of thousands of new planets over the last years, much remains unknown about their characteristics. A powerful way of learning about exoplanets is by combining information from different detection methods, in particular from transit surveys such as the NASA Kepler and TESS missions, and from radial velocity (RV) observations from state-of-the-art instruments on telescopes around the world such as the ESO Very Large Telescope in Chile. By combining these sources of data, both sizes and masses of planets can be measured and their composition can be inferred. In this way, we can classify the architecture and diversity of planetary systems. A motivated PhD student will join an international team of experts focused on conducting and analysing RV observations of newly discovered transiting exoplanets. The project holds tremendous potential for a range of exciting new discoveries. We will seek to establish which planets have thick atmospheres and which have no atmospheres, and investigate the reasons for these differences. The student will tap into a large international network of experts to do this challenging but exciting work.

几个世纪以来，行星绕其他恒星的行星的可能性一直是迷人的话题。我们是将这些行星（现在称为系外行星）从科学小说的领域带入科学的第一代人。一个重要的里程碑是发现了几个旋转脉冲星的行星（Wolszczan＆Flail，1992），其次是绕着我们的太阳更相似的第一个行星（Menoor＆Queloz，1995），这是最近获得诺贝尔物理学奖的成就。此后的25年充满了令人兴奋的发现，今天我们知道超过4000个系外行星。这些行星表现出令人难以置信的多样性。为什么这么多行星的轨道很小 - 通常比汞小得多？是什么导致行星变成岩石，气态或两者之间的东西？为什么某些行星的轨道具有很奇怪的轨道，或者与宿主恒星的旋转旋转不对？当恒星从主序列发展时，行星会发生什么？哪些行星是研究其气氛的最有利和有趣的目标？我们的太阳系是多么独特 - 我们一个人？尽管在过去几年中发现了成千上万的新行星，但对其特征仍然未知。学习系外行星的一种有力方法是结合来自不同检测方法的信息，尤其是从NASA开普勒和苔丝任务等过境调查中，以及从远程望远镜上最先进的望远镜望远镜（例如Chile the Eso the Chile the Chile the Chile the Chile the Eso非常大的望远镜）的径向速度（RV）观察结果。通过结合这些数据源，可以测量行星的大小和质量，并可以推断出它们的组成。这样，我们可以对行星系统的体系结构和多样性进行分类。一名有积极进取的博士生将加入一支致力于进行和分析新发现的过境系外行星的RV观察的国际专家团队。该项目具有一系列令人兴奋的新发现的巨大潜力。我们将寻求确定哪些行星的气氛浓郁，哪些没有气氛，并研究了这些差异的原因。该学生将利用大型的国际专家网络来完成这项具有挑战性但令人兴奋的工作。