Exploring the Mass-Metallicity Frontier for Gas Giant Planets Around Low Mass Stars

With now more than 6000 planets discovered outside of our Solar system, one of the next major frontier is to determine the chemical make-up of exoplanet populations, a tracer of their formation processes. Dominating the planetary system by mass, gas giants are a determining factor in the final architecture and composition of planetary systems: no planet formation theory is complete without understanding this crucial piece of the puzzle. Gas giants are formed primarily of hydrogen and metals, with a level of metal enrichment set by the formation mechanism as a function of planetary mass. We aim to measure precise masses and metallicities for the poorly-explored population of gas giants orbiting low mass stars. This will shed light on the process responsible for one of the most extreme cases of planet formation while enabling robust statistical comparison with the population of gas giants orbiting Sun-like stars, providing an important benchmark for planet formation models around a diversity of stellar hosts.

The project consists of an mutually-beneficial exchange of expertises: while the home institution provides technical knowledge in measuring precise masses of planets around low mass stars, the host institution offers scientific expertise in gas giants interior structure and planet demographics.

Faculty Supervisor:

René Doyon

Student:

Partner:

Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie

Discipline:

Physics

Sector:

Other

University:

Université de Montréal

Program: