11:15 AM
12:30 PM
Title: Debris Disks: Clues for a Solar System's History
Abstract: Debris disks are gas-poor structures of dust which orbit around their host star. These disks are the leftover remnants of planetary formation and can hold important clues in understanding the evolution and history of planetary systems. Distinct features in a disk’s morphology can elucidate the architecture of an underlying planetary system or indicate the signatures of past close encounters with flyby stars. In this talk we discuss both our Solar System debris disk, as well as that of an exoplanetary system: HD106906. Specifically, we use signs in the inclination distribution of the Kuiper Belt in our own Solar System to constrain the environment of our Solar System’s stellar birth cluster. We also use observations of unique features in the debris disk surrounding HD106906 to constrain its evolutionary history and propose a unique formation theory for this unusual system. Our results provide a link between the present configuration of a system’s debris disk and the dynamical history of the system itself.
Host: Bekki Dawson
Seminar held in 538 Davey or please email CEHW-SEMINAR-QUESTIONS@lists.psu.edu to attend virtually.