Presented by: Prof. David Valentine

Affiliation: University of California, Santa Barbara

 Location: Collaboratory (Young Hall 4222)

 Abstract: Planets exhibit extraordinary diversity in physical properties and orbital architectures, spanning more than four orders of magnitude in mass, separation, and age. Interpreting this landscape is challenging as observational biases and orbital migration obscure the pathways of planet formation and evolution across both space and time. While the full picture remains incomplete, a story is emerging for gas giants from radial velocity surveys probing planetary systems from the inside out and high-contrast imaging from the outside in. These complementary approaches are converging at intermediate scales, enabling a more continuous view of giant planet populations. I will present results from recent ground- and space-based efforts to constrain how giant planets assemble and evolve, focusing on accretion disks, population demographics, orbital eccentricities, and stellar spin–orbit misalignments. Together, these are informing the processes of gas accretion, angular momentum exchange, and dynamical evolution that shape planetary systems. I will also highlight how upcoming astrometric discoveries from Gaia—which is expected to reveal thousands of giant planets at intermediate separations later this year—will help bridge the gap between inner and outer planet populations and clarify how giant planets form and interact over time.