Planetary Science Seminar Winter-2018

What sets the extent of giant planet formation, and what does this tell us about the structures of planetary systems in general? I will provide evidence that observed disks may be more massive than previously thought, suggest that disk evolution may set the inner scale of giant planet formation, and show that gas turbulence coupled with pebble accretion may set the largest distances at which giant planets form. Finally, a class of solar system analogs has yet to be identified among the large crop of planetary systems now observed. I will suggest that the solar system's structure is representative of the lowest-metallicity systems that nevertheless host giant planets.