An Exploration of Exoplanet Architectures Through The Lens of Stellar Obliquities

  • CART Astrophysics Seminar Series

September 4, 2025 2:00 PM
PAIS 3205

Host:
Diana Dragomir
Presenter:
Alex Polanski (Lowell)
The discovery of thousands of exoplanets has revealed a diversity of system architectures which has shed light on the various formation mechanisms that shape the planet landscape we observe today. In this talk, I will discuss exoplanet architectures in the context of stellar obliquities, i.e. the angle between a planet’s orbit and its star’s spin axis. I will highlight work being done to understand the effect of binary companions on close-in giant planets and discuss what the emerging picture of small-planet obliquities is telling us about the formation of multiplanet systems. Additionally, I will present a new survey that will investigate the effects Jovian-analog planets have on potential inner systems of small planets.

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