Related papers: Formation and evolution of planetary systems: the …
New high-resolution adaptive optics systems provide an unprecedentedly detailed view of nearby star forming regions. In particular, young nearby T Tauri stars can be probed at much smaller physical scales (a few AU) than possible just a…
So far, most of the about 5700 exoplanets have been discovered mainly with radial velocity and transit methods. These techniques are sensitive to planets in close orbits, not being able to probe large star--planet separations. $\mu$-lensing…
With more than 260 extrasolar planetary systems discovered to-date, the search for habitable planets has found new grounds. Unlike our solar system, the stars of many of these planets are hosts to eccentric or close-in giant bodies. Several…
Thousands of confirmed and candidate exoplanets have been identified in recent years. Consequently, theoretical research on the formation and dynamical evolution of planetary systems has seen a boost, and the processes of planet-planet…
This white paper is motivated by open questions in star formation, which can be uniquely addressed by high resolution X-ray imaging and require an X-ray observatory with large collecting area along good spectral resolution. A complete…
The recent discovery of a transiting planet around WASP-33, the misalignment of the stellar rotation axis and the planet orbit, the possible existence of an additional planet in the system, and the presence of $\delta$ Scuti pulsations in…
Adaptive Optics is a prime example of how progress in observational astronomy can be driven by technological developments. At many observatories it is now considered to be part of a standard instrumentation suite, enabling ground-based…
The detection and characterization of protoplanets in protoplanetary disks around young stars is emerging as a transformative field that will redefine our understanding of how planetary systems form. While current facilities have revealed…
Ground-based telescopes coupled with adaptive optics (AO) have been playing a leading role in exoplanet direct imaging science and technological development for the past two decades and will continue to have an indispensable role for the…
To explain important properties of extrasolar planetary systems (eg. close-in hot Jupiters, resonant planets) an evolutionary scenario which allows for radial migration of planets in disks is required. During their formation protoplanets…
The exoplanet detection is the most exciting and challenging field of astronomy. The discovery of many exoplanets has revolutionized our understanding of the formation and evolution of planetary systems and has showed new ways to search for…
Circumstellar disks are the sites of planet formation, and the very high incidence of extrasolar planets implies that most of them actually form planetary systems. Studying the structure and evolution of protoplanetary disks can thus place…
Within ten years, the era of large-scale systematics surveys will decay thanks to a complete census of exoplanetary systems within 200 pc from the Sun. With the first Lights foreseen between 2024 and 2028, the new generation of extremely…
This conference demonstrated the tremendous progress that has been made in the last decade in our observational and theoretical understanding of compact, young, massive star clusters. One of the Hubble Space Telescope's main achievements…
Understanding the formation and dynamical evolution of habitable planets in extrasolar planetary systems is a challenging task. In this respect, systems with multiple giant planets and/or multiple stars present special complications. The…
The characterization of exoplanets and their birth protoplanetary disks has enormously advanced in the last decade. Benefitting from that, our global understanding of the planet formation processes has been substantially improved. In this…
During the past five years, the Spitzer Space Telescope and improved ground-based facilities have enabled a huge increase in the number of circumstellar disks, around young stars of Solar mass or smaller, in which the composition of the…
Most stars, perhaps even all stars, form in crowded stellar environments. Such star forming regions typically dissolve within ten million years, while others remain bound as stellar groupings for hundreds of millions to billions of years,…
Direct imaging of exoplanets is crucial for advancing our understanding of planetary systems beyond our solar system, but it faces significant challenges due to the high contrast between host stars and their planets. Wavefront aberrations…
Over the past 10 years abundant evidence has emerged that many (if not all) stars are born with circumstellar disks. Understanding the evolution of post-accretion disks can provide strong constraints on theories of planet formation and…