Related papers: The Heavy Element Composition of Disk Instability …
The detection of many extrasolar gas giants with high eccentricities indicates that dynamical instabilities in planetary systems are common. These instabilities can alter the orbits of gas giants as well as the orbits of terrestrial planets…
We present three-dimensional numerical simulations of particle clumping and planetesimal formation in protoplanetary disks with varying amounts of solid material. As centimeter-size pebbles settle to the mid-plane, turbulence develops…
We present models for the formation of terrestrial planets, and the collisional evolution of debris disks, in planetary systems that contain multiple unstable gas giants. We previously showed that the dynamics of the giant planets…
Helium is the second most abundant element in the universe, and together with silica, they are major components of giant planets. Exploring the reactivity and state of helium and silica under high pressure is of fundamental importance for…
During the formation of rocky planets, the surface environments of growing protoplanets were dramatically different from those of present-day planets. The release of gravitational energy during accretion would have maintained a molten…
The dissociation and ionization of hydrogen, during the formation of giant planets via core accretion, reduces the effective adiabatic index $\gamma$ of the gas and could trigger dynamical instability. We generalize the analysis of…
The chemical fingerprint of a planet reveals information about its formation history regarding when and where it formed. The water content of a planet can help to constrain its formation pathway: If the planet formed in the outer regions of…
In this Thesis I studied the formation of the four giant planets of the Solar System in the framework of the nucleated instability hypothesis. The model considers that solids and gas accretion are coupled in an interactive fashion, taking…
The Kepler observations indicate that many exoplanets are super-Earths, which brings about a puzzle for the core-accretion scenario. Since observed super-Earths are in the range of critical mass, they would accrete gas efficiently and…
With four giant planets ($m\sim5-10~M_{\rm Jup}$, $T_\rm{eff}\sim900-1200$ K) orbiting between 15-70 au, HR 8799 provides an unparalleled testbed for studying giant planet formation and probing compositional trends across the protoplanetary…
Kepler has identified over 600 multiplanet systems, many of which have several planets with orbital distances smaller than that of Mercury -- quite different from the Solar System. Because these systems may be difficult to explain in the…
We investigate possible pathways for the formation of the low density Neptune-mass planet HAT-P-26b. We use two formation different models based on pebbles and planetesimals accretion, and includes gas accretion, disk migration and simple…
The giant planets of our solar system possess envelopes consisting mainly of hydrogen and helium but are also significantly enriched in heavier elements relatively to our Sun. In order to better constrain how these heavy elements have been…
Probing the interiors of the gas giant planets in our Solar System is not an easy task. It requires a set of accurate measurements combined with theoretical models that are used to infer the planetary composition and its depth dependence.…
The compositions of nascent planets depend on the compositions of their birth disks. In particular, the elemental compositions of Gas Giant gaseous envelopes depend on the elemental composition of the disk gas from which the envelope is…
Characterizing the atmospheric compositions of exoplanets, along with determining properties such as their mass, mean density, and orbital configuration, is thought to be an effective means for differentiating between various formation and…
The determinations of element abundances in red-giant stars and in particular in AGB stars are reviewed and the resulting abundances are compared with those obtained for planetary nebulae in the Galaxy and in nearby galaxies. The problems,…
To understand giant planet formation, we need to focus on host stars close to $1.7\ \rm M_{\odot}$, where the occurrence rate of these planets is the highest. In this initial study, we carry out pebble-driven core accretion planet formation…
The formation history of Jupiter has been of interest due to its ability to shape the solar system's history. Yet little attention has been paid to the formation and growth of Saturn and the other giant planets. Here, we explore the…
Recent observations of Jupiter and Saturn provided by spacecraft missions, such as Juno and Cassini, compel us to revise and improve our models of giant planet interiors. Even though hydrogen and helium are by far the dominant species in…