Lunch talk on May. 20, 2024

Directly Imaging Accreting Planets: Insights and Next Steps

Speaker: Yifan Zhou (University of Virginia)

Venue: Video Conference

Time: 10:00 AM, Monday, May. 20, 2024

Abstract: 

High-contrast imaging observations of protoplanetary disks have begun to uncover actively forming young planets. These detections offer exciting new windows for probing the formation of giant planets and the impact of these planets on their formation environment. This talk presents recent observational insights into several accreting gas giant planets that represent various stages of early planet evolution. I will discuss lessons learned and emerging questions in identifying and characterizing these young planets. The JWST is greatly expanding the dynamic range in probing accretion onto the planets and detecting potential variability signals in young planets. In particular, the time variability of young planets may potentially form a new frontier for determining the geometry of the mass accretion flow and unlocking the processes of the growth of giant planets and their interaction with their natal disks.