On the dynamics of extrasolar planets on inclined orbits

Séminaire IPAG de Caroline Terquem (University of Oxford), jeudi 3 mars 2016 à 11h00, IPAG seminar room

As of today, about 2000 objects have received the label of "confirmed" extrasolar planets. Recent observations indicate that a significant number of the Jupiter-type planets with very short periods are on an orbit which is inclined with respect to the equatorial plane of their host star. This is difficult to explain in the context of planets forming in a protostellar disc assumed to lie in that plane.

In this talk, I will review different mechanisms that have been proposed to account for the observed orbital inclinations. I will then focus on the case of an orbit inclined with respect to the disc, and will discuss the interaction between the planet and the disc in this context and the subsequent orbital evolution.