EAPS DLS - Malena Rice (Yale)

Insights from the Orbital Architectures of Planetary Systems

The orbital configurations of planetary systems serve as fossilized signatures of their past dynamical evolution. These signatures provide a direct window into planetary systems’ formation histories at both the individual and population level, constraining the prevalence of mechanisms such as migration, secular evolution, and short-term scattering events. My research program investigates the dynamical relationship between stars, planets, and minor planets to demonstrate the key underlying processes that produce the observed diversity of planetary systems. I will draw from interconnected subfields of solar system and exoplanetary science to consider how the interface between subfields can be leveraged to develop a synthesized view of planetary system evolution.

About this Series: The Department Lecture Series at EAPS at MIT is a series of weekly talks given by leading thinkers in the areas of geology, geophysics, geobiology, geochemistry, atmospheric science, oceanography, climatology, and planetary science. For more information and Zoom password please contact Madelyn Musick: mmusick@mit.edu