Taiwan Astronomical Research Alliance

Planetary Science

Exoplanets have diverse populations and physical properties. Some of the exotic populations such as hot Jupiters are not seen in our own solar system. To date, about 6000 exoplanets have been discovered with various detection methods. In recent years, thanks to the resolving power and sensitivity of radio interferometers, many intriguing structures, such as rings, gaps, asymmetries, and spirals, have been discovered in protoplanetary disks, as shown in the figure. The origin of these structures are not fully understood. Many possibilities have been proposed, and one of the leading theories is that planets may interact with the surrounding materials as they orbit their host stars, thereby sculpting the observed structures. Many researchers in Taiwan have been carrying out detailed radio observations and sophisticated simulations to investigate the physical properties of protoplanetary disks, as well as the formation and evolution of the embedded planets. In the future, TARA will keep playing a crucial role in exoplanet sciences.

Transient

Imgae Credit: van der Marel et al. (2021)