Resolving Planet Formation and Evolution Through the Lens of Jupiters

Marta Bryan explores what gas giants reveal about the formation and evolution of planetary systems. Their brightness and mass make them useful observational targets, and their gravitational influence can reshape the orbits and environments of smaller planets.

The seminar combines several approaches. High-resolution spectroscopy of directly imaged planets measures rotation and obliquity, providing evidence about angular-momentum evolution. Radial-velocity searches for Jupiter-like companions to known inner planets probe how giant planets affect system architecture and inform the search for habitable worlds. The presentation also introduces observational work on planetary interiors and magnetic fields as further ways to test formation models.