The Formation and Architecture of Young Planetary Systems

TL;DR

This paper discusses the importance of studying young planetary systems under 10 million years old to understand planet formation and evolution, emphasizing observational strategies and infrastructure needs for future discoveries.

Contribution

It highlights key scientific questions about planet formation mechanisms and atmospheric properties, proposing specific observational approaches and investments to address them.

Findings

Identification of crucial observational tests for planet formation models

Proposal for investment in high-resolution NIR spectrographs and adaptive optics

Emphasis on discovering a large population of young planets for study

Abstract

Newly-formed planetary systems with ages of <10 Myr offer many unique insights into the formation, evolution, and fundamental properties of extrasolar planets. These planets have fallen beyond the limits of past surveys, but as we enter the next decade, we stand on the threshold of several crucial advances in instrumentation and observing techniques that will finally unveil this critical population. In this white paper, we consider several classes of planets (inner gas giants, outer gas giants, and ultrawide planetary-mass companions) and summarize the motivation for their study, the the observational tests that will distinguish between competing theoretical models, and the infrastructure investments and policy choices that will best enable future discovery. We propose that there are two fundamental questions that must be addressed: 1) Do planets form via core accretion, gravitational instability, or a combination of the two methods? 2) What do the atmospheres an interiors of young planets look like, and does the mass-luminosity relation of young planets more closely resemble the "hot start" or "cold start" models? To address these questions, we recommend investment in high-resolution NIR spectrographs (existing and new), support for innovative new techniques and pathfinder surveys for directly-imaged young exoplanets, and continued investment in visible-light adaptive optics to allow full characterization of wide "planetary-mass" companions for calibrating planet evolutionary models. In summary, testing newly proposed planet formation and evolutionary predictions will require the identification of a large population of young (<10 Myr) planets whose orbital, atmospheric, and structural properties can be studied.