# Transitional disk archeology from exoplanet population synthesis

## TL;DR

This paper investigates how the structures observed in transitional protoplanetary disks relate to the formation and evolution of exoplanetary systems by using synthetic population models based on current observations.

## Contribution

It introduces a novel approach linking observed disk features to the later stages of exoplanet system development through population synthesis simulations.

## Key findings

- Synthetic exoplanet populations reflect observed disk inhomogeneities.
- Simulations suggest dust traps influence planet formation pathways.
- Results support the connection between disk features and exoplanet system architectures.

## Abstract

Increasingly better observations of resolved protoplanetary disks show a wide range of conditions in which planets can be formed. Many transitional disks show gaps in their radial density structure, which are usually interpreted as signatures of planets. It has also been suggested that observed inhomogeneities in transitional disks are indicative of dust traps which may help the process of planet formation. However, it is yet to be seen if the configuration of fully evolved exoplanetary systems can yield information about the later stages of their primordial disks. We use synthetic exoplanet population data from Monte Carlo simulations of systems forming under different density perturbation conditions, which are based on current observations of transitional disks. The simulations use a core instability, oligarchic growth, dust trap analytical model that has been benchmarked against exoplanetary populations.