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Colloquium
Hot Jupiters and Super-Earths: Spin-Orbit Dynamics in Exoplanetary Systems

Abstract

I will discuss two topics on exoplanetary systems. The first concerns hot Jupiters, giant planets with orbital periods of a few days. Observations have revealed that many hot Jupiters have orbits that are highly misaligned with the rotation of their host stars. How did such large stellar obliquities come about? What do they inform about the formation of hot Jupiters? The second topic deals with planetary obliquity, which reflects the planet's dynamical history, and can strongly influence the atmosphere condition and climate of the planet. Many Sun-like stars are observed to host close-in super-Earths (or Earth-like planets) as part of a multi-planetary system. Can such super-Earths (or similar habitable planets around M stars) sustain significant obliquities?