Zoë Leinhardt

Polluted white dwarfs and super mercuries, studies into the extremes of planet formation

The number of planets detected outside of our solar system now numbers in the many thousands. Stars like our sun are more likely to have planets orbiting them than they are to be planetless. The planets detected range in mass, number and orbit. Although most are found orbiting mature adult stars, planets have also been found around stellar relics and free-floating (not orbiting anything). All of this evidence suggests that planet formation is a common event and a result of star formation - yet we are still unable to fully explain the formation of our own solar system and the apparent uniqueness of Earth. In my group we have been focusing on explaining the extreme planetary outliers with detailed numerical simulations in hopes that we can use these examples to refine and test our incomplete model of planet formation