event
Wednesday 16 Dec 2015: Seminar: Eccentric planets sculpting debris discs
Tim Pearce - University of Cambridge
Physics, 4th floor 14:00-15:00
Strange features in debris discs often make us suspect unseen planets. Whilst the dynamical effect of circular and low eccentricity planets on debris discs has been well studied, less attention has been paid to highly eccentric planets. In this talk I discuss the general features of the interaction between a highly eccentric planet and a debris disc, through numerical and analytic models. I then apply the findings to the unusual HD 107146 disc, which can be explained by the presence of an unseen planet with a mass similar to that of the disc.