Despite the many hundreds of known “giant” exoplanets, theoretical models still struggle to form them.\u00a0 Under the core-accretion, gas-capture model of giant planet formation, it is still challenging to explain how the required ~10 Earth mass rocky\/icy cores can form within the lifetime of their host gaseous circumstellar disks.\u00a0 In this talk I will present two different new lines of research to address this timescale dilemma.\u00a0 I will explore whether or not a newly identified, extremely fast aerodynamic aided accretion of “pebbles” may present a mechanism to form giant planet cores extremely rapidly. Then I will discuss how volatile loss from ice-rich cores and the subsequent enrichment of the atmosphere can alter the efficiency of core growth and potentially aid the planet formation process.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Despite the many hundreds of known “giant” exoplanets, theoretical models still struggle to form them.\u00a0 Under the core-accretion, gas-capture model of giant planet formation, it is still challenging to explain how the required ~10 Earth mass rocky\/icy cores can form within the lifetime of their host gaseous circumstellar disks.\u00a0 In this talk I will present … <\/p>\n