Little, Big: The Architecture of Planetary Systems

Abstract: Discoveries of exoplanets so different from those in our Solar System have called in question conventional theories for how planetary systems form and evolve. I will present recent progress in our understanding of the physical processes that drive the assembly of planetary systems and result in the surprising variety of orbital architectures we observe today. I will discuss orbital evolution in both the “little” and “big” planet regime and why orbital architectures differ among systems with different planet sizes.