Long Term Evolution of Compact Planetary Systems
Mon, February 09, 2015
![Brad hansen](https://astro.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/24/brad-hansen.jpg)
The origin of the recently discovered population of planetary systems composed of multiple low mass planets in compact configurations is a subject of active debate. A proper consideration of this question must also account for various processes that sculpt the configurations between their origin and observation.
I will describe a set of calculations to study how the effects of tidal damping are transmitted through a planetary system by secular interactions and the resulting effect on planetary spacing, eccentricities and inclinations. I will show how this can manifest itself in known systems. In some cases, such as in the 55 Cancri system, this can lead to potentially dramatic effects.