Dimitris Stamatellos gave the first CARD this summer to an audience of JHI staff, postgraduates and summer interns. This discussion included a presentation of the work Dimitris has been carrying out with his radiative-hydrodynamic simulations on disc fragmentation and the formation of planetary systems. His clear and concise description of the possible mechanisms leading to the formation of planets in the Galaxy included a brief introduction to the core accretion scenario (most likely the mechanism that caused the Solar System to be created) and disc fragmentation (leading to the creation of planets at least the mass of Jupiter).
We learned that there is much controversy over the definition of a planet: mass or formation mechanism. Additionally, a key result from Dimitris’ CARD seems to be that hot Jupiters cannot be formed in situ by disc fragmentation.
The CARD was followed by a lively discussion with the audience, who may not be experts in this field but had plenty to say and ask nonetheless.
This CARD will be the first of the summer series lead by both staff and students. The timetable can be found here on the JHI webpage.