The Formation and Evolution of Planetary Systems: Placing Our Solar System in Context with Spitzer

• Main Authors: Meyer, Michael R, Hillenbrand, Lynne A, Backman, Dana, Beckwith, Steve, Bouwman, Jeroen, Brooke, Tim, Carpenter, John, Cohen, Martin, Cortes, Stephanie, Crockett, Nathan, Gorti, Uma, Henning, Thomas, Hines, Dean, Hollenbach, David, Kim, Jinyoung Serena, Lunine, Jonathan, Malhotra, Renu, Mamajek, Eric, Morris, Pat, Najita, Joan, Moro-Martin, Amaya, Padgett, Deborah, Metchev, Stanimir, Pascucci, Ilaria, Rodmann, Jens, Schlingman, Wayne, Silverstone, Murray, Soderblom, David, Stauffer, John, Stobie, Elizabeth, Strom, Steve, Watson, Dan, Weidenschilling, Stuart, Wolf, Sebastian, Young, Erick
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 03-01-2007
• Subjects: Physics - Astrophysics of Galaxies; Physics - Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics; Physics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics; Physics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena; Physics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics; Physics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
• DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.astro-ph/0701058

We provide an overview of the Spitzer Legacy Program ``Formation and
Evolution of Planetary Systems" (FEPS) which was proposed in 2000, begun in
2001, and executed aboard the Spitzer Space Telescope between 2003 and 2006.
This program exploits the sensitivity of Spitzer to carry out mid-infrared
spectrophotometric observations of solar-type stars. With a sample of ~ 328
stars ranging in age from ~ 3 Myr to ~ 3 Gyr, we trace the evolution of
circumstellar gas and dust from primordial planet-building stages in young
circumstellar disks through to older collisionally generated debris disks. When
completed, our program will help define the time scales over which terrestrial
and gas giant planets are built, constrain the frequency of planetesimal
collisions as a function of time, and establish the diversity of mature
planetary architectures.
In addition to the observational program, we have coordinated a concomitant
theoretical effort aimed at understanding the dynamics of circumstellar dust
with and without the effects of embedded planets, dust spectral energy
distributions, and atomic and molecular gas line emission. Together with the
observations, these efforts will provide astronomical context for understanding
whether our Solar System - and its habitable planet - is a common or a rare
circumstance. Additional information about the FEPS project can be found on the
team website: feps.as.arizona.edu