Dr. Jeremy L. Smallwood

Investigating the coplanar or polar alignment of protoplanetary disks around binary star systems.

Simulating the evolution of gas and dust in circumbinary disks, focusing on how material flows through the binary cavity via accretion streamers. These streams dynamically replenish the circumstellar disks and drive accretion onto the binary stars, shaping their orbital evolution and potential planet-forming environments.

I investigate the formation mechanisms of circumbinary exoplanets, tracing their origins in the complex environments of circumbinary disks. My work particularly explores how tilted and warped disk configurations influence planet formation processes, including gravitational instabilities, dust dynamics, and planetesimal growth in these perturbed systems.

Polar-aligned circumbinary disks produce unique dust dynamics, creating localized concentrations akin to "traffic jams" in the disk midplane. These dust accumulations may serve as preferential sites for planetesimal growth, potentially explaining the formation pathways of polar circumbinary planets.

Stellar flybys - unbound stars passing near protoplanetary disks - can dynamically perturb disk material, generating observable substructures. These gravitational interactions may explain the rings, gaps, and asymmetries frequently detected in high-resolution disk observations.

Dust rings in misaligned circumbinary disks represent prime observational targets for current facilities like ALMA and future instruments including ngVLA and SKA. These distinctive features offer unique insights into disk dynamics and planet formation processes in binary systems.

The complex disk structure observed around GW Ori - the first known circumtriple protoplanetary disk - may provide direct evidence of a circumtriple planet in formation. This unprecedented system could revolutionize our understanding of planet formation in multiple-star environments.

The persistent metal contamination observed in white dwarf atmospheres provides compelling evidence of ongoing planetary system evolution. These metals likely originate from tidally disrupted asteroids, dynamically perturbed by surviving planets in these ancient systems.

While the astrophysical origin of fast radio bursts (FRBs) remains unresolved, one compelling hypothesis suggests they may result from asteroid-neutron star interactions. In this scenario, accreted asteroidal material undergoes rapid disruption upon impact with the neutron star surface, potentially generating the extreme electromagnetic transients observed as FRBs.

Secular resonances between asteroids and giant planets can dynamically perturb minor bodies onto planet-crossing orbits. This process may serve as a fundamental delivery mechanism for volatiles and organic materials, potentially governing the distribution of key prebiotic compounds throughout planetary systems.