Confirmation of Candidature - Candidate : Allyson Bieryla

The goal of this PhD is to expand the warm Jupiter obliquity distribution as a means to understand possible mechanisms of warm Jupiter formation and evolution. Using NASA's TESS mission planet candidates, this thesis will aim to confirm new warm Jupiter planets by characterizing the planets and measuring the system obliquities. The hot Jupiter obliquity distribution shows clear trends as a function of stellar temperature. This thesis will begin to fill in the paucity of warm Jupiter planets with obliquity measurements around hot stellar hosts. Warm Jupiters, orbiting farther from their host star, do not undergo the same tidal effects as close-in planets and therefore the spin-orbit angle of the system can give insights to the evolutionary history of the planet.

For more information, please email the Graduate Research School or phone 0746 311088.