Challenging the Current Paradigm for Planet Formation

Understanding how planets form is not only a fundamental key ingredient for unraveling how life has come to be in our Universe but also one of the most active areas in astrophysics today. The current paradigm for planet formation relies heavily on the idea that the gaseous disks surrounding newly formed stars are unstable to a wide range of instabilities. Several mechanisms that have been long thought to be efficient have recently been called into question challenging the current paradigm for planet formation. This project will assess under what circumstances favorable conditions for planet formation can be met in a wide range of astrophysical conditions. The study will have important implications for our understanding of planet formation, with broad implications across astrophysics.