Rogue Worlds Strike Back, Episode 2

Scientific rationale

Hundreds of free-floating, or "rogue", planetary-mass objects have been discovered wandering through the Galaxy unbound to any star. The origins of these objects remain poorly understood, and likely involve a combination of processes relevant to star and planet formation, perhaps including a large contribution from binary star systems. Upcoming missions such as the Nancy Grace Roman telescope will use the microlensing technique to vastly increase our sample of free-floating planets and probe their demographics down to below an Earth-mass. Meanwhile, direct imaging surveys of young star-forming regions have found hundreds of rogue planets, and it is an ongoing theoretical challenge to determine what fraction represent ejected planets as opposed to aborted stellar embryos.

Rogue Worlds 2 is a 3-day workshop designed to bring together researchers at the forefront of different aspects of the study of free-floating planets, including microlensing (ground- and space-based), direct imaging, and modeling of stellar- and planetary dynamics. The format of the workshop is designed to promote discussion and foster collaboration.

Invited reviewers and panellists

TBA