The Demographics of Giant Exoplanets and Brown Dwarfs in Wide Stellar Binaries

<p>While numerous exoplanets have now been uncovered in stellar binaries, the impact of companion stars on planet formation&nbsp;and evolution is still not understood. In this talk, I will present results of population trends seen among the known sample of planets in wide multiple star systems, which&nbsp;allows us to investigate the effects of&nbsp;stellar binarity on the resulting planetary architectures. In particular, observations of stars hosting close-in&nbsp;giant planets and brown dwarfs find an excess of binary companions on few hundred AU separations, and different planet demographics for these systems, suggesting that such binaries may provide favourable&nbsp;conditions for the&nbsp;formation of the observed inner companions. I will show results from simulations of&nbsp;self-gravitating protoplanetary disks adapted to binary-star environments, which show that certain&nbsp;binary configurations may trigger gravitational&nbsp;fragmentation and lead to the formation of giant planets&nbsp;in otherwise-stable disks.</p>