Most planets are in binary star systems and thus understanding planet formation in binaries is essential for explaining observed exoplanet properties. Planets form in and around the binary in…

This is a $541,460.00 grant awarded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), which is part of the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE). The grant is for research on planet formation in binary star systems, focusing on understanding the evolution of circumstellar and circumbinary disks, and the implications for planet formation in these systems. The research aims to provide insights into the origin and current state of circumbinary planets and highly inclined and eccentric planets in binary systems. The grant does not have a set-aside designation, indicating that UNLV competed for the award based on its research capabilities and expertise in this area. As a comprehensive research university, UNLV has established itself as a key contributor to NASA's space exploration efforts through various contract and grant awards.

Most planets are in binary star systems and thus understanding planet formation in binaries is essential for explaining observed exoplanet properties. Planets form in and around the binary in circumstellar and circumbinary disks, respectively. Observations indicate that such disks may form misaligned with respect to the orbital plane of the binary. A misaligned circumbinary protoplanetary disk around an eccentric binary evolves either towards coplanar or towards an orientation that is perpendicular to the orbital plane of the binary (polar alignment), depending on the disk and binary parameters. We propose to form a complete understanding of circumbinary disk evolution and hence the initial inclination distribution for circumbinary planets. We will investigate how the evolution of a gas disk affects the dust within IT and implications for planet formation in misaligned circumbinary disks. We will explore the stability of misaligned circumbinary planetary systems. A circumstellar disk around one component of a binary evolves towards coplanar alignment in the absence of accretion on to the disk. However, circumbinary disks may feed the formation of circumstellar disks around each binary component. The accretion of high inclination material affects the dynamics of the circumstellar disk that may lead to long lived kozai-lidov oscillations of the disk eccentricity and inclination. We propose to investigate the formation and evolution of circumstellar disks from a misaligned circumbinary disk. Finally, we will consider the evolution of dust in a disk undergoing kozai-lidov oscillations and implications for planet formation in highly misaligned circumstellar disks. We propose to study these processes by means of analytic, one-dimensional, and three-dimensional simulations. The results will provide insights into the origin and current state of circumbinary planets and highly inclined and eccentric planets in binaries.