PLANES · Unfolding the Evolution of Planetary Systems

Most of the exoplanets discovered to date orbit solar mass main-sequence stars. Essential to the detection and characterization of extrasolar planets is the knowledge of planetary systems around as many diverse stars as possible. In this context, surveys are now targeting planets around stars that have evolved off the Main Sequence, because, so far, it is one of the few means we have of directly determining the influence of the stellar mass on the planet formation mechanism.With searches of planets around evolved pulsating B sub-dwarfs, red giant stars, and white dwarfs underway, it is paramount to advance theoretical research in how stellar evolution affects the architecture of planetary systems. With this project we aim to determine: (i) accurate orbital ranges where planets are expected to be found around evolved stars, (ii) the minimum masses for the survival of planets inside the stellar envelope of evolved stars, and (iii) the effects of sub-stellar objects on the common envelope evolution. The main goals of the program are to provide the theoretical framework to understand first how stellar evolution influences planet survival and second how planets affect the evolution of stars.