Hot Jupiters in Dense Stellar Systems

Most stars form not in isolation but in clusters of hundreds or thousands of stars. At the extreme end, globular clusters - with their high densities, low metallicities, and old stellar populations - offer a unique laboratory for studying how planet formation is influenced by environmental conditions. Despite several dedicated surveys, no hot Jupiters or other transiting exoplanets have been discovered in globular clusters to date, raising fundamental questions about the interplay of these environmental effects on planet formation and survival.

In this project, we seek to disentangle the effects of the host star properties and the dynamical environment on planet formation and evolution by numerically simulating the dynamical histories of globular clusters corresponding to a range of initial conditions. The role of the internal cluster dynamics and the external Galactic tide in the evolution of planetary systems can then be modelled using a novel analytical framework, shedding light on the connection between present-day cluster properties and planetary demographics.

While individual clusters have received significant attention in the past, no broader analysis of the wider globular cluster population has yet been performed. As such, we expect our results to prove instrumental in identifying the most salient globular clusters to target in future transit surveys. With an eye on upcoming observations, including those from the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, this project will contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of planet formation processes both in dense stellar systems and in the broader Galactic context.