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Formation and Evolution of Planetary Systems

Martin Duncan, with students and colleagues, is incorporating a variety of methods to more efficiently model planet formation processes such as the interaction of large bodies ("protoplanets") amongst themselves and with a population of smaller bodies. We are now poised to tackle pressing problems which have been hitherto computationally intractable. These include extensive simulations of the mid- to late stages of the formation of Earth-like and giant planets and the influence of the planet-building process (e.g. planet migration) and the Sun's early presence in a star cluster on the structure of the outer solar system.