This blog post explores the fascinating research of Jared Bryan, a Ph.D. student at MIT, who is bridging the gap between seismology on Earth and seismology on stars, shedding light on the mysterious phenomenon of exoplanet migration.
From Earthquakes to Starquakes
Pursuing earthquake seismology on Earth started Bryan down an entirely different path — and sparked a curiosity in him about how stars’ seismic activity could help reveal their mysterious internal layers. As part of his Ph. As part of his Ph. D. program at MIT’s Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences (EAPS) Bryan had to do a second research project in a different specialty.
It was a blessing in disguise: Bryan ticked the ‘seismology background’ box de Wit had hoped for: hoping someone can understand some unusual stellar observations. What began as a surprise side-project grew into an exotic sojourn to the long-simmering exotica of ‘starquakes’ for this astrophysicist.
Unraveling the Mysteries of Exoplanet Migration
Bryan had led research in the field of stellar seismology on how a star’s pulsations influence the motion of its exoplanets, especially massive ‘hot Jupiters’ that orbit extremely close to their parent stars. In his research, Bryan found that the resonant interaction between surface gravity waves and internal tides is essential to powering this nutrient-rich, deep-sea traffic flow.
Over time, as a star evolves and interacts with its exoplanet in what is known as tidal resonance locking, the orbit of an exoplanet can even change, sometimes moving backward and forward. That some hot Jupiters have migrated inwards probably via vast wandering migration, is a conclusion with important consequences for our understanding of exoplanet formation and evolution.
Conclusion
The journey that led him to a study published on Tuesday in Nature Astronomy is a testament to how cross-disciplinary work can pay off and prompt scientific breakthroughs, when new collaborations take researchers out of their own fields. Bryan was in direct link of seismology from Earth to seismology on stars, and his work as such not only advanced the rapidly expanding field of asteroseismology but also shed light on a puzzling puzzle surrounding how exoplanets move. And, as he continues through his career in academia, it stands as a testament to the magical vitality that springs forth when we simply allow curiosity to come together with the scientific determination — an open heart and mind, meeting the unknown.
