Institute for Advanced Study/Princeton University Joint Astrophysics Colloquium

Recent observations by the Kepler space telescope have led to the discovery of more than 4000 exoplanet candidates consisting of many systems with Earth- to Neptune-sized objects that reside well inside the orbit of Mercury, around their respective host stars. How and where these close-in planets formed is one of the major unanswered questions in planet formation. I will present recent results concerning initial disk masses and atmospheric mass-loss due to impacts and will discuss their implications for terrestrial planet formation in our Solar System and the origin of close-in Super-Earths and Mini-Neptunes.