Double Hot jupiters through ZLK migration

Advisor: Dr. Tiger Lu and Prof. Malena Rice

I researched the formation of double hot Jupiter systems through mirrored von Zeipel–Lidov–Kozai (ZLK) migration in stellar binaries. I ran N-body simulations using REBOUND and REBOUNDx to study how asymmetric planetary masses and mutual inclinations influence double hot Jupiter formation. I also estimated the occurrence rate of such systems from the observed distribution of Gaia binaries known to host hot Jupiters. This work resulted in a first-author publication and provides testable predictions for identifying additional double hot Jupiter systems in future surveys.

Probing Gas Giant Origins: Chemistry and Isotope Ratios of Substellar Atmospheres in the β Pictoris Young Moving Group

Advisor: Dr Yapeng Zhang, Dr Jerry Xuan, and Prof. Dimitri Mawet

I developed an atmospheric retrieval code using petitRADTRANS and PyMultiNest to analyze high-resolution CRIRES+ spectra of directly imaged substellar objects in the β Pictoris moving group. I retrieved chemical abundances and isotope ratios (C/O, [Fe/H], and 12CO/13CO) for the gas giant 2M0249-0557 c and two benchmark brown dwarfs, interpreting the results in the context of the planet's formation pathway. My analysis supports a star-like gravitational collapse origin for 2M0249-0557 c and provides a comparative baseline measurement of abundaces in the β Pictoris moving group.

High-Eccentricity Migration through Secular Chaos in 3+1 Quadruple Systems

Advisor: Dr. Hareesh Gautham Bhaskar, Prof. Cristobal Petrovich

I developed a novel secular integration codes in C to study secular chaos in hierarchical “3+1” quadruple exoplanet systems (planet orbiting a star, perturbed by a nearby substellar/stellar companion and a fourth distant stellar companion). I created surfaces of section from rotating frame Hamiltonian of the “3+1” quadruple system to analytically probe parameter space of chaos. I demonstrated that near-coplanar and circular “3+1” quadruple systems can excite planetary eccentricities to levels sufficient for high-eccentricity migration and found that hot Jupiters that form through this mechanism have stellar obliquity distributions centered near 90 degrees.