Parallel Stability Analysis of Exoplanetary Systems detected via Radial Velocity

David Joiner, Kean University

Usage Details

The intern will perform N-Body simulations of planetary systems detected via radial velocity techniques, in order to understand the gravitational stability of the systems and determine any modifications that need to be made to orbital parameters as a result. While individual simulations are not largely conducive to parallelization, due to the small number of bodies in the system, typical results of radial velocity analysis produce a probability distribution for the exoplanetary system, rather than a single specific value. Probing a sample of the solution, including an investigation of inclination which cannot be determined via the radial velocity technique, provides information helping to constrain results. This sample is highly concurrent in nature, and will benefit from parallelization.