ACAMAR Visiting Fellowship – Success Stories

Associate Professor Su Wang, from Purple Mountain Observatory, CAS, recently visited The University of Southern Queensland (UniSQ) in Queensland, Australia, as part of the ACAMAR Visiting Fellowship.

During her three months spent at UniSQ, A/Prof Wang gave two lectures about the planetary formation theory, finished one work on the formation of hot Jupiter and its nearby planetary companions, and completed two times of transiting observations of G12 system using the telescope in China. She also carried out one work on the formation of super dense mini-Neptunes around K-dwarfs and submitted one observation proposal for a system with one cold Jupiter and two inner super earths. The culmination of a very successful visiting fellowship was an offer from UniSQ to become an Adjunct Research Fellow for the next three years for continuous cooperation. 

Visiting Fellowship Highlights

Two lectures about the planetary formation theory: A/Prof Wang gave two lectures while at UniSQ, both titled “The Configuration Formation of Exoplanetary Systems”. The first lecture focused on classical planetary formation theories, while the second lecture discussed formation of three types of exoplanetary configurations.

Various works, collaborating with Dr C. X. Huang from UniSQ: While at UniSQ, A/Prof Wang collaborated with Dr. C. X. Huang on several works, one of which pertained to the formation of a hot Jupiter and its nearby planetary companions (see image one). Su also collaborated with Dr Huang on a work regarding the formation of super dense mini-Neptunes, and to observe two transiting events of the G12 system using a Purple Mountain Telescope in China (see image two). 

Collaboration with Professor Rob Wittenmyer from UniSQ: As well as her collaborations with Dr Huang, Su also worked with Prof Wittenmyer to complete an observation proposal for exoplanetary systems. Titled, “A cold Jupiter with friends: mass measurement for the K2-43 system”, Su provided a possible formation model of this system to illustrate the importance of observing the mass of the planets in the system. The proposal was submitted to the GEMINI Observatory.

Three year Adjunct Research Fellow position at UniSQ: Based on the three successful months she spent at UniSQ, Su Wang was offered a three year position as an Adjunct Research Fellow, as part of a plan to build longer term scientific collaboration between the Purple Mountain Observatory and Centre for Astrophysics at UniSQ. 

Image one: the predicted distribution of mutual inclination between planets and the eccentricity of the inner planetary companions. Credit: Su Wang, UniSQ.
Image two: Image obtained via the PMO telescope during the observation of transiting events of the G12 system. Credit: Su Wang, UniSQ.