The origin of free-floating planets

Abstract

Free-floating planets (FFPs) are the lightest products of star formation and they carry important information on the initial conditions of the environment in which they were formed. They were first discovered in the 2000s but still few of them have been identified and confirmed due to observational challenges. This is a review of the last advances in the detection of these objects and the understanding of their origin. Several studies indicate that the observed fraction of FFPs outnumbers the prediction of turbulent fragmentation and suggest that many were formed in planetary systems that were later abandoned. The JWST will certainly constitute a new step further in the detection and characterisation of FFPs. To interpret these new observations, precise ages for the nearby star-forming regions in which they were formed will be necessary.

Accepted for publication in Astrophysics and Space Science

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