Research

The aim of my research is to understand how planetary systems form and evolve. It involves both theoretical and observational studies of extrasolar planetary systems, as well as of our own solar system. The main strength of my research is in the development of models of the physical and dynamical evolution of circumstellar material and their application to the interpretation of circumstellar disk observations. Past highlights of my work include linking clumps seen Vega’s dust disk to resonant trapping by an unseen Neptune-like planet in this system (Wyatt 2003), the discovery of a spatially resolved Kuiper Belt around the star eta Corvi (Wyatt et al. 2005), and modeling disk collisional evolution showing that the rare systems with hot dust are undergoing transient events, perhaps akin to the solar system’s period of Late Heavy Bombardment (Wyatt et al. 2007a), although the debris disks of most stars are evolving in quasi steady-state (Wyatt et al. 2007b). I wrote a review of debris disk evolution for ARAA (Wyatt 2008), which is a good introduction to this topic.

Selected papers

• Resolved Debris Discs Around A Stars in the Herschel DEBRIS Survey

Booth M., Kennedy G. M., Sibthorpe B., Matthews B. C., Wyatt M. C., Duchene G., Kavelaars J. J., Rodriguez D., Greaves J. S., Koning A., Vican L., Rieke G. H., Su K. Y. L., Moro-Martin A., Kalas P. 2012, MNRAS, in press.

• Coplanar Circumbinary Debris Disks

Kennedy G. M., Wyatt M. C., Sibthorpe B., Phillips N. M., Matthews B. C., Greaves J. S. 2012, MNRAS, in press.

• The Exozodiacal Dust Problem for Direct Observations of ExoEarths

Roberge A., Chen C. H., Millan-Gabet R., Weinberger A. J., Hinz P. M., Stapelfeldt K. R., Absil O., Kuchner M. J. Bryden G., \& the NASA ExoPAG SAG1 Team 2012, PASP, in press.

• Confusion limited surveys: using WISE to quantify the rarity of warm dust around Kepler stars

Kennedy G., Wyatt M. C. 2012, MNRAS, 426, 91.

• Debris from terrestrial planet formation: the Moon-forming collision

Jackson A. P., Wyatt M. C. 2012, MNRAS, 425, 657.

• Herschel imaging of 61 Vir: implications for the prevalence of debris in low-mass planetary systems

Wyatt M. C., Kennedy G., Sibthorpe B., Moro-Martin A., Lestrade J.-F., Ivison R. J., Matthews B., Udry S., Greaves J. S., Kalas P., Lawler S., Su K. Y. L., Rieke G. H., Booth M., Bryden G., Horner J., Kavelaars J. J., Wilner D. 2012, MNRAS, 424, 1206.

• Scars of Intense Accretion Episodes at Metal-Rich White Dwarfs

Farihi J., Gaensicke B. T., Wyatt M. C., Girven J., Pringle J. E., King A. R. 2012, MNRAS, 424, 464.

• Resolving the terrestrial planet forming regions of HD113766 and HD172555 with MIDI

Smith R., Wyatt M. C., Haniff C. A. 2012, MNRAS, 422, 2560.

• Debris disks as signposts of terrestrial planet formation. II Dependence of exoplanet architectures on giant planet and disk properties

Raymond S. N., Armitage P. J., Moro-Martin A., Booth M., Wyatt M. C., Armstrong J. C., Mandell A. M., Selsis F., West A. A., 2012, A&A, 541, A11.

• The Solar System's Post-Main Sequence Escape Boundary

Veras D., Wyatt M. C. 2012, MNRAS, 421, 2969.

• 99 Herculis: Host to a Circumbinary Polar-ring Debris Disk

Kennedy G., Wyatt M. C., Sibthorpe B., Duchene G., Kalas P., Matthews B., Greaves J. S., Su K. Y. L., Fitzgerald M. 2012, MNRAS, 421, 2264.

• The scattering of small bodies in planetary systems: constraints on the possible orbits of cometary material

Bonsor A., Wyatt M. C., 2012, MNRAS, 420, 2990.

• Spitzer Evidence for a Late Heavy Bombardment and the Formation of Urelites in eta Corvi at ~1 Gyr

Lisse C. M., Wyatt M. C., Chen C. H., Morlock A., Watson D. M., Manoj P., Sheehan P., Currie T. M., Thebault P., Sitko M. L., 2012, ApJ, 747, 93.

• Dependence of a planet's chaotic zone on particle eccentricity: the shape of debris disc inner edges

Mustill A. J., Wyatt M. C., 2012, MNRAS, 419, 3074.

• Multi-Epoch Observations of HD69830: High Resolution Spectroscopy and Limits to Variability

Beichman C. A., Lisse C. M., Tanner A. M., Bryden G., Akeson R. L., Ciardi D. R., Boden A. F., Dodson-Robinson S. E., Salyk C., Wyatt M. C., 2011, ApJ, 743, 85.

• Searching for Saturn's Dust Swarm: Limits on the size distribution of Irregular Satellites from km to micron sizes

Kennedy G. M., Wyatt M. C., Su K. Y. L., Stansberry J. A., 2011, MNRAS, 417, 2281.

• The Great Escape: How Exoplanets and Smaller Bodies Desert Dying Stars

Veras D., Wyatt M. C., Mustill A. J., Bonsor A., Eldridge J. J., 2011, MNRAS, 417, 2104.

• Multi-Wavelength Modelling of the beta Leo Debris Disc: 1, 2 or 3 Planetisimal Populations?

Churcher L. J., Wyatt M. C., Duchene G., Sibthorpe B., Kennedy G., Matthews B. C., Kalas P., Greaves J. S., Su K., Rieke G., 2011, MNRAS, 417, 1715.

• Debris disk size distributions: steady state collisional evolution with P-R drag and other loss processes

Wyatt M. C., Clarke C. J., Booth M., 2011, CeMDA, 111, 1.

• Debris disks as signposts of terrestrial planet formation

Raymond S. N., Armitage P. J., Moro-Martin A., Booth M., Wyatt M. C., Armstrong J. C., Mandell A. M., Selsis F., West A. A., 2011, A&A, 530, A62.

• Steady-state evolution of debris disks around solar-type stars

Kains N., Wyatt M. C., Greaves J. S., 2011, MNRAS, 414, 2486.

• Dynamical effects of stellar mass loss on a Kuiper-like belt

Bonsor A., Mustill A. J., Wyatt M. C., 2011, MNRAS, 414, 930.

• A general model of resonance capture$ systems: First and second order resonances

Mustill A. J., Wyatt M. C., 2011, MNRAS, 413, 554.

• Collisional evolution of irregular s$ swarms: detectable dust around Solar System and extrasolar planets

Kennedy G. M., Wyatt M. C., 2011, MNRAS, 412, 2137.

• Asymmetric Heating of the HR4796A $ to Pericenter Glow

Moerchen M. M., Churcher L. J., Telesco C. M., Wyatt M. C., Fisher R. S., Packham C., 2011, A&A, 526, A34.

• Resolved Imaging of the HD191089 De$ Disc

Churcher L. J., Wyatt M. C., Smith R., 2011, MNRAS, 410, 2.

• Post-main sequence evolution of A st$ debris discs

Bonsor A., Wyatt M. C., 2010, MNRAS, 409, 1631.

• Forming the first planetary system$ around Galactic thick disc stars

Sheehan C. K. W., Greaves J. S., Bryden G., Rieke G. H., Su K. Y. L., Wyatt M. C., Fischer D. A., Beichman C. A., 2010, MNRAS, 408, L90.

• Resolving debris discs in the far-infrared: early highlights from the DEBRIS survey

Matthews B. C., Sibthorpe B., Kennedy G., Phillips N., Churcher L., Duchene G., Greaves J. S., Lestrade J.-F., Moro-Martin A., Wyatt M. C., Bastien P., Biggs A., Bouvier J., Butner H. M. Dent W. R. F., Di Francesco J., Eisloffel J., Graham J., Harvey P., Hauschildt P., Holland W. S., Horner J., Ibar E., Ivison R. J., Johnstone D., Kalas P., Kavelaars J., Rodriguez D., Udry S., van der Werf P., Wilner D., Zuckerman B., 2010, A&A, 518, L135.

• Warm dusty discs: exploring the A star 24micron debris population

Smith R., Wyatt M. C., 2010, A&A, 515, A95.

• Are debris discs self-stirred?

Kennedy G. M., Wyatt M. C., 2010, MNRAS, 405, 1253.

• Debris discs and comet populations around Sun-like stars: the Solar System in context

Greaves J. S., Wyatt M. C., 2010, MNRAS, 404, 1944.

• Target selection for the SUNS and DEBRIS surveys for debris disks in the solar neighbourhood

Phillips N. M., Greaves J. S., Dent W. R. F., Matthews B. C., Holland W. S., Wyatt M. C., Sibthorpe B. 2010, MNRAS, 403, 1089.

• Collisional evolution of eccentric planetesimal swarms

Wyatt M. C., Booth M., Payne M. J., Churcher L. J. 2010, MNRAS, 402, 657.

• Outward migration of terrestrial embryos in binary systems

Payne M. J., Wyatt M. C., Thebault P. 2009, MNRAS, 400, 1936.

• Planets and Debris Disks: Results from a Spitzer/MIPS Search for IR Excess

Bryden G., Beichman C. A., Carpenter J. M., Rieke G. H., Stapelfeldt K. R., Werner M. W., Tanner A. M., Lawler S. M., Wyatt M. C., Trilling D. E., Su K. Y. L., Baylock M., Stansberry J. A. 2009, ApJ, 705, 1226.

• Search for cold debris disks around M-dwarfs. II

Lestrade J.-F., Wyatt M. C., Bertoldi F., Menten K. M., Labaigt G. 2009, A&A, 506, 1455.

• Debris disc stirring by secular perturbations from giant planets

Mustill A. J., Wyatt M. C. 2009, MNRAS, 399, 1403.

• The history of the Solar System's debris disc: observable properties of the Kuiper belt

Booth M., Wyatt M. C., Morbidelli A., Moro-Martin A., Levison H. F. 2009, MNRAS, 399, 385.

• Debris discs around nearby Solar analogues

Greaves J. S., Wyatt M. C., Bryden G. 2009, MNRAS, 397, 757.

• Abundant circumstellar silica dust and SiO gas created by a giant hypervelocity collision in the ~12Myr HD172555 system

Lisse C. M., Chen C. H., Wyatt M. C., Morlok A., Song I., Bryden G., Sheehan P. 2009, ApJ, 701, 2019.

• Resolving the hot dust around HD69830 and eta Corvi with MIDI and VISIR

Smith R., Wyatt M. C., Haniff C. A. 2009, A&A, 503, 265.

• Dynamical simulations of the planetary system HD69830

Payne M. J., Ford E. B., Wyatt M. C., Booth M. 2009, MNRAS, 393, 1219.

• Resolved debris disk emission around eta Tel: a young Solar System or ongoing planet formation?

Smith R., Churcher L. J., Wyatt M. C., Moerchen M. M., Telesco C. M. 2009, A&A, 493, 299.

• Dynamics of small bodies in planetary systems (preprint)

Wyatt M. C. 2009, Lect. Notes Phys., 758, 37.

• Debris disk evolution

Wyatt M. C. 2008, ARAA, 46, 339.

• The nature of mid-infrared excesses from hot dust around Sun-like stars

Smith R., Wyatt M. C., Dent W. R. F. 2008, A&A, 485, 877.

• Circumstellar dust created by terrestrial planet formation in HD113766

Lisse C. M., Chen C. H., Wyatt M. C., Morlok A. 2008, ApJ, 673, 1106.

• Extra-solar Kuiper Belt dust disks

Moro-Martin A., Wyatt M. C., Malhotra R., Trilling D. E. 2008. In Kuiper Belt, eds. A. Barucci, H. Boehnhardt, D. Cruikshank and A. Morbidelli, (Tucson, Univ of Arizona Press), 465-480.

• Origin of the metallicity dependence of exoplanet host stars in the protoplanetary disk mass distribution

Wyatt M. C., Clarke C. J., Greaves J. S. 2007, MNRAS, 380, 1737.

• An Unbiased Survey of 500 Nearby Stars for Debris Disks: A JCMT Legacy Program

Matthews B. C., Greaves J. S., Holland W. S., Wyatt M. C., Barlow M. J., Bastien P., Beichman C. A., Biggs A., Butner H. M., Dent W. R. F., Di Francesco J., Dominik C., Fissel L., Friberg P., Gibb A. G., Halpbern M., Ivison R. J., Jayawardhana R., Jenness T., Johnstone D., Kavelaars J. J., Marshall J. L., Phillips N., Schieven G., Snellen I. A. G., Walker H. J., Ward-Thompson D., Weferling B., White G. J., Yates J., Zhu M., 2007, PASP, 119, 842.

• Planetary Migration to Large Radii

Martin R. G., Lubow S. H., Pringle J. E., Wyatt M. C. 2007, MNRAS, 378, 1589.

• Mass and temperature of the TWA7 debris disk

Matthews B. C., Kalas P. G., Wyatt M. C. 2007, ApJ, 663, 1103.

• Steady-state evolution of debris disks around A stars

Wyatt M. C., Smith R., Su K. Y. L., Rieke G. H., Greaves J. S., Beichman C. A., Bryden G. 2007, ApJ, 663, 365.

• Predicting the frequencies of diverse exo-planetary systems

Greaves J. S., Fischer D. A., Wyatt M. C., Beichman C. A., Bryden G. 2007, MNRAS, 378, L1.

• On the nature of the dust in the debris disk around HD69830

Lisse C. M., Beichman C. A., Bryden G., Wyatt M. C. 2007, ApJ, 658, 584.

• Transience of hot dust around sun-like stars

Wyatt M. C., Smith R., Greaves J. S., Beichman C. A., Bryden G., Lisse C. M. 2007, ApJ, 658, 569.

• Evolution of circumstellar disks around normal stars: placing our solar system in context

Meyer M. R., Backman D. E., Weinberger A., Wyatt M. C. 2007. In Protostars and Planets V, eds. B. Reipurth, D. Jewitt and K. Keil (Tucson: Univ. of Arizona Press), pp. 573-588.

• Search for Cold Debris Disks around M-dwarfs

Lestrade J.-F., Wyatt M. C., Bertoldi F., Dent W. R. F., Menten K. M. 2006, A&A, 460, 733.

• New debris disks around nearby main sequence stars: impact on the direct detection of planets

Beichman C. A., Bryden G., Stapelfeldt K. R., Gautier T. N., Grogan K., Shao M., Velusamy T., Lawler S., Blaylock M., Rieke G. H., Lunine J. I., Fischer D. A., Marcy G. W., Greaves J. S., Wyatt M. C., Holland W. S., Dent W. R. F. 2006, ApJ, 652, 1674.

• Dust in Resonant Extrasolar Kuiper Belts: Grain Size and Wavelength Dependence of Disk Structure

Wyatt M. C. 2006, ApJ, 639, 1153.

• Metallicity, Debris Disks, and Planets

Greaves J. S., Fischer D. A., Wyatt M. C. 2006, MNRAS, 366, 283.

• Spiral Structure when Setting up Pericentre Glow: Possible Giant Planets at Hundreds of AU in the HD141569 Disk, moviefig3a, moviefig3b, moviefig4, moviefig5, fig4 in colour

Wyatt M. C., 2005, A&A, 440, 937.

• The Vega Debris Disk - A Surprise from Spitzer

Su K. Y. L., Rieke G. H., Misselt K. A., Stansberry J. A., Moro-Martin A., Stapelfeldt K. R., Werner M. W., Trilling D. E., Bendo G. J., Gordon K. D., Hines D. C., Wyatt M. C., Holland W. S., Marengo M., Megeath S. T., Fazio G. G. 2005, ApJ, 628, 487.

• The Insignificance of P-R Drag in Detectable Extrasolar Planetesimal Belts

Wyatt M. C., 2005, A&A, 433, 1007.

• The Origin and Evolution of Dust Belts

Wyatt M. C., 2005. In Dynamics of Populations of Planetary Systems, eds. Z. Knezevic and A. Milani, Proceedings of IAU Colloquium 197, 383.

• Sub-millimeter Images of a Dusty Kuiper Belt around Eta Corvi, fig1 (high res),

Wyatt M. C., Greaves J. S., Dent W. R. F., Coulson I. M., 2005, ApJ, 620, 492.

• Structure in the Epsilon Eridani Debris Disk

Greaves, J. S., Holland, W. S., Wyatt M. C., Dent, W. R. F., Robson, E. I., Coulson, I. M. C., Jenness, T., Moriarty-Schieven, G. H., Davis, G. R., Butner, H. M., Gear, W. K., Dominik, C., Walker, H. J., 2005, ApJ, 619, L187.

• Mid-infrared images of beta Pictoris and the possible role of planetesimal collisions in the central disk

Telesco C. M., Fisher R. S., Wyatt M. C., Dermott S. F., Kehoe T. J. J., Novotny S., Marinas N., Radomski J. T., Packham C., de Buizer J., Hayward T. L., 2005, Nature, 433, 133.

• The debris disc around Tau Ceti: a massive analogue to the Kuiper Belt

Greaves J. S., Wyatt M. C., Holland W. S., Dent W. R. F., 2004, MNRAS, 351, L54.

• Modeling the Structures of Dusty Disks: Unseen Planets?

Wyatt M. C., 2004. In The Search for Other Worlds: Fourteenth Astrophysics Conference. AIP Conf. Proc., 713, 93.

• Sub-mm Observations and Modelling of Vega-type Stars

Sheret I., Dent W. R. F., Wyatt M. C., 2004, MNRAS, 348, 1282.

• A Search for Debris Discs around Stars with Giant Planets

Greaves J. S., Holland W. S., Jayawardhana R., Wyatt M. C., Dent W. R. F., 2004, MNRAS, 348, 1097.

• Resonant Trapping of Planetesimals by Planet Migration: Debris Disk Clumps and Vega's Similarity to the Solar System

Wyatt M. C., 2003, ApJ, 598, 1321.

• Extrasolar Analogues to the Kuiper Belt

Wyatt M. C., Holland W. S., Greaves J. S., Dent W. R. F., 2003, Earth Moon Planets, 92, 423.

• Book Review: Exploration of the Solar System by Infrared Remote Sensing / Cambridge University Press, 2003

Wyatt M. C., 2003, The Observatory, 1176, 306.

• Some Anomalies in the Occurrence of Debris Discs around Main-sequence A and G Stars

Greaves J. S., Wyatt M. C., 2003, MNRAS, 345, 1212.

• SCUBA Observations of Dust around Lindroos Stars: Evidence for a Substantial Submillimetre Disc Population

Wyatt M. C., Dent W. R. F., Greaves J. S., 2003, MNRAS, 342, 876.

• Local Heating in the Galactic Center Western Arc

Marinas N., Telesco C. M., Pina R. K., Fisher R. S., Wyatt M. C., 2003, AJ, 125, 1345.

• Submillimeter Observations of an Asymmetric Dust Disk around Fomalhaut

Holland W. S., Greaves J. S., Dent W. R. F., Wyatt M. C., Zuckerman B., Webb R. A., McCarthy C., Coulson I. M., Robson E. I., Gear W. K., 2003, ApJ, 582, 1141.

• Dust Clumps in Fomalhaut and Other Debris Disks

Wyatt M. C., Holland W. S., Dent W. R. F., Greaves J. S., 2004. In Debris Disks and the Formation of Planets: A Symposium in Memory of Fred Gillett, eds. L. Caroff, J. L. Moon, D. Backman and E. Praton, ASP Conf. Ser., 324, 244

• Warm Debris Disks: Where Is Their Dust and Why?

Wyatt M. C., 2002. In Observing with the VLTI, eds. G. Perrin and F. Malbet, EAS Publ. Ser. 6, 293.

• Collisional Processes in Extrasolar Planetesimal Disks - Dust Clumps in Fomalhaut's Debris Disk

Wyatt M. C., Dent W. R. F., 2002, MNRAS, 334, 589.

• New Sub-millimeter Limits on Dust in the 55 Cancri Planetary System

Jayawardhana R., Holland W. S., Kalas P., Greaves J. S., Dent W. R. F., Wyatt M. C., Marcy G. W., 2002, ApJ, 570, L93.

• The Potential of Exozodiacal Disk Clumps to Confound the Search for Terrestrial Planets

Wyatt M. C., 2001. In Techniques for the Detection of Planets and Life beyond the Solar System, ed. W. R. F. Dent (Occasional Reports of the Royal Observatory Edinburgh #17).

• Orbital evolution of interplanetary dust

Dermott S. F., Grogan K., Durda D. D., Jayaraman S., Kehoe T. J. J., Kortenkamp S. J., Wyatt M. C., 2001. In Interplanetary Dust, eds. E. Grun, B. A. S. Gustafson, S. F. Dermott and H. Fechtig (Berlin: Springer-Verlag), pp. 569-639.

• A Model of Stochastic Collisions as the Cause of Clumps in Debris Disks

Wyatt M. C., Dent W. R. F., Greaves J. S., Holland W. S., 2001. In Planetary Systems in the Universe: Observation, Formation and Evolution, eds. A. Penny, P. Artymowicz, A. M. Lagrange, and S. S. Russell, ASP Conf. Ser.

• Pericentre Glow: A Signature of Hidden Planets in HR 4796?

Wyatt M. C., Dermott S. F., Telesco C. M., 2000. In Disks, Planetesimals and Planets, eds. F. Garzon et al., ASP Conf. Ser., 219, 289.

• Detection of Extended Thermal Infrared Emission around the Vega-like Source HD 141569

Fisher R. S., Telesco C. M., Pina R. K., Knacke R. F., Wyatt M. C., 2000, ApJ, 532, L141.

• Deep 10 and 18 um Imaging of the HR 4796A Circumstellar Disk: Transient Dust Particles and Tentative Evidence for a Brightness Asymmetry

Telesco C. M., Fisher R. S., Pina R. K., Knacke R. F., Dermott S. F., Wyatt M. C., Grogan K., Holmes E. K., Ghez A. M., Prato L. A., Hartmann L. W., Jayawardhana R., 2000, ApJ, 530, 329.

• Signatures of Planets in the Observable Structure of Circumstellar Debris Disks

Wyatt M. C., 1999, Ph.D. Thesis, Univ. Florida.

• How Observations of Circumstellar Disk Asymmetries Can Reveal Hidden Planets: Pericenter Glow and its Application to the HR 4796 Disk

Wyatt M. C., Dermott S. F., Telesco C. M., Fisher R. S., Grogan K., Holmes E. K., Pina R. K., 1999, ApJ, 527, 918.

• SIRTF: A Unique View through the Earth's Resonant Ring

Wyatt M. C., Dermott S. F., Grogan K., Jayaraman S., 1999. In Astrophysics with Infrared Surveys: A Prelude to SIRTF, eds. M. D. Bicay et al., ASP Conf. Ser., 177, 374.
 

Career

• 2000-2005 Postdoctoral Research Fellow, UK Astronomy Technology Centre, Royal Observatory Edinburgh
• 2005-2008 Royal Society University Research Fellow, Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge
• 2006-2011 University Lecturer, Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge
• 2011-present Reader in Astrophysics, Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge

Qualifications

• 1994 B.A. Hons in Engineering, University of Cambridge
• 1996 M.Sc. in Astrophysics, Queen Mary University of London
• 1999 Ph.D. in Astronomy, University of Florida

Awards and Prizes

• William Heron Scholar of Engineering, Peterhouse (1992, 1993, 1994)
• Routh Prize for Engineering, Peterhouse (1994)
• Morien Morgan Prize, Cambridge University (1994)
• Royal Aeronautical Society Prize in Aeronautics, Cambridge University (1994)
• Fulbright Scholarship (1997)
• Grinter Fellowship, University of Florida (1997, 1998, 1999)
• Nutter Dissertation Fellowship, University of Florida (1999)