Setting the stage: dynamics of planet formation and water delivery

In addition to our Solar System, exoplanet systems provide a sample of thousands of outcomes of planet formation. Even though Jupiter is the only Solar System planet likely to be detected with present-day technology, the past decade of observations has shown that the Solar System is quantifiably unusual among exoplanet systems at the ~1% level. Instead, at least half of main sequence stars host close-in "super-Earths", and ~10% have Jupiters on non-Jupiter-like orbits. In this talk I will explore how the Solar System fits in a larger context by addressing key steps in planetary system formation. I will present models to explain the diversity of observed planetary systems and the mechanisms that create that diversity. I will focus on the processes that create a diversity in planetary compositions and formation times, with a particular emphasis on the origin of water. While there is as yet no consensus on exactly how the Solar System formed it is clear that Jupiter played a central role.