  Constraining planet formation based on the atmospheric composition of
exoplanets is a fundamental goal of the exoplanet community. Existing studies
commonly try to constrain atmospheric abundances, or to analyze what abundance
patterns a given description of planet formation predicts. However, there is
also a pressing need to develop methodologies that investigate how to transform
atmospheric compositions into planetary formation inferences. In this study we
summarize the complexities and uncertainties of state-of-the-art planet
formation models and how they influence planetary atmospheric compositions. We
introduce a methodology that explores the effect of different formation model
assumptions when interpreting atmospheric compositions. We apply this framework
to the directly imaged planet HR 8799e. Based on its atmospheric composition,
this planet may have migrated significantly during its formation. We show that
including the chemical evolution of the protoplanetary disk leads to a reduced
need for migration. Moreover, we find that pebble accretion can reproduce the
planet's composition, but some of our tested setups lead to too low atmospheric
metallicities, even when considering that evaporating pebbles may enrich the
disk gas. We conclude that the definitive inversion from atmospheric abundances
to planet formation for a given planet may be challenging, but a qualitative
understanding of the effects of different formation models is possible, opening
up pathways for new investigations.
