why protect adv research?

[Nibelung44]

Hi,

Is it a problem if I grab a system for an advanced research, then abandon it (I don't want to defend a whole new branch of the galaxy...)

[x4000]

No problem at all with that, often that can be a really good decision.  By capturing the advanced research station, you are essentially stealing knowledge from the AI.  Once you have that knowledge, there's no intrinsic incentive to keep the planet and the station that you captured in order to get it (aside from the fact that you increased AI Progress and spent other resources to capture the planet, so if it's got any resources you may as well try to make use of them if it's not overly hard to defend).

[Velox]

     An ARS has a faster knowledge gain rate and some other desirable characteristics (immune to insta-kills, etc) so it's not a bad thing to have just for your regular knowledge gathering.  They're wretchedly slow, though, and you don't lose anything (except pride) if it gets scragged, so you can just capture it to get the ship tech and then forget about it.

     I always make sure to bring them back to my homeworld intact, though.  In your face, malignant AI.

[kjara]

They are great for knowledge raiding hostile planets(even if its only the planets adjacent to the planet it appeared on--just need to hang onto that planet for a bit after you take it, meaning you can rely mainly on your mobile fleet that took it for defense). 

I like to hang onto the planet as a forward base for attacking other planets(but I play a different playstyle than most--usually don't have connected owned planets).