Investigations on Gas Giant Moon Formation During Thommes Ejection

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The unique orbital configurations and mass distributions observed in the satellite systems of Jupiter and Saturn provide a means to assess outer Solar system evolution theories. Thommes ejection theory (Thommes et al. 2001), where Uranus and Neptune form near Jupiter and are perturbed into their current locations, has been successfully and extensively tested. An in-depth analysis of the effects planetary ejection has on a system of forming moons is needed to assess the validity of the Thommes model.
Using an N-body planetary code, we simulated the formation of gas giant moons in an unperturbed state, absent from proto-planet migration. Satellite formation was also simulated during Thommes ejection, where Uranus and Neptune migrated from near Jupiter's orbit to their current locations. We propose that the gravitational influences of Uranus and Neptune caused the collapse of Saturn's satellite disk, resulting in a system of moons dominated by a single body, Titan.
We find that in the absence of proto-planet migration, Jupiter and Saturn retain systems of four satellites, similar to the Galilean moons. In 85% of the simulations with planetary ejection, the final satellite configuration for Saturn's moons closely resembles the present-day Saturn system. The simulations of Jupiter's moons resulted in Galilean-like systems in 88% of the unperturbed simulations, while the Thommes ejections simulations were able to recreate the Jupiter family of bodies in only 48% of the simulations. The interactions induced by migrating protoplanets appear to be the cause of Saturn's single-moon dominated system. To further assess the plausibility of Thommes ejection, we will explore other late-stage formation theories, such as the Nice Model (Tsiganis 2006).

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