Dead Zones and the Origin of Planetary Masses

Details Dead Zones and the Origin of Planetary Masses Dead Zones and the Origin of Planetary Masses

2004-12-10

arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0412270v1

Astrophys.J. 618 (2004) L137-L140

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

10 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in ApJL

Scientific paper

10.1086/427920

Protoplanets accrete material from their natal protostellar disks until they are sufficiently massive to open a gap in the face of the disk's viscosity that arises from the magneto-rotational instability (MRI). By computing the ionization structure within observationally well-constrained disk models, we demonstrate that poorly ionized, low viscosity "dead zones" stretch out to 12 AU within typical disks. We find that planets of terrestrial mass robustly form within the dead zones while massive Jovian planets form beyond. Dead zones will also halt the rapid migration of planets into their central stars. Finally, we argue that the gravitational scattering of low mass planets formed in the dead zone, to larger radii by a rapidly accreting Jupiter beyond, can explain the distribution of planetary masses in our solar system.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

Dead Zones and the Origin of Planetary Masses does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Dead Zones and the Origin of Planetary Masses, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Dead Zones and the Origin of Planetary Masses will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-263379