A numerical simulation of the formation of the terrestrial planets

Details A numerical simulation of the formation of the terrestrial planets A numerical simulation of the formation of the terrestrial planets

Jun 1986

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1986apj...305..564l&link_type=abstract

Astrophysical Journal, Part 1 (ISSN 0004-637X), vol. 305, June 1, 1986, p. 564-579.

Statistics

Computation

39

Astronomical Models, Computational Astrophysics, Many Body Problem, Planetary Evolution, Protoplanets, Terrestrial Planets, Circular Orbits, Earth (Planet), Gravitational Effects, Inelastic Collisions, Planetary Mass, Radial Velocity, Solar System, Venus (Planet), Planets, Terrestrial Planets, Simulations, Planetesimals, Parameters, Size, Distribution, Orbits, Collisions, Formation, Density, Mass, Eccentricity, Distance, Inclination, Time Scale

Scientific paper

A numerical simulation of the accumulation of the terrestrial planets was performed, starting with 200 lunar-size planetesimals distributed uniformly in a plane; these were placed in circular orbits around the sun between 0.5 and 1.5 AU, with the aim that they would form Venus and earth by inelastic collisions. The rule was that when two bodies physically collided, they coalesced into one body with the same density, which followed the center of mass motion of the colliding bodies. Initially, the eccentricities of the bodies were zero, but they were gradually built up by two-body gravitational encounters. Physical collisions proceeded at a faster rate, so that finally the mean distance between bodies exceeded the radial excursions and the process terminated. After 50,000 yr, six bodies remained, the largest of which had a mass about 2/3 the mass of the earth. This simulation was confined to a plane. In three dimensions, if the inclinations were of the same order as the eccentricities, the time scale would have increased by a factor of a few thousand.

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