Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2007-06-08
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
12 pages, 7 figures, submitted to ApJ
Scientific paper
10.1086/525244
We show that interaction with a gas disk may produce young planetary systems with closely-spaced orbits, stabilized by mean-motion resonances between neighbors. On longer timescales, after the gas is gone, interaction with a remnant planetesimal disk tends to pull these configurations apart, eventually inducing dynamical instability. We show that this can lead to a variety of outcomes; some cases resemble the Solar System, while others end up with high-eccentricity orbits reminiscent of the observed exoplanets. A similar mechanism has been previously suggested as the cause of the lunar Late Heavy Bombardment. Thus, it may be that a large-scale dynamical instability, with more or less cataclysmic results, is an evolutionary step common to many planetary systems, including our own.
Bryden Geoffrey
Rasio Frederic A.
Thommes Edward W.
Wu Yanqin
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