Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Sep 1996
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1996dps....28.1210i&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #28, #12.10; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 28, p.1112
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
We propose a merger scenario for the newly discovered extra solar planet around 70 Vir (Marcy & Butler 1996) and HD 114762 (Latham et al. 1989, Marcy & Butler 1996). These planets are massive (7-10 M_J where M_J is Jupiter's mass) and their orbits have semimajor axis a =~ 0.43 and 0.34 A.U. and orbital eccentricity e =~ 0.38 and 0.35. Our scenario is based on conventional formation theory of giant planets (gas-accretion onto solid cores) and long term orbital instability. We suggest that in a relatively massive disk, several giant planets with masses of a few M_J were formed outside a ~ 1 A.U.. The protogiant planet system is stable during the persistence of disk gas ( ~ 10(6-7) yr), but becomes unstable as a consequence of planetary interaction during the main sequence phase of 70 Vir. As the planetary orbital eccentricity increases, the orbits begin to cross. We performed N-body calculations of this orbit crossing stage and found that inner planets have a tendency to merge to form a massive planet with high e ( =~ 0.2-0.9) and small a ( =~ 0.5-1 A.U.). The orbital decay is due to gravitational perturbations by the outer planets and energy dissipation during the collisions. The orbital properties are consistent with those of 70 Vir's planet. The timescale for planets to start orbit crossing depends very sensitively on the planets' masses and separation distances, which may explain the diversity of giant planet systems.
Ida Shigeru
Lin Doug N. C.
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