Statistics
Scientific paper
May 2000
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2000dda....31.0107c&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, DDA Meeting #31, #01.07; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 32, p.857
Statistics
Scientific paper
Here I present results of 16 new N-body simulations of the accretion of the inner planets. These calculations follow the dynamical and collisional evolution of a disk of planetary embryos to the point at which they form a stable system of terrestrial planets. The simulations differ from earlier N-body integrations by Chambers & Wetherill (1998, Icarus, 136, 304) and Agnor et al. (1999, Icarus, 142, 219) by increasing the initial number of embryos to about 150, and by using a wider range of initial masses. At first sight, the planetary systems produced by the new integrations more closely resemble the terrestrial planets than the results of earlier simulations. However, there are still obvious differences, notably in the orbital eccentricities and inclinations, in the obliquities, and in the distribution of mass within the terrestrial-planet region. To assess the results of these simulations, I propose a set of statistics to quantify some important characteristics of any system of terrestrial planets. The statistics allow us to see where the inner planets of the Solar System lie within the spectrum of computer-generated systems. In addition, we can see whether changes in the initial conditions used by the calculations are systematically narrowing the gap between simulation and reality. Preliminary results suggest that increasing the initial number of embryos, and using a wider range of initial masses, may eventually solve the eccentricity and inclination problems. However, these changes do nothing to help reproduce the unusual obliquities of the terrestrial planets, nor explain why almost all of the mass in the inner Solar System is concentrated in the narrow range of semi-major axes occupied by Venus and Earth. This research was supported by the NRC, DENI, PPARC and Starlink.
Chambers John E.
Lissauer Jack . J.
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