Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
May 2008
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008dda....39.1515m&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, DDA meeting #39, #15.15
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
1
Scientific paper
Gravitational scattering between massive planets has been invoked to explain the eccentricity distribution of extrasolar planets. For scattering to occur, the planets must either form in -- or migrate into -- an unstable configuration. In either case, it is likely that a residual gas disk, with a mass comparable to that of the planets, will be present when scattering occurs. Using explicit hydrodynamic simulations, we study the impact of gas disks on the outcome of two-planet scattering. We assume a specific model in which the planets are driven toward instability by gravitational torques from an outer low mass disk. We find that the accretion of mass and angular momentum that occurs when a scattered planet impacts the disk can strongly influence the subsequent dynamics by reducing the number of close encounters. The eccentricity of the innermost surviving planet is not substantially altered from the gas-free case, but the outer planet is circularized by its interaction with the disk. The signature of scattering initiated by gas disk migration is thus a high fraction of low eccentricity planets at larger radii accompanying known eccentric planets. The late burst of accretion when the outer planet impacts the disk is in principle observable, probably via detection of a strong near-IR excess in systems with otherwise weak disk and stellar accretion signatures.
This research was supported by NASA under grants NNA04CC11A to the CU Center for Astrobiology, NNG04GL01G and NNX07AH08G from the Astrophysics Theory Programs, and by the NSF under grant AST 0407040. S.N.R. was supported by an appointment to the NASA Postdoctoral Program at the University of Colorado Astrobiology Center, administered by Oak Ridge Associated Universities through a contract with NASA.
Armitage Philip J.
Moeckel Nickolas
Raymond Sean N.
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