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Title:
Dynamical Outcomes of Planet-Planet Scattering
Authors:
Chatterjee, Sourav; Ford, Eric B.; Matsumura, Soko; Rasio, Frederic A.
Affiliation:
AA(Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208.), AB(Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA 02138.; Department of Astronomy, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611.; Hubble Fellow.), AC(Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208.), AD(Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208.)
Publication:
The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 686, Issue 1, pp. 580-602. (ApJ Homepage)
Publication Date:
10/2008
Origin:
UCP
ApJ Keywords:
Instabilities, Methods: Numerical, Stars: Planetary Systems, Stars: Planetary Systems: Formation, Scattering
DOI:
10.1086/590227
Bibliographic Code:
2008ApJ...686..580C

Abstract

Observations in the past decade have revealed extrasolar planets with a wide range of orbital semimajor axes and eccentricities. Based on the present understanding of planet formation via core accretion and oligarchic growth, we expect that giant planets often form in closely packed configurations. While the protoplanets are embedded in a protoplanetary gas disk, dissipation can prevent eccentricity growth and suppress instabilities from becoming manifest. However, once the disk dissipates, eccentricities can grow rapidly, leading to close encounters between planets. Strong planet-planet gravitational scattering could produce both high eccentricities and, after tidal circularization, very short period planets, as observed in the exoplanet population. We present new results for this scenario based on extensive dynamical integrations of systems containing three giant planets, both with and without residual gas disks. We assign the initial planetary masses and orbits in a realistic manner following the core accretion model of planet formation. We show that, with realistic initial conditions, planet-planet scattering can reproduce quite well the observed eccentricity distribution. Our results also make testable predictions for the orbital inclinations of short-period giant planets formed via strong planet scattering followed by tidal circularization.
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