A Possible Correlation between the Gaseous Drag Strength and Resonant Planetesimals in Planetary Systems

We study the migration and resonant capture of planetesimals in a planetary system consisting of a gaseous disk analogous to the primordial solar nebula and a Neptune-like planet. Using a simple treatment of the drag force, we find that planetesimals are mainly trapped in the 3:2 and 2:1 resonances...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Astrophysical journal 2007-02, Vol.656 (1), p.534-544
Main Authors: Jiang, Ing-Guey, Yeh, Li-Chin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Astronomy
Earth, ocean, space
Exact sciences and technology
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:We study the migration and resonant capture of planetesimals in a planetary system consisting of a gaseous disk analogous to the primordial solar nebula and a Neptune-like planet. Using a simple treatment of the drag force, we find that planetesimals are mainly trapped in the 3:2 and 2:1 resonances and that the resonant populations are correlated with the gaseous drag strength in a sense that the 3:2 resonant population increases with the stronger gaseous drag, but the 2:1 resonant population does not. Since planetesimals can lead to the formation of larger bodies similar to asteroids and Kuiper Belt objects, the gaseous drag can play an important role in the configuration of a planetary system.
ISSN:0004-637X
1538-4357
DOI:10.1086/510420