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Physical Sciences - Article
An early dynamical instability among the Solar System’s giant planets triggered by the gas disk’s dispersal
Beibei Liu
Zhejiang Institute of Modern Physics & Zhejiang University-Purple Mountain Observatory Joint Research Center for Astronomy
Corresponding Author
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The Solar System’s orbital structure is thought to have been sculpted by a dynamical instability among the giant planets1–4. Yet the instability trigger and exact timing have proved hard to pin down5–9. The giant planets formed within a gas-dominated disk around the young Sun. Motivated by giant exoplanet systems found in mean motion resonance10, hydrodynamical modeling has shown that while the disk was present the giant planets migrated into a compact orbital configuration, in a chain of resonances2,11. Here we use a suite of dynamical simulations to show that the giant planets’ instability was likely triggered by the dispersal of the Sun’s gaseous disk. As the disk evaporated from the inside-out, its inner edge swept successively across and dynamically perturbed each planet’s orbit in turn. Saturn and each ice giants’ orbits were torqued strongly enough to migrate outward. As a given planet migrated outward with the disk’s inner edge the orbital configuration of the exterior system was compressed, triggering dynamical instability. The final orbits of our simulated systems match those of the Solar System for a viable range of astrophysical parameters. Our results demonstrate that the giant planet instability happened as the gaseous disk dissipated, constrained by astronomical observations to be a few to ten million years after the birth of the Solar System 12. Late-stage terrestrial planet formation would occur mostly after such an early giant planet instability 13,14, thereby avoiding the possibility of de-stabilizing the terrestrial planets 15 and naturally accounting for the small mass of Mars relative to Earth and the mass depletion of the main asteroid belt 16.
Keywords
astronomy, solar system, planets
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This preprint is under consideration at a Nature Portfolio Journal. A preprint is a preliminary version of a manuscript that has not completed peer review at a journal. Research Square does not conduct peer review prior to posting preprints. The posting of a preprint on this server should not be interpreted as an endorsement of its validity or suitability for dissemination as established information or for guiding clinical practice.
Nature journals have partnered with Research Square to offer In Review, a journal-integrated preprint deposition service.
Physical Sciences - Article
An early dynamical instability among the Solar System’s giant planets triggered by the gas disk’s dispersal
Beibei Liu
Zhejiang Institute of Modern Physics & Zhejiang University-Purple Mountain Observatory Joint Research Center for Astronomy
Corresponding Author
Badges
Prescreen
This manuscript passed our Prescreen assessment
Complete author information
Appropriate declaration statements
Potential risks to human health
Prescreen
Peer Review Timeline
CURRENT STATUS: Under Review
Version 1
Posted 30 Dec, 2020
Metrics
Comments: 0
PDF Downloads: ...
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License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
The Solar System’s orbital structure is thought to have been sculpted by a dynamical instability among the giant planets1–4. Yet the instability trigger and exact timing have proved hard to pin down5–9. The giant planets formed within a gas-dominated disk around the young Sun. Motivated by giant exoplanet systems found in mean motion resonance10, hydrodynamical modeling has shown that while the disk was present the giant planets migrated into a compact orbital configuration, in a chain of resonances2,11. Here we use a suite of dynamical simulations to show that the giant planets’ instability was likely triggered by the dispersal of the Sun’s gaseous disk. As the disk evaporated from the inside-out, its inner edge swept successively across and dynamically perturbed each planet’s orbit in turn. Saturn and each ice giants’ orbits were torqued strongly enough to migrate outward. As a given planet migrated outward with the disk’s inner edge the orbital configuration of the exterior system was compressed, triggering dynamical instability. The final orbits of our simulated systems match those of the Solar System for a viable range of astrophysical parameters. Our results demonstrate that the giant planet instability happened as the gaseous disk dissipated, constrained by astronomical observations to be a few to ten million years after the birth of the Solar System 12. Late-stage terrestrial planet formation would occur mostly after such an early giant planet instability 13,14, thereby avoiding the possibility of de-stabilizing the terrestrial planets 15 and naturally accounting for the small mass of Mars relative to Earth and the mass depletion of the main asteroid belt 16.
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 6
Figure 7
Figure 8
Figure 9
Due to technical limitations, full-text HTML conversion of this manuscript could not be completed. However, the manuscript can be downloaded and accessed as a PDF.