Numerical Studies of the Dynamical Orbital Interplay between the Inner and Outer Planets

University Of Oklahoma Norman Campus, Norman OK

Investigators

Abstract

Just after the Solar System formed, the giant planets Jupiter and Saturn moved closer and farther, respectively, from the Sun in their orbits. These planets are so large that their wander affected all the other, smaller objects that were also forming in the Solar System ? planets like Venus and Earth, asteroids, and comets. These smaller planets were pushed around by the gravity of the giant planets. The violent forces created by the giant planets? movements caused many smaller objects to bombard other objects. Mathematical models have been developed to describe this movement of the giant planets in the early Solar System. The models, however, suggest forces so great that the smaller planets cannot survive the process. Using state-of-the-art computational techniques that include the effects of collisions, these investigators will study the beginning of the Solar System and place limits on the conditions under which the Earth and other smaller planets formed. Graduate and undergraduate students will participate in the study. The team will share their results with the general public through public talks and public student posters on recent planetary research. Giant planets orbiting our sun and other stars evolve significantly after initial formation. This is caused by a dynamical instability among the giant planets that organizes the orbital structure of the outer Solar System. The terrestrial planets, however, are unlikely to survive this dynamical interplay. How the exact configuration of the terrestrial planets emerged from the final giant-impact phase of planet formation is not fully understood, and the timing of this evolution within our own Solar System is not well constrained. State-of-the-art numerical simulations, including recently-developed methods of modeling collisions during planet formation, will be used here to model the giant-planet instability occurring while the terrestrial planets are still forming. The effects of this process on terrestrial planet formation will be assessed to determine whether our current Solar System is consistent with this scenario, and will be used to place new constraints on terrestrial-planet formation models. What the investigators learn can also be applied to exoplanet system formation. The Principal Investigator will mentor a graduate student in the proposed research, and the graduate student will in turn mentor undergraduate students. The PI also plans local public lectures on the research, as well as a student poster contest.