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Main Authors: Rufu, Raluca, Canup, Robin M.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.22806
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author Rufu, Raluca
Canup, Robin M.
author_facet Rufu, Raluca
Canup, Robin M.
contents Exoplanetary systems that contain multiple planets on short-period orbits appear to be prevalent in the current observed exoplanetary population, yet the processes that give rise to such configurations remain poorly understood. A common prior assumption is that planetary accretion commences after the infall of gas and solids to the circumstellar disk ended. However, observational evidence indicates that accretion may begin earlier. We propose that compact systems are surviving remnants of planet accretion that occurred during the final phases of infall. In regions of the disk experiencing ongoing infall, the planetary mass is set by the balance between accretion of infalling solids and the increasingly rapid inward migration driven by the surrounding gas as the planet grows. This balance selects for similarly-sized planets whose mass is a function of infall and disk conditions. We show that infall-produced planets can survive until the gas disk disperses and migration ends, and that across a broad range of conditions, the mass of surviving systems is regulated to a few 10^{-5} to 10^{-4} times the host star's mass. This provides an explanation for the similar mass ratios of known compact systems.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2505_22806
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Origin of compact exoplanetary systems during disk infall
Rufu, Raluca
Canup, Robin M.
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Space Physics
Exoplanetary systems that contain multiple planets on short-period orbits appear to be prevalent in the current observed exoplanetary population, yet the processes that give rise to such configurations remain poorly understood. A common prior assumption is that planetary accretion commences after the infall of gas and solids to the circumstellar disk ended. However, observational evidence indicates that accretion may begin earlier. We propose that compact systems are surviving remnants of planet accretion that occurred during the final phases of infall. In regions of the disk experiencing ongoing infall, the planetary mass is set by the balance between accretion of infalling solids and the increasingly rapid inward migration driven by the surrounding gas as the planet grows. This balance selects for similarly-sized planets whose mass is a function of infall and disk conditions. We show that infall-produced planets can survive until the gas disk disperses and migration ends, and that across a broad range of conditions, the mass of surviving systems is regulated to a few 10^{-5} to 10^{-4} times the host star's mass. This provides an explanation for the similar mass ratios of known compact systems.
title Origin of compact exoplanetary systems during disk infall
topic Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Space Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.22806