Gas disks to gas giants: Simulating the birth of planetary systems

TL;DR

This paper presents self-consistent numerical simulations of planetary system formation from protostellar disks, successfully reproducing key observed trends and highlighting the rarity of solar system analogs.

Contribution

It introduces a novel simulation approach that models the entire process of planetary system formation, aligning with observed exoplanet diversity.

Findings

Simulations match observed exoplanet mass and orbital distributions.

Solar system analogs are rare, forming near the boundary of giant planet formation.

Results suggest diverse evolutionary pathways for planetary systems.

Abstract

The ensemble of now more than 250 discovered planetary systems displays a wide range of masses, orbits and, in multiple systems, dynamical interactions. These represent the end point of a complex sequence of events, wherein an entire protostellar disk converts itself into a small number of planetary bodies. Here, we present self-consistent numerical simulations of this process, which produce results in agreement with some of the key trends observed in the properties of the exoplanets. Analogs to our own solar system do not appear to be common, originating from disks near the boundary between barren and (giant) planet-forming.