From gas to satellitesimals: disk formation and evolution

TL;DR

This paper explores how the formation environment and physical conditions of circum-planetary disks influence the chemical composition and evolution of satellitesimals, shedding light on the origins of giant planet satellite systems.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of the physical and chemical processes in circum-planetary disks that determine satellite formation and composition.

Findings

Pressure and temperature profiles shape chemical gradients.

Chemical gradients influence satellitesimal composition.

Formation environment impacts satellite system features.

Abstract

The subject of satellite formation is strictly linked to the one of planetary formation. Giant planets strongly shape the evolution of the circum-planetary disks during their formation and thus, indirectly, influence the initial conditions for the processes governing satellite formation. In order to fully understand the present features of the satellite systems of the giant planets, we need to take into account their formation environments and histories and the role of the different physical parameters. In particular, the pressure and temperature profiles in the circum-planetary nebulae shaped their chemical gradients by allowing the condensation of ices and noble gases. These chemical gradients, in turn, set the composition of the satellitesimals, which represent the building blocks of the present regular satellites.