Angular momentum exchange during secular migration of two-planet systems

TL;DR

This paper studies how two-planet systems evolve under gravitational and dissipative forces, focusing on angular momentum exchange during migration caused by tidal interactions and gaseous disc effects.

Contribution

It introduces a method to analyze the secular evolution of two-planet systems considering angular momentum leakage, aiding in reconstructing their dynamical history.

Findings

Different migration mechanisms have distinct angular momentum exchange laws.

Stationary solutions help trace the evolutionary routes of planet pairs.

The approach constrains physical parameters of migration processes.

Abstract

We investigate the secular dynamics of two-planet coplanar systems evolving under mutual gravitational interactions and dissipative forces. We consider two mechanisms responsible for the planetary migration: star-planet (or planet-satellite) tidal interactions and interactions of a planet with a gaseous disc. We show that each migration mechanism is characterized by a specific law of orbital angular momentum exchange. Calculating stationary solutions of the conservative secular problem and taking into account the orbital angular momentum leakage, we trace the evolutionary routes followed by the planet pairs during the migration process. This procedure allows us to recover the dynamical history of two-planet systems and constrain parameters of the involved physical processes.