Dynamical evolution of planetary systems

TL;DR

This paper explores the dynamical evolution of planetary systems, highlighting the differences between our solar system and the diverse architectures observed in extra-solar systems, and investigates the processes shaping their orbital configurations.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive analysis of the mechanisms driving the dynamical evolution and diversity of planetary system architectures, including the role of planetary interactions and migration.

Findings

Many extra-solar planets have close-in, eccentric orbits unlike our solar system.

Orbital migration and interactions can explain the diversity of planetary system architectures.

Dynamical processes significantly influence the long-term stability and evolution of planetary systems.

Abstract

The apparent regularity of the motion of the giant planets of our solar system suggested for decades that said planets formed onto orbits similar to the current ones and that nothing dramatic ever happened during their lifetime. The discovery of extra-solar planets showed astonishingly that the orbital structure of our planetary system is not typical. Many giant extra-solar planets have orbits with semi major axes of $\sim 1$ AU, and some have even smaller orbital radii, sometimes with orbital periods of just a few days. Moreover, most extra-solar planets have large eccentricities, up to values that only comets have in our solar system. Why such a big diversity between our solar system and the extra-solar systems, as well as among the extra-solar systems themselves? This chapter aims to give a partial answer to this fundamental question....