Dead Zones and the Diversity of Exoplanetary Systems

TL;DR

This paper explores how dust settling and dead zones in protoplanetary disks influence planetary migration, revealing that dead zones can act as barriers to type I migration, affecting exoplanet system diversity.

Contribution

It demonstrates that dead zones create temperature gradients that can halt type I migration, offering a new explanation for the diversity of exoplanetary systems.

Findings

Dust settling accelerates type I migration by up to a factor of 2.

Dust settling slows down type II migration by a factor of 2.

Dead zones can act as barriers to type I migration due to temperature gradients.

Abstract

Planetary migration provides a theoretical basis for the observed diversity of exoplanetary systems. We demonstrate that dust settling - an inescapable feature of disk evolution - gives even more rapid type I migration by up to a factor of about 2 than occurs in disks with fully mixed dust. On the other hand, type II migration becomes slower by a factor of 2 due to dust settling. This even more problematic type I migration can be resolved by the presence of a dead zone; the inner, high density region of a disk which features a low level of turbulence. We show that enhanced dust settling in the dead zone leaves a dusty wall at its outer edge. Back-heating of the dead zone by this wall produces a positive radial gradient for the disk temperature, which acts as a barrier for type I migration.