Collision parameters governing water delivery and water loss in early planetary systems

TL;DR

This study analyzes collision velocities and impact angles in early planetary systems, revealing how a Jupiter-like perturber influences collision dynamics and water delivery processes.

Contribution

It provides a detailed catalogue of collision parameters across various planetesimal masses and examines the effects of a giant perturber on collision outcomes.

Findings

Collision speeds are generally above surface escape velocity.

Impact angle and velocity distributions are similar across different planetesimal masses when normalized.

A nearby Jupiter-like perturber increases high-velocity grazing impacts.

Abstract

We investigate the distribution of encounter velocities and impact angles describing collisions in the habitable zone of the early planetary system. Here we present a catalogue of collision characteristics for a particular mass ratio of the colliding bodies and seven different planetesimal masses ranging from a tenth of Ceres' mass to 10 times the mass of the Moon. We show that there are virtually no collisions with impact speeds lower than the surface escape velocity and a similar velocity-impact angle distribution for different planetesimal masses if velocities are normalized using the escape velocity. An additional perturbing Jupiter-like object distorts the collision velocity and impact picture in the sense that grazing impacts at higher velocities are promoted if the perturber's orbit is close to the habitable zone whereas a more distant perturber has more the effect of a mere widening of the velocity dispersion.