N-Body Simulation of the Formation of the Earth-Moon System from a Single Giant Impact

TL;DR

This paper presents a novel N-body simulation that models the formation of the Earth-Moon system from a single giant impact, successfully producing a stable system with realistic Moon composition and Earth's tilt.

Contribution

It introduces a new gravity-centered model combining recent ideas to simulate the Earth-Moon formation in a single, stable run, advancing previous models.

Findings

Produced a stable Earth-Moon system in a single simulation

Generated a heterogeneous, iron-deficient Moon from mantle material

Simulated a significantly tilted Earth's equatorial plane

Abstract

The giant impact hypothesis is the dominant theory of how the Earth-Moon system was formed. Models have been created that can produce a disk of debris with the proper mass and composition to create our Moon. Models have also been created which start with a disk of debris that eventually coalesces into a Moon. To date, no model has been created that produces a stable Earth-Moon system in a single simulation. Here we combine two recently published ideas in this field, along with a new gravity-centered model, and generate such a simulation. In addition, we show how the method can produce a heterogeneous, iron-deficient Moon made of mantle material from both colliding bodies, and a resultant Earth whose equatorial plane is significantly tilted off the ecliptic plane. The accuracy of the simulation adds credence to the theory that our Moon was born from the violent union of two heavenly bodies.