The evolution of asteroids in the jumping-Jupiter migration model

TL;DR

This study models asteroid belt evolution during Jupiter's migration, revealing that the current asteroid distribution likely originated from a primordial belt with specific inclination and eccentricity, and that Hilda and Trojan populations were implanted from elsewhere.

Contribution

We simulate asteroid evolution under the jumping-Jupiter model, showing the primordial belt's initial conditions and the non-survivability of Hildas and Trojans during migration.

Findings

Primordial belt likely peaked at ~10° inclination and 0.1 eccentricity.

Hilda and Trojan populations do not survive the migration instability.

Implantation of Hildas and Trojans from the Main Belt is minor.

Abstract

In this work, we investigate the evolution of a primordial belt of asteroids, represented by a large number of massless test particles, under the gravitational effect of migrating Jovian planets in the framework of the jumping-Jupiter model. We perform several simulations considering test particles distributed in the Main Belt, as well as in the Hilda and Trojan groups. The simulations start with Jupiter and Saturn locked in the mutual 3:2 mean motion resonance plus 3 Neptune-mass planets in a compact orbital configuration. Mutual planetary interactions during migration led one of the Neptunes to be ejected in less than 10 Myr of evolution, causing Jupiter to jump by about 0.3 au in semi-major axis. This introduces a large scale instability in the studied populations of small bodies. After the migration phase, the simulations are extended over 4 Gyr, and we compare the final orbital structure of the simulated test particles to the current Main Belt of asteroids with absolute magnitude $H<9.7$. The results indicate that, in order to reproduce the present Main Belt, the primordial belt should have had a distribution peaked at $\sim10^{\circ}$ in inclination and at $\sim0.1$ in eccentricity. We discuss the implications of this for the Grand Tack model. The results also indicate that neither primordial Hildas, nor Trojans, survive the instability, confirming the idea that such populations must have been implanted from other sources. In particular, we address the possibility of implantation of Hildas and Trojans from the Main Belt population, but find that this contribution should be minor.