Dynamical Evolution of the Early Solar System

TL;DR

This paper reviews how planetary migration and dynamical instability shaped the early Solar System's architecture, including planet orbits and satellite captures, by analyzing models constrained by current observations.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive discussion on how planetary migration and instability models explain the current Solar System structure, linking early dynamics to present features.

Findings

Neptune's migration influenced Kuiper belt structure

Jupiter's orbital jump affected terrestrial planet survival

Planetary encounters contributed to satellite capture

Abstract

Several properties of the Solar System, including the wide radial spacing of the giant planets, can be explained if planets radially migrated by exchanging orbital energy and momentum with outer disk planetesimals. Neptune's planetesimal-driven migration, in particular, has a strong advocate in the dynamical structure of the Kuiper belt. A dynamical instability is thought to have occurred during the early stages with Jupiter having close encounters with a Neptune-class planet. As a result of the encounters, Jupiter acquired its current orbital eccentricity and jumped inward by a fraction of an au, as required for the survival of the terrestrial planets and from asteroid belt constraints. Planetary encounters also contributed to capture of Jupiter Trojans and irregular satellites of the giant planets. Here we discuss the dynamical evolution of the early Solar System with an eye to determining how models of planetary migration/instability can be constrained from its present architecture.