Type II migration strikes back -- An old paradigm for planet migration in discs

TL;DR

This study uses long-term 2D hydrodynamical simulations to investigate giant planet migration in protoplanetary discs, confirming the validity of the classical type II migration theory after initial transient phases.

Contribution

It demonstrates that the classical type II migration paradigm holds true over long timescales, resolving recent debates about faster migration rates.

Findings

Migration slows down to match theoretical predictions over time.

Migration rate correlates with disc viscosity, consistent with theory.

Initial fast migration is due to gap profile adjustment.

Abstract

In this paper we analyse giant gap-opening planet migration in protoplanetary discs, focusing on the type II migration regime. According to standard type II theory, planets migrate at the same rate as the gas in the disc, as they are coupled to the disc viscous evolution; however, recent studies questioned this paradigm, suggesting that planets migrate faster than the disc material. We study the problem through 2D long-time simulations of systems consistent with type II regime, using the hydrodynamical grid code FARGO3D. Even though our simulations confirm the presence of an initial phase characterised by fast migration, they also reveal that the migration velocity slows down and eventually reaches the theoretical prediction if we allow the system to evolve for enough time. We find the same tendency to evolve towards the theoretical predictions at later times when we analyse the mass flow through the gap and the torques acting on the planet. This transient is related to the initial conditions of our (and previous) simulations, and is due to the fact that the shape of the gap has to adjust to a new profile, once the planet is set into motion. Secondly, we test whether the type II theory expectation that giant planet migration is driven by viscosity is consistent with our simulation by comparing simulations with the same viscosity and different disc mass (or viceversa). We find a good agreement with the theory, since when the discs are characterised by the same viscosity, the migration properties are the same.