On the evolution of pebble-accreting planets in evolving protoplanetary discs

TL;DR

This study uses hydrodynamical simulations to analyze how pebble accretion and thermal forces influence the migration of low-mass planetary cores in evolving protoplanetary discs, revealing conditions for outward or inward migration.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of thermal and solid torque effects on migrating planets, including a new formula for thermal torque attenuation with eccentricity.

Findings

Eccentricities reach values comparable to disc aspect ratio.

Migration switches from outward to inward due to torque cancellation.

Outward migration occurs under low accretion luminosity conditions.

Abstract

We examine the migration of luminous low-mass cores in laminar protoplanetary discs where accretion occurs mainly because of disc winds and where the planet luminosity is generated by pebble accretion. Using 2D hydrodynamical simulations, we determine the eccentricities induced by thermal forces as a function of gas and pebble accretion rates, and also evaluate the importance of the torque exerted by the solid component relative to the gas torque. For a gas accretion rate $\dot M= 2\times 10^{-8}$ $M_\odot/$yr and pebble flux $\dot M_{peb}=170$ $M_\oplus$/Myr, we find that embryo eccentricities attain values comparable to the disc aspect ratio. The planet radial excursion in the disc, however, causes the torque exerted by inflowing pebbles to cancel on average and migration to transition from outward to inward. This is found to arise because the magnitude of thermal torques decreases exponentially with increasing eccentricity, and we provide a fitting formula for the thermal torque attenuation as a function of eccentricity. As the disc evolves, the accretion luminosity becomes at some point too small to make the core eccentricity grow such that the solid component can exert a non-zero torque on the planet. This torque is positive and for gas accretion rates $\dot M \lesssim 5\times 10^{-9}$ $M_\odot/$yr and pebble fluxes $\dot M_{peb} \lesssim 120$ $M_\oplus/$Myr, it is found to overcome the gas torque exerted on cores with mass $m_p\lesssim$ $1M_\oplus$, resulting in outward migration.