Accreting luminous low-mass planets escape from migration traps at pressure bumps

TL;DR

This study shows that low-mass planets near pressure bumps in protoplanetary discs can escape migration traps due to thermal effects from accretion heat, leading to continued inward migration instead of trapping.

Contribution

It reveals that thermal forces from accretion heat can prevent low-mass planets from being trapped at pressure bumps, challenging previous assumptions about migration behavior.

Findings

Planets with luminosity above a critical value become eccentric, escaping traps.

Thermal lobes' asymmetry causes a reversal of the heating torque sign.

Super-critical luminosities are achievable through pebble accretion.

Abstract

We investigate the migration of Mars- to super-Earth-sized planets in the vicinity of a pressure bump in a 3D radiative protoplanetary disc while accounting for the effect of accretion heat release. Pressure bumps have often been assumed to act as efficient migration traps, but we show that the situation changes when the thermal forces are taken into account. Our simulations reveal that for planetary masses $\lesssim$$2\,M_{\oplus}$, once their luminosity exceeds the critical value predicted by linear theory, thermal driving causes their orbits to become eccentric, quenching the positive corotation torque responsible for the migration trap. As a result, planets continue migrating inwards past the pressure bump. Additionally, we find that planets that remain circular and evolve in the super-Keplerian region of the bump exhibit a reversed asymmetry of their thermal lobes, with the heating torque having an opposite (negative) sign compared to the standard circular case, thus leading to inward migration as well. We also demonstrate that the super-critical luminosities of planets in question can be reached through the accretion of pebbles accumulating in the bump. Our findings have implications for planet formation scenarios that rely on the existence of migration traps at pressure bumps, as the bumps may repeatedly spawn inward-migrating low-mass embryos rather than harbouring newborn planets until they become massive.