4,268 research outputs found
On the formation of terrestrial planets in hot-Jupiter systems
We present a series of calculations aimed at examining how an inner system of
planetesimals/protoplanets, undergoing terrestrial planet formation, evolves
under the influence of a giant planet undergoing inward type II migration
through the region bounded between 5 - 0.1 AU. We find that > 60% of the solids
disk survives by being scattered by the giant planet into external orbits.
Planetesimals are scattered outward almost as efficiently as protoplanets,
resulting in the regeneration of a solids disk where dynamical friction is
strong and terrestrial planet formation is able to resume. A simulation
extended for a few Myr after the migration of the giant planet halted at 0.1
AU, resulted in an apparently stable planet of ~ 2 Earth masses forming in the
habitable zone. Migration-induced mixing of volatile-rich material from beyond
the `snowline' into the inner disk regions means that terrestrial planets that
form there are likely to be water-rich. We predict that hot--Jupiter systems
are likely to harbor water-rich terrestrial planets in their habitable zones.
These planets may be detected by future planet search missions.Comment: 18 pages, 13 figures. Higher resolution pdf available at
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~mfogg/fogg_nelson2.pd
Hydrodynamic Simulations of the Bardeen-Petterson Effect
We present SPH simulations of accretion discs in orbit about rotating compact
objects such as black holes and neutron stars, and study the structure of
warped discs produced by the Bardeen-Petterson effect. We calculate the
transition radius out to which the disc specific angular momentum vector is
aligned with that of the black hole. We focus on the parameter regime where the
warp dynamics are controlled by bending wave propagation, but also consider
models in which warps are subject to diffusion rather than wave transport, and
are able to consider the fully nonlinear regime. Because of hydrodynamic or
pressure effects, for the parameter range investigated, the transition radius
is always found to be much smaller than that obtained by Bardeen & Petterson
(1975). For discs with midplane Mach numbers of about 10, the transition occurs
between 10 - 16 gravitational radii, whereas for a Mach number of about 30 it
occurs at around 30 gravitational radii. A thicker disc with a Mach number of 5
is found to produce no discernible warped structure. The rate of black hole -
disc alignment is found to be consistent with the ideas of Ress (1978), with
the alignment torque behaving as if it arises from the accreted material
transferring its misaligned component of angular momentum at the larger
transition radius of Bardeen & Petterson (1975). The inclusion of Einstein
precession in the calculations modified both the warped disc structure and,
consistent with linear analysis, produced an increased alignment rate by up to
a factor of 4 because of the effect that a non Keplerian potential has on the
propagation of warps.Comment: 18 pages, 14 figures. Accepted for publication in M.N.R.A.S. A
version with posctcript figures included can be obtained from
http://www.maths.qmw.ac.uk/~rp
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