Do Proto-Jovian Planets Drive Outflows?

Abstract

We discuss the possibility that gaseous giant planets drive strong outflows during early phases of their formation. We consider the range of parameters appropriate for magneto-centrifugally driven stellar and disk outflow models and find that if the proto-Jovian planet or accretion disk had a magnetic field of >~ 10 Gauss and moderate mass inflow rates through the disk of less than 10^-7 M_J/yr that it is possible to drive an outflow. Estimates based both on scaling from empirical laws observed in proto-stellar outflows and the magneto-centrigugal disk and stellar+disk wind models suggest that winds with mass outflow rates of 10^-8 M_J/yr and velocities of order ~ 20 km/s could be driven from proto-Jovian planets. Prospects for detection and some implications for the formation of the solar system are briefly discussed.Comment: AAS Latex, accepted for Ap