Planetary migration

Planetary migration occurs when a planet or other body in orbit around a star interacts with a disk of gas or planetesimals, resulting in the alteration of its orbital parameters, especially its semi-major axis. Planetary migration is the most likely explanation for hot Jupiters (exoplanets with Jovian masses but orbits of only a few days). The generally accepted theory of planet formation from a protoplanetary disk predicts that such planets cannot form so close to their stars, as there is insufficient mass at such small radii and the temperature is too high to allow the formation of rocky or icy planetesimals. It has also become clear that terrestrial-mass planets may be subject to rapid inward migration if they form while the gas disk is still present. This may affect the formation of the cores of the giant planets (which have masses of the order of 10 to 1000 Earth masses), if those planets form via the core-accretion mechanism.

Planetary migration occurs when a planet or other body in orbit around a star interacts with a disk of gas or planetesimals, resulting in the alteration of its orbital parameters, especially its semi-major axis. Planetary migration is the most likely explanation for hot Jupiters (exoplanets with Jovian masses but orbits of only a few days). The generally accepted theory of planet formation from a protoplanetary disk predicts that such planets cannot form so close to their stars, as there is insufficient mass at such small radii and the temperature is too high to allow the formation of rocky or icy planetesimals. It has also become clear that terrestrial-mass planets may be subject to rapid inward migration if they form while the gas disk is still present. This may affect the formation of the cores of the giant planets (which have masses of the order of 10 to 1000 Earth masses), if those planets form via the core-accretion mechanism.

Kozai cycles and tidal friction

A planetary orbit that is inclined relative to the plane of a binary star can shrink due to a combination of Kozai cycles and tidal friction. Interactions with the more distant star cause the planet's orbit to undergo an exchange of eccentricity and inclination due to the Kozai mechanism. This process can increase the planet's eccentricity and lower its perihelion enough to create strong tides between the planet on the star increases. When it is near the star the planet loses angular momentum causing its orbit to shrink. The planet's eccentricity and inclination cycle repeatedly, slowing the evolution of the planets semi-major axis. If the planet's orbit shrinks enough to remove it from the influence of the distant star the Kozai cycles end. Its orbit will then shrink more rapidly as it is tidally circularized. The orbit of the planet can also become retrograde due to this process. Kozai cycles can also occur in a system with two planets that have differing inclinations due to gravitational scattering between planets and can result in planets with retrograde orbits.

Planetesimal-driven migration

The orbit of a planet can change due to gravitational encounters with a large number of planetesimals. Planetesimal-driven migration is the result of the accumulation of the transfers of angular momentum during encounters between the planetesimals and a planet. For individual encounters the amount of angular momentum exchanged and the direction of the change in the planet's orbit depends on the geometry of the encounter. For a large number of encounters the direction of the planet's migration depends on the average angular momentum of the planetesimals relative to the planet. If it is higher, for example a disk outside the planet's orbit, the planet migrates outward, if it is lower the planet migrates inward. The migration of a planet beginning with a similar angular momentum as the disk depends on potential sinks and sources of the planetesimals. For a single planet system, planetesimals can only be lost (a sink) due to their ejection, which would cause the planet to migrate inward. In multiple planet systems the other planets can act as sinks or sources. Planetesimals can be removed from the planet's influence after encountering an adjacent planet or transferred to that planet's influence. These interactions cause the planet's orbits to diverge as the outer planet tends to remove planetesimals with larger momentum from the inner planet influence or add planetesimals with lower angular momentum, and vice versa. The planet's resonances, where the eccentricities of planetesimals are pumped up until they intersect with the planet, also act as a source. Finally, the planet's migration acts as both a sink and a source of new planetesimals creating a positive feedback that tends to continue its migration in the original direction. Planetesimal-driven migration can be damped if planetesimals are lost to various sinks faster than new ones are encountered due to its sources. It may be sustained if the new planetesimals enter its influence faster than they are lost. If sustained migration is due to its migration only, it is called runaway migration. If it is due to the loss of planetesimals to another planet's influence, it is called forced migration. For a single planet orbiting in a planetesial disk the shorter timescales of the encounters with planetesimals with shorter period orbits results in more frequent encounters with the planetesimals with less angular momentum and the inward migration of the planet. Planetesimal-driven migration in a gas disk, however, can be outward for a particular range of planetesimal sizes because of the removal of shorter period planetesimals due to gas drag.

Resonance capture

The migration of planets can lead to planets being captured in resonances and chains of resonances if their orbits converge. The orbits of the planets can converge if the migration of the inner planet is halted at the inner edge of the gas disk, resulting in a system of tightly orbiting inner planets; or if migration is halted in a convergence zone where the torques driving Type I migration cancel, for example near the ice line, in a chain of more distant planets. Gravitational encounters can also lead to the capture of planets with sizable eccentricities in resonances. In the grand tack hypothesis the migration of Jupiter is halted and reversed when it captured Saturn in an outer resonance. The halting of Jupiter's and Saturn's migration and the capture of Uranus and Neptune in further resonances may have prevented the formation of a compact system of super-earths similar to many of those found by Kepler. The outward migration of planets can also result in the capture of planetesimals in resonance with the outer planet; for example the resonant trans-Neptunian objects in the Kuiper belt. Although planetary migration is expected to lead to systems with chains of resonant planets most exoplanets are not in resonances. The resonance chains can be disrupted by gravitational instabilities once the gas disk dissipates. Interactions with leftover planetesimals can break resonances of low mass planets leaving them in orbits slightly outside the resonance. Tidal interactions with the star, turbulence in the disk, and interactions with the wake of another planet could also disrupt resonances. Resonance capture might be avoided for planets smaller than Neptune with eccentric orbits.

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