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Register a new userPlanet formation: key mechanisms and global models
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Models of planet formation are built on underlying physical processes. In order to make sense of the origin of the planets we must first understand the origin of their building blocks. This review comes in two parts. The first part presents a detailed description of six key mechanisms of planet formation: 1) The structure and evolution of protoplanetary disks 2) The formation of planetesimals 3) Accretion of protoplanets 4) Orbital migration of growing planets 5) Gas accretion and giant planet migration 6) Resonance trapping during planet migration. While this is not a comprehensive list, it includes processes for which our understanding has changed in recent years or for which key uncertainties remain. The second part of this review shows how global models are built out of planet formation processes. We present global models to explain different populations of known planetary systems, including close-in small/low-mass planets (i.e., super-Earths), giant exoplanets, and the Solar Systems planets. We discuss the different sources of water on rocky exoplanets, and use cosmochemical measurements to constrain the origin of Earths water. We point out the successes and failings of different models and how they may be falsified. Finally, we lay out a path for the future trajectory of planet formation studies.
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The formation of planets within a disc must operate within the time frame of disc dispersal, it is thus crucial to establish what is the dominant process that disperses the gaseous component of discs around young stars. Planet formation itself as well as photoevaporation by energetic radiation from the central young stellar object have been proposed as plausible dispersal mechanisms. [abridged]. In this paper we use the different metallicity dependance of X-ray photoevaporation and planet formation to discriminate between these two processes. We study the effects of metallicity, Z, on the dispersal timescale, t_phot, in the context of a photoevaporation model, by means of detailed thermal calculations of a disc in hydrostatic equilibrium irradiated by EUV and X-ray radiation from the central source. Our models show t_phot propto Z^0.52 for a pure photoevaporation model. By means of analytical estimates we derive instead a much stronger negative power dependance on metallicity of the disc lifetime for a dispersal model based on planet formation. A census of disc fractions in lower metallicity regions should therefore be able to distinguish between the two models. A recent study by Yasui et al. in low metallicity clusters of the extreme outer Galaxy ([O/H] ~- 0.7dex and dust to gas ratio of ~0.001) provides preliminary observational evidence for shorter disc lifetimes at lower metallicities, in agreement with the predictions of a pure photoevaporation model. [abridged] We finally develop an analytical framework to study the effects of metallicity dependent photoevaporation on the formation of gas giants in the core accretion scenario. We show that accounting for this effect strengthens the conclusion that planet formation is favoured at higher metallicity. [abridged]
The formation of the Earths core is a consequence of planetary accretion and processes in the Earths interior. The mechanical process of planetary differentiation is likely to occur in large, if not global, magma oceans created by the collisions of planetary embryos. Metal-silicate segregation in magma oceans occurs rapidly and efficiently unlike grain scale percolation according to laboratory experiments and calculations. Geochemical models of the core formation process as planetary accretion proceeds are becoming increasingly realistic. Single stage and continuous core formation models have evolved into multi-stage models that are couple to the output of dynamical models of the giant impact phase of planet formation. The models that are most successful in matching the chemical composition of the Earths mantle, based on experimentally-derived element partition coefficients, show that the temperature and pressure of metal-silicate equilibration must increase as a function of time and mass accreted and so must the oxygen fugacity of the equilibrating material. The latter can occur if silicon partitions into the core and through the late delivery of oxidized material. Coupled dynamical accretion and multi-stage core formation models predict the evolving mantle and core compositions of all the terrestrial planets simultaneously and also place strong constraints on the bulk compositions and oxidation states of primitive bodies in the protoplanetary disk.
Statistical analyses from exoplanet surveys around low-mass stars indicate that super-Earth and Neptune-mass planets are more frequent than gas giants around such stars, in agreement with core accretion theory of planet formation. Using precise radial velocities derived from visual and near-infrared spectra, we report the discovery of a giant planet with a minimum mass of 0.46 Jupiter masses in an eccentric 204-day orbit around the very low-mass star GJ 3512. Dynamical models show that the high eccentricity of the orbit is most likely explained from planet-planet interactions. The reported planetary system challenges current formation theories and puts stringent constraints on the accretion and migration rates of planet formation and evolution models, indicating that disc instability may be more efficient in forming planets than previously thought.
While it is widely accepted that planets are formed in protoplanetary disks, there is still much debate on when this process happens. In a few cases protoplanets have been directly imaged, but for the vast majority of systems, disk gaps and cavities -- seen especially in dust continuum observations -- have been the strongest evidence of recent or on-going planet formation. We present ALMA observations of a nearly edge-on ($i = 75^{circ}$) disk containing a giant gap seen in dust but not in $^{12}$CO gas. Inside the gap, the molecular gas has a warm (100 K) component coinciding in position with a tentative free-free emission excess observed with the VLA. Using 1D hydrodynamic models, we find the structure of the gap is consistent with being carved by a planet with 4-70 $M_{rm Jup}$. The coincidence of free-free emission inside the planet-carved gap points to the planet being very young and/or still accreting. In addition, the $^{12}$CO observations reveal low-velocity large scale filaments aligned with the disk major axis and velocity coherent with the disk gas that we interpret as ongoing gas infall from the local ISM. This system appears to be an interesting case where both a star (from the environment and the disk) and a planet (from the disk) are growing in tandem.
New images of young stars are revolutionizing our understanding of planet formation. ALMA detects large grains in planet-forming disks with few AU scale resolution and scattered light imaging with extreme adaptive optics systems reveal small grains suspended on the disks flared surfaces. Tantalizing evidence for young exoplanets is emerging from line observations of CO and H-alpha. In this white paper, we explore how even higher angular resolution can extend our understanding of the key stages of planet formation, to resolve accreting circumplanetary disks themselves, and to watch planets forming in situ for the nearest star-forming regions. We focus on infrared observations which are sensitive to thermal emission in the terrestrial planet formation zone and allow access to molecular tracers in warm ro-vibrational states. Successful planet formation theories will not only be able to explain the diverse features seen in disks, but will also be consistent with the rich exoplanet demographics from RV and transit surveys. While we are far from exhausting ground-based techniques, the ultimate combination of high angular resolution and high infrared sensitivity can only be achieved through mid-infrared space interferometry.
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