Can Uranus and Neptune form concurrently via pebble, gas, and planetesimal accretion?

Linn E.J. Eriksson*, Marit A.S. Mol Lous, Sho Shibata, Ravit Helled

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

The origin of Uranus and Neptune has long been challenging to explain, due to the large orbital distances from the Sun. After a planetary embryo has been formed, the main accretion processes are likely pebble, gas, and planetesimal accretion. Previous studies of Uranus and Neptune formation typically do not consider all three processes; and furthermore, do not investigate how the formation of the outer planet impacts the inner planet. In this paper, we study the concurrent formation of Uranus and Neptune via pebble, gas, and planetesimal accretion. We use a dust-evolution model to predict the size and mass flux of pebbles, and derive our own fit for gas accretion. We do not include migration, but consider a wide range of formation locations between 12 and. If the planetary embryos form at the same time and with the same mass, our formation model with an evolving dust population is unable to produce Uranus and Neptune analogues. This is because the mass difference between the planets and the H-He mass fractions become too high. However, if the outer planetary embryo forms earlier and/or more massive than the inner embryo, the two planets do form in a few instances when the disc is metal-rich and dissipates after a few Myr. Furthermore, our study suggests that in situ formation is rather unlikely. Nevertheless, giant impacts and/or migration could potentially aid in the formation, and future studies including these processes could bring us one step closer to understanding how Uranus and Neptune formed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)4860-4876
Number of pages17
JournalMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Volume526
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Dec 2023
Externally publishedYes

Funding

FundersFunder number
National Science Foundation2215987, 1531492
Empire State Development's Division of Science, Technology and InnovationC210148
Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung51NF40_182901, 51NF40_205606, 200020_188460

    Keywords

    • planets and satellites: formation
    • planets and satellites: gaseous planets
    • planets and satellites: general

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