Forming Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune in Few Million Years by Core Accretion

Abstract

Giant planet formation process is still not completely understood. The current most accepted paradigm, the core instability model, explains several observed properties of the solar system's giant planets but, to date, has faced difficulties to account for a formation time shorter than the observational estimates of protoplanetary disks' lifetimes, especially for the cases of Uranus and Neptune. In the context of this model, and considering a recently proposed primordial solar system orbital structure, we performed numerical calculations of giant planet formation. Our results show that if accreted planetesimals follow a size distribution in which most of the mass lies in 30-100 meter sized bodies, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune may have formed according to the nucleated instability scenario. The formation of each planet occurs within the time constraints and they end up with core masses in good agreement with present estimations.

arXiv comment11 pages, 3 figures, in press (Icarus)

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Cited by in corpus (9)

• Planet formation models: the interplay with the planetesimal disc
• Outward Migration of Jupiter and Saturn in Evolved Gaseous Disks
• The Formation of Uranus and Neptune in Solid-Rich Feeding Zones: Connecting Chemistry and Dynamics
• Simultaneous formation of Solar System giant planets
• Consequences of the simultaneous formation of giant planets by the core accretion mechanism
• Growth of Jupiter: Enhancement of Core Accretion by a Voluminous Low-Mass Envelope
• Detecting the Signatures of Uranus and Neptune
• Formation of Giant Planets
• Last giant impact on the Neptunian system. Constraints on oligarchic masses in the trans-Saturnian region