English

New migration patterns in high planet-star mass ratio systems in disks with low viscosity

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics 2025-11-19 v1

Abstract

Migration of giant planets remains a complex topic. While significant progress has been made for high-viscosity disks, the migration of planets with large planet-star mass ratios in low-viscosity environments is still not fully understood. We study the migration of such planets in disks with α=104\alpha = 10^{-4} and derive analytical prescriptions applicable across stellar masses, from Sun-like stars to M dwarfs. Using hydrodynamical simulations with FARGO3D, we explored planets with mass ratios 103<q<2×10210^{-3} < q < 2 \times 10^{-2} under different disk conditions, varying gas surface density, scale height, and density slope. Our results show a migration reversal at q0.002 q \approx 0.002, with outward migration for q>0.002 q > 0.002. For planets undergoing outward migration, the migration speed depends on the unperturbed local gas density. In most cases, outward migration is sustained by a positive torque related to planetary eccentricities below e<0.2 e < 0.2. However, for certain disk parameters, planets with q>0.01 q > 0.01 reach higher eccentricities (0.2<e<0.450.2 < e < 0.45), leading to stalled migration. Our findings suggest that outward migration is a viable mechanism for massive planets in low-viscosity disks, which has implications for the formation and distribution of super-Jupiter planets around Sun-like stars and planets more massive than Neptune around very low-mass stars. Given the challenges in detecting such planets, improving our theoretical understanding of their migration is essential for interpreting exoplanet demographics and guiding future observational efforts.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2509.15719,
  title  = {New migration patterns in high planet-star mass ratio systems in disks with low viscosity},
  author = {Mariana Sánchez and Sijme-Jan Paardekooper and Nienke van der Marel and Pablo Benítez-Llambay and Gijs D. Mulders},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2509.15719},
  year   = {2025}
}

Comments

14 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in A&A