Related papers: Dynamical capture in the Pluto-Charon system
We describe a fast, approximate method to characterize the orbits of satellites around a central binary in numerical simulations. A goal is to distinguish the free eccentricity -- random motion of a satellite relative to a dynamically cool…
Direct imaging surveys have found that long-period super-Jupiters are rare. By contrast, recent modeling of the widespread gaps in protoplanetary disks revealed by ALMA suggests an abundant population of smaller Neptune to Jupiter-mass…
Theories of the formation and early evolution of planetary systems postulate that planets are born in circumstellar disks, and undergo radial migration during and after dissipation of the dust and gas disk from which they formed. The…
The origin of the Martian moons Deimos and Phobos is controversial. One hypothesis for their origin is that they are captured asteroids, but the mechanism requires an extremely dense martian atmosphere, and the mechanism by which an…
The first stage of planet formation is the accumulation of dust and ice grains into mm-cm-sized pebbles. These pebbles can clump together through the streaming instability and form gravitationally bound pebble 'clouds'. Pebbles inside such…
We describe a scenario of Titan's formation matching the constraints imposed by its current atmospheric composition. Assuming that the abundances of all elements, including oxygen, are solar in the outer nebula, we show that the icy…
Rings are ubiquitous around giant planets in our Solar System. They evolve jointly with the nearby satellite system. They could form either during the giant planet formation process or much later, as a result of large scale dynamical…
Planets are a natural byproduct of the stellar formation process, resulting from local aggregations of material within the disks surrounding young stars. Whereas signatures of gas-giant planets at large orbital separations have been…
The problem of origin of outer irregular satellites of large planets is considered. The capture way of their origin most probable, however there is not detail theory. There are a number of irregular satellites, discovered in recent time. It…
N2 is abundant in Pluto's atmosphere and on its surface, but the supply is depleted by prodigious atmospheric escape. We demonstrate that cometary impacts could not have delivered enough N mass to resupply Pluto's N2 atmospheric escape over…
Ultra-short period planets provide a window into the inner edge of the parameter space occupied by planetary orbits. In one particularly intriguing class of multi-planet systems, the ultra-short period planet is flanked by short-period…
In recent years several planets have been discovered at wide orbits (>100 AU) around their host stars. Theoretical studies encounter difficulties in explaining their formation and origin. Here we propose a novel scenario for the production…
The capture of the free-floating planets and primordial black holes into a collapsing protostellar cloud is considered. Although the last stage of rapid contraction leading to the star formation lasts for a relatively short time $\sim 10^5$…
We study the collapse of an isolated, initially cold, irregular (but almost spherical) and (slightly) inhomogeneous cloud of self-gravitating particles. The cloud is driven towards a virialized quasi-equilibrium state by a fast relaxation…
The statistics of extrasolar planetary systems indicate that the default mode of planet formation generates planets with orbital periods shorter than 100 days, and masses substantially exceeding that of the Earth. When viewed in this…
Since 2004, the images obtained by Cassini spacecraft's on-board cameras have revealed the existence of several small satellites in the Saturn system. Some of these small satellites are embedded in arcs of particles. While these satellites…
We use two zoom-in $\Lambda$CDM hydrodynamical simulations of massive disk galaxies to study the possible existence of fixed satellite groups showing a kinematically-coherent behaviour across evolution (angular momentum conservation and…
The origin of disks surrounding young stars has direct implications for our understanding of the formation of planetary systems. In the interstellar clouds from which star form, angular momentum is regulated by magnetic fields, preventing…
The hypothesis of quantization of masses of the solar system planets is considered. It is supposed that the solar system was bearing during the Protosun squeezing from the red giant to a yellow dwarf. According to mass and orbit…
The origin of the Uranian satellite system remains uncertain. The four major satellites have nearly circular, co-planar orbits and the ratio of the satellite system and planetary mass resembles Jupiter's satellite system, suggesting the…