Related papers: Shepherding in a Self-Gravitating Disk of Trans-Ne…
We analyse the potential migration of massive planets forming far away from an inner planetary system. For this, we follow the dynamical evolution of the orbital elements of a massive planet undergoing a dissipative process with a gas disc…
Context. The paths followed by the known extreme trans-Neptunian objects (ETNOs) effectively avoid direct gravitational perturbations from the four giant planets, yet their orbital eccentricities are in the range between 0.69-0.97. Solar…
The origin of the highly eccentric, inclined, and resonance-locked orbit of Pluto has long been a puzzle. A possible explanation has been proposed recently [Malhotra, R., {\it Nature} 365:819-21 (1993)] which suggests that these…
We measure the absolute magnitude, $H$, distribution, $dN(H) \propto 10^{\alpha H}$ of the scattering Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs) as a proxy for their size-frequency distribution. We show that the H-distribution of the scattering TNOs is…
Transitional disks are protoplanetary disks with large and deep central holes in the gas, possibly carved by young planets. Dong, R., & Dawson, R. 2016, ApJ, 825, 7 simulated systems with multiple giant planets that were capable of carving…
Context: Our previous models of a giant planet migrating through an inner protoplanet/planetesimal disk find that the giant shepherds a portion of the material it encounters into interior orbits, whilst scattering the rest into external…
Super-Earths and mini-Neptunes exhibit great diversity in their compositional and orbital properties. Their bulk densities span a large range, from those dense enough to be purely rocky to those needing a substantial contribution from…
Dawson and Murray-Clay (2012) pointed out that the inner part of the cold population in the Kuiper belt (that with semi major axis a<43.5 AU) has orbital eccentricities significantly smaller than the limit imposed by stability constraints.…
We present a new mechanism of generating large planetary eccentricities. This mechanism applies to planets within the inner cavities of their companion protoplanetary disks. A massive disk with an inner truncation may become eccentric due…
Large sub-Neptunes are uncommon around the coolest stars in the Galaxy and are rarer still around those that are metal-poor. However, owing to the large planet-to-star radius ratio, these planets are highly suitable for atmospheric study…
We develop a simplified model for studying the long-term evolution of giant planets in protoplanetary discs. The model accounts for the eccentricity evolution of the planets and the dynamics of eccentric discs under the influences of…
Two populations of minor bodies in the outer Solar System remain particularly elusive: Scattered Disk objects and Sedna-like objects. These populations are important dynamical tracers, and understanding the details of their spatial- and…
Trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) with large perihelion distances ($q > 60$ au) and semi-major axes ($a > 200$ au) provide insights into the early evolution of the solar system and the existence of a hypothetical distant planet. These objects…
It is quite likely that self-gravity will play an important role in the evolution of accretion discs, in particular those around young stars, and those around supermassive black holes. We summarise, here, our current understanding of the…
Increasingly better observations of resolved protoplanetary disks show a wide range of conditions in which planets can be formed. Many transitional disks show gaps in their radial density structure, which are usually interpreted as…
We demonstrate that the observed distribution of `Hot Neptune'/`Super-Earth' systems is well reproduced by a model in which planet assembly occurs in situ, with no significant migration post-assembly. This is achieved only if the amount of…
Over the course of the last decade, observations of highly-inclined (orbital inclination i > 60{\deg}) Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs) have posed an important challenge to current models of solar system formation (Levison et al. 2008;…
The process of migration into resonance capture has been well studied for planetary systems where the gravitational potential is generated exclusively by the star and planets. However, massive protoplanetary disks add a significant…
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…
The dynamical structure of the Kuiper belt can be used as a clue to the formation and evolution of the Solar System, planetary systems in general, and Neptune's early orbital history in particular. The problem is best addressed by forward…