Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-pjpqr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-03T02:32:14.324Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

12 - Giant-planet formation: theories meet observations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 September 2009

Wolfgang Brandner
Affiliation:
Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie, Germany
Alan Boss
Affiliation:
Carnegie Institution, Washington DC, USA
Hubert Klahr
Affiliation:
Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie, Germany
Get access

Summary

Introduction

The two mechanisms that have been advanced for explaining the formation of giant planets are core accretion (“bottom up”) and disk instability (“top down”). Core accretion, the conventional mechanism, relies on the collisional accumulation of planetesimals to assemble ∼ 10 M solid cores, which then accrete massive gaseous envelopes from the disk gas (Mizuno, 1980; Lissauer, 1987; Pollack et al., 1996; Kornet et al., 2002; Inaba et al., 2003). In this scenario, the ice-giant planets probably did not form in situ (Levison and Stewart, 2001), but rather formed between Jupiter and Saturn and then were scattered outward to their present orbits (Thommes et al., 1999, 2002).

The alternative to core accretion is disk instability, where gas-giant protoplanets form rapidly through a gravitational instability of the gaseous portion of the disk (Cameron, 1978; Boss, 1997, 1998b, 2000, 2002a,b, 2003, 2004; Gammie, 2001; Mayer et al., 2002, 2004; Nelson, 2000; Nelson et al., 1998, 2000; Pickett et al., 1998, 2000a,b, 2003; Rice and Armitage, 2003, Rice et al., 2003a) and then more slowly contract to planetary densities. Solid cores form simultaneously with protoplanet formation by the coagulation and sedimentation of dust grains in the clumps of disk gas and dust.

Type
Chapter
Information
Planet Formation
Theory, Observations, and Experiments
, pp. 192 - 202
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2006

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×