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The fates of Solar system analogues with one additional distant planet

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Veras, Dimitri (2016) The fates of Solar system analogues with one additional distant planet. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 463 (3). pp. 2958-2971. doi:10.1093/mnras/stw2170

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stw2170

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Abstract

The potential existence of a distant planet (“Planet Nine”) in the Solar system has prompted a re-think about the evolution of planetary systems. As the Sun transitions from a main sequence star into a white dwarf, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are currently assumed to survive in expanded but otherwise unchanged orbits. However, a sufficiently-distant and sufficiently-massive extra planet would alter this quiescent end scenario through the combined effects of Solar giant branch mass loss and Galactic tides. Here, I estimate bounds for the mass and orbit of a distant extra planet that would incite future instability in systems with a Sun-like star and giant planets with masses and orbits equivalent to those of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. I find that this boundary is diffuse and strongly dependent on each of the distant planet's orbital parameters. Nevertheless, I claim that instability occurs more often than not when the planet is as massive as Jupiter and harbours a semimajor axis exceeding about 300 au, or has a mass of a super-Earth and a semimajor axis exceeding about 3000 au. These results hold for orbital pericentres ranging from 100 to at least 400 au. This instability scenario might represent a common occurrence, as potentially evidenced by the ubiquity of metal pollution in white dwarf atmospheres throughout the Galaxy.

Item Type: Journal Article
Subjects: Q Science > QB Astronomy
Divisions: Faculty of Science > Physics
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): Celestial mechanics , Sun -- Evolution, White dwarf stars
Journal or Publication Title: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISSN: 0035-8711
Official Date: 11 December 2016
Dates:
DateEvent
11 December 2016Published
26 August 2016Available
24 August 2016Accepted
Volume: 463
Number: 3
Page Range: pp. 2958-2971
DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stw2170
Status: Peer Reviewed
Publication Status: Published
Access rights to Published version: Restricted or Subscription Access
Funder: European Research Council (ERC)
Grant number: Grant Agreement n. 320964

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