Effects of protoplanetary nebula on orbital dynamics of planetesimals in the outer Solar system

Abstract

Massive gaseous nebula has been a key element to formation of large solid objects (planetesimals, giant planet cores) in the early phase of the Solar system evolution. Here, we focus on its effects during the stage when giant planets have already fully formed. Dynamical effects of the nebula on motion of planetesimals stirred by planets were twofold: (i) global gravitational acceleration, and (ii) local aerodynamic drag. Thanks to decreasing gas density with radial distance, in the outer Solar system the effect of the drag was deemed to be important only for small planetesimals (sizes $$\lesssim 10$$ km). However, we find that it was possibly important up to the sizes of $$\simeq 100$$ km as well. The gravitational field of the nebula produces secular oscillations of the orbital eccentricity and inclination of planetesimals. Eventually, their pericenter may be lifted away from strong planetary influence, exhibited during close encounters, even for small bodies born in the planetary heliocentric zone. It has been previously suggested that such pathway may, in some nebula models, launch planetesimals onto large-inclination and small-eccentricity orbits in the trans-Neptunian region. These orbits would be dynamically stable to present epoch. Our simulations generally do not support such extreme cases, but we find that, after the nebula disperses, some planetesimals may indeed reach low-inclination and low-eccentricity orbits exterior to Neptune. These bodies may have been implanted into the Kuiper belt during subsequent planetesimal-driven migration of planets. This raises a possibility that some present-day KBOs may have formed in the giant-planet zone (5–20 au).