WALSH , Kevin J.

We review the state of the field of terrestrial planet formation with the goal of understanding the formation of the inner Solar System and low-mass exoplanets. We review the dynamics and timescales of accretion from planetesimals to planetary embryos and from embryos to terrestrial planets. We discuss radial mixing and water delivery,...

We review the state of the field of terrestrial planet formation with the goal of understanding the formation of the inner Solar System and low-mass exoplanets. We review the dynamics and timescales of accretion from planetesimals to planetary embryos and from embryos to terrestrial planets. We discuss radial mixing and water delivery,...

Reproducing the small mass of Mars is a major problem for modern simulations of terrestrial planet accretion (Raymond et al. 2009). Terrestrial planet formation simulations using a planetesimal disk with an outer edge at 1.0 AU have been found to form good Mars analogs (Hansen et al. 2009). However, these initial conditions appear inconsistent...

The asteroid belt is found today in a dramatically different state than that immediately following its formation. It is estimated that it has been depleted in total mass by a factor of at least 1000 since its formation, and that the asteroids' orbits evolved from having near-zero eccentricity and inclination to the complex distributions we find...

Numerical N-body models adopting self-gravitating spherical particles have proven to have interesting properties and are very useful for describing some aspects of the expected behaviour of rubble-piles. In fact, particle interlocking can simulate a certain degree of shear strength (corresponding to a non-zero critical slope in the Mohr-Coulomb...

Jupiter and Saturn formed in a few million years (ref. 1) from a gas-dominated protoplanetary disk, and were susceptible to gas-driven migration of their orbits on timescales of only ~100,000 years (ref. 2). Hydrodynamic simulations show that these giant planets can undergo a two-stage, inward-then-outward, migration. The terrestrial planets...

A new model for terrestrial planet formation (Hansen [2009]. Astrophys. J., 703, 1131-1140; Walsh, K.J., et al. [2011]. Nature, 2011, 206-209) has explored accretion in a truncated protoplanetary disk, and found that such a configuration is able to reproduce the distribution of mass among the planets in the Solar System, especially the...

Asteroids, since the formation of the solar system, are known to have experienced catastrophic collisions, which---depending on the impact energy---can produce a major disruption of the parent body and possibly give birth to asteroid families or binaries [1]. We present a general study of the final shape and dynamical state of asteroids...

According to the generally accepted scenario, the last giant impact on Earth formed the Moon and initiated the final phase of core formation by melting Earth's mantle. A key goal of geochemistry is to date this event, but different ages have been proposed. Some1, 2, 3 argue for an early Moon-forming event, approximately 30 million years (Myr)...

According to the generally accepted scenario, the last giant impact on Earth formed the Moon and initiated the final phase of core formation by melting Earth's mantle. A key goal of geochemistry is to date this event, but different ages have been proposed. Some1, 2, 3 argue for an early Moon-forming event, approximately 30 million years (Myr)...

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