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Enhancement of the Accretion of Jupiters Core by a Voluminous Low-Mass EnvelopeWe present calculations of the early stages of the formation of Jupiter via core nucleated accretion and gas capture. The core begins as a seed body of about 350 kilometers in radius and orbits in a swarm of planetesimals whose initial radii range from 15 meters to 100 kilometers. We follow the evolution of the swarm by accounting for growth and fragmentation, viscous and gravitational stirring, and for drag-induced migration and velocity damping. Gas capture by the core substantially enhances the cross-section of the planet for accretion of small planetesimals. The dust opacity within the atmosphere surrounding the planetary core is computed self-consistently, accounting for coagulation and sedimentation of dust particles released in the envelope as passing planetesimals are ablated. The calculation is carried out at an orbital semi-major axis of 5.2 AU and an initial solids' surface density of 10/g/cm^2 at that distance. The results give a core mass of 7 Earth masses and an envelope mass of approximately 0.1 Earth mass after 500,000 years, at which point the envelope growth rate surpasses that of the core. The same calculation without the envelope gives a core mass of only 4 Earth masses.
Document ID
20140010626
Acquisition Source
Ames Research Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Lissauer, Jack J. (NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA United States)
D'angelo, Gennaro (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Inst. Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Weidenschilling, Stuart John (Planetary Science Inst. Tucson, AZ, United States)
Bodenheimer, Peter (California Univ. Santa Cruz, CA, United States)
Hubickyj, Olenka (California Univ. Santa Cruz, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 13, 2014
Publication Date
October 6, 2013
Subject Category
Astronomy
Report/Patent Number
ARC-E-DAA-TN10762
Meeting Information
Meeting: NCTS# 16972-14; Annual Meeting, Division for Planetary Science
Location: Denver, CO
Country: United States
Start Date: October 6, 2013
End Date: October 11, 2013
Sponsors: American Astronomical Society
Funding Number(s)
WBS: WBS 202844.02.02.01.75
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAS2-03144
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNX10AT01A
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
Keywords
Jupiter
small planetesimals
dust opacity

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