Earth-mass Planets in Tandem Disks

Abstract This paper presents a new terrestrial planet formation theory demonstrating that Earth-mass planets form naturally in tandem protosolar disks. Our model builds upon tandem planet formation theory, incorporating magneto-rotational instability (MRI) suppression, porous particle aggregation, and standard planet formation mechanisms. In a tandem protosolar disk, planets form at two distinct locations: the inner and outer edges of the MRI-suppressed region, where solid particles accumulate. The inner edge produces rocky planets, while the outer edge forms gas giants. When planetesimals reach Earth mass at the inner MRI edge, they migrate outward due to torques from the gas disk. For a protosolar disk accretion rate of <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mover accent="true"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>M</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>̇</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> </mml:mover> <mml:mo>=</mml:mo> <mml:mn>1</mml:mn> <mml:msup> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>0</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>−</mml:mo> <mml:mn>7.08</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msup> <mml:mspace width="0.25em"/> <mml:msub> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>M</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>⊙</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> <mml:mspace width="0.25em"/> <mml:msup> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">yr</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>−</mml:mo> <mml:mn>1</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msup> </mml:math> (case D), the total solid mass at the inner MRI edge reaches 1.99 M ⊕ , producing two Earth-mass planets. This result closely matches the distribution of the terrestrial planets in the solar system: Earth and Venus together comprise 92% of the total mass of terrestrial planets, providing strong support for our proposed formation mechanism.