Migration and Final Location of Hot Super Earths in the Presence of Gas Giants

Abstract

Based on the conventional sequential-accretion paradigm, we have proposed that, during the migration of first-born gas giants outside the orbits of planetary embryos, super Earth planets will form inside the 2:1 resonance location by sweeping of mean motion resonances (Zhou et al. 2005). In this paper, we study the subsequent evolution of a super Earth (m_1) under the effects of tidal dissipation and perturbation from a first-born gas giant (m_2) in an outside orbit. Secular perturbation and mean motion resonances (especially 2:1 and 5:2 resonances) between m_1 and m_2 excite the eccentricity of m_1, which causes the migration of m_1 and results in a hot super Earth. The calculated final location of the hot super Earth is independent of the tidal energy dissipation factor Q'. The study of migration history of a Hot Super Earth is useful to reveal its Q' value and to predict its final location in the presence of one or more hot gas giants. When this investigation is applied to the GJ876 system, it correctly reproduces the observed location of GJ876d around 0.02AU.

Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures