Authors: Rogerio Deienno, Andre Izidoro, Alessandro Morbidelli, Rodney S. Gomes, David Nesvorny, Sean N. Raymond
Abstract: The main asteroid belt (MB) is low in mass but dynamically excited. Here we propose a new mechanism to excite the MB during the giant planet ('Nice model') instability, which is expected to have featured repeated close encounters between Jupiter and one or more ice giants ('Jumping Jupiter' -- JJ). We show that, when Jupiter temporarily reaches a high enough level of excitation, both in eccentricity and inclination it induces strong forced vectors of eccentricity and inclination across the MB region. Because during the JJ instability Jupiter's orbit `jumps' around, the forced vectors keep changing both in magnitude and phase throughout the whole MB region. The entire cold primordial MB is thus excited as a natural outcome of the JJ instability. The level of such an excitation, however, is typically larger than the current orbital excitation observed in the MB. We show that the subsequent evolution of the Solar System is capable of reshaping the resultant over-excited MB to its present day orbital state, and that a strong mass depletion (∼90%) is associated to the JJ instability phase and its subsequent evolution throughout the age of the Solar System
My Comment: Solar System dynamics are what drew me into astronomy in the first place. More than any results of this paper, I find it absolutely stellar as it clearly explains what is being simulated, and why, and points the reader at additional sources of information on the particulars. In sense it manages to not only present the science that was done, but also how that science was accomplished.
My Scrawling Notes:
