14.4 Comparison with other planetary systems  (Page 4/5)

The configurations of other planetary systems

Let’s look more closely at the progress in the detection of exoplanets. [link] shows the planets that were discovered each year by the two techniques we discussed. In the early years of exoplanet discovery, most of the planets were similar in mass to Jupiter . This is because, as mentioned above, the most massive planets were easiest to detect. In more recent years, planets smaller than Neptune and even close to the size of Earth have been detected.

Masses of exoplanets discovered by year.

We also know that many exoplanets are in multiplanet systems. This is one characteristic that our solar system shares with exosystems. Looking back at [link] and seeing how such large disks can give rise to more than one center of condensation, it is not too surprising that multiplanet systems are a typical outcome of planet formation. Astronomers have tried to measure whether multiple planet systems all lie in the same plane using astrometry. This is a difficult measurement to make with current technology, but it is an important measurement that could help us understand the origin and evolution of planetary systems.

Comparison between theory and data

Many of the planetary systems discovered so far do not resemble our own solar system. Consequently, we have had to reassess some aspects of the “standard models” for the formation of planetary systems. Science sometimes works in this way, with new data contradicting our expectations. The press often talks about a scientist making experiments to “confirm” a theory. Indeed, it is comforting when new data support a hypothesis or theory and increase our confidence in an earlier result. But the most exciting and productive moments in science often come when new data don’t support existing theories, forcing scientists to rethink their position and develop new and deeper insights into the way nature works.

Nothing about the new planetary systems contradicts the basic idea that planets form from the aggregation (clumping) of material within circumstellar disks. However, the existence of “ hot Jupiter s”—planets of jovian mass that are closer to their stars than the orbit of Mercury—poses the biggest problem. As far as we know, a giant planet cannot be formed without the condensation of water ice, and water ice is not stable so close to the heat of a star. It seems likely that all the giant planets, “hot” or “normal,” formed at a distance of several astronomical units from the star, but we now see that they did not necessarily stay there. This discovery has led to a revision in our understanding of planet formation that now includes “planet migrations” within the protoplanetary disk, or later gravitational encounters between sibling planets that scatter one of the planets inward.

Many exoplanets have large orbital eccentricity (recall this means the orbits are not circular). High eccentricities were not expected for planets that form in a disk. This discovery provides further support for the scattering of planets when they interact gravitationally. When planets change each other’s motions, their orbits could become much more eccentric than the ones with which they began.

There are several suggestions for ways migration might have occurred. Most involve interactions between the giant planets and the remnant material in the circumstellar disk from which they formed. These interactions would have taken place when the system was very young, while material still remained in the disk. In such cases, the planet travels at a faster velocity than the gas and dust and feels a kind of “headwind” (or friction) that causes it to lose energy and spiral inward. It is still unclear how the spiraling planet stops before it plunges into the star. Our best guess is that this plunge into the star is the fate for many protoplanets; however, clearly some migrating planets can stop their inward motions and escape this destruction, since we find hot Jupiters in many mature planetary systems.

Key concepts and summary

The first planet circling a distant solar-type star was announced in 1995. Twenty years later, thousands of exoplanets have been identified, including planets with sizes and masses between Earth’s and Neptune’s, which we don’t have in our own solar system. A few percent of exoplanet systems have “hot Jupiters,” massive planets that orbit close to their stars, and many exoplanets are also in eccentric orbits. These two characteristics are fundamentally different from the attributes of gas giant planets in our own solar system and suggest that giant planets can migrate inward from their place of formation where it is cold enough for ice to form. Current data indicate that small (terrestrial type) rocky planets are common in our Galaxy; indeed, there must be tens of billions of such earthlike planets.