Oort cloud asteroids: Collisional evolution, the Nice Model, and the Grand Tack

Andrew Shannon, Alan P. Jackson, Mark C. Wyatt

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Scopus citations

Abstract

If the Solar system had a history of planet migration, the signature of that migration may be imprinted on the populations of asteroids and comets that were scattered in the planets' wake. Here, we consider the dynamical and collisional evolution of the inner Solar system asteroids that join the Oort cloud. We compare the Oort cloud asteroid populations produced by migration scenarios based on the 'Nice' and 'Grand Tack' scenarios, as well as a null hypothesis where the planets have not migrated, to the detection of one such object, C/2014 S3 (PANSTARRS). Our simulations find that the discovery of C/2014 S3 (PANSTARRS) only has a > 1 per cent chance of occurring if the Oort cloud asteroids evolved on to Oort cloud orbits when the Solar system was 1 Myr old, as this early transfer to the Oort cloud is necessary to keep the amount of collisional evolution low. We argue that this only occurs when a giant (30m) planet orbits at 1 ∼ 2 au, and thus our results strongly favour a 'Grand Tack'-like migration having occurred early in the Solar system's history.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)5511-5518
Number of pages8
JournalMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Volume485
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 13 2019

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
  • Space and Planetary Science

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